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Epiphone ES-335 Limited Edition


jsa11

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http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/my-other-guitars/103191-ngd-odd-epiphone-es-335-dot-limited-edition.html

 

Apparently its only available (not even sure if they're still in production) in Canada, but I'm a big fan of the iced tea burst and I really want to get my hands on one. The only Canadian retailer I know of off of the top of my head is Long and McQuade, and they don't ship outside of Canada. Does anyone know of any place that might carry these that will ship to the US? Thanks in advance. ;)

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I haven't seen the Ice Tea burst before, very nice. But I have seen some in the Cherry finishes like that. There were some in the Detroit area a while back, but they were only sold at specific type of store, and I can't remember which store had them. There were a Limited Edition. The ones I saw had dot inlays, but had a cream neck binding and vintage green keystone tuners. Really sharp looking guitars. I think they went for $450, which wasn't a bad price. If I hadn't already had my Dot, I would have bought one.

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  • 1 year later...

Hi folks,

 

I just purchased a beautiful Iced Tea 'Burst Epiphone ES 335 Pro limited edition today at a music retailer on Long Island. I had not planned to buy anything but I saw it hanging from the rack and asked to try it out. I plugged into a Fender Deluxe RI (in blue tolex yet!) It sounded great and had excellent intonation. The Epi Alnico Classic PU's have coil switching built into the two volume knobs. The guitar has a very wide range of tones- more versatile than most 335 models. The clincher for the sale occurred when I asked the salesman to show me a Gibson 335 for a true comparison. He brought me a new Plain Top Cherry model that was truly beautiful- I played it through the Deluxe and it had the magic that these guitars are known for. An A-B comparison showed that the output of the Gibson was a bit hotter than the Epiphone- the Gibson '57 Classics are louder than the Epiphone Alnico Classics, but not very much so. I was impressed by the workmanship and detail of the Epi compared to the Gibson-The Gibson is a superior instrument to be sure, but not by a large margin. The Epiphone delivers a large amount of that 335 magic at an amazing price. I have tried many Epiphone Dot guitars in the past but this one is the best I've come across.

 

The store manager told me he can't get any more of them so I advise Epiphone enthusiasts to act quickly if you find one. Try to play it against a Gibson- it is the best way to assess the true quality and value of the Epiphone.

 

Play on!

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Hi folks,

 

I just purchased a beautiful Iced Tea 'Burst Epiphone ES 335 Pro limited edition today at a music retailer on Long Island. I had not planned to buy anything but I saw it hanging from the rack and asked to try it out. I plugged into a Fender Deluxe RI (in blue tolex yet!) It sounded great and had excellent intonation. The Epi Alnico Classic PU's have coil switching built into the two volume knobs. The guitar has a very wide range of tones- more versatile than most 335 models. The clincher for the sale occurred when I asked the salesman to show me a Gibson 335 for a true comparison. He brought me a new Plain Top Cherry model that was truly beautiful- I played it through the Deluxe and it had the magic that these guitars are known for. An A-B comparison showed that the output of the Gibson was a bit hotter than the Epiphone- the Gibson '57 Classics are louder than the Epiphone Alnico Classics, but not very much so. I was impressed by the workmanship and detail of the Epi compared to the Gibson-The Gibson is a superior instrument to be sure, but not by a large margin. The Epiphone delivers a large amount of that 335 magic at an amazing price. I have tried many Epiphone Dot guitars in the past but this one is the best I've come across.

 

The store manager told me he can't get any more of them so I advise Epiphone enthusiasts to act quickly if you find one. Try to play it against a Gibson- it is the best way to assess the true quality and value of the Epiphone.

 

Play on!

 

Possibly unfortunate timing...there is a new US destined version of the ES 335 Pro shipping next month from Guitar Center that is vintage sunburst rather than the chinese market tea burst version AND has PRO humbuckers! For only $449. Athestically the only downside is a longer pick guard but that isn't a deal breaker.

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Possibly unfortunate timing...there is a new US destined version of the ES 335 Pro shipping next month from Guitar Center that is vintage sunburst rather than the chinese market tea burst version AND has PRO humbuckers! For only $449. Athestically the only downside is a longer pick guard but that isn't a deal breaker.

I have mine on order.Looking forward to getting it.Dont know if the pickups are the same as the Dots , or if it has been upgraded, but the push/pull pots are a nice touch as is the binding.
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Hi again, folks!

 

More info on the ES 335 Pro-

 

I apologize for not including a good physical description before. The guitar has small block markers and an off-white bound rosewood board. The headstock has a traditional Gibson style "squashed frog" inlay with the words ES-335 PRO on the truss rod cover. The body has single ply binding on the rims that is not visible on the top- color is the same as the board binding. The top and back maple laminate are not flamed, but a good amount of grain is visible, with nice book-matching on the top. It most resembles a '63 335 reissue. Pictures will follow when I get my camera back.

 

The serial number begins with 111215 indicating a build in December of 2011 at the Qingdao factory (Guitardater.com.) The final inspection hang tag is dated 5/01/12. I'm not sure if that is a normal time span between the final construction and set up in the U.S. but perhaps it's indicative of the guitar's background. I don't know if it was built for a canadian retailer or for the chinese market but I paid $50 dollars less than the advertised price at Guitar Center and Musician's friend websites. They both state availability in mid june. Since it's wiring seems to be the same as the advertised guitar ( 4-conductor wiring for Coil tapping) I assume that the PU's are Alnico Classic Pros, but I don't know for sure.

 

I hope to hear from anyone with more info.

 

Play on!

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