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New Guitar Day (2023 Epi ES-335 Trad Pro)

Sheepdog1969

By Sheepdog1969
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Sheepdog1969

Sheepdog1969

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To my surprise, my ES-335 came "set up" by a USA Tech, (No. 7 specifically). The intonation out of the box was good on all but the B and G. The action was a bit high for my taste and the pick ups  were quite low. The finish was glossy and clean, save for a few minor marks on the headstock, near the logo. The electronics/pots/selector were clean, with no issues. 

After lowering the action as far as I dared, without fret buzzing, I intonated the guitar with ease. I then raised the bridge pickup considerably until it produced a crisp, live, and hard hitting output. The neck pickup needed to only be raised a bit, until it developed a buttery, warm, and rich tone, without being muddy.

When people say the ES-335 "is an extremely versatile guitar.", they are understating it. The Traditional Pro's ability to "coil split" individual pickups,( or both or neither), only expands this versatility. The range of tones and character this guitar produces is simply amazing. I found myself reworking my amp settings with each variation of the 335's selector/pot level/single or double coil change, to fully capture and amplify it's rich tones. 

After running the 335 through it's paces, I decided to channel Alex Lifeson, and play a bit of "The Trees", by Rush.  My 335 didn't disappoint! 

 

Edited by Sheepdog1969
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Narwhal6

Narwhal6

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Very nice. Semi hollow's are fun with a tube amp and a little overdrive, you can get some really cool controllable feedback. Plus they have that unique "thump" that cannot be duplicated with a solid body.

I can't believe the first one arrived with a snapped headstock, it would have to have been handled very roughly and poorly packaged, glad they got you a replacement quickly.

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tx-ogre

tx-ogre

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Congrats.  Bummer about the first one being damaged, but glad to see you got one you liked.  335s are superb guitars.  If I could only keep one of my guitars, it would be my 335.  Enjoy.

Edited by tx-ogre
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Sheepdog1969

Sheepdog1969

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13 hours ago, Narwhal6 said:

I can't believe the first one arrived with a snapped headstock, it would have to have been handled very roughly and poorly packaged, glad they got you a replacement quickly.

I was crushed Monday night when I saw the break! Had a long talk with the Epiphone rep about this issue. First, the outer box had no labels/stickers indicating "fragile", "handle with care, "This side up", and/or "Do not stack".  Second, there was no packing material, like Styrofoam, between the outer box and the box that the guitar is in. Third, the inner box was not wrapped in plastic, or anything to provide a water barrier. The only additional packing material inside the inner box was a few of those air filled "pillows", which they laid on top of the headstock. (the guitar was strung, and the string ends popped those things before it got to me.) There was no extra support around the neck and the head, beyond the "pillows" that failed. The guitar was packed just like one you may get new at Guitar Center, if you chose to ask for one that had not been on display. It was wrapped in that synthetic "cloth" material and had a few folded cardboard spacers under it to keep it from shifting too much. Defiantly not the type of packaging needed to keep it safe during cross country shipping.  (I requested an "overpack" on the replacement they sent me, and specified adding "fragile" labels as well.) I never even took the guitar out of the inner box or unwrapped it. I took a few pics for evidence, but I never even tried to inspect the damage. I still am trying to understand how the headstock was completely separated from the neck without the truss rod kind of keeping them together. I actually did not even see the truss rod sticking out of the neck. I asked the Epiphone rep to be sure to inspect the guitar when it got back to them, because if it had no truss rod, and/or if the Chinese factory was only putting in a short length of rod from the head into the neck so it looked like there was a full rod, that would be a big issue. (My return arrived at Epiphone Friday nite, so I will be talking to a rep Monday about that.) Even with the replacement guitar they sent me, despite it having "fragile" stickers, the outer box was crushed and had large puncture holes in multiple places. Thankfully the "overpack" protected the replacement.   This was the first guitar I ever bought online and had shipped to me. I assure you it will be the last!

