Mike Hickey Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 (edited) As an intermediate player that doesn't record or gig, is the expense of a Gibson 335 vs. the Epiphone make sense? I.can afford the Gibson but I'm not sure how much better it is. I definitely feel more confident in the quality and consistency of a U.S.A. guitar, but $4,000 vs. $650.00 is a big difference. Edited June 12, 2022 by Mike Hickey Misspelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 Hi Mike, First question must be: Are you able to try 335s out at a (hopefully local) store? You really need some hands on to make an informed decision. The Gibson should be better of course, but QA of both versions vary, so you might find a great Epi or Gibson. You also might be unlucky with both. What I can say with certainty is that the Gibson is not 6 times better ($650 x 6 = £3,900). I would take a guess that it might be as much 25% better. Others will disagree. Realistically, if you are not working the guitar hard then the Epi is the sensible choice. The main differences are this. The Gibson hardware will be made out of metallics chosen to be fit for function. The Epi hardware will more likely be a much cheaper general grade (recycled) material. It will still work fine. Chinese electric components are usually poor, so this will probably notice more over time. Inferior switches & output jack sockets will become noisy with signal loss over a shorter time than Gibsons. I think the woods will be fine on both brands. Of course you could buy Epi and maybe make some upgrades, but don't spend too much (unless you know its going to be a keeper). Check out specs to compare. Epi neck are usually chunkier. Gibson will hold value better over time. Hope that helps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 I used to own a mint beautiful vintage real 1959 Gibson ES345. I was naive, didn’t know much about Guitars & foolishly sold it… I didn’t know what I had.. A few years later I owned a Dot & it was a really nice Guitar.. But, it didn’t sound as good as that old 59 ES345.. So, I sold it & bought one of the last Memphis Gibson ES335’s… It’s a great Guitar.. Not the 59 I had but a very good Guitar.. Some of the Epiphone 335 Dots are really nice & some have good sounding Pickups. Some. Not all. I’ve played some really good Pro models.. You really have to try them out to know.. The same can be said about Gibson ES335’s.. But, consistently, they are beautifully built with all the best materials, techniques & have great Pickups.. It depends on what Pickups you like… There are so many variations. They all sound good.. It usually comes down to which Pickups sound best to you… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 On 6/11/2022 at 10:11 PM, Mike Hickey said: As an intermediate player that doesn't record or gig, is the expense of a Gibson 335 vs. the Epiphone make sense? I.can afford the Gibson but I'm not sure how much better it is. I definitely feel more confident in the quality and consistency of a U.S.A. guitar, but $4,000 vs. $650.00 is a big difference. Better is a word you need to find out for yourself by touching both, and then you deciding. If the $650 wows you over the 4k one, then you have your answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docr Posted June 14, 2022 Share Posted June 14, 2022 I have often asked myself the same question. I own a 2004 Epiphone Dot, which was built in Korea. Beautiful guitar, but no comparison to my 2021 Gibson ES335. The Epi is much heavier, I had to replace the tuners because they didn't hold tune and I changed the pickups because the Epiphone humbuckers just had too much output and sounded very dull. Changing pickups and volume and tone controls on a semi-acoustic guitar is no fun. I can't judge the current state of the Epiphone ES335 versions, they are supposed to be quite good. I assume, however, that they do not have a nitro finish, for example, and also differ in some other specifications. Does that justify the high price difference? Probably not, but I wanted to have a Gibson ES335 once in my life, use it a lot and have fun every time I get it out of the case. And before inflation further reduces the bank account I prefer to enjoy a beautiful guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) In 2020 Gibson got back to basics by drastically reducing the product line of both Gibson and Epiphone. The new Epiphones that are patterned after Gibson models have had a few changes making them appear more Gibson like. The ES Epiphones typically use a 5-ply Maple making them a little heavier than their Gibson counterpart that use 3-ply Maple/Poplar/Maple. Since 2020 Epiphones also use similar spec's like neck shape, with similar design Alnico Classic PRO's and use hand wired full sized CST Pots. This doesn't mean that they will exactly sound like a Gibson, they will have their own sound, depending on what you do to them. Being a P90 freak, I easily installed my favorite Mean 90's in my 2020 339, I love this guitar. Thankfully, my 339 does not weigh as much as my 56 LP Std Pro and is well balanced. Note that my 339 in stock form below, sound wise was extremely versatile, I upgraded a G400 with its pickups which I later sold and got more than I expected. When my 339 arrived it was setup perfectly, ready to play. Edited July 22, 2022 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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