Epiphone Es 339 Pro Electric Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

I have always wanted a 335, but did not like the larger size. I saw this 339 and stepped up and bought it home. Had to wait 6 weeks, but was it ever worth it. This is the best guitar I have ever played or been around. Cannot make my mind up if it plays better than it looks, or if it looks better then it sounds. It came set up really well, intonation and all. All I had to do was tune it and go. Cannot find one flaw in the paint, assembly or anything wrong at all. It rings so true, holds a note and there is a major difference when selecting either pickup or both, and the tone and volume controls lets you have an infinite setting control on tone and volume. Set the bridge to really ring out and the neck one a little muddy and together it is killer, but can flip the switch and brighten a solo up good. An absolute joy to play. Just strike your favorite chord and let it ring…beautiful fun. I was worried about the neck thickness, but it is a non issue. Easy to chord, simple to fret in any way you please. I cannot express just how happy I am with this guitar. Michael at musicians friend was a great help in every way getting it here.Keith

Very comfortable to hold and play, with a slightly chunky neck which is my preference. Combines the best aspects of 335s and Les Pauls. It's also heavier than I thought it would be (again for me a good thing, I don't like feather-light guitars) I was expecting SG weights and annoying neck dive. As suggested already it seems to sound somewhere between a full-sized 335 type and a solid body, which again isn't much of a surprise. Seems to have more twang than my LP which is good for my taste, which is more soul and funk. The finish is also perfect, though slightly different to the one advertised at the time of purchase. The neck fades into a natural varnish rather than the all-black paint. Also the sides are solid natural varnish rather than the fading between black and natural effect.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Mine is a sunburst 2013 made in China. Maybe I got lucky, but mine plays and sounds great, and the fit and finish is excellent. This is a not a premium guitar. This shows primarily in the fretwork, which look a little rough, but other than one slightly high fret, no issues. The paint job on mine is fine, the tuners are solid (Grovers) and the pickups sound great. The coil tapped sounds are a bit weak, but that's usually the case in my experience. I see a lot of complaints about the pickups being angled – this is a problem on all ES guitars – even Gibsons. There are various ways to resolve this, if it's an issue for you. I was going to do something about it, but then realized that I don't really care. I like how it sounds – I lowered the pickups away from the strings until they were balanced – but if it becomes an issue in the future I'll figure out what to do. I really like the 339 size. It's comfortable and really fun to play. I had to raise the action to make it to my liking. The neck is a nice D shape, I like chunky necks and this is good enough, there's a reasonable amount of heft to it, but it's not huge by any means. Any mass produced guitar will have duds. It's unfortunate that some people have had negative experiences with these. I also own an Epiphone Hummingbird – a guitar which I love, but I had to have the saddle relocated by about 1/8" so that it would intonate properly. Not ideal, but now it's right and that guitar will outlive me.Mr. AF

Bought the ES 339 online in early April. My initial impression after playing it for a day was that it is a great guitar for the price. The only negative I found was that the frets were a bit 'rough', but they seemed to smooth up as I played so I wasn't too concerned. After spending almost a month playing this guitar I have to say I am less impressed now than I was initially. There have been a few small issues, some of which you might expect in a lower end guitar, but I was hoping this one would be the exception. First, the little Epiphone emblem on the pickguard started peeling up within a few days of getting the guitar. No big deal, it doesn't really ad anything so I just peeled it the rest of the way off. But still, this is a brand new guitar. Then, while changing strings the second time (did I mention I've played this quite a bit?) I noticed the tuner for the high E string was becoming harder to turn than the others. It still turned, but the difference was noticeable. I emailed tech support to ask about it, and the tech suggested I try loosening the tension screw, and if that didn't work he would send me a replacement (I can do many guitar repairs myself, so was going to return it just to replace a machine head). I couldn't find what he was talking about, but did remove the tuner and gave it a good oiling, which seemed to resolve the problem. Now the E string tends to go out of tune more often, but that could be because I unwound/rewound the string, so I'm not ready to call that a failure yet. Now, just in the past few days, I've started noticing the pickup selector switch is making an 'static' noise when switching pickups… Again, none of these are huge problems, but taken together point to a bit of lack of quality IMO. Maybe I was just expecting too much from a sub – 500 guitar. As it is, I will hang on to it, fix the things that need fixing, and use it when a want a nice, clean sounding guitar.ERinVA

