Philm Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 @ ntwhi2001 : good review ;-) thx I will retest all this this afternoon ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwhi2001 Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Philm, I'm bumping this thread to point out the Sticky posting by Epi Customer Service. They are now acknowledging the wiring fault. I'm going back to my dealer with mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philm Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 ok, good news !!! I get my guitar Wednesday, it was not over. If epiphone could provide the right cabling plan, it would be nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I posted this in the recall notice thread, but here it is again in case you haven't seen it: OK, I called Musician's Fiend today to see about getting the hum in my Pelham Blue Ultra 339 repaired and they said that they don't repair anything, that I would have to work with Gibson about it. I also asked if I could return it and they said no, that Gibson had not informed them of any special return option for the Ultras. They said my options were to take it to a local authorized repair station or talk to Gibson directly about a replacement. The rep I talked to said there wasn't anyone higher up I could talk to about the issue so I got his manager "Sterling" on the phone. He said that because it was beyond the exchange period, it was a Gibson warranty issue and there was nothing he could do. Now what? EDIT - in the meantime, Gibson customer service has contacted me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philm Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Hello, here is my epi ES339 with a vibrato, a new bridge, and new mechanics. There are always buzz on the strings A and E, my luthier do not understand why, because everything looks ok. My strings are 10-52 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philm Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Which compared with a gibson es339? thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwhi2001 Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 The Gibson is a completely different USA-made guitar with much simpler electronics, which looks similar from about 50 yards. The only thing genuinely similar is the tuning pegs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoSoxBiker Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 @philm: I love it! Just out of curiosity, and, if you don't mind, what did that vibrato run you installed? I don't use the one on my gretsch a great deal, but I do enjoy it when I do. Everyone: I'll preface any comments by saying that I am indeed a big fan of Epiphones, but they do screw up like any other maker. Maybe more. The more guitars out there, the more stories you hear. The 339Ultra was the thrid and final attempt to get a bad purchase corrected. A black cloud was over my head with epiphones all of a sudden. I wasn't overly thrilled with this one at first, either. I did the new strings, set-up and eventual saddle replacement thing, but it still lacked something. For me, it was the strings. I had gone from .09s to .10s and found it to be a bit better. I ordered a 3-pack of .11s for grins and giggles. I was really taken back by the result. The .11s really drove the top. Best sounding unplugged semi or hollow that I've ever tried. Most of those were in stores, admittedly, so poor comparison. Point is, though, that .11s brought mine to life. Even the Piezo came to life. I now play that guitar on a regular basis. I agree that unless you purchase a guitar from a ®etailer that you most certainly have to get or perform a set up. It should not be that way, and it wasn't for me until the local shop I used to buy from went out, leaving me with big national retailers. <sigh!!!!> Anyhow, I'd suggest .11s to anyone with a 339-Ultra. The second and equally pleasant surprise was that the .11s was not that much harder to play than the .10s. It just seems like less a difference going from .10s to .11s than from .09s to .10s. I've done two other guitars the same wat now. I never thought I'd ever play bigger than .10s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philm Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 vibrato is fine, it does not out of tune guitar, and I love playing with vibrato;-) Actually I use 10-52 and you? 11-52? I have tested a Gibson es339 today, and it's overloud !!! very high can I use other microphones? gibson 57? no problem with electronics? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPDEN Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Got my new Ultra 339 in Pelham Blue today. Never thought I'd pay this much (£599) for a Chinese Epi, but the spec sounds great and this is a great limited edition colour and will be rare in the UK. I knew you get a warranty, so thought I'd take a risk on buying online. As far as I know this is one of just 2 to make it to the UK. Generally, looks great cosmetically. Set up ok but a bit of the usual buzzing/rattling on bass E. I sort of expect that with Epis. The Grover Deluxe tuners are nice and firm. Neck is not a slim 60s, the "D" profile makes it chunkier than that. No serial on headstock. My first impressions were generally good. However, plugged it in and found that the sound level drops and tone