Epiphone 1959 ES-355 - Unplayable, But Looks The Part
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- I see a lot of guitars here in store for sale and for repair and I've noticed a shocking trend in the large companies putting out instruments that have defects that would warrant a refund in many cases. It's time to start putting my 2 cents into the discourse of gear and hopefully provide a little push back to companies who take customers for granted and sell mediocre products that don't live up to the price tag.
Dr Gear is a music shop & repair centre in Sydney, Australia. Whether it's guitars, digital pianos, PA & pro audio or any manner of other gear, we know it in depth. Visit us in store or online!
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❤ it’s feel like a fresh air to breath for a review that not being paid by the big guitar company. Thank you very much Dr Gear
@@sydneynoname413 well I’m hoping to be able to do more stuff like this but without the big companies sending me stuff, I’ll need to finagle my way into stuff and that all costs money. Hopefully with enough subscribers and people signing up for memberships I can fund a lot more of this stuff and keep companies honest.
These prices are ridiculous. I haven't bought a Gibson in 30 years
It's 1 guitar. Send it back and get another one. It doesn't take all this drama.
I just got one of the 1959 Les Paul igc, and it’s one of my favorite guitars. I have all kinds of USA custom guitars, and that thing holds its weight. Even my theory teacher who is a Gibson purist, and used to own a guitar store was basically blown away by it.
Can you make a video showing you fixing this instrument and what you did to it?
This guitar already returned to the customer, but there’s plenty of videos out there on how fret work is finished. Unfortunately not many people watch those kinds of videos when I do them, so I generally don’t make them unless channel members want them.
I just checked out this Dr. Gear site for the first time. I find his honesty refreshing! We need more of it! 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿
That same model by artist guitars Australia under $500 and near perfect out the box. Big names prey on people not knowing any better.
And people who don't know any better shouldn't be forking out $2700 on a guitar.
They have been led to believe that what they pay for a guitar directly correlates to its quality and worth. If you think there is 5k of content in that 5k guitar I have some guitars for a fraction of the price you need to play.
1500 is the limit and it better be perfect in every way.
I bought mine used but mint. I guess the previous owner fixed the qc issues because it plays extremely well. I don't even see any finish or binding issues at all.
I always found, back in the day, that there was nothing wrong with an Epiphone that couldn't be fixed with a full setup, which I did myself. Usually, the truss rods were over-tightened, etc. Then again, I would never pay this much for an Epi.
Every guitar need setting up when you get them as everyone has their own preferences. Back a decade ago though, Epiphone were built very well. Frets and finish were great for the price. They cheap out on the hardware which is easy to change. Now though, they put out stock that isn’t finished or has major flaws that go beyond a simple setup to rectify.
for $400 or so they can be a good deal but $1k for a china guitar??? NEVER!!!!
Mine was perfect I haven't even set it up. Just need my strings on it. So you just git a bad one. Maybe the distance it traveled.
Ah yes, the distance it travelled created a localized space time phenomena where time locally reverse course only on the neck of the guitar making the frets and jut become unfinished.
You obviously didn’t actually watch or listen to the video.
I got one that had horrible frets. Everything else was amazing. Very nice guitar - minus the frets.
Great Wall hanger, poor head banger.
Unacceptable - however, easily fixed!
yes mine has a good nut cut but frets need polishing. Paid 1879 canadian. i do love it but man, polish those frets epi
I bought this guitar and it had the same problems. I sent it back however because of the incredible chunky neck. The other stuff could be fixed.
@@jwdekort - very interesting - my 1962/63 ES335TD has an amazingly slim neck!
Not that I work for Epiphone or am a huge Epiphone fan boy, but you glossed over a few things. Build quality. True, there are issues. Rough fret wire has always been an issue. the binding around the nut and the nut itself looked bad. However, you went on about the price. A couple of things to keep in mind is that this guitar uses actual Gibson Custom Humbuckers. The same kind that Gibson uses in some Custom Shop guitars. guitars. The Pickups alone are almost half the price of the guitar. Ebony Fretboard, Mahogany neck. Hardshell case. Grover Rotomatic tuners, Switchcraft toggle, Switchcraft output jack, ’50-spec wiring, CTS potentiometers, and Mallory 150 capacitors. A little bit of work on the guitar yields a pretty good bang-for-the-buck beast.
You’re right, you definitely don’t work for Epiphone or else you’d understand how things like price breaks work when you’re buying parts in bulk.
I buy CTS pots in bulk and when you buy 10,000 units at a time, the price drops to about $2.20 a pot. Mallory 150 caps? $0.40 a piece. Switchcraft jacks? $1.50.
Then there’s the Rotomatics. Did you know they make two tiers of them? A retail tier, and an OEM tier? The OEM tier are manufactured to a lower standard and you can usually tell by the machining marks still left on the shafts. When you buy them in quantities of a few thousand at a time, they cost about $15-$20 a set. Oh, and the pickups? Costs Gibson about $15 per pickup to make in the quantities they do.
So add those numbers up and it doesn’t justify it still, but it makes it seem like a killer deal to the end consumer who only knows the retail price of the parts.
Rough frets should NOT be acceptable on an instrument at this price. Trying to gloss over it as it has some fancy ‘name brand’ components is how they get away with selling customers products that aren’t worth the money.
@@drgearaustralia I disagree. With a little work and a good setup. It's a good guitar. People by Squires and Epiphones to work on them and upgrade them. First choice is shelling out extra money for Pickups. This already has 500 dollar Gibson Custom Humbuckers. Pretty good deal.
@@ethelwulfmountbattenderoth2286 well you may be fine with a substandard instrument that wasn't finished at factory, others aren't. Nobody is buying a $2500 guitar expecting to have to shell out a few hundred extra just to make it playable. Different thing to buying a $700 guitar and upgrading the hardware and electronics.
@@drgearaustralia I live in the U.S. it's a 1299 Dollar guitar. I wouldn't spend 2500 on it either. I'd save up another thousand and by a Gibson ES-335
I think Australia is where guitars go to die... this happens at all levels and the guitar should have been returned because mine is ridiculously perfect
I don’t know what happened to the guitar you received, however, I recently bought one of the Epiphone 1959 ES-355 inspired by Gibson Custom Shop guitars and the one I bought exhibits none of the issues you report. The guitar I received from Sweetwater is perfectly setup and plays great. My only gripe is the the fret ends above the 12th fret are not dressed as well as they should be. The finish is flawless, the pickups and the hardware are great. The sound is great. In my case the playability is great. I am a 71 year old professional guitarist who has been playing for 62 years…so I know a quality guitar when I find one.
So in other words your sample size is one, or an anecdote. It’s good you got a decent one. Many others haven’t. Look through the comments and you’ll see plenty of people with the same issues.
@drgearaustralia There are many UA-cam reviews of this guitar…the vast majority are very positive. I have no doubt that there will be some units that may not measure-up and have issues. However, my experience, coupled with the many very positive reviews on UA-cam and the positive reviews found on the various musical instrument sales sites, indicates that the duds are in the minority. However, as always, it’s important to purchase a guitar at a guitar store so that one may play the various units they have in-stock if possible. If a guitar is purchased on the web, it’s important to purchase from a reputable vendor that has a return policy that insures a dud can be returned.
