J4T5 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Every time I play my Epi DOT I can't believe how great the guitar is for the money. I use to own 2 335's but I prefer the Epi. In fact since getting my DOT I've bought 3 other used Epi 335 style guitars. Great guitars at any price. Set 'em up and play 'em! Can't beat it I like them better for whatever reason and all 4 cost less than 1 of my 335's. Lucky for me. I ended up selling the my cherry Mini HB Riviera for a P93 Goldtop Riviera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slk Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I know I sure like mine. It plays and sounds fantastic. I would buy another in a heart beat if I see one that fancy's me. I am looking!!!! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4T5 Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 I'm glad I'm not at this party alone. I've been playing guitar for a long time and I've had some really nice guitars over the years in all kinds of price points but these Epiphone DOTS are a crazy good. I know there are alot of guitarist that say the solid body is the ulimate guitar and I would agree there is definitely room in everyones arsenal for at least one good solid body. Mine is a Gibson SG Special with P 90's. Love that guitar. But the Epiphone DOT has something that just really shines when you dig in. Beautiful warm full voice that is equally at home clean or driven hard. At its' price I don't think there is a more versitle guitar out there. I use to play 335's as one of those nice guitars you fit into your sets. But with the Epi DOT it just seems to my main go to and everything else takes a back seat. Crazy..but true... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slk Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I have a solid body Gibson 1964 Firebird that I personally bought brand new in 1964. It has the most beautiful tone you could ever imagine, but, but, I will have to admit my Epiphone DOT Deluxe revivals the Gibson. Even my son says they sound identical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I think each Epi I own or have owned had a value right up there or exceeding the price tag. I have two Dots. For rock/country/blues gigs, they're my "go to" guitars. Overall, I think they may be the best dollar-for-dollar value in an electric guitar out there. I do think that for somebody really "touchy-feely" on guitar necks, especially, they may find a Gibson "better." But that's because there's probably a bit more variation in Gibson necks due to more handwork. Some of the guys, too, will insist that Epi pups aren't as good as Gibson pups... To which I simply figure that they're listening to something I'm not hearing - and neither really is the average audience member in a saloon gig. After all, the amplification and other electric control "stuff" and venue characteristics all contribute far more than the pups themselves. OTOH, I also find the geometry of the Dot/335, etc., such that for what I mostly play for just myself, it ain't quite right. That's when I head for my 24 3/4 scale 16-inch body archtops. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4T5 Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 That's what I'm talking about. I even tried some Epi SG's that were killer guitars. Long live Epiphone if they keep dishing out the goods...... My DOT feels like a Gibson 59 neck - which is just fine for me. My 62' Sheraton has a slimmer neck but it's dead on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 <grin> Hey, don't get me wrong... I've got two of 'em. A sunburst and one cherry. I'd take either out for a band gig. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I've been playing guitar for a long time and I've had some really nice guitars over the years in all kinds of price points but these Epiphone DOTS are a crazy good. A few years ago my first electric was a new Epi LP Standard from GC. I didn't exactly bond with it, so I took it back after a couple weeks and traded straight across for a new cherry Dot. Man, was that a brilliant move! Had a local tech give it a good setup, and as you say, it is a super, super guitar. I've got several other electrics since then, but it's number 1 hands down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Yeah, I don't quite get it why some folks will consider a Dot to be only worth a buy because it's a solid "project" platform. It's a doggone good guitar. I could almost consider putting some old Gretsch-type pups on my sunburst but then... I figure I get more difference in sound by how I play than anything else. Not to mention guitar and amp settings. So I doubt I'll mess with it - there's nothing at all wrong or weak about the instrument so... why? m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDTRFB Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Epi ES-335 Pro is an even better deal than the Dot. It has binding, block inlays, coil taps, etc., and for the same price as the Dot. Basically a souped up Dot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razz Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I completely agree with jt45, the Dot is awesome. Been playing 35 years, had in my posession many strats, v's, les pauls, etc. I've had a 2000 dot for 11 years that I never really bonded with, but when I aquired an '03 Dot Deluxe in a trade earlier this year it replaced my les paul as my main guitar. The sweet, smooth, round tone coming out of it is the sound I'd been looking for for a long time. There is a richness and sweetness I just cannot get out of a solid body. The only changes I've made are the pickguard and the knobs, only for aesthetic reasons. I love the stock pick ups, I guess one man's mud is another man's sweet round tone :). Of course that sweet '03 (wine red)has led to an obsession and I now also have an '04 alpine white Dot Studio, and an ' 11 Dot Deluxe vintage sunburst which is also quite awesome. Still want to get a cherry Dot and then I think maybe my GAS for Dots will finally be quenched haha. Great great great guitars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 One reason I think the Dot is an incredible bargain has to do with the basic construction of the instrument compared to a board with a neck bolted or glued on. That's nothing against the SG, especially, that I tend to think is the overwhelming best solidbody design - and largely because of its construction and short scale neck. But comment on pup quality also is, I think, a function of how one uses the instrument. I've always said that an electric guitar is an instrument functionally of two parts: There's the actual playing bit, the body and neck as well as tuning mechanisms, etc., that haven't functionally changed in centuries - and then there's the amplification side that includes pups, pots, wires and eventually the electronic alteration and reinforcement of an electrical signal created by the physical side of the instrument. Yeah, there's bad wiring and there are poor pups and poor necks and - I had a Washburn 335 copy that IMHO wasn't worth owning by any criterion, for example. But within a general range of electrical quality added to a general range of physical quality, I think that too often we apply improper technique, hopes and dreams for a holy grail of "tone" that ain't gonna come from the equipment we have as a whole system. I get "in trouble" with the acoustic guys who will say that you've gotta have at least an inexpensive range J45 or similar all-wood high-end acoustic-only guitar or you're just jealous that you don't have one, or that you're too cheap or insufficiently dedicated to guitar if you don't have one. Well, I'm an AE guy because it's almost impossible to have good mike technique in a saloon band - or even a solo instrumental gig. And with all due respect, a nicely-built and equipped cheapie Epi PR5e or EL00 Pro can put better sound to an audience than a D28 or J45 miked in most situations. Back to the Dot - it's the same thing. If the instrument fits the player and playing style, and if appropriately run through whatever electronic reinforcement, the Dot is dollar for dollar an incredible value. Perhaps at least among the best values in current guitars. Still... I don't think it's necessarily the most appropriate for a given picker regardless of genre that might use an electric guitar. For me, for example, the shape isn't quite right - regardless that I have two of 'em. Why? It's a matter of geometry. As long as I can mostly play above the fifth fret, it works well. If I can't, it's not quite right. The nut seems narrower and the neck longer than on a full 16-inch body archtop with the same scale and nut. That's due to the shape of the guitar any my personal physical geometry applied to the geometry of the dot/335. So... I play it "out" mostly when I'm gonna do rock/country/blues. If I'm doing generalized guitar work, it's with a different instrument. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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