becomes thin in middle switch position, like single coils out of phase. Definitely a wiring or component problem. Also found a tiny nick in middle of 17th fret which the G string catches when bending. For £599 I hoped for better: this is a Chinese poly finished guitar which comes with no case or gigbag. For the benefit of our USA friends, that's $950. I still think it was a good move by Epi to bring out a 339, it's a good design and the Gibson is unaffordable to most of us. However, selling at that price point and screwing up on quality isn't going to do their reputation any good. It's always possible you may have gotten a bad apple out of the bunch, but speaking for my 339, it's issue free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbydog Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Minor update - been in contact with the dealer (Rich Tone, Sheffield, UK) following the recall notice and they've been very helpful. They're going to take care of it, I'm popping up there at the weekend to drop it off for repair as per the recall (& some minor fettling). Hope the OP got sorted. brianh - sorry I didn't reply, been on holiday & generally busy...! Mine's an Ultra and doesn't seem to suffer from the hum, just the out-of-phase mid position sound. Thanks to everyone who's posted, thanks to your collective help & knowledge it looks like it's going to turn out OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoSoxBiker Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 vibrato is fine, it does not out of tune guitar, and I love playing with vibrato;-) Actually I use 10-52 and you? 11-52? I have tested a Gibson es339 today, and it's overloud !!! very high can I use other microphones? gibson 57? no problem with electronics? Thanks It's a set of D'Adds that I'm trying. .011 through .049. EXL115 is the model number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philm Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Hello, I managed to adjust my guitar so the strings E, A and D don't buzz !!! It is enough if I loosen half a turn trussroad. And after 48 hours, no buzz. The acoustic sound is clear ! I will compensate to reduce the action (string height by playing on the bridge to reduce the maximun without frieze). I am happy. My strings are 10-52. Do you think I can change my pickups and switch to real gibson pickups, will there be there a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Hello, I managed to adjust my guitar so the strings E, A and D don't buzz !!! It is enough if I loosen half a turn trussroad. And after 48 hours, no buzz. The acoustic sound is clear ! I will compensate to reduce the action (string height by playing on the bridge to reduce the maximun without frieze). I am happy. My strings are 10-52. Do you think I can change my pickups and switch to real gibson pickups, will there be there a difference? A pickup swap on an Ultra will be a bit more complicated than on an Epi 339 Pro or Gibson 339 because of the NanoMAG electronics and pot wiring. Personally I wouldn't attempt it (I'd be afraid to void the warranty), but if you're really handy with a soldering iron and electronics, I suppose it's your call. Having had to return one and send my second one out for service once already, not looking forward to any more problems. It plays and sounds great now and I tend to want to leave well enough alone, but that's just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philm Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 OK brianh, thx ;-) What is the modification to do to avoid having the out of phase center position? Why epiphone do not give me the solution? My guarantee is dead because I added vibrato;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 What is the modification to do to avoid having the out of phase center position? I don't know the specifics of the phase problem repair, but on the service tag it says "replaced p/u's". See the details in post #10 of this thread: http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/82728-important-information-for-epiphone-les-paul-ultra-iii-and-ultra-339-owners/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philm Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Thanks for the news ;-) I sent an email, but given all the changes I made, I think the warranty will not work. If I could know exactly what was done. I am ready to buy gibson pickups, so it can work? How repolarize the mic shadow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I think you'd need a schematic diagram for the Nanomag, regular pickups, and push/pull switch pot. Not impossible for some enterprising guitar tech to draw up, but I haven't seen one yet and I'm somewhat doubtful that Gibson will make one available since it is a bit of a proprietary design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philm Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 yes, a diagram would be nice;-) I will try to call them no serial number for this guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Do you think I can change my pickups and switch to real gibson pickups, will there be there a difference? There was a member who managed to change the pickups on an Ultra II, might be some useful info HERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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