SaxonDad Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 For my upcoming 60th birthday, I'm looking at an Epi ES 339. My wife wants to order one from Amazon, appears not to be a Pro model. Sweetwater had a Pro for a c note more. Wondering if the difference (pickups, yes ?) is enough for me to recommend she go with the Pro model. I'm strictly an amateur player, getting back into playing and learning after many years off. Cheers and thx for any thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Happy 60th! (I just had my 61st... I know,, how'd this even happen???) anyway,, You definitely want to make sure it's a 339 Pro. I would not be comfortable ordering from Amazon... I'd urge to go with Sweetwater and purchase it from them, You will 100% know what you're getting and Sweetwater's Customer Support is very good. Who knows what kind of shenanigans you'd be looking at with Amazon. IMHO it's worth the +100 bucks to go with a trusted source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaxonDad Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 Thanks kid !!! This is actually a (proposed) b-day gift from my non-playing but supportive wife. I told her this morning to hold off on ordering anything - I'll call Sweetwater. I'd really like to play one of these things first, but there don't appear to be any in my state. I noodled on an Epi ES 335 at GC last weekend and liked it.... Understand your concern about Amazon vs Sweetwater...but as far as the Pro vs non-Pro models goes, it seems to me I read that the Pro has single coils, and the non-Pro is ProBuckers (which I think I'd prefer). Do I have that right? And btw....Happy belated Birthday !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 it seems to me I read that the Pro has single coils, and the non-Pro is ProBuckers (which I think I'd prefer). Do I have that right? And btw....Happy belated Birthday !!! The "Pro" series has humbuckers (Epi Pro Bucker Pickups): Sweetwater 339 also sports better tuners (Kluson) The 339s with the P90s I think are dubbed "339 P90 PRO" My buddy, and band mate for many years has owned 2 of them (339 Pro) He sold the first one, and immediately regretted it. Soon bought another. He's had probably over 300 guitars pass thru his hands. He loves these. Out of the box, new they probably need a setup, just like any new guitar, but once that is done and done right. You will be off like a herd of turtles. Very nice guitars! I have a 2015 Shearton Pro II and I love it. it plays and sounds terrific. Epi has stepped up their game in the last half a dozen years. btw. I've been buying from sweetwater for the better end of a decade now. They have NEVER missed. 5 or 6 guitars, (USA Made Gibson and Fenders, also bougth my shearton there too) 2 amps, and a whole mitful of odds and ends over those years. They rock it every time. Stuart Niven has been my go to guy. ext 1337 (if you call them give him a try, tell him Ray Pelkey referred you, there us nothing in it for me, Stuart is excellent to work with) Good luck! and.. Thx!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaxonDad Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 Thx Ray!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish_Rover Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 +1 for the Pro At 53 I feel like a youngster round here I agree with Kidblast to go through a specialist instrument/guitar dealer rather than the generic Amazon. About a year ago I bought a 339 Pro from Thomann in Germany (the biggest online instrument dealer in Europe). When it arrived it had serious fret buzz so I took it to my luthier for a set up. I dropped it off and before I was home he called me to say "this guitar is ****ed!" . Turns out that the neck was twisted like a washcloth that has been rung out! I got straight on to Thomann who could not have been more accommodating and facilitated the return and a replacement within 5 days. The new guitar had obviously been taken out of the box and was perfectly setup. All of which was a hassle but I suspect would have been a lot worse had I been dealing with Amazon. I confess that I'm more of an acoustic guy (especially since I bought a Martin recently) but I've had a lot of fun with my 339 Pro and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. Whatever you and your good lady decide on I wish you many happy hours of playing and a very happy 60th birthday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 The "Pro" series has humbuckers (Epi Pro Bucker Pickups): Sweetwater 339 also sports better tuners (Kluson) The 339s with the P90s I think are dubbed "339 P90 PRO" My buddy, and band mate for many years has owned 2 of them (339 Pro) He sold the first one, and immediately regretted it. Soon bought another. He's had probably over 300 guitars pass thru his hands. He loves these. Out of the box, new they probably need a setup, just like any new guitar, but once that is done and done right. You will be off like a herd of turtles. Very nice guitars! I have a 2015 Shearton Pro II and I love it. it plays and sounds terrific. Epi has stepped up their game in the last half a dozen years. btw. I've been buying from sweetwater for the better end of a decade now. They have NEVER missed. 5 or 6 guitars, (USA Made Gibson and Fenders, also bougth my shearton there too) 2 amps, and a whole mitful of odds and ends over those years. They rock it every time. Stuart Niven has been my go to guy. ext 1337 (if you call them give him a try, tell him Ray Pelkey referred you, there us nothing in it for me, Stuart is excellent to work with) Good luck! and.. Thx!! kidblast brings up another good reason to go with Sweetwater. They set up guitars really well before shipping, so unless you prefer a really different setup, you're likely to be happy with the guitar right out of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 The "Pro" series has humbuckers (Epi Pro Bucker Pickups): Sweetwater 339 also sports better tuners (Kluson) The 339s with the P90s I think are dubbed "339 P90 PRO" My buddy, and band mate for many years has owned 2 of them (339 Pro) He sold the first one, and immediately regretted it. Soon bought another. He's had probably over 300 guitars pass thru his hands. He loves these. Out of the box, new they probably need a setup, just like any new guitar, but once that is done and done right. You will be off like a herd of turtles. Very nice guitars! I have a 2015 Shearton Pro II and I love it. it plays and sounds terrific. Epi has stepped up their game in the last half a dozen years. btw. I've been buying from sweetwater for the better end of a decade now. They have NEVER missed. 