madarnell's Full Review: Epiphone Dot Electric Guitar
I’ve been wanting a 335 for some time. I have a friend who has two vintage 65’s and I love how his sound. So when running across a used Epiphone Dot on the web at a great price I figured I’d give it a try.
Now I had tried several new Gibson 335’s a year ago at my local dealer and didn’t like them at all. The problem to me was, they just sounded too muddy. Not enough detail for my liking. I like full sounding tone with a nice bell-tone chime on the top end. Think of B.B. Kings tone or at least in that neighbor hood. And with those $2500.00 Gibson’s I tried they just sounded dull & muddy. I had ended up getting a DeArmond X155 for almost x3’s less and I love that guitar. Click/paste this link if you’d like to hear it in action. The rhythm guitar parts are my 1970 Less Paul Black Beauty, and the lead Jazzy parts are the De-Armond X-155 plugged into a black face Fender 65 Twin Verb.
http://www.soundclick.com/util/streamM3U.m3u?ID=29479&q=Hi
*So why would you want the Epiphone Dot 335 if you tried the expensive Gibson models and hated them?*
I’m glad you asked, here’s why…..
I have stated before that I only write reviews on guitars that I actually have owned & gotten to try for a while. I don’t just fiddle on one at the dealer and think I know how it is. Most times a guitar can only be truly appreciated when played through your own amp, settings, environment, studio, effects or live gig’s. In my e-pinion.
So with that in mind and granted it was a good deal, I thought maybe I would like it played through my gear, at my studio, in a more controlled atmosphere that I’m comfortable in.
Everything I do sounds great through that amp, so I figured if a guitar can’t sound good through that amp, the guitar isn’t worth squat to me! Also that was the same amp at the store I tested the new Gibson through and didn’t like them.
So sure enough, the Dot sounded exactly the same as the others. Dull; muddy, to bassy, no clarity or definition. I had to roll all the lows down on the amp and boost all the mids & highs to get any kind of definition to the tone. Plus the pickups are hotter than I like so it was hard to keep the bluesy little tube amp from crunchn’ up. Even with the pre-gain almost all the way down. So I hated it right off the bat. If you have to tweak your amp too much like that to get a decent tone that’s bad.
Now I’m liking it better. The Twin can stay clean without crunchin’ up with beefier guitars. I was getting nice full Jazzy sounds like Wes Montgomery or Larry Carlton. So I’m thinking to my “self-maybe it’s ok after all.”
*3rd test*
Next I ran it through my Mesa Boogie V-Twin tube pre-amp plugged into the Twin again. This I was able to get some great hard/heavy rock crunchy rhythm sounds. Think AC/DC meets Ted Nugent. Also some good high gain leads too. The bridge pick-up sounded best with this combination. The neck & in-between setting were to muddy, again.
*Construction*
I started to catch my finger on the first fret. I noticed it was rough & sticking out a bit. Definitely needed sanding down. The rest seemed ok, finish looked ok. Had a cheap plastic fret nut, that I’m sure in time would need to be replaced. In-put jack seemed a little loose & wobbly. I had to tighten it.
Neck felt too fat for my liking, I like the slimmer tapered early 60’ necks.
*Does the Epiphone 335 Dot compare to the Gibson 335 overpriced Dot?*
Well for most practical purposes yes. They both sounded the same to me….Muddy.
The Gibson 335’s are put together better and it does seem like the workman ship is a lot better but I’m not sure $2000.00 better.
*Who would want a guitar like this?*
If you’re a straight ahead Jazz player who can’t afford the Gibson 335, this would work for you.
If you’re a hard rock player who wants the extra beef, who can’t afford the Gibson 335, it probably would work for that too.
But if you need a versatile guitar forget it, this guitar really can only do one or two things (maybe more with a lot of extra tweaking) and that’s about it. I also wouldn’t recommend it for beginners because of the size & the neck seems kind of fat.
In closing, I feel the older models from the 50’s & 60’s blows away anything Gibson/Epiphone are making right now, and just cause it say’s Gibson on it doesn’t mean it’s gonna sound and play like the classic ones.
I packed mine up after 1 week of owning it & traded for a Classic 2-track reel-to –reel-mastering deck. So all’s well here.
Mamma always said, “Quit tracking in all that mud!”
The Epiphone Dot Electric Guitar will give you buckets of deep, rich, full sound. Features classic semi-hollowbody design with dual humbuckers and 3-w...More at Musician's Friend
The Epiphone Dot Electric Guitar will give you buckets of deep, rich, full sound. Features classic semi-hollowbody design with dual humbuckers and 3-w...More at Woodwind and Brasswind
Free Extended Warranty! A Val...(Stock status: N/A)
The Epiphone Dot, based on the Gibson ES335 Dot, features the same double humbucker, double f-hole design, with the incredible price/performance ratio...More at American Musical Supply
Fantastic prices with ease & c...(Stock status: N/A)
The Epiphone Dot Arch Top Guitar features 2 humbuckers and chrome hardware. The scale is 24.75 in. and the nut width is 1.68 in. It has a set neck joi...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.