I love this guitar. It is probably the best for-the-money guitar deal I ever came across. One minor flaw is that I can sometimes detect a little scratchy sound when I flip the selector switch. Very subtle but it's there about half the time. Other than that, it looks, feels, and sounds like the finely crafted instrument it is. No sharp fret ends, the pickups are loud and evenly matched, with plenty of tone variation available. I bought the cherry red finish, which is much more appealing than the photos tend to show. The color is rich and deep, and the wood grain shows through beautifully. Most photos I have seen on-line tend to make the guitar look solid red and plain. It isn't. I'm by no means a tech so I won't even try to get into the finer points of measurements and intonation. I bought mine at Guitar Center so I was spared any out-of-the-box surprises. It stays in tune all the way up the neck, where I spend a lot of time. High-ish action doesn't bother me, though some may like it a little lower than mine came with. The 339 P90 has it's own character and delivers that hot P90 growl I thought I would have to buy a classic SG to find. A side by side comparison to my CV Tele found the pickups to be louder and, unlike the bucker version, perfectly balanced. Best of all, I found that setting the pickup selector to the center position and rolling to tone knobs to their midpoints I could get the pleasing mellow chord tones I wanted from a semi-hollow. Would a legit jazz player agree? Probably not, but I'm satisfied. I would prefer a 50s style neck, or the asymetrical neck offered on the LP Tribute, but this one is comfortable enough and, for the money, I know I made the right choice.William

Mine is a sunburst 2013 made in China. Maybe I got lucky, but mine plays and sounds great, and the fit and finish is excellent. This is a not a premium guitar. This shows primarily in the fretwork, which look a little rough, but other than one slightly high fret, no issues. The paint job on mine is fine, the tuners are solid (Grovers) and the pickups sound great. The coil tapped sounds are a bit weak, but that's usually the case in my experience. I see a lot of complaints about the pickups being angled – this is a problem on all ES guitars – even Gibsons. There are various ways to resolve this, if it's an issue for you. I was going to do something about it, but then realized that I don't really care. I like how it sounds – I lowered the pickups away from the strings until they were balanced – but if it becomes an issue in the future I'll figure out what to do. I really like the 339 size. It's comfortable and really fun to play. I had to raise the action to make it to my liking. The neck is a nice D shape, I like chunky necks and this is good enough, there's a reasonable amount of heft to it, but it's not huge by any means. Any mass produced guitar will have duds. It's unfortunate that some people have had negative experiences with these. I also own an Epiphone Hummingbird – a guitar which I love, but I had to have the saddle relocated by about 1/8" so that it would intonate properly. Not ideal, but now it's right and that guitar will outlive me.Mr. AF

Bought the ES 339 online in early April. My initial impression after playing it for a day was that it is a great guitar for the price. The only negative I found was that the frets were a bit 'rough', but they seemed to smooth up as I played so I wasn't too concerned. After spending almost a month playing this guitar I have to say I am less impressed now than I was initially. There have been a few small issues, some of which you might expect in a lower end guitar, but I was hoping this one would be the exception. First, the little Epiphone emblem on the pickguard started peeling up within a few days of getting the guitar. No big deal, it doesn't really ad anything so I just peeled it the rest of the way off. But still, this is a brand new guitar. Then, while changing strings the second time (did I mention I've played this quite a bit?) I noticed the tuner for the high E string was becoming harder to turn than the others. It still turned, but the difference was noticeable. I emailed tech support to ask about it, and the tech suggested I try loosening the tension screw, and if that didn't work he would send me a replacement (I can do many guitar repairs myself, so was going to return it just to replace a machine head). I couldn't find what he was talking about, but did remove the tuner and gave it a good oiling, which seemed to resolve the problem. Now the E string tends to go out of tune more often, but that could be because I unwound/rewound the string, so I'm not ready to call that a failure yet. Now, just in the past few days, I've started noticing the pickup selector switch is making an 'static' noise when switching pickups… Again, none of these are huge problems, but taken together point to a bit of lack of quality IMO. Maybe I was just expecting too much from a sub – 500 guitar. As it is, I will hang on to it, fix the things that need fixing, and use it when a want a nice, clean sounding guitar.ERinVA