5 or 6 guitars, (USA Made Gibson and Fenders, also bougth my shearton there too) 2 amps, and a whole mitful of odds and ends over those years. They rock it every time. Stuart Niven has been my go to guy. ext 1337 (if you call them give him a try, tell him Ray Pelkey referred you, there us nothing in it for me, Stuart is excellent to work with) Good luck! and.. Thx!! kidblast brings up another good reason to go with Sweetwater. They set up guitars really well before shipping, so unless you prefer a really different setup, you're likely to be happy with the guitar right out of the box. And the standard ES-339 Pro has humbuckers with controls that allow you to cancel one coil form each pickup, so you can play it as either single-coils or humbuckers (or even one of each). Versatility is a good thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I have the same sort of wiring/pickup setup in the Sheraton Pro II. The coil splits do add some more textures for sure. I'm not quite sure the will do what a set of P90s would do. P90s are pretty raw and powerful sounding, and they are noisy, (but yea, still.. we love em).. The pro-buckers in full on mode are really nice sounding PAF style pickups. Good output, but not so much to kill the tone. The more Henries the pickups push out, usually they start to fall off the scale in the "tone" department. I like what these do in My shearton. And so do my band mates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaxonDad Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Welp - it's coming Friday. My wife is pretty picky about online buying - she does shop at more online vendors than just Amazon - and she was blown away by Sweetwater's customer service. They sent us some pics of the new guitar, and put a no-charge rush to get it here in time for The Big Day. I'll get a chance to play it some on Friday - then free tix to see Steve Morse and the Dixie Dregs that evening. I did an article on Steve for the local paper - I'm a better music writer than a guitar player, which isn't saying much. How's that for a birthday ??? Guys, thanks for all the encouragement and tips. Feel glad to be part of this community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Well that is great news! Can't go wrong with Sweetwater. Excellent place to do bizz. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revolution Six Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Have a look to the Gibson Midtown, very good instrument and a soft price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 hey Rev six. Looks like you missed the post where he's ordered a 339 pro and waiting for it to be delivered... you can omit the obligatory troll response, we're all kind of tired of reading them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revolution Six Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 OMG ! He ordered a poor chinese Gibson copy Too bad ... Here is the real ting Gibson ES-339 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 you just can't stop yourself can you? !LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish_Rover Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 you just can't stop yourself can you? !LOL! It's pretty cruel to mock the afflicted. This poor guy obviously has issues, can you imagine being that sad and lonely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Or that small..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaxonDad Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Worst 60th birthday evar !!!! :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Don't let our petty squabbles distract you from your quest here, I apologize for temporarily high jacking your thread. Pretty cool that your wife is behind you getting back into playing again, you're a lucky man. Enjoy your 60th, mine is just a fading memory right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaxonDad Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Don't let our petty squabbles distract you from your quest here, I apologize for temporarily high jacking your thread. Pretty cool that your wife is behind you getting back into playing again, you're a lucky man. Enjoy your 60th, mine is just a fading memory right now. No worries, bud. I wasn't expecting a shoulda-gotta-Gibson troll on this thread, but I guess the member in question has a history around here. It's all pretty amusing. I'll have a good day, and you guys helped me a lot. (Most of you guys, anyway. :) ) I am indeed a lucky man, and glad to be part of the community here. Cheers from Colorado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 I personally am tempted by the ES 339 P-90 Pro below... but the ES 339 Pro with humbuckers ain't bad either.. either way they are both pro's and you can't go wrong.... Aloha and happy birthday from Hawaii... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 No worries, bud. I wasn't expecting a shoulda-gotta-Gibson troll on this thread, but I guess the member in question has a history around here. It's all pretty amusing. I'll have a good day, and you guys helped me a lot. (Most of you guys, anyway. :) ) I am indeed a lucky man, and glad to be part of the community here. Cheers from Colorado. Just ignore him, he does this all the time. it's all a bit tedious and quite annoying. 99.99999% of us are looking forward to hear how the story ends when you unbox, tune it up and give it a spin. btw, which finish did you settle on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaxonDad Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 btw, which finish did you settle on? Sunburst, it shall be. I'll spend free time today strumming my Taylor 114CE and working a bit on "The Thrill is Gone" on my soon-to-be-demoted-but-not-retired Ibanez SZR520DHS. Saturday I'll look for a case, a strap and a stand. There are worse problems to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Sunburst, it shall be. I'll spend free time today strumming my Taylor 114CE and working a bit on "The Thrill is Gone" on my soon-to-be-demoted-but-not-retired Ibanez SZR520DHS. Saturday I'll look for a case, a strap and a stand. There are worse problems to have. I like the SBs.. The cherry red is fetching too! :) and yea man, I hear ya.. we all have our crosses to bear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaxonDad Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 Aloha and happy birthday from Hawaii... Thanks, bud !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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