Epiphone ES-335 Vintage Sunburst

PROS: Firstly thanks to Thomann and Mr.Ertugrul Güney, super-fast action, I ordered Wed. evening and the next day guitar was on the road to me. It arrived in my country in 2 days. Very well package, Thomann's second card box provides extra protection.

The guitar came without any scratches, dents, any other cosmetic issues. Out of the box, the frets were very well rounded, no sharp edges, action is a little bit high but no buzzing frets ( which is very important to me ). The guitar came with 0.10 gauge strings. I usually use 0.12's but since there are no buzzing frets I have decided to keep 0.10s for a while for the guitar to get used to the local climate. With factory setup and strings, it's ready to play. Pretty impressing.

The neck pickup is pretty well, very nice articulation, the separation between strings, no muddy lows, very well sustain and punch. I was planning to replace it with the original Gibson 57 Classics but it seems to be no need to spend extra money for the neck pickup. ( By the way, I am a jazz player, I usually prefer darker tones, it may vary depending on your taste and musical tendencies )

Tuners are Epiphone branded and it's OK. It holds the tuning till the next morning and continues to play without making tuning. ( Please consider I am a jazz player and do not prefer to bend so much ).

The finish is OK. But have had some thin spots on the finish that expose underlying sanding imperfections.

The fretboard wood is Indian laurel. I saw some very lightish brown examples on different brands. I was expecting light brown color ( which I don't like ) and planning to use brown wood stain to get darker it. But out of the box, the color was quite good, I could not differentiate it from rosewood if I don't know it's Indian Laurel.

CONS: Neck is quite chunky. It is the chunkiest neck that I ever had. But somehow it is comfortable. I have small hands but still can play comfortably. If I had a chance to demo the neck I probably might not buy the guitar ( which would be a big mistake ). I mean in a first glance it seems to you to be uncomfortable if you have small hands or like thinner necks, but it doesn't affect the playability as much as it seems.

The bridge pickup is quite tinny. It sounds like a tin can. To be honest, when I first tried the bridge pickup I suspect wrong wiring because of its thin and radio-like sound. But it wasn't. You might consider changing bridge pickup as far as I observed.

Bindings are could be wider from the front view. ı have spotted I glue stain on between the bing and the top of the guitar ( it is not a big issue, it was looking like a very faded fingerprint)

Sound comes and goes when you change the Pickup selector switch. I read it was a common issue for the Epiphones. Which is not a big deal for me.

OVERALL: Pretty nice ES 335 copy for the price. It feels like a much higher-end guitar. No need to change the hardware IMO. Sounds and feels like a real ES 335. I am pretty happy with the guitar. I rate it as a five-star.

First, I want to get the negativity out the way. This is in no way, Thomann. The tracking experience to the UK by DHL was abysmal. I purchased my Epiphone es335 as a bundle (with Thoman case) after 4 days, tracking appeared for the case. The delivery date was a friday. Friday came and went no case, and still no tracking for my guitar. I seriously can't believe a package that size went unscanned for over a week. On Sunday, the case arrived out of the blue. Then, with still no tracking information from DHL, the guitar arrived Monday afternoon. It seems pedantic, I know, but how hard is it to scan a parcel, especially when they provide a full tracking service? Anyway, on to the positive stuff - case is great for the price and will certainly do the job, plus you get a bit of a discount. ES335 fits perfectly and is fully safe and supported.
The Epiphone inspired by Gibson es335 is a steal at this price. Headstock aesthetic upgrade from the Dot? Perfect. I like the old Kalamazoo version. New scratchplate mount? Great addition. Pickups are not in any way 'vintage' they're quite 'hot' and loud. Lowering both down helps a lot. It was during that process I noticed my only criticism of the guitar. The pickup ring of the neck pickup appears to be on backwards, making the pup lean forward towards the fretboard. This isn't just an aesthetic. If you try lowering the pickup as I did, the front will be inside the ring whilst the back will still be too high if you're looking for a more vintage tone. It's an easy fix flipping it round, and everything fits and looks better once done. The factory setup was admirable, and I could've gigged it straight out the box after a tune-up. I did do a personal set-up to my own preferences the next day, but I have zero complaints or issues with the guitar or quality control. I had heard the tuners could be better, but they worked fine, and I've had far worse on more expensive guitars. Is it a Gibson? No, don't be silly. But is it a damn fine guitar for the price and sound like a 335? Absolutely. I've owned a Dot in the past and wasn't impressed with the electrics or pickups. I've owned an Eastman 386 and disliked the Kent Armstrong pickups, binding, and jack socket placement on that, not to mention the headstock shape on both the Eastman and the Dot being ugly. All in all, this is by far my my best 335 purchase. It rips up the blues tones brilliantly.