I love this guitar. It is probably the best for-the-money guitar deal I ever came across. One minor flaw is that I can sometimes detect a little scratchy sound when I flip the selector switch. Very subtle but it's there about half the time. Other than that, it looks, feels, and sounds like the finely crafted instrument it is. No sharp fret ends, the pickups are loud and evenly matched, with plenty of tone variation available. I bought the cherry red finish, which is much more appealing than the photos tend to show. The color is rich and deep, and the wood grain shows through beautifully. Most photos I have seen on-line tend to make the guitar look solid red and plain. It isn't. I'm by no means a tech so I won't even try to get into the finer points of measurements and intonation. I bought mine at Guitar Center so I was spared any out-of-the-box surprises. It stays in tune all the way up the neck, where I spend a lot of time. High-ish action doesn't bother me, though some may like it a little lower than mine came with. The 339 P90 has it's own character and delivers that hot P90 growl I thought I would have to buy a classic SG to find. A side by side comparison to my CV Tele found the pickups to be louder and, unlike the bucker version, perfectly balanced. Best of all, I found that setting the pickup selector to the center position and rolling to tone knobs to their midpoints I could get the pleasing mellow chord tones I wanted from a semi-hollow. Would a legit jazz player agree? Probably not, but I'm satisfied. I would prefer a 50s style neck, or the asymetrical neck offered on the LP Tribute, but this one is comfortable enough and, for the money, I know I made the right choice.William

I bought this guitar after selling a 335 which was great but just too big and bulky to be comfortable. The 339 is the same guitar shrunk down and a lot more comfortable to play. It has the best setup of any guitar I've played and sounds beautiful, so many great tones.hugh2434

Gibson and Epiphone have got a winner here with two versions of pickups (P90 pros, & Pro-humbucker with a split-coil) in multiple vintage colors. Best part is it's a smaller version of the bigger ES-335's with vintage sound and great quality. The tones these can produce will win the hearts of jazz, rock, western swing, rockabilly…you get the idea what this guitar can do in a small quality package. But it's a heartbreaker. True to it's Gibson cousins (costing sometimes in the tens of thousands), the necks like to crack from the nut down into the neck, and sometimes the headstocks break off easily. There are scads of these for sale just like that. It's so rampant that there are websites of places that make a living off of just fixing separated headstocks, mostly Gibsons and Epiphones! Some believe it is the combination of the narrow design, and wood that is plain-sawn instead of quarter sawn to make these necks. It's like a ticking timebomb. Very sad.geomarr

This guitar has excellent intonation, and is fun to play even without an amp. It has an acoustic feel and can be played with heavy overdrive. The smaller ES-339 form factor is less prone to obnoxious feedback and can be used for rock and metal. It really compliments well as a combo to another guitarist playing a solid body. This guitar excels in the clean area especially if you pair it to an amp that has that crystal clear quality. For the cost this is a great value, the fit and finish is all there.TCF