PS - During the first guitar's shipping process, Fed Ex screwed up while it was on the East coast, which delayed the shipment by 3 days. This delay meant it would arrive on Monday, which was accurately forecast as a wet, rainy day. I chose to stay home and wait for the delivery so it wouldn't sit on my porch in the rain. Fed Ex said it would be dropped off between 9:30am and 1:50pm, yet the Fed Ex truck pulled up at 3:15pm. I went out and stood at the door of the truck, in the pouring rain, waiting for the driver to get my package out of the back. After standing there getting soaked for way too long, he appeared out of the back of the truck and said my package was not on his truck, despite it being on his manifest. He just said it should be coming tomorrow and drove off. Unwilling to accept that, I got on the phone and worked Fed Ex's very customer unfriendly customer service system until I got a manager to deliver the package 3 hours later, using his personal car. Sadly, after all that effort, the guitar was delivered broken beyond repair. 

Epiphone's customer service was decent, but the exchange was complicated because they only had a handful of exact replacement guitars in stock. It was very likely that if I/we simply followed the standard return/replacement processes, the replacement guitars in inventory would already be sold before my replacement could be pulled and shipped. (Epiphone cannot make ES-335 traditional pro's, nor any of their "Inspired by Gibson" 335 line, faster than they are selling them.) So, I just paid for a new one, and had the return refunded back onto my card. Apparently, Epi will not hold inventory for damaged/defective return and replace claims until Epi has the returned item in their possession. This is not an issue unless their inventory is low and the demand for that item is high. Epi paid for everything, and my only out of pocket costs were my time and gas to drop off the return, (40 min each way), and my time on the phone dealing with this issue. My stress and additional wait time were not compensated for. 

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Narwhal6

Narwhal6

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19 hours ago, Sheepdog1969 said:

I was crushed Monday night when I saw the break! Had a long talk with the Epiphone rep about this issue. First, the outer box had no labels/stickers indicating "fragile", "handle with care, "This side up", and/or "Do not stack".  Second, there was no packing material, like Styrofoam, between the outer box and the box that the guitar is in. Third, the inner box was not wrapped in plastic, or anything to provide a water barrier. The only additional packing material inside the inner box was a few of those air filled "pillows", which they laid on top of the headstock. (the guitar was strung, and the string ends popped those things before it got to me.) There was no extra support around the neck and the head, beyond the "pillows" that failed. The guitar was packed just like one you may get new at Guitar Center, if you chose to ask for one that had not been on display. It was wrapped in that synthetic "cloth" material and had a few folded cardboard spacers under it to keep it from shifting too much. Defiantly not the type of packaging needed to keep it safe during cross country shipping.  (I requested an "overpack" on the replacement they sent me, and specified adding "fragile" labels as well.) I never even took the guitar out of the inner box or unwrapped it. I took a few pics for evidence, but I never even tried to inspect the damage. I still am trying to understand how the headstock was completely separated from the neck without the truss rod kind of keeping them together. I actually did not even see the truss rod sticking out of the neck. I asked the Epiphone rep to be sure to inspect the guitar when it got back to them, because if it had no truss rod, and/or if the Chinese factory was only putting in a short length of rod from the head into the neck so it looked like there was a full rod, that would be a big issue. (My return arrived at Epiphone Friday nite, so I will be talking to a rep Monday about that.) Even with the replacement guitar they sent me, despite it having "fragile" stickers, the outer box was crushed and had large puncture holes in multiple places. Thankfully the "overpack" protected the replacement.   This was the first guitar I ever bought online and had shipped to me. I assure you it will be the last!

PS - During the first guitar's shipping process, Fed Ex screwed up while it was on the East coast, which delayed the shipment by 3 days. This delay meant it would arrive on Monday, which was accurately forecast as a wet, rainy day. I chose to stay home and wait for the delivery so it wouldn't sit on my porch in the rain. Fed Ex said it would be dropped off between 9:30am and 1:50pm, yet the Fed Ex truck pulled up at 3:15pm. I went out and stood at the door of the truck, in the pouring rain, waiting for the driver to get my package out of the back. After standing there getting soaked for way too long, he appeared out of the back of the truck and said my package was not on his truck, despite it being on his manifest. He just said it should be coming tomorrow and drove off. Unwilling to accept that, I got on the phone and worked Fed Ex's very customer unfriendly customer service system until I got a manager to deliver the package 3 hours later, using his personal car. Sadly, after all that effort, the guitar was delivered broken beyond repair. 

