Anyone play with ES335 style guitars

  • I am realy satisfied with my Kemper setup and presets. I play mostly strats and Tele, but i have ordered a Epiphone ES-335 cherry :P I know this is only a copy, but A-B tests on youtube seems like the sunds and playability is nearly the same. the biggest differences is build finnish and paint. I am not a Gigson guy anyway so think if its sound ES335 for 1/4 of the price it would do for me! I am used to a lot mor expencive guitars. the new model is ready by Februar, so i will come with a rewiev then.

    Anyone else have good exp with ES335 styled guitars and Kemper! I already have a hollow short scale Tele and it sounds fantastic! but cost 5 times more!

  • looks like a 339 not a 335.

    I m looking for a 330 since.. one year or so.. can t find the Right one. I ve also tried recently some epiphone casino and casino coupé.. not bad guitars at all. Great value for money

  • looks like a 339 not a 335.

    I m looking for a 330 since.. one year or so.. can t find the Right one. I ve also tried recently some epiphone casino and casino coupé.. not bad guitars at all. Great value for money

    No its a 2020 model its called ES-335 Cherry. 339 has a scaled down body

    Ihave seen a couple of reviews. ex. Andertones compareing with a Gibson! I will use it with a tribute band, and if it sounds and playes as good as in their video i thonk i will be sattisfied with it! :)

  • Bought a Epiphone Sheraton and I am very happy. But I have to try a few before I find the right one.
    Some of them had sharp edges on the frets or the switch crackels or the wood was warped.
    The Push Pull for Coil Splitting gives another tone flavore. Very versatile guitar for that price.

  • My Epiphone 335 is my main machine but it is the Elitist series they made in Japan for a short time ten years ago or so and cost around $1100 if I recall. If I were you I would plan on swapping pickups right away. I put Duncan 59s in mine and it made all the difference in the world.

  • No its a 2020 model its called ES-335 Cherry. 339 has a scaled down body

    yes.. with the shape of the headstock like a Gibson.. or Inspired by Gibson if you prefer.

    like this..

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    but this has the Output jack on the top, near volume and tone controls, not on the side like a Les Paul or a 339... or the 1st pic you posted right? (that indeed looks more compact than a 335)

  • yes.. with the shape of the headstock like a Gibson.. or Inspired by Gibson if you prefer.

    like this..

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    but this has the Output jack on the top, near volume and tone controls, not on the side like a Les Paul or a 339... or the 1st pic you posted right? (that indeed looks more compact than a 335)

    Sorry my Norwegian dealer has mixed up pictures and text on their website! her you have the link! jack not in the sarg and vintage pegs, and Gibson Pickguard without the screw trough it :)


    https://www.epiphone.com/Guitar/EPIHMT440/ES-335/Cherry

  • I've got a 2008 Gibson and it's great with the Kemper, except for the neck pickup which is muddy. I've put the pickup body low and pole pieces high now to brighten it up a bit, and it's a lot better.

  • I have a ES335 from 1999 and I love it. I play marshal profiles from MBritt and they sound amazing.

    I also have a 1999 335. (and the Britt profiles)Many of those in that last Nashville era (for regular production) came with an unusual beautiful tiger stripe flame finish. Did yours? I consider that period to be of the most beautiful 335s ever as well as reasonable.. I played 3 different ones , two (newer) Memphis and one 1999 Nashville before buying. The Memphis models were brighter and thinner and mine was noticeably darker,thicker and toneful. And not the electronics, you could hear it in the body.

    IMO you have to turn the amp up a bit to drown out the acoustic sound otherwise it can sound "out of tune" for some weird reason that I have found on 335 types. I have 57 classic plus in the bridge and 57 classic in neck and it is amazing with the Kemper and will sing with beautiful harmonic controllable feedback. From what I have seen the Kemper is more forgiving to poor guitar & pickup choices than tube amps are. Pretty much anything that will stay in tune can be made to sound good. When I'm playing it, I can feel the difference but recorded sound isn't super notably different with a semi hollow body as it is with a full hollow. My 335 vs Les paul custom is different but it isn't obvious which one is semi hollow in a blind test. However the 335 will feedback easier in a very cool way. I was once on stage with my 335 playing very loud lead through an ENGL powerball II. I held a sustain feedback note and I could feel the front and the back of the guitar vibrate so much it felt like 1/4 inch a side! I actually thought it was going to break the guitar apart, so I quickly aborted the feedback, that was shocking! I'm convinced if I would have held that note, it would have cracked the guitar!