@ you do realise that these reviewers aren’t gonna give any negative coverage when they get paid by the companies, or they get access to the products for free? This ain’t like anti vaxxers who go against well known science and cherry pick statistics to suit their narrative.
Rather, companies want good coverage on their products and will send cherry picked units to reviewers. I don’t do that kind of thing so they can’t control what I say or what instrument ends up in my hands. I’ve had plenty of Epiphones from the last 6 years in my shop and a shockingly high number are of this poor quality. The new owners have pushed poor quality products out the door.
So you’re welcome to live in a little cozy bubble, but companies need to be held accountable for their poor products or else they’ll continue ripping off customers and retailers
@drgearaustralia I have accumulated a very large guitar collection over the past 60 years. I have guitars produced by the vast majority of the major manufacturers and a number of custom, small shop luthiers. I have found that every manufacturer produces a range of quality products…some great…some not so great. In addition, two guitars of the exact same model can vary quite a lot in quality and/or playability. I have not been a fan of Epiphone guitars over the years because their quality has been more variable than other manufacturers in my experience. However, I bought a 1964 Casino in 1964 that turned out to be a fantastic guitar. The only other Epiphone I have ever purchased was this ES-355. I purchased it because I was favorably impressed with one a friend purchased a few months ago. The one he bought was of very high quality with none of the issues you experienced. So, I ordered on from my Sweetwater sales engineer and asked that he select one for me when the next back ordered shipment arrived. He did a great job because mine is an excellent guitar also. As I said earlier, the only issue I experienced was that the fret edges above the 12th fret were not dressed as well as I liked…once I dressed them the fit and finish is extremely good. The pickups are superb, the electronics are just what was advertised and the sound of the guitar is great. I would say this guitar is one of the most comfortable playing guitars I have…at the price point, this is a great guitar. So, perhaps the guitar you received is one of the duds…and an anomaly.
I’ve got the same guitar as well as the 59 Les Paul and both are fantastic! Guess I got lucky! But if I got a lemon! I’d definitely just send it back!
I have this exact model in Ebony - an Epiphone Exclusive that I bought in May 2024. My very first semi-hollow body. I already knew that the finish is VOS but I still went ahead and ordered it hoping I might like it in person. The guitar came. While I like the guitar over-all as it feels, plays and sounds really well, I did not like looking at it because of its dull VOS finish. I took it to my luthier who is also a gigging musician for his impression. He liked it. Except for a couple of loose frets and the truss rod needing some adjustment he thought the guitar was well made. And that I should keep it. So I kept it and devoted roughly 60 hours hand polishing it to a high-gloss. That’s when I started loving my IGC 1959 ES-355. I made it my own. I replaced its blank TRC with a custom-made to order TRC with my name and the guitar’s model name on it. I also replaced its Grover tuners with the Grover Rotogrip locking Rotomatics with Keystone buttons. Although I did not buy mine from Sweetwater, they published my review of this guitar on their website complete with pictures. I also made a UA-cam video of this guitar. I am almost 63, and this guitar is going to be with me until that very last day.
Legitimate gripes. My IBG 355 (the exact model you have there) was my best playing favorite guitar (after getting some much needed work from my tech). That was until I just bought a brand new gold top LP a day ago. Quality, fit and finish are night and day. I did purchase the 355 at a discounted price, so the money I saved I used for the set up. That gold top was ready to play right out of the box, but it was expensive, so it better be.
In regard to anyone thinking of buying this particular 355, don’t do it if the price bothers you and want a perfect guitar out of the box. He gave you another option. But if you don’t mind giving it to a tech after purchase, the guitar is amazing to play. There isn’t a day I don’t play it.
In my career in heavy highway construction we always noted that value = the intersection of price and quality. Get a Sire or Firefly, where the frets are amazing. Great, honest review.
You hit the nail on the head entirely. It’s about value and I tried to make that clear when I said it’s about how much you pay vs what you get.
Finish flaws and maybe some slight rough frets on a $200 guitar? Ok, kinda luck of the draw there.
A nut not being cut to optimum height for playability immediately and unfinished frets on a $2600 guitar? The fuck not.
Eastman, Yamaha, Tanglewood, Tokai, Ibanez and so many others provide stellar instruments at all price points. Instruments that are worth no less than what they sell them for.
The Achilles Heel of most new guitars is the fretting, along with the nut.
You are absolutely right, same story here.
I had been waiting for more than 4 months for the second batch of the ES 355 Inspireded by Gibson.
So many good specs: Custombucker pickups, the right head stock, ebony fingerboard, CTS pots, Switchcraft toggle.
When it finally arrived and I put it out of the case I was so excited to play it.
But .....: Frets where awefully rough and all fret ends were super sharp.
Also had 7 inch damage spot on the neck binding on the low E side.
I couldn't even play it without hurting my left hand.
So despite the high quality specs I returned it to the shop and bought a very good Eastman T59 instead.
The Eastmans are a great guitar but it sucks that the guitar you wanted wasn’t good enough when you received it.
Man, I really feel the pain for you folks down under. You guys really get the worst deal on these cause of the markup and lack of customer support. I suppose the only upside to this is that customers will then have to seek out experienced people like yourself to fix this instead of try to, and take the chance on, sorting out a refund/replacement.
Australia is good in one respect, and that’s the decent consumer protection laws we have. It’s easy enough to get a refund or repair when you buy something. This customer wanted me to give it a proper once over for his tastes and he didn’t want to deal with the distributors and how long they’d take.
As soon as you called the switchcraft and CTS electronics basic chinese jobie - you lost any and all credibility you may have started the video with....... Confirmation bias to such an extreme that you're making up problems where there aren't any just for content ..... sad.
I absolutely agree. Perfect that you pulled out an Ibanez for a comparison, in 40 years they never disappointed me. Bought a budget 12 string made in Indonesia and the finish was quite solid, not sensational, but you could play it and habe fun right out of the box plus a nice package of extra parts you wouldn t expect at that price.
It's interesting how shops trying to sell these have videos that say these are the best thing ever. Thanks for this video, which has basically described every modern Epiphone instrument I've experienced. I'm in the US, and for $1300, I can import a new or used Tokai that would crush that Epi.
The entire time you're on the closeup shot of the upper frets from 6-10 min, all I can focus on is the poorly scraped binding on the bass side of the body.
Yeah, it’s not ideal but I wasn’t gonna focus on it too much as the complete lack of playability was just so shocking.
well, you're not saying anything new. I've been maintaining, repairing, modifying & fixing all kinds of stringed instruments for clients for some 40something years. I've seen problems in all kinds of new high-end, average, and beginner guitars, making them uncomfortable and unplayable. Now with blind online purchases and shipping it's all just gotten a lot worse. Oh well, If that's what everybody wants today, then they shouldn't really complain
It is a new thing though in so much as big brands are exploiting customer loyalty and smaller, or more quality focussed brands, are able to send out phenomenal instruments for their price. Yamaha, Ibanez, Artist, Harley Benton etc etc can all make instruments that are completely acceptable at their price points, with many punching well above their weight.
