Page 1 of 1

#1 335

Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2020 11:12 am
by ed
I'm having one of those should I, shouldn't I, episodes.

Since fiddling with Nick's(no, stop sniggering!) I've had a serious hankering for one, but could never really justify it.
Anyways, there is a black Epiphone dot hanging in the window of the local cash converters, with a price tag of £150.....
I've had a cursory look and it seems to be in good order, although it's only got 5 strings on it at the mo...

Oh what's a chap to do..waily waily!

#2 Re: 335

Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2020 11:15 am
by pre65
Stop faffing about Ed, just buy it.

You know you want to. :lol:

#3 Re: 335

Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2020 12:55 pm
by ed
not sure that's good advice at all....

I've just realised that gear4music are selling red ones for £299 brand new and guaranteed...with 6 strings

the last thing I bought from cash converters was a takemine which was faulty and I had to get a refund...much hassle.

#4 Re: 335

Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2020 2:20 pm
by The Stratmangler

#5 Re: 335

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 8:48 am
by andrew Ivimey
Loads of bargains out there but still a minefield!

For a couple of years I had a Epiphone Sheraton 2 ( pretty much a 335) beautifully made, played very well and the humbuckers were miles ahead of any other epiphone I've played/ tried.

I sold it on ( like a cheap Gretsch , beautifully made , played well but too light, crap pickups) That particular strand ended with Thinline Tele from Frender which is beautifullllll.

#6 Re: 335

Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 10:36 pm
by The Stratmangler

#7 Re: 335

Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:08 pm
by ed
it's been 12 months and I finally got my finger out.....
In truth I couldn't bear it any longer...DIing the Faith has been driving me crazy, the pre-amp inside the acoustic has been proving very grainy....I've tried it via all the pres I have and with different settings and with different cables and the result is always grainy...it will have to remain recorded via mics.....no biggy

but, back to the itch that needed scratching.....the prices are going mad so I finally bit the bullet and bought(what I'm thinking is the last one available anywhere) a 339. I plumped for the 339 cos it's reported as more comfortable when sitting. All reports are that the audio differences between it and the 335 are purely for the pedants...we shall see...

As I'm spending more time with latin and jazz at the mo, this should be welcome...
es339b.jpg

#8 Re: 335

Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2021 5:31 pm
by The Stratmangler
Now you've had it a couple of weeks, what do you think of the 339, Ed?

#9 Re: 335

Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2021 7:11 pm
by ed
so far so good Chris, but I haven't done much with it yet.....

I did something to the finger next to the pinky on my left hand at the beginning of the week and I can't grip with it. I'm really hoping it's temporary cos it's a bit restricting.....

I haven't had an electric guitar since I was 14...I had a futurama for a while before taking up the bass...so the Epiphone poses interesting challenges. It's deffo a different animal in comparison to an acoustic...

The split pickups and choosing between humbucker and single coil is also a bit of a challenge...too many choices

I will report back when I've had a bit more time with it.

#10 Re: 335

Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2021 7:27 pm
by Dave the bass
Phwwwwwwwooooooooooooooaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrr! I'd be out the door heading for a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band audition in no time if that were mine!

#11 Re: 335

Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 10:50 am
by The Stratmangler
Mine wasn't great when I got it.
In retrospect I should have sent it back - it was brand new.
The nut was poorly cut, and was all over the shop at the money end.
I ended up getting some welding nozzle cleaners to cut the slots to a comfortable playing height.

There were high spots on the frets, which prevented setting a nice low action.
I lean towards low action with slightly heavier strings (currently have 0.0105" to 0.048" D'Addario EXL110+ on it).
I don't see the point in wrestling with the thing - you don't get valour points for it, and all you end up with is tendonitis and the like.
Anyway, the frets are better now after fettling them, with a fret file and some fret erasers.

One trick I have tried, and had greater tuning stability with the plain strings, is winding the strings UP the post rather than down.

#12 Re: 335

Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 11:09 am
by ed
wow, that sounds really unlucky Chris..

I haven't noticed any such problems with mine, but as I said, it's early days. I don't have a yardstick to measure it by, my only reference was Nick's Gibson, but that was a while ago, but memory suggests it feels much the same.....They both play themselves...

I know that in the past I've banged on about never buying a guitar over the internet, but these strange times forced my hand and I figured the 14 day no quibble return was insurance enough. Consequently I went over it with a fine toothed comb(as much as my limited experience would allow)...to wit: the action was good, the neck was straight, the intonation was spot on, no marks whatsoever, and it felt comfortable to play.

If I still lived nearby I would probably have taken it to John LeVoi to give it the once over, but I don't have that luxury anymore.

In short, I'm happy with it.

#13 Re: 335

Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 12:10 pm
by The Stratmangler
I'm glad to hear that you're pleased with it, Ed.
The string winding up the post trick made a real difference in tuning stability - that said, I bend strings a lot.

I first heard of it from this chap