Background
For years, I have wanted a semi-hollow body electric, to get that sound that you can only get from one. This is what also motivated me to get an Epiphone Les Paul Electric 12 String.
To get the sound, you have to get the tool....

Bear in mind, I'm on a budget: I could not afford a $1800+ guitar, which is what a "real" Gibson Dot would run. Actually, even if I had the $$, if I could get a decent guitar for less, I would. Same reasoning behind the Epi 12 string.

I purchased the guitar, along with a Squire Mini from
MUSIC123.com

I use this guitar for playing British-Invasion, Early American Rock, some Classic Hard Rock and
Christian Praise Music.

Specifications
I will try to compare and contrast this model to a Gibson 335 - Gibson specs are in parentheses.

*Made in China (Gibson in US)
*Laminate Maple Body (Gibson is Laminate Mahogony)
*Maple Neck, "Slim C-Shaped", no binding (Gibson is Mahogony)
*Smooth neck-to-body joint (Same)
*Medium Frets (Same)
*Chrome Hardware (Same)
*24.75" Scale (Same)
*1.68" Nut Width (Same)
*Rosewood Fingerboard with Dot Inlays (Gibson uses Ebony with Dot Inlays)
*Creme Body Binding (Same)
*Tune-O-Matic Bridge (Gibson's have slightly different width, otherwise the same)
*Stop Tailpiece (Same)
*2 Humbuckers - A lot has been said of Epiphone vs. Gibson pickups - More on them a little later..
*Each pickup has a volume and tone control. The usual three-position pickup selector and output jack.
*Finishes: Ebony, Cherry, Natural and Sunburst. A lefty model is available in Cherry and Sunburst.
*Weight is around 7 pounds
*(ADDED 5/05) Hardwood block inside center of body (Same)Some folks will talk of "Chromyte" as the type of wood used - this is incorrect. Chromyte is actually a very soft wood, almost like balsa wood, that's used as the end block on big hollowbody electrics. The full-length block in semi's is a hardwood, most likely mahogany in the Gibson and maple in the Epiphone...

Initial Inspection and Observations
1. Guitar was a factory-second, yet no flaws were seen or felt.
2. Guitar was set up and intoned properly from the factory.
3. Fret top surfaces could have stood a little more polishing. Ends were fine.
4. All controls functioned fine, no sloppiness.
5. Body binding was well-done. On the others I played locally, all were consistent.
6. Finish was very nice - no fish-eyes, runs, bubbles. Nice gloss. On the others I played locally, all had nice finishes, and I've seen all available ones: Ebony, Cherry, Natural & Sunburst.
7. The little plastic "E" fell off the pickguard.... anyway, it looks better without it. This seems to be a very common defect, according to other reviews I have read. I stuck it on the headstock of my Epi 12 String - it needed something extra....
8. Playability - a wildly subjective thing to talk about, but I find the guitar very nice to play while chording or playing single- or double-note leads. No fretting out or buzzing was noted when applying whole-step+ bends all around the neck. Cool and frankly, unexpected.
9. Sound - Again, an opinion, but when played through a MusicMan HD130 head and 4x12 cab clean, the sound was superb in all positions. When played through the amp overdriven, the sound again, was as you would want. The bridge pickup has enough high-end bite to let you rip a hot lead bit, the neck pickup is "mellow" enough to allow do blues or jazz, and when mixed together, utilizing the volume controls to balance it out, you can get a good array of sounds in between.

One thing I have noticed from playing a number of these guitars at local shops - Epiphone pickups
vary greatly. I have played in one day, at one shop, three Epi Dots and the pickups' performance varied wildly from one to the other. Some were much hotter, some had better tone.... I figured luck would come into play with the one I ordered and luck came down on my side. The playability and
construction on the different ones I tried out were about equal.

In respect to this guitar as all others - set-up and adjustment is crucial! You can have a low-dollar
guitar that, when set-up to accommodate your playing style, will be a thing of love and affection.
Same token, you get a big-money axe and it's not set up right - it's an expensive irritant. If you are not well-read and practiced on guitar set-up, take yours to a local dealer who has a tech that has a good reputation. Be careful in letting other players try to set a guitar for you. Some may know what they are doing, but if they don't, you have no recourse against them.

Summary
As far as construction and condition from the factory, this was a winner. Any quirks in playabilty could be taken care of through normal adjustments. Sound quality was great. Although I paid $299.99 (mine was a factory-second, or B-grade), the going price for one is $399.99. No one sells for
MSRP anymore, but the MSRP is $659.00.

If you want a semi-hollowbody and can't (or don't want to) shell out over a grand, try an Epiphone Dot.

UPDATE 5/05 ** Sometimes the honeymoon wears off on a new guitar. I'm glad to say this one has not. After a couple more weeks of daily playing after I wrote the initial review, I did make a few tweaks to the neck, bridge and pickups. Since then, I really go to this guitar more than my others for the weekly gig, mostly because the tones do the job I need and hey, it looks cool too! I did replace the stock volume and tone knobs with vintage-style black top-hat knobs - just like the amber ones that came on it, but black with easy-to-read numbers and hash marks. If you replace and hardware on yours, remember it uses METRIC-sized parts! Screws, nuts, switch-knobs and pot-knobs are metric so order or buy metric. The knobs I got were STANDARD and I had to carefully mill out the shaft sockets to get them to fit. Adapting screw-on parts would be about impossible if not really frustrating...

Overall, the guitar is still a keeper. I have received a great deal of compliments from players and non-players alike on the sound and appearance of the guitar. Players who have tried a lick or so on it were surprised how well it played for a "cheap" guitar and the quality of the instrument. A couple have gone on to get one themselves.

**END UPDATE**


Recommended: Yes