I do service work for Yamaha and the number of customers I see each year with major defects on instruments they buy online is negligible. I think I saw two all of last year and one of them was a glue joint that let go due to the heat.
@@drgearaustralia don't know what you mean by big brand exploitation. If you can't afford something, then find something you can. This is true for every product or service. Yamaha has been making guitars for global markets since the mid 1960's, and is the world's largest manufacturer of musical instruments today. Ibanez is considered the third biggest guitar brand today. Companies like Fender & Gibson are completely acceptable at their price range if you're willing & able to afford and maintain them. If not, then there are hundreds of others
Thanks for the clip, indeed refreshing to hear something else than the hysterical praise in guitar shop videos!! You do miss one important point I think: the Epiphone has the Custombuckers that make up a lot of the price and make the Epiphone especially worth considering. I have put my Eastman 484 on sale and am about to buy the Epiphone 355. Even with an extra set up and fret job the Epiphone is still a lot less expensive than the Eastman and it definitely sounds a lot better!
Appreciate the realistic point of view. I can’t understand how these guys get away with this at this price level…. I had to get the nut replaced on a brand new Epiphone Sheraton II pro, and thought that was bad at 1/2 the price…. People will buy knock-off guitars because Why pay high prices for Chibson quality?
Because of the brand loyalty and the association it has with their favourite players. It sucks and we need to demand better from them. Easiest way to do that is be honest about the products out there.
Bought one last month as a 50th birthday gift to myself, and I love it. There’s one tuning gear that’s a little wonky, but it otherwise feels and sounds amazing to me. Granted I’ve never played a Gibson 3x5, so I don’t have that comparison. Nevertheless, no matter what forum I’m in, there are always multiple people complaining that their high-end instruments have the same or worse QC issues. So, is the takeaway here that no matter what you buy, you’re going to spend $500-$1000 on setup and upgrades anyway, so you might as well buy the 300 USD Aria from Amazon?
I can honestly say that I would not have purchased one of these guitars. I don’t care how much they talk about the custom pick ups. People just don’t realize how inexpensive it is to make the custom BUCKER Guitar pick ups I have some really nice Gibson guitars, but the reality is foreign guitars can be extremely well-made For instance, Eastman I bought an Eastman T386 just for giggles wanting to check it out and I will tell you that the fret work on the neck, the set up the action, everything about the guitar except for the pick ups and the tuners were great, but certainly some people like Armstrong pickups. Some people might like ping tuners I just have Had no good experience with these items and therefore wish to use higher quality parts. The pick up so I put in the Guitar cost me almost as much as the Guitar did used about 700 bucks. I went to throwback and bought a harness and pickups and then I put some really nice Graph tech ratio tuners locking on the guitar and I have to tell you it plays and sounds better for the total of $1400. I have in it then my custom shop ES 335. That is the absolute truth. I was even shocked now I have not upgraded the pick ups in my custom shop 335. It is a B.B. King model interestingly enough there are tea top pick ups in it as I had them taken apart And had a look the shorter a two or a five magnets in Alko offer a bit of a fatter tone certainly even in this guitar I would have went with the Gibson burst BUCK ER pro model pick ups as they offer a short A5 magnet Alko, and that would allow for a bit of a thicker tone no offense, but they are also already potted. The shorter magnets tend to cause a bit more squeal, especially in the neck however, the tone is Incredible and again Eastman makes a great guitar off the shelf for the money if you want the flame you can go to the T486 and if you want the whole enchilada with Lawler pick ups, you can go to the T 59V again these are great guitars that a great price and probably more affordable in Australia I have not been there in years, but I do know your prices are a little higher than here And the exchange rate does not make that much of a difference. I do love Sydney though I will tell you, I have spent many many nights and days just loving that area. Enjoy yourself where you are and keep putting out great videos. I like the fact that you’re addressing the truth. This is the first real honest video about that Guitar I’ve seen because they do actually suck. It is just Gibson‘s way of trying to beat companies like Eastman and PRS but PRS cannot compete in the semihollow or solid body market. As far as I am concerned either those guitars look great hanging on walls thanks. 4:58
I bought an Epiphone Crestwood Custom (the yellow anniversary edition) one and a half years ago for more than a thousand euros and it actually had similar issues. I still liked it. It resonates greatly, I like the looks, the sound and the general ergonomics. Once I polished the frets myself it played a lot better. Setup was already nice. The niggles: One of the bridge post nuts doesn't sit straight in the body. You won't see that unless you look closely at the bridge post. I've come to just live with that since I neither have intonation nor tuning issues. The nut sits a fraction of a millimeter off to one side. After watching your video I am considering taking it to a local luthier to maybe get a nicer nut properly fit.
I really like that guitar and considering the unique design and aesthetics it's hard to say I could have just bought xy instead. Would I pay that much money again knowing of those QC issues? I'm not so sure.
I will say that in 40 years as a professional ,I've never found even a real Gibson that would stay in tune properly for me . Even my wife's beautiful Custom Shop 339 . But I found a new Epiphone in a local music store a couple weeks ago , I loved how it looked so I picked it up expecting it to play poorly and not hold tune at all , just to find that it is the best , most solid 335 style guitar that I've ever played , amazing , right outta the box . I own it now and have been gigging with it , playing hard , and im still amazed. I'm sure I just got lucky , but it's proof that they can build a good one once in awhile. Mine has none of the fret / nut quality control issues mentioned here . It's an Epiphone Emily Wolfe Sheraton
There's a high likelihood that the music store recognized the issues and sorted them already before even putting it on the shelf.
I've had to do the same for various brands in my shop, too.
The sales reps and distributors deny there are any issues and refuse a refund or replacement, and if they replaced it, the next one would just be the same story, so we bite the bullet and just put the time in to make them play like they should.
This is the advantage of supporting your local music store, as opposed to the drop-shipping operations who don't even open the imported boxes before dispatching them to the end-user.
Its possible, but unlikely , theres some crap epiphones in there , its a giant , canada wide music retailer @BradsGuitarGarage
Yeah you got one of the nice specimens. Used to be that was the majority of Epiphones stuff a decade ago. Now? I wouldn’t trust any of them.
Ya , unfortunate @@drgearaustralia
I have one, bought new from Sweetwater, phenominal guitar, awesome tone and playability, ES 355 in cherry, I also have 4 of the Les Paul IGC's, I used to own Custom Shop Gibsons , these IGC Epiphone's are the best I've ever had for the money, I've owned over 300 guitars over the years, many Gibson USA's and a couple dozen Custom Shop Les Pauls. These Epi's are killer to me , I have 5 currently.
It's an Epiphone! Same guitar in Gibson is 5k plus! Fix nut and polish frets who cares! You should expect this for that price. Gibson has the same issues, you should be grilling them not Epiphone. Lol
Or how about, and just hear me out on this one, nobody should be spending that kind of money on poorly made instruments?
That’s the whole point of the video.
