Epiphone ES-335 Figured Blueberry Burst

My first Epiphone and being honest I would be reluctant to buy another.
I accept Epiphones are great value and are often bought because of the price in comparison to equivalent Gibson models but at E599 this guitar is not cheap.
Lets get the positive out of the way first, it looks fantastic, I love the colour even if the top and back are only veneers it is still a very attractive guitar. The hardware all feels solid, the wiring is neat and the guitar stays in tune. Acoustically the guitar sings with great sustain, and plugged in a great range of warm full tones are at your fingertips.

Now the negative.......this guitar had the worst Fret job I've ever seen on a new Instrument. It has a serious case of fret sprout with edges like razor blades which would slice you open. I can't believe Thomann would send a guitar out in this condition to be honest. The frets were also very grubby and tarnished and badly in need of a good polish. To cap it all off it had 5 or 6 high frets which had to be leveled and crowned. I've had a couple of HB guitars and a G&L fallout from Thomann in the last year and all had better fretwork out of the box. Once the fret issues were addressed, which thankfully I could do myself, the neck needed a slight adjustment because it had no relief.
3 weeks on the neck has settled and with the fret ends filed and the high frets addressed, the frets polished and the board oiled the guitar feels and plays like it should.
The only cosmetic flaw I could find is a poorly finished painted edge to the F holes which you have to look closely to find.

To sum up.....If you want the looks and sounds of a 335 on a budget this Guitar is as close as it gets without the big price tag. Be aware you will be playing the "Epiphone" fret lottery though and may have to pay someone to make the guitar playable if you cannot sort the issues yourself.

I'm a huge fan of Epiphone due to their pricing and what you get for that price. People will say, you get what you pay for. True, this is no 4000 euro guitar, but for me, it works. Playability is great. Sound is even and defined through all three switch settings. I'm playing through a Boss Katana 100 Mk2 212 and the possibilities with the guitar and amp combo leaves me much satisfied. My only complaint about the guitar was a binding issue on the top side of the first fret. I had to have it sanded down. It was poorly installed. It is smooth enough now and there is no appearance defect. No influence on the playability either. Overall, this is my go-to E-guitar. It's a heavy beast, but worth it for the sound. Highly recommend this guitar to anyone looking for a 335 at a great price.