Value: This guitar and others in the Epiphone line at this price point to $100 more are excellent value for money. If you need a set up and want to replace something, you still come out well under the price of the Gibson equivalent. The Wow Factor: It's different. It has character. It's sexy in It's own way. Just like me, haha 😉 Overall: It's been long years since I had an Explorer, mostly playing acoustics and Teles for a long time. I wanted humbuckers and a flatter fretboard than what Fender typically supplies, so I tried just about every Gibson and Epiphone model I could get my hands on. There were some contenders: LPs, 335s/Sheratons, even SGs which I never really cared for but was pleasantly surprised. None really felt comfortable to hold or play, all other factors being equal. Nostalgia called me back to the Explorer. It's big, drips with character and attitude, and is so easy to play sitting down or standing. If Gibson had a korina-bodied reissue model, I would have gone with that. The Olive Drab Green stood out to me, not positively at first, but I kept coming back to it. At this price, I could afford to upgrade everything from pickups to tuners for less than the price of a Gibson model. So, I pulled the trigger with zZounds because of their payment plan and great customer service.That being said, I had a few QC issues with the first one zZounds sent. It was shipped only in the box Epiphone packages them in, which got squished and shorted out the selector switch, and the neck was VERY bendy, like rubber spaghetti. zZounds was very cool about everything and I got a replacement in short order. It came with a box around the Epiphonr box, everything worked, and the neck was much more stable. It had some minor fret sprout in the upper frets, but that was the only issue.The guitar itself plays great, and the ProBucker pickups really push my amps. The bridge pickup is especially nice, but I plan on replacing them down the line with something with more clarity and definition like I've grown accustomed to from playing twangy Telecasters for so long. The ProBuckers are NOT muddy, dull cheap pickups like you would expect from an affordable sister company. The neck is probably the least articulate, even for a neck pickup, but it can still put out some great tones when pedals and amps are dialed in. Suitable for rhythm parts. Middle position is probably my go to, with the neck rolled back to 6-7, the bridge at 8-9, and tone at full tilt. The bridge pickup is excellent at driving leads and solos with the tone at 7-8 or at maximum. My first non-maple or ebony fretboard, I was well pleased with the Indian laurel. A bit of lemon oil conditioning was needed to bring it from Sahara dry to non-gritty playability. A couple of frets need some polishing to bring back in line, but nothing makes it unplayable. Just a little TLC and refinement, like any new guitar, and you're ready to rock and roll. So to speak. About versatility, the Explorer is a dark horse. Decades of hard rock and metal guitarists using them gives them a stigma, but they can play anything from blues and jazz to rock to metal if you fiddle with the knobs and get your pedals and amps dialed in correctly. My tastes are eclectic, and I wouldn't have bought or kept this guitar if I couldn't get the sounds I wanted out of it. Things I would like to see: push-pull coil splitting, a quieter selector switch, regular pickup soldering instead of quick connects, and a better-cared-for/out-of-the-box fretboard. Honestly, it was dry enough to be used for kindling.What I really liked: playability, fit of parts, very decent ProBucker pickups, Tusq nut, and the color. The Olive Drab Green gives a military/Cold War vibe that I love, and the poly finish is going to be able to handle years of my clumsiness and abuse and still look good. Say what you will about poly finishes, but they will survive the nuclear apocalypse.Jefferson

I bought this guitar 8 months ago and now have run it thru it’s paces. What a great instrument this is. I compared my Epiphone to my Gibson Explorer and honestly the sound on the Epi is right there. My Gibson is mahogany as opposed to the Limba on the Epi but the Epi still holds its own. The Epiphone is lighter and has a sweet, solid attack with a rich mid range that sings. The neck is super straight, the fit and finish is beautiful and hardware is great. The pickups are very sweet however I replaced mine with Pro Buckers to darken the sound slightly. The original pickups are great but with my rig I like the darker Alnico 2 sound. In my opinion the difference between the Pro Bucker and Classic pickups are the magnets. Not a lot of difference in output. Other changes I made were a white pick guard, CTS pots and bumblebee capacitors but upgrading these guitars is the best part. Stock it’s fantastic and adding a few new parts is just a joy ride. I consider this guitar completely ready for professional performances all the way.Roger

I've wanted a semi-hollow for some time and I took the plunge to get this one. It's a very nice guitar that looks good and plays well. I was initially suspicious because of the price, as other guitars in the range did not play so well to me. Anyway, I had the store do a setup to ensure everything was fine and had the strings on I like to use. I change my own strings, of course, but I don't have tools for doing a proper setup. Good thing I did. Their Technician/Luthier CONNER, was very, very conscientious about his work, even fixing a slightly raised 14th fret. He was very meticulous in his inspection and work. If you don't have a semi-hollow body ax, this would be a good choice for the money. I have not had it long enough to say much about the two split-coil switches for the humbuckers. Maybe they'll turn out to add some good sounds as I play more. My only significant gripe is that the back of the neck has a standard gloss finish. If you play guitar, you probably hate that, as well. But some light sanding and oil should improve the playability.George