Yep, I had same issues with the Jerry Cantrell Wino Custom, I had a complete fret dress and recrown among other issues
So much extra money on what’s supposed to be a mid range instrument. It’s not right.
@@drgearaustralia I was told by a big name store “what do you expect from a Chinese mass produced Guitar” I was actually lost for words
Interesting video. So are those not the Switchcraft switch/jack, CTS pots and Mallory caps that Epiphone describe in the marketing?
I don’t jump too deep into the electronics as they seemed to work fine, but the toggle sure didn’t feel like any Switchcraft ones I’ve ever installed.
The knobs being so far above the body seems like potentially some metric knobs put onto the wrong sized shaft, or they didn’t put lock washers or a second nut onto the collet to bring it closer to the body.
A lot of bad info in this video, and I am no Epiphone apologist.
@drgearaustralia my ES345 jack socket came undone after a month or so, they haven't put a lock washer on the inside, I mean it's an es for God sake. The bridge needed changing but I always remove the stock bridges because their crap. Nut was cut OK but still has the sharp square corners. I'm not bad with the tools because there is no outstanding luthier in my area.
I agree it's like you say there's no excuse because the factory must be 15 years old now so the experienced workers I would assume is not the problem. It appears to be deliberate corner cutting to increase profit, that shouldn't be a surprise being it's a gibson company.
The thing is I have harley benton guitars their well made but the hardware is crap and I'm a sucker for the era correct inspired by gibson semi's. I don't but solid body's unless it's genuine visible wood not the veneers, vintage can make solid body's without veneers, I just hate that sort of penny pinching I'd rather pay extra for proper wood, hence I've just been buying transparent finished semi's.
I have played for 45 yrs.Buy quality,don’t try to save money on something your gonna hold close and love.(she said)😂😂😂
I have played for 45 yrs.Buy quality,don’t try to save money on something your gonna hold close and love.(she said)😂😂😂avoid poly finished guitars.Nitro.
That's the main reason I don't buy certain things online. Anything can be off regardless of who makes it. If I can put my hands on it, I can see if it's something I'm willing to deal with.
I bought a signature Epiphone, it's a year an a half old. I've replaced the trem, replaced the locknut, replaced all the electronics, the jack plate, had it leveled and re-crowned. So it took me like more than I paid for the guitar originally to make it something playable. Still it has a pinging issue on the high strings up high, and it's not fretting out. I can't figure it out still to this day why it does that, all I can think is that they don't glue the frets at this point, or just the fret material is crap.
It sucks that’s the experience you’ve gotten. It’s not like you bought a $250 instrument so you’d expect it to actually play after getting it set up properly as setups are all preference based.
The fret material is probably fine but I’d imagine that some of them aren’t seated properly and whoever did the fret work didn’t ensure the we’re all glued and secure before doing the leveling.
@@drgearaustralia Yeah I've been buying the tools to just do it myself anymore, since I can't really trust the level of skill of the people around where I moved to. Had one of my guitars refretted and they didn't even fix the chipping they caused which actually pissed me off. I'm an electronics guy so I have that stuff handled but I don't trust my skills much with wood/frets. The frets are seated, he checked that. I recently bought some radius gauges and I found the fret radius is 16", but it has a Floyd which is 12" and there were no shims. So I'm going to dump another $150 and get 16" radius set. This is just bullshit tbh...
I wouldn’t bother with the new saddles, just get some shims. They’ll work great. Usually two under the E strings and 1 under the B and A will bring it pretty close to 16 inches.
@@drgearaustralia I'm actually keen on the new USA ones, because the little brass plates have long been lost on the old Floyd I put in it. The new saddles are machined and don't have that anymore, which is great.
@@ScottyBrockway The best you can get is a Gotoh GE1996T. Superior to the Floyd Rose, and half the price.
Great video. Sad to see the state of stuff coming out of the factory.
It really is. The fact it got past factory QC, then distributor QC and finally the shop that sold it, says a lot about how it’s all about churn these days.
There are certain 500 dollar guitars that compete with 1500 guitars. You cant judge a guitar by how much you paid. I have picked up horrible custom shop guitars.
Yes, that’s literally what I said. There are great instruments at every price point and you’ll hear plenty of vitriol from me toward high end products that are build like crap.
People love to hate on Gibson. I think epiphone is amazing in the $300-600 range. These new “inspired by Gibson custom” models are built no different. They market them as top tier when they aren’t that. There are far better middle tier guitars made in Korea and China that surpass this epiphone ES-355 at over $1000 USD. You fall for their successful marketing. I own a Murphy lab ES-355 and a epiphone ES-335 pro I bought new for $350. For $350 it’s amazing. Buying this $1000+ epiphone is disastrous
The issue is the cheaper Epiphones are also of middling quality these days. 10
Years ago they were great but now, the fit and finish is well behind other brands at the same price and you’re literally just paying for the brand on the headstock.
While I appreciate the refreshing honesty of the review, it’s worth noting that it’s a sample size of one. I own many Gibson Les Paul Customs and Standards that I’m able to compare against for reference so when I bought the exact guitar you reviewed (decided to try an Epi for the first time to see how close they could get at the price), I had a baseline expectation for acceptable QC and playability at the price point.
I found the same issue with the nut as you encountered. Just simply horrible and had my luthier replace it with a hand fit bone nut. Additionally, the action was total shite and needed a lot of truss and bridge setup. I also filed the saddle slots to remove burrs that were unacceptable.
Now for the pros: The frets on mine were pristine, edges smoothed and perfectly rolled, well seated, leveled and beautifully polished, equal to and better than some of my Gibby’s. The Ebony board, binding and inlays are faultless, pickups are phenomenal (but needed height adjustment) the electronics and hardware are all solid and the guitar resonates like a true Gibson ES-3xx.
Like you, I have a sample size of one and they differ, so clearly the QC is inconsistent but on the flip side, not every example will be the same. The frets in your video are horrendous and I’d have sent that back for a replacement for sure. The nut… equally crappy.
My takeaway:
I played it in store before I bought it and I’m a guy who likes to work on my guitars. I knew I could personally fix some of the flaws with some minor effort and anything I didn’t want to tackle myself, I knew wouldn’t break the bank with my luthier.
For someone wanting a perfect specimen with no work required… get the real thing (even then, check the QC).
For the others who enjoy a solid foundation to build on and enjoy learning how to do the work yourself, this is a good starting point. Polishing frets is not hard, reworking the nut is not hard (if you replace it… send it to a luthier), polishing the satin finish to gloss is not hard (personal preference). Adjusting pickup height is not hard and most of these items should be things every guitarist would benefit from learning to do themselves. A guitar is like a tool, it needs to be maintained. Learn the tool of the trade, how to use and repair it, and you’ll get more enjoyment from it.
Different strokes for different folks.
Great review and honest to the core. New subscriber. Thanks for not sucking up to the man.
Watch the video again; my sample size is greater than one as I’m a repairer and a retailer.
Also, in what world is an instrument of this price with work that poor an acceptable thing to go through two stages of QC? That was the point in the video which you seemed to have missed.
