That's a big 10-4, good buddy; avoid the Evil Empire at all costs!
If you like a 335 but wince at the prices that the Gibsons sell for then go for it, that is a reasonable price. Mine arrived here last week. I couldn't be happier and the build quality is top notch. Admittedly I was a bit apprehensive about laying out six bills, including tax, on a MIC guitar. Once it arrived I was pleasantly surprised that Hong of Kong scored a bullseye on this one. Flawless. Comparing it to my DR500 MCE Masterbuilt acoustic made in Indonesia I am very happy. It does not of course measure up to the quality of select woods used in the acoustic but try to find flaws with the woods and construction of this 335. You are wasting your time. I chose the wine red option. Not quite a carbon copy of the wine red on a Gibson ES-335, more like an oxblood red, a tad darker than cherry. The woodgrain of the maple does show through the finish on the back and face and the mohagany on the back of the neck but you have to look close to see it through that darker finish. You won't see it from across the room like my Gibson Les Paul Traditional in heritage cherry sunburst or my Gibson SG Standard that shows its mohagany across the room very well. The neck and headstock are not one piece but spliced at the volute and it is very well rendered. You have to really look to see it. The redesign of the headstock shape is cool indeed. I never liked those 'clipped corner' Epi headstocks. They just looked 'wrong' and were actually ugly. As were the other longer Epi headstock shape with its exaggerated hight. Just plain goofy. Not at all like Gibson's 'open book' shape it was rediculous and looked like McDonald's golden arches. This current design is much closer to Gibson's open book although it is a tad narrower at the top than the left and right points at the base nearer the nut. The machine heads are excellent. Their appearance is exactly like Gibson's with the only exception being the word Epiphone replacing Gibson. They hold tune as well as my Les Paul with its Gibson Deluxe Kluson style and the SG which has Grovers. The Gibson crown mother of pearl inlay sets off the face of the headstock quite nicely. Where this guitar really shines is in its double coil Alnico Classic Pro humbuckers with their Alnico V magnets and push/pull potentiometer knobs which cut them back to single coils. Sweet. You won't stop playing with this feature. D/D, S/D, S/S, D/S. Delivers a wide range of tones. As advertised this guitar has an Indian laurel fretboard which is bound, and that well done. Looking at it you will swear that it is rosewood. Playing it you will too and if it weren't printed right out in the description you wouldn't detect it. Go ahead, I double dog dare ya. The neck on this guitar is very comfortable to play and the fretwork is flawless. Not nearly as 'chunky' as the '50s style neck on my Gibson Les Paul Traditional. Much closer to the neck profile and quick & smooth playability of my Gibson SG Standard. Epiphone nailed it with this ES-335. Sure, go ahead and tell yourself 'only a Gibson is good enough' and an Epiphone is not a Gibson but for all practical purposes getting picky with comparisons is picking gnat shit out of pepper. If you can afford the Gibson then good for you, get the Gibson. If you get this Epiphone ES-335 dot Traditional Pro you will absoluely not be dissappointed.