Epiphone's customer service was decent, but the exchange was complicated because they only had a handful of exact replacement guitars in stock. It was very likely that if I/we simply followed the standard return/replacement processes, the replacement guitars in inventory would already be sold before my replacement could be pulled and shipped. (Epiphone cannot make ES-335 traditional pro's, nor any of their "Inspired by Gibson" 335 line, faster than they are selling them.) So, I just paid for a new one, and had the return refunded back onto my card. Apparently, Epi will not hold inventory for damaged/defective return and replace claims until Epi has the returned item in their possession. This is not an issue unless their inventory is low and the demand for that item is high. Epi paid for everything, and my only out of pocket costs were my time and gas to drop off the return, (40 min each way), and my time on the phone dealing with this issue. My stress and additional wait time were not compensated for. 

Makes you wonder what percentage of guitars shipped from the manufacturer to retail outlets arrive damaged like that. It's easy for Sweetwater or GC to send damaged inventory back but kind of a pita for consumers like you or me.

I prefer to buy locally myself, typically used lately as there are some great bargains out there on used guitars. I've only recently discovered Reverb but have resisted buying an instrument as you just don't know how it will arrive, plus I don't know if I'll bond with it as it's basically sight unseen.

That said, there's a number of manufacturers who are only available online, so they must be packing their product to the nines, Harley Benton comes to mind as most reviews are favorable regarding shipping. So don't throw in the towel on online purchases yet.....but again, lots of cool used stuff at most retail outlets, and playing before paying is a sure way to find the right one.

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Sheepdog1969

Sheepdog1969

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13 hours ago, Dub-T-123 said:

Hey hey hey that’s not what the f holes are for!

 

I haven’t really seen a whole lot of black 335 type guitars . Looks super nice

HA! I have a twisted mind, and I never thought about the "f hole" innuendo. Thanks for giving me a much needed laugh, and for your compliment about my black color choice.

I never owned a black guitar before, and the Epi Trad Pro 335 2023 was only offered in 4 solid colors, with no "burst" option, (which was what I really wanted). However, during my visit to the now closed Memphis, TN Gibson Factory 6 or so years ago, (which infected me with the 335 bug), I learned that BB King's Lucille was made there. (He actually tended to play an ES-355, and had Gibson make all his 335 style guitars without f holes.)  The Memphis factory had a huge Ebony BB King Lucille  hanging in the foyer, which was over 20 feet tall and looked extremely realistic. The Ebony finish on BB's guitars looked classy and refined without even trying to. So, Ebony was my choice. Even with the silver hardware, versus Lucille's gold hardware, I really like it.

I just ordered a custom engraved truss rod cover for it, with my late Grandmother's name ,"Hazel".  I used an old school stylized Germanic font to honor her and our Germanic heritage. She lived to 103, and we had a very special relationship.  I never named one of my guitars before, but for many reasons, it felt right to honor her this way.

Edited by Sheepdog1969
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Larsongs

Larsongs

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You know there is an Epiphone Lucille Guitar.. It’s a few Bucks more but it might be of interest if you’re still in the 45 day Exchange period..

https://www.sweetwater.com/c592--Semi_Hollow?highlight=BBKLucille&mrkgadid=3251364853&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=mpla&mrkgbflag=0&mrkgcat=guitars&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=92700046997870879&lid=92700046997870879&ds_s_kwgid=58700005286965679&ds_s_inventory_feed_id=97700000007215323&ds_a_cid=405527921&ds_a_caid=9238738473&ds_a_agid=94108774299&ds_a_lid=pla-870891161033&dsproductgroupid=4581664953824888&product_id=BBKLucille&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=Online&storeid=&device=c&network=o&matchtype=e&adpos=largenumber&locationid=&creative=&targetid=pla-4581664953824888&campaignid=283268300&awsearchcpc=1&&&&&msclkid=a7b2b8c15aed1e492214ddcfb522bac9&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=aaShopping - Core - Guitars&utm_term=4581664953824888&utm_content=Guitars - Electric Guitars&gclid=a7b2b8c15aed1e492214ddcfb522bac9&gclsrc=3p.ds

Edited by Larsongs
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Sheepdog1969

Sheepdog1969

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7 hours ago, Dub-T-123 said:

Is this the same guitar that you got? 
 

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Epiphone/ES-335-Traditional-Pro-Semi-Hollow-Electric-Guitar-Inverness-Green-1500000330640.gc

 

guitar center has them on sale for $450 right now. I’m digging this green color and I think I might kick myself if I don’t hit it for $450 

Yup, it sure is and that price is AWESOME!!! Buy it now! (if you want to, that is, lol)

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