Interesting response. To be clear, my comment wasn’t knocking your review, in fact, quite the opposite (if you read it again).
1. I did watch your video again, and at no point do you mention that you’d seen this sort of QC issue on any other Epi 355’s other than the one in front of you. Not saying you haven’t done so, just that it wasn’t made clear in your video the way you think it might’ve been. You spoke in general terms about “certain companies”.
2. I didn’t miss the point, I just gave you an example of this world where it was acceptable to an individual with a sample size of one, to go through 2 steps of QC, which was my point, which you seemed to have missed.
It doesn’t really matter either way. What I found to initially be a refreshingly honest YT review now just smacks of over inflated ego stamped on a 1-sided coin. Clearly not a good place for fair and unbiased discussion.
I guess only Dr. Gears opinion counts.
I’ll be off then.
I bought one of the white ones, nut was fine on mine but had the same fret issue and actually pitted in places. I put some time in on the bench and it’s fine now but as you say it should be better out of the box. Interesting you show the Ibanez - I have an Ibanez jsm10 and a 12 string Ibanez and both fine from the factory - would recommend Ibanez. I do have a couple of other epis without the same problem
Tbh Gibson isn't much better with their nuts and fretwork. I've replaced the nut and dressed the frets on every new Gibson I've owned
They’re even worse because they’re 3 times the cost. I’ve worked on countless Gibsons that were complete duds from factory.
The “basic Chinese type jobby” toggle switch is actually a Switchcraft, and the pots are CTS, made in Taiwan, not China. This is the first negative review I’ve seen on this guitar. Maybe you got one made on a Friday afternoon or something. It’s not crazy to think that a musical instrument mass-produced in a Chinese factory might need a little work out of the box. At least, I understand this to be so. It’s why the headstock says Epiphone with a Made in China sticker and not Gibson with a Made in the USA sticker. The custombucker pickups sell for $500 alone. Plus an ebony fretboard, mother of Pearl block inlays, Grover tuners, etc puts the price up there with just parts. This $1300 guitar, with another $200 in a post-purchase tune up, and it probably stands toe to toe with a U.S. made Gibson 335.
There’s Switchcraft switches, then there’s Switchcraft switches. It would appear Gibson have specced some super cheap ones that feel awful and move with a horrid ‘thunk’.
I got an Epiphone BB. King Lucille yesterday, it’s not mine however. Helped my father-in-law to buy a guitar. Never played Epiphone myself. It’s the one with Gibson-inspired headstock, and a very nice softcase. It was playable right out of the box, quite impressed to be honest. Fun to play, even though ES-335 is not my kind of guitars. Make me feel like a little boy, those are big guitars 😅 Paid $700 for it, which is not cheap, but didn’t feel wrong either for a flawless guitar.
I love my inspired by Gibson Epiphone guitars, BUT ALL them had shitty frets that I had to polish . All my squire classic vibes had fantastic frets
I’ve started seeing numerous Squire CVs and similar from the last 6 or so years coming in with numerous issues as well.
It all lines up with the PE companies taking control.
@ luckily my classic vibes were made in China 2008 and 2012 models , the new Indonesian models are sub par
@5150show they were great models and I was always astonished by the quality. But that’s no longer the case.
@ yeah , the fretboards on the CV 60s were rosewood back then , the 50s CV Tele had brass saddles on the bridge, those little details are no longer present . Love the channel , cheers from New Zealand . Just subbed too .
Artist guitars mate. Got myself a relic tele with nitro finish, quartersawn maple neck, rosewood board, stainless steel frets and locking tuners. The price? 500 bucks. The setup on delivery? dropped strings a touch for my playing style. Done and dusted. It can be done if a company cares enough.
Artist can be hit and miss, but at $500? You can let more stuff slide.
There’s a lot of new brands hitting the market with great stuff for the price including Jet, Sceptre, Mooer and others. It’s like being a car nut 30 years ago. Buy the entry level hot hatch or Commodore, then spend money on tuning and sweet aftermarket parts.
Budget guitar with some killer new hardware and electronics? Worth every cent.
Thank you for sharing your information
I have had very similar experiences with even Gibson
I am also a luthier and did not look at how much time I would spend on a new instrument to make it a player for me
Thank you for sharing
Now everyone knows 🤩
Gibson issues have been well known for many years and the prevailing wisdom was that Epiphones were made better. Unfortunately that’s no longer true.
I agree with you 100%. Recently got those Epiphone DG-355 in NZ, and it had the EXACT same issue. Scratchy frets and high nuts. The only reason I went with the purchase was that I know how to fix these issues, and I've waited almost a year to have one; so again another emotional investment. And it did sound okay too. But if you've don't any of the skills to fix these issues man... what a bummer to spend $2700 NZD on a guitar with a poor QC and then pay a luthier probably around another 200NZD on top to fix it. I'm with you on reviewers getting the top of the crop for Epiphone guitars, because review videos keep saying their quality have gone up, but when I actually go in store they've been just getting worse and worse imo.
Completely sensible comment. It’s not good enough unfortunately and it sucks people waste their hard earned dollars on something that has to have even more money poured into it.
@@drgearaustralia Thanks for agreeing on the comment. Nah yea, honestly this will actually be my last Epiphone guitar I'd ever buy from a Chinese factory I think; or maybe even Chinese made guitars out right. As much as people/companies want to push the agenda that the factories over there are good/better now on the internet, at the end of the day as long as this QC issue is not solved it's always gonna be looked down upon. Kinda unfortunate for the craftsmen that might actually wanna push some good instruments from China.
I recommend trying an Eastman, Yamaha, Ibanez, Sire or any number of other quality companies that manufacture in China and Indonesia. Hell, even Dingwall make excellent basses in China.
It’s less about where they’re made and more about the company behind the decisions.
The quality of Eastman and Tanglewood for example are unmatched at the $1000-$3500 range.
Had two Epiphones with very similar issues. The SG I sent back as it head massive neck dive too. The LP 60's std I kept. I will say 10 minutes with sandpaper and a month of playing it became a very good player. Bought a Squire classic vibe p-bass and it was awesome. I think at the lower end, it's really luck of the draw. I also think brands like Reverend, Yamaha, and Eastman are so much better at lower prices that the big brands on quality. But... resale values really do stay better with the name brands.
I bought a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe in 1976, cost me about 3 weeks wages. It was supposed to get a set up done. In mid 90’s I was getting some lessons, the teacher said the neck was sloppy, but I’d been playing it in bands for years, he was a guitar tech too so I got him to have a look at it, he said the truss Rod wasn’t even tight, harmonics were out & so on. So I was cheesed off.. I tell you 😡
I ordered one of these and canceled my order. Bought an Eastman t59. Best instrument I ever own. Same price but best quality on all the points. Really impressive instrument with great sound
Good choice. The Eastman stuff has no right being as good as they are.
Have you had one of new blue Dave Grohl DG Epiphones across the bench yet ? I’m be keen to know how it stacks up regarding quality control Cheers
I haven’t, but I’ve seen enough from the same factory at similar price points to know I wouldn’t recommend them to customers.
