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Biased review of my new Epiphone ES335 Pro Limited Edition


old mark

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I don't buy many new guitars, because I long believed the "old ones are made better" theory. But I was really attracted to Epiphone's ES 335 Pro, and found the Limited Edition version of that guitar for sale at a good price around Christmas, so I ordered one online to be shipped to the closest GC, about 40 miles away for pickup. I was attracted to the Alnico humbuckers with coil splitters as standard equipment, and I found one in Ebony, and I jumped.

If you have ANY interest in a 335 type guitar, I really HIGHLY recommend getting one of these...

 

IMG_0726_zpstfsrxfib.jpg

 

 

It was set up by a tech while I was watching, and I got it home and did it again, after replacing the factory TOM bridge with a GOTOH, oiling the fret board and installing a set of Ernie Ball Nickel Slinky 10's, top wrapped over the stop bar. I am still setting the pickup height because I have not quite got the exact chime I want from the bridge pup, but I can not recommend this guitar highly enough.

 

http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Archtop/ES-335-PRO.aspx

 

FWIW, I change out the factory TOM bridge for a GOTOH on all my Epiphones and most Gibsons because GOTOH's are a far better design - very solid with NOTHING to rattle or come loose, wider for more adjustment as needed, and IMO sustain slightly longer. A bargain for around $35.

 

I find NO flaw or problem with this NEW, CHINESE made Epiphone at all...it is as solid as my old standby Korean made Epis and maybe even a bit better. Good hardware, good electronics, GREAT humbuckers.

I will be taking it to a good guitar tech for a fret level and polish, but I do that with most Epiphones, new or old, and that only makes a very good guitar into a great guitar.

 

The age old junk ,"Yeah, but it ain't a Gibson"...OK, but it is what it is, a really playable, fine sounding and capable instrument, solid and well made of very fine materials and about 1/4 of the cost of a "real" 335...and with coil splitters on the pickups.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3cRHg-xH48&ab_channel=ErikteKamp

 

 

 

I love Epiphone arch top guitars - I own a "regular" 2003 Peerless made Casino, a 2012 Elitist Casino, a Samick made Sheraton II and an Unsung made Riviera with mini humbuckers...IMO the Chinese made ES335 PRO is the one to get if you just have the one. The most versatile of the lot and those pickups are the among the best I have ever heard, no matter who made them. I do NOT work for Epiphone.

 

Buy one.

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A very good review I think. Thank you for the effort you put in to write it.

What he said! Nice review

 

I have an 8 year old, highly modded Dot. Kept it stock for a year or so, then upgraded everything (p/u's, pots, switches, et al) and felt like I had a 335 for about half price, less some bling, which the Pro has (binding, et al). Then a few years later along comes the 335 Pro, well, duh! I'm happy, but if I had to do it over again, this would be it. And I also own an Elitist Casino, Wildkat, Gretsch 5122 and a Guild Starfire IV, so like you, I'm more into archtops than anything else.

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A very good review. Thanks particularly for posting the Gibson 335 vs Epiphone. It answered a few questions.

 

I was fortunate enough to be able to swap (straight up, if you can believe it) a modded Squier SE Strat for a Epi 335 dot. I didn't expect a lot, but had 5 Strats and one had to go if I was going to take on another guitar. All I knew when I went to make the swap that I liked the guitar and it was the right deal for me.

 

Little did I know that I was going to fall in love with it. Mind you, I grew up with a '66 Gretsch Country Gentleman in my hands and at the time had to choose between it and a Gibson 335. I somehow regretted not getting the Gibson and always wanted a 335. I was actually looking for a used Gibson 335 when this Epi came along. And so I've had a few weeks to evaluate what I got in trade. I think a lot of it is my individual guitar. THIS ONE just feels perfect in my hands and is all I could have hoped for and then some. I've since played a number of 335's, both Epis and Gibsons and honestly I haven't found anything I like better. I've noticed that the neck on my 335 has a different, more Gibson-like feel than the other new 335's in the stores. I wonder why that is? I guess I can consider myself extremely lucky all the way around.

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What he said! Nice review

 

I have an 8 year old, highly modded Dot. Kept it stock for a year or so, then upgraded everything (p/u's, pots, switches, et al) and felt like I had a 335 for about half price, less some bling, which the Pro has (binding, et al). Then a few years later along comes the 335 Pro, well, duh! I'm happy, but if I had to do it over again, this would be it. And I also own an Elitist Casino, Wildkat, Gretsch 5122 and a Guild Starfire IV, so like you, I'm more into archtops than anything else.

That's my story as well

Bought a used 2001 Korean-made (Samick plant) Dot... cleaned, polished, oiled the fretboard, upgraded everything, had a custom 335-esque pickguard made... and then Epiphone came out with the ES-335 Pro. :P

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I find NO flaw or problem with this NEW, CHINESE made Epiphone at all...

 

That has been my experience with all of my Epi's. Electrics, acoustics, they're all very well done. My Dot was my first guitar bought in the NCE (New Cougar Era). As you say -- flawless!

 

BTW, that is a freaking black beauty, Old Mark.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had bought a Chinese made Dot that had Gibson 490 pickups in it, and changed to a GOGO bridge and an aluminum tailpiece...then started seeing the ES 335 Pros, and sold the Dot and a few others and got that one. If you shop online, check Guitar Center's used pages for Epiphone arch tops...there are a LOT of different models at any given time, generally good prices...you call the store manager and talk directly to him about that specific guitar...and if there should be a problem when you get it, they will take it back for a refund with out question.

 

I found some pretty interesting Epiphones doing that, and several Gibsons, too.

I'm incurable.

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  • 5 months later...

Nice review,

 

like you say, the ONLY issue with these guitars is the fretwork. There just isn't anywhere near the attention to detail you get on a Gibson, and as such you may get a good one, or you may get a bad one....

 

Mine was pretty close, if a little grubby, so when I got it home the fret-board got the once over with lemon oil and wire wool. Then after a few gigs I noticed choking out about the 15th fret :(

 

I eventually took the plunge and You-tubed some fret leveling techniques, in the end I merely sanded down from fret 15 onward until the problem disappeared. It worked, and now the action is down (almost) as low as my old Gibson Les Paul Studio.

 

At the end of the day, if you want the ultimate playing experience, the frets need to be leveled and re-crowned professionally (which all Gibson's are).

 

However, for a £299 guitar, my Epiphone ES-335 PRO comes remarkably close anyway, with a bit of elbow grease, love, and luck.

 

Here's my review....

 

https://adamharkusblog.wordpress.com/2016/05/21/epiphone-es-335-pro-review/

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