    In summary yes a 335 will sound great, (turned up a bit) but so will about any guitar with the Kemper. Most likely the unique way it processes signal.

  • Mine does indeed have the tiger stripe and it was from Nashville. It's perfect.

    I've played many 335s from 60,s to today, and the late 90s are so under the radar. No one seems to notice how above and beyond they are beauty and construction wise. A real loophole in the market if you can find one. Most people can whip out their vintage 335s or custom shops in front of you but when you whip that baby out, it usually beats up everybody's. Only some of the real expensive special made ones come close to the figuring and then sometimes not the tone of the '99s I've seen. in 2000 they moved the production to Memphis and left the custom shop in Nashville. I always guessed in 99 they were showing off what they could do before the split. I imagine a short time before that may have produced similar guitars but I haven't sen many 98s or 97s.

  • I think the first 2 pictures you posted are ES 339s (which are nice too!)


    Funny you post this, this entire covid year it's been a honeymoon with my 335 (from the Memphis plant). I bought it sight unseen through a connection (the retail price was a ridiculous US$3700), it was reckless and I was a bit apprehensive knowing that Gibsons are hit or miss. I am not a collector or anything and hate guitars that sit unplayed, I only have 2 other electrics for different purposes and they are workhorses. I didn't love it at first, and just looked at it for an entire year. The nut was out of whack and the electronics were all screwed up, I wasn't sure about the finish. The neck however was perfection (my luthier confirmed this!) and it sounded amazing so after a few additional hundreds $ to fix the nut and change the wiring, I eventually got over my personal traumas with sunbursts (too much time in jazz schools), I started loving the finish and got used to the different feel. It's an acquired taste compared to say, a strat, but these days I'm using it for pretty much everything because it's so versatile and it just sings. However, I see that lots of people (musicians included) often listen with their eyes and they associate the burst 335 to jazz or old rock & roll, so it might not look the part for certain gigs but alas! In the studio it's also it's my go-to (I've tracked everything from metal to jazz on it.) I'm on a jazz gig these days (haven't used Kemper in a while!) and just plug straight in a fender combo and it's right there.


  • How do you like your Epiphone so far?

    I own the same guitar (alas from 2008 or so) and have plugged it into the Kemper a few times recently. I really love the feel of the guitar, however, the pickups are a bit complicated. The neck pickup is is very muddy and it's hard to find a profile that sounds good with both neck and bridge pickup.

    What are your experiences?

    The most valuable thing for me was the Tone Junkie video about 3 different types of EQs. There he shows a pre amp section EQ to clean up muddy neck humbuckers and it really helped a lot with the Epiphone.

    How is it going with you? Any profiles your guitar loves that you'd like to share?

  • I have not got it yet, think it would be delivered in February.


    the 2020 Epiphone ES335 Cherry is a step up from the Epiphone Dot with Alnico PRO pickups and vintage pegs. The headstock is more Gibson like and pickguard is from Gibson. I will make a review when it arraives!


    see this video:

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  • I picked up a Sheraton (Epi) and loaded it with the Seymour Duncan Hot Rodded Humbucker set. (I found the originals were a bit woolly ). This worked well though I did have a dead spot on middle C (G string 5th fret). I was almost resigned to this (the gtr was cheap) but a YouTube vid had me loosen and retighten the truss rod which cured the problem (!). So, a very usable all rounder in the armoury.

    Previously, I've owned and played other 335s and never really liked them but I need something lightweight and slim for a pit guitar.

    I was originally on the lookout for a Korean (Samick factory) model but retailers had cottoned on and the prices were higher. This one is Chinese and is of a similar standard to my Samick factory Epiphone Joe Pass (which is very nice).

  • ive played two of the new Epiphone 335 models and I thought they both played great and sounded great, its on my get list for sure, ill never be able to afford a Gibson model. the new epiphones are awesome tho and well worth the money. I'm thinking of ordering it through Sweetwater and have the plek it.

  • I'm just digging this up because since this was on the subject, how many of you feel you can actually tell that you are playing a semi hollow when recording one of these? Do you think the "hollow" part is obvious and easily detectable?

  • I'm just digging this up because since this was on the subject, how many of you feel you can actually tell that you are playing a semi hollow when recording one of these? Do you think the "hollow" part is obvious and easily detectable?

    For me, they have a different attack and sustain envelope than a solid body guitar, especially with a trapeze or Bigsby bridge.