Does the poly coat on the Ibanez deaden the sound/resonance?
The finish type makes no difference to the guitar. An extra 20g of lacquer is nothing next to 300g of pickups and another 200g of hardware.
@@drgearaustralia - I don't mean the weight, I'm wondering whether too much lacquer dampens the skin of a semi-hollow
@nedludd3641 That's an old dealer myth from the 1970s/80s that has been blown up on the Internet by millions of armchair experts. Sure, some companies can shoot cheap, thick poly coats, but those guitars sound like crap because they ARE crap. Ibanez sprays heavier poly coats on their cheaper Chinese-built models, but as Dr. Gear mentions above, that's not something that 99.9% of the players out there are going to notice. These are relatively inexpensive semi-hollow bodies, and you're talking about a maple/other wood laminate top and back, not a hand-carved super thin spruce top on a high-end Jazzbox or anything where it might make a slight difference.
@nedludd3641 the guitar is made of laminated maple. The wood is 20% glue and was specifically designed to absorb vibration to prevent feedback.
The lacquer on it makes zero tonal difference as it’s all about the vibration of the material which is well and truly blown out by heavy hardware and the glue in the laminate.
A solid wood instrument thats very lightly braced like a nice acoustic or carve top jazz box? There’s a little merit to the finish changing the tone, but it’s still such a minuscule difference.
@@drgearaustralia You are probably correct, the 5-ply laminate glue in the Epiphone laminate probably deadens the sound more than most other factors. I'd love to see the science: whether a 3-ply Gibson is more resonant than a 5-ply Epiphone, or whether a Satin finish Gibson ES-335 is more resonant than a Gloss finish model.
holy moly , these are all the similar things I am experiencing on my MIC 23' Casino but just didn't know what was up with it. Excellent finish but the nut is so high and the fretwork just isn't it. Compared to my Gibson 61 standard sg it's about 55% as playable as that guitar. thanks for making this video so I can actually ask the luthier what is exactly up with it.
I Subscribed and Liked first of all : This Epi ES 355 has received " rave " reviews all over the world and the major retailers can't keep them in stock. Some distributors like Water that starts with " Sweet " even acclimate the shipments for 30 days prior to unboxing, then do a free 55 point inspection. I've waited months for mine to be in my hands later this next week . The reputation of the instrument prevents as I mentioned above , stores from even having them in stock in the USA, pacific Northwest to be precise. By the way, the big store mentioned offers a full Plek treatment for $299.oo US.
And yet there’s stories in the comment section of people who’ve bought from them and received unplayable instruments from that company too. A lot of this is marketing hype and spin. If every single review is glowing, that’s a worrying sign as nobody is being critical at all. Reviewers get cherry picked units to review and if they say anything remotely negative, lose access to the free products or paid spots.
I’m just here to provide the balance that’s missing from information out there.
Have you played the newer Epiphone Lucilles? How are they?
Haven’t had one come in but had enough other models from the same factory to know I wouldn’t recommend them to customers and they’d be better off purchasing an older secondhand one, or another brand.
@@drgearaustralia I tried one of the £700 Epi Lucilles as I'd love to have a guitar with a varitone. The tones I could get on it were great (particularly on the thinner sounding positions of the varitone with a bit of drive), but the guitar itself felt nasty, so I left it. Both of my Chinese made Gretsches are finished much better than that.
I keep musing about fitting a varitone to the 5422, but I'm not sure the Filtertrons have the 'heft' for it.
Come on, every guitar needs a setup fom the start. Some people even do not care about stringheight, or love 5cm stringheight😊
The issue is the players. Everyone should just start playing slide, problem solved.
I thought this same way until I played my new Les Paul gold top yesterday. Every guitar does not require a set up from the start. I don’t even have to change the strings
A new guitar should require minimum if any adjustment,some companies are getting away with murder.
When Gibson/Epiphone pays their employees in China $2/hr this is the type of quality you get. The Chinese QC inspector has no idea how to play a guitar and all he cares about is that it fits in the box. I would never pay $1300 let alone over $2k for that.
Meanwhile, Yamaha, Ibanez, Harley Benton, Artist Guitars and so many others have no issues in getting good QC from the same kinds of factories.
It’s about the acceptable yield and shaving manufacturing time off each unit. Large companies looking for shareholder value and growth will push for shaving minute amounts off the cost of each unit as there’s so many going through that it adds up. So by reducing the allowable time for QC inspectors to check stuff at factory, they can make an extra $1.50 per instrument.
I could not stop looking at the really sloppy finish all over the binding where the body meets the neck when you were showing how rough the frets were.
Yeah, it’s a little mediocre but I’ve seen worse. I can forgive that kind of flaw for the price. The playability though? No chance.
I've bought a number of new Epiphone guitars over the years, and as I recall only one of them didn't need to have frets leveled. Horrible quality control in that respect. I bought one of these 1959 ES-355s and that was no exception. The fret ends were sharp and had to be smoothed , and the fretboard was nicked in a few places. I've never purchased a Gibsom Custom Shop guitar, is that customary for those also?
Having worked on untold numbers of Gibsons over the years, poor fretwork is pretty common on them too. A $6000 guitar that’s built worse than a $600 instrument is never fun.
Wanted one of these for ages since I loved my Epi Casino and went to try one at the local music store and it did not feel great at all. Tried the Eastman and was like 'meh'. So I tried the Ibanez AS73 just out of curiosity and walked out with it. A nicer guitar at a third of the price. Sure the $5k Gibson 335 was great too. But it's hard to justify the price point. If at some point I want to upgrade the pick ups with say something like Antiquity humbuckers, then I still feel I'm still in front.
So strange that this video popped up because I just returned a Fender US Ultra 2 Telecaster that was horrible and should have never been shipped to Zzounds or to a customer 🫤 I returned a Player Plus Nashville Telecaster for the same reason and I returned a PRS SE Tremonti that should have never left the factory and I returned a 2 Epiphone 1959 Les Paul Standards 🫤 fortunately Zzounds has a decent return policy lol but on the other hand I have a 50’s and a 60’s Epiphone Les Paul that are truly amazing and a Noel Gallagher signature 335 that is fantastic so I can say that there are some good affordable guitars being made thankfully 😅
Not that surprising unfortunately. See as many instruments as I do and you see the trends in the brands.
Epiphone's QC has not been the best for a while now. I bought an Epiphone ES 335 Pro new in 2019 that also had some issues. I didn't have a problem with the nut or the smoothness of the frets, but the issues mine had was a couple frets that buzzed and needed to be leveled and the output jack wouldn't stay tight. The jack was a very poor casting with a lot of slop in the threads. After leveling the frets and replacing the output jack with a Switchcraft my guitar is now very good. While I think mine should have been better from the factory, I got it on clearance sale to make way for the new IBG line so it actually was a sub $400 US purchase and therefore the issues were easier to accept.
Getting an instrument cheaper can make those little foibles worth it. The QC on Epiphone a decade ago was brilliant. Now? Not even close.
I just bought an Iron Label Guitar and it's fantastic for it's price!
Did anyone notice that it looks like someone scribe the name Mark in the front pickup?
No.
😂
I just bought an Epi LP custom for under $600 new that was on sale at Guitar Center and the frets were perfect. Not commenting as a fan boy, just stating facts.
I’m glad you got a playable one. Everyone should.
Your facts though as merely anecdotes. Look through the comments at how many others didn’t get that and instead had instruments that were like this one, unplayable. Everyone should get a playable instrument that’s built to a reasonable standard.
Every Epiphone I’ve had has had no have a new nut, they’re mostly poorly cut and cut way to high,
You do realise that those rock American Nashville humbuckers that by their own coast 500$ a pair? For a 1300$ I think that’s really fair
So you’re fine with a $1300 guitar with some overpriced pickups that doesn’t play properly as the frets and nut weren’t completed at factory?
The electronics were mentioned in passing as they weren’t even a factor and yet people still miss the point entirely.
Looks amazing I agree. I'm really shocked at this. I bought an epiphone dot 15 years ago. Much cheaper than this one. Played and sounded amazing from the get go. I had high hopes for these upper tier epiphones but this is very disappointing. Great video. Good to see someone showing the fats
The ones from 10 years ago were phenomenal. When ownership changed things started going downhill for Epiphone too.
I sure hope you could make that epi into a real singer for the customer. At that price, they probably had higher expectations.
Made it play like a million bucks.
Phew! Good thing my Epi Vintage Sunburst Firebird has the shiniest, smoothest frets *EVER!!!*
Great, great guitar for the price (600€ not the 1700€ one)
It’s great when people get a good product. I want that for everyone. Others haven’t been so lucky unfortunately.
Epiphones are great blanks for making great guitars if you have the tools and time to give them the finishing touches they need.
10 years ago yeah, when they had corners cut on hardware but were still well built and had good fretwork. Now? Not a chance. Better off with other brands at a cheaper price and Hotrod them.
I have bought two Fenders (strat, tele), and rough frets are the least of the problems. Tele high e sounds like scitar, Strat high frets are unplayable. So.... yeah. Epiphone Casino at 600 perfect out of the box. So, I think it depends on the factory line and day it's produced.
Also common issues. The common thing between them are brands with a lot of investor money tied up in them who want massive returns fast and the easiest way to do so is pump out product as quick as possible and let the brand name shield them from any repercussion.
Any reputable company focussed on long term existence and profitability will be more on top of QC and let far fewer issues as major as these out the door.
My nephew bought a $1200 Fender Kurt Cobain signature and the frets were unplayable; immediate trip to guitar tech to resolve multiple issues. Apparently, Fender doesn't pay a livable wage.
I'm sure Fender does pay a livable wage ---- to their investors......./s 😖
Fender are actually quite bad for that these days and I’ve got a video coming out that goes into detail about the second CBS era we’re currently in. There’s a lot of stuff they’ve done and a lot of private equity money tied up into the company which has caused major issues.
I have an older 2021 epi lp 59, the first Gibson inspired ones... had to do the same to that guitar. Luckily, I know what I'm doing, but nuts need to be addressed and frets for sure. For $800, I was ok with that. Now, though, you can easily buy something you don't have to touch.
I played a bunch of epi 335 type guitars in stores. They all felt like cheap guitars. Recently I was at guitar center (in the US) and the salesman put an Ibanez AS93 in my hand. WOW! It played like a $3500 guitar, but cost around $700 (US $). I didn’t buy it, but I am seriously considering it. Only reason I didn’t buy it is because I’m considering the similar AH93.
Ibanez have always made great stuff regardless of the price. Their AS series are brilliant. Same goes for Yamaha.
I got the Epiphone 1959 ES-355 about 4 hours ago and it's nicer than my Gibson dot 339 Top to bottom!!
That’s a good thing. Others haven’t been so lucky unfortunately.
The nut slots needing to be cut a little and the frets needing a polishing doesn't make a guitar totally unplayable. I could have accomplished both of these minor repairs in the time it took to watch this video.
Then you didn’t watch the video as the frets weren’t finished and fudge just need a ‘polish’, they needed full 1200 grit sanding onward. They were unfinished, plain and simple. Different to slightly tarnished frets from being unplayed and in a box for a few months.
Back in the 80s, a $700 guitar was a month’s wages so a week’s wages now is not that big of a deal. All of these “cheap” guitars are known to require another $200 for a proper setup.
Wrong. $700 was WAY more than the median wage in the 80s and back then, cheap guitars were junk as we don’t have the mass cnc we do today.
There’s no reason for a $500+ guitar to have unfinished frets out the factory door when there are plenty of great companies who don’t do that.
@ yeah ok, like I didn’t live and pay rent in the 80s.
@@GreenpointRemembers dunno if you realise this but I’m an Aussie. We speak about wages in weekly figures and in the 80s it was closer to $360 a week for us.
That doesn’t change the facts that instruments in the 80s that cost a months wage were decent but not as good as todays instruments at $1000 should be.
@ at least you’ll have consistent work because all guitars these days need setup and fretwork
For $2600AU... Id expect better QC from Epiphone...
I played an Eastman in the one shop that stocked em, playability, finish etc was spot on.
Ive now got 3 of the buggas!
I'm sure these 'Inspired By' are hit and miss, like anything under the Gibson banner.
Cheers for being unbiased Six.👍🏼
Eastman guitars are stellar and highly recommended.
Thank you for the video, Six. Was the guitar sold by an online retailer or a small shop? If from an online retailer, I would have sent it back. If it was purchased in person, I would have insisted on the shop cleaning up those frets as IMHO the moment they hang it on their wall, it's their responsibility.
Online retailer. Problem is, paying for round shipping and the time it’ll be away, and there’s no guarantee they’ll do a good job.
@@drgearaustralia I guess I am spoiled by living in the US. I returned a $199 Squier (son's Christmas gift) because it had a couple of scratches in the finish. A replacement (perfect finish, frets, etc.) was shipped before I was even able to return the original. All shipping fees were covered by Sweetwater.
These inspired by Gibson Epiphone models are well received by reviewers…maybe some adjustment but alright instruments. I bought a korina V two months ago and it the most awesome guitar I own..playability and sound is incredible. But you’re right, an musical instrument made by a respectable brand should be playable when delivered to the customers
The problem is that EVERYTHING is well received by reviewers.
Because if one thing isn't, guess what?
They stop receiving things to review.
Look through the comments here and see how many people who’ve had absolute garbage instruments from the major companies. Reviewers have to kiss the ring as none of them are gonna get access to review products, or worse, would get copyright strikes like what happened to Mend It Mark.
That’s why I’m here to provide a warts and all look. I’ll praise what’s good, but I’m also gonna point out what needs improvement or what’s complete trash and never should have been sent out the door.
i'm with yoh on this mate i bought the joe bon 335 was shocking took to the luthier to put right knobs loose falling off three loose frets just shit never buy an EPI again
I bought an Aria ta40 , perfect in every detail. Made in Taiwan cost 200usa dollars.
Aria are another brand that do brilliant stuff for the price.
that ibanez looks better and not cheap unlike that POS.
Great video. I recently bought an Epiphone 335 and the frets were gritty, and the fretboard was filthy. I was able to play the frets smooth, change the strings and the guitar is OK now. I got the cheap one $599 so I’m ok with it. If I bought a $1300 355 with such a crappy fretboard, I would return it. I wish I had heard of Sire guitars b4 buying my Ephiphone as you seem to get a much more polished guitar when you don’t have to pay for the name.
The toggle switch and input jack are actually real Switchcraft parts. The pots are OK, but the capacitors are crap. At lest one of the caps bleed, touch it and it hums.
The switch they had in there must be a cut rate one they got Switchcraft to make, like how Fender get their spec IC caps that always fail. Felt absolutely junk.
@@drgearaustralia Well, it's true of the pots
@@drgearaustraliaI believe all the parts the best ones are made in a Korean factory, they just get licence from the likes of Grover, CTS etc al
I recently got myself the Adam Jones Eliphone Art Series, after reading all the hype and praises on reddit and UA-cam,and you won't believe how horrible the fretwork and nut are. Also the binding around the edges of the neck has millimeter deep scratches from filing.
It plays well enought and surprisingly stays in tune, but it has that indescribable cheap mass production feeling to it.
My Indonesian PRS that was two times cheaper had flawless finish and fretwork, too bad it never stayed in tune.
And this is why I’m doing more videos like these. I’m tired of seeing people get ripped off and hearing all the ‘reviewers’ out there just acting as an extension to the companies marketing departments.
So I take it you’ll no longer carry Epiphone in your store?
I’ve never carried Gibson or Fender company products in my store as I don’t believe the quality vs price is worth it for customers, and the dealership requirements are overly onerous and put strain on many smaller stores.
I was always selective of the brands I sold.
There’s a difference between setting up a new guitar to personal taste and the sort of QC/playability issues being shown here. A new guitar at this price point should not need to be immediately fixed. I’ve owned several Epiphones, including the higher end models, and it’s just complete hit and miss from the factory. I had a Slash LP that was basically perfect and I had a new 1959 that was a disaster - razor sharp fret ends, lifting frets, a broken selector switch, a bridge whose saddles collapsed after a couple of months, etc. They’ve jacked the prices and they’ve added some higher quality components (but typically not the hardware, which remains the same pot metal that you find on Firefly guitars for $200) but they haven’t improved the QC at all.
It’s absolute crap for the customer and shouldn’t be happening. People buy the brand and these companies know this and know they don’t have to worry too much about customers not returning as they always do.
Have the same issues with my new DG335. Overall fit and finish is worse than my older 2000s Epiphones. Sloppy frets and finish.
Those older Epiphones punched so far above their weight, they were brilliant. When they opened their own Chinese factory everyone was sceptical, but they really made some good stuff and had a great team of QC and operators.
That’s not the case nowadays.
How are they supposed to know what size strings everyone buying these are going to use?
I’d rather have the nut high and be able to have it set up rather than have to get a new bit instead.
The frets being, not so smooth is 100% on the company.
I usually hit my frets on every guitar a bit, with polish, because they’re usually never smooth enough.
When you have it setup with the strings you prefer, have them check the frets and pay a little more for the frets to be polished.
Every newly purchased guitar needs taken to a proper person for these things IMO, even if the guitar is brand new or or used.
At the end of the day this is not an issue.
Deeper thinking is required here, literally every newly purchased guitar needs setup.
Then you weren’t watching the video or listening to anything I said. The nut slots were beyond having a little wiggle room. They were completely unplayable. The nut corner weren’t shaped in and it was an unfinished job.
A nut should be cut from factory to a playable standard. Changing string gauges only requires ensuring the slots are the correct width and with enough clearance over the nut. Let’s be honest, 90% of players use either 10-46 or 9-42.
The guitar was not worth the asking price and trying to rationalize it just means the companies can screw customers out of more money rather than actually upping their game.
@ I watched and I just read what you said, that nut is able to be used (reshaped as you say)
All the things you just listed AGAIN, just as you also say in your video, is all I mentioned; it all is covered under a setup done with the string gauge you prefer.
As I stated, it’s much better to have too much nut than not enough.
I also stated the frets being rough is the part that is a little unacceptable.
How were the frets where you're actually going to play the guitar? I have seen 20 videos on what a good guitar this is with Gibson custom shop parts and YOU bashing it.. I looked at your other videos and i see mostly amp videos. Keep your daytime job.
If you actually watched the video, you’d see that I demoed how the frets were so rough that they made every bend sound like glass rubbed on sandpaper. The guitar was literally unplayable as it was delivered to the customer.
You’ve seen 20 people who either have no actual clue about the quality of the instrument they’re playing, or they’ve made money from such videos and don’t want to bite the hand that feeds.
So my day job literally is repairing and selling instruments, that includes doing luthier work. I don’t put most of it on this channel as few people watch refret jobs on run of the mill guitars.
A few bad apples show up for every maker.
I’ve had amazing Epiphones, and some I’ve had to work on. Same with Fender, Gibson, squire, and Gretsch. I will say my Supros are all well made. Eastwoods quality control seems pretty good too. Aria, Seagull, Martin, and others.
I get it, there are frogs and princes. Some frogs stay frogs.
Unfortunately the number of frogs is starting to make these companies look more like swamps than fairytales.
Aria, Seagull, Eastman and Eastwood are all solid.
Martin is another brand I think isn’t worth it these days. The quality is definitely down and the product quality isn’t there.
I got a Riviera whose neck pickup didn't work, out of the shop. I mean, WTAF
I wouldnt pay that kind of money for that guitar ,I am very Impressed with the QC that Ibanez Has and on all thier guitars not just the higher end ,Jackson is hit or miss unless you get a MIJ guitar
This is why Epiphone & Squier are being killed by Firefly, Grote, Eart, Leo Jaymz, & Harley Benton guitars in the States here.
It’s definitely pushing a lot of buyers away from the brands, but it doesn’t matter quite so much to them now they’ve started pushing direct to consumer and making terms harder for dealers.
Sush! You're letting the cat out of the bag! It is probably a lot less to order a Chibby straight from the factory, where these Epi's are made. By the looks of it, these factories can churn out the brand, so why settle for the Epiphone? Get a Gibson instead, no? If it is crap and needs additional setup...
I have an Indonesian made Epiphone Sheraton II from 2017. Made in the Samick factory and I can tell that it is quality. The original Sheraton is an Epiphone name and design.
I was never interested in buying an Epihone Les Paul or an Epiphone ES 355.
I would not be interested in a Gibson design with a different branding on it.
Thanks for the video man, eye opening!
I tend to buy older guitars
I think you're being a little melodramatic.
So it needs the nut slots filed a little, and the frets need a clean. It's pretty common that most mew guitars, even USA guitars, need some level of setting up.
I dunno about you, but I don’t like buying half finished products. You might be alright with mediocrity, others aren’t. And it’s not a problem that plagues many other brands, so there’s that too.