The guitar is almost perfect. There is a noticeable finishing blemish where the nut meets the neck on the bass side and another blem in the finish on the back of the neck. Other than that the guitar is great. Plays well, fretwork is good, and the pickups sound great. I bought this one over the other 335 models because of the flamed Raspberry burst and block inlays. It is easily the best looking one in person IMO. This is my 7th newer Epiphone (2020+) and they ALL have come with dirty fretboards, scratchy frets, and cheap factory strings. After 5 minutes of playing your fingers will be black like you handled coal. Just expect this. Change the strings, clean/oil the fretboard, and give the frets a quick polish. That done they're all 8/10 or better guitars and are fantastic values. Can't say enough about how much I love these new Epiphones!Mark

This was for my son, a late beginner, to add to his Ibanez s521. This was ordered online, not bought off the wall. It comes very well packaged for shipment and arrived with zero scratches or damage. The strings that it has are actually OK and I may keep them for a bit. I am not a huge fan of the gold metallic but it is the kid's preference, and the finish seems nice. I did not see much of the paint covering part of the binding in places as some have remarked, and the binding seems to be pretty decently done. The only really startling indicator of low build quality on ours is the very rough finish on the insides of the f holes. There are places that the paint has small runs in it and you can tell there was cost savings. There are guitars in the price category that are much better finished in there and I would have gladly paid a couple of extra bucks for this. At least they could have painted it black on the sides of the holes, like they did on some of the other colors, to hide it somewhat. On the gold, it is just jarring. I may do just that, after it is out of warranty of course. It is sad because there aren't any other significant issues on mine. The fret ends seem pretty nice and there really isn't any lifting, sprout, or sharpness on any of them. I am intermediate, so I can't really say authoritatively how the tone compares to others objectively, but to my ears it sounds pretty good especially compared to some others in the price range, like the stock Ibanez pickups. Seem to have clarity and not muddy. Like the neck profile. Neck required a slight loosening of the truss rod to straighten and the action was easily lowered to 1.5mm at the 12th fret low e without significant buzzing. The treble bleed does its job and single coil option is nice too. It won't sound like my strat but it does give some versatility. The guitar is very fun to play with its neck profile and radius once I did my mild setup on it, and hard to explain, but I don't want to put it down once I start using it. Despite the one flaw, I still think it is a good buy and recommended.JM

As with most people, I'm hesitant to buy guitars sight unseen through the mail. But with the current state of the world, that's becoming more and more the norm. Luckily the guitar arrived in absolutely perfect condition and set up nicely. The Red is really deep and rich. I know it's cliche, but the pictures really don't do it justice. I've been on a quest all these years for a guitar with a neck that properly fits my small hands and extremely short thumbs (nearly impossible to roll my thumb over the top of the neck ala Hendrix). I was torn between the Sheraton and the Casino, but decided on the Sheraton. When the next 48 month 0% promotion rolls around I may get the Casino as well. The tone of the Sheraton is very surprising for this price range. I also own a Clapton Strat (almost 3 times the price), and I absolutely enjoy the sound of the Sheraton more, as hard as that might be to believe. Obviously that is subjective. However, the place the Sheraton really shines for me is the neck! It fits my hands better than any other guitar I've ever played. Rolling my thumb over the top still isn't an easy proposition, but at least it's in reach (no pun intended), and with some practice I'll eventually get there. On the Strat it was impossible. I mainly play on the neck pickup, and it has a nice creamy, warm sound combined with my Blues Deluxe Reissue. I've never owned a 335 type guitar, as I always thought they were for jazz, but this guitar is very versatile. It's still a crapshoot with ordering through the mail, but I highly recommend the Sheraton if you (like me) can't afford a Gibson.Patrick B

Overall: Ive had this guitar a little over 24 hours now and cant put it down!! I got the blemished wine red model and the only blemish it had was a smidge of paint got on the binding where it meets the neck, i mean you had to really look close to see it and zZounds being the grandslam hitters that they are knocked 100 bucks off the price!!!I recieved it in a 1 1/2 days ( doesnt get any faster than that) and straight out of the box the action was perfect the intonation was spot on! The D string was maybe a cent out of tune. The guitar in wine red with the gold hardware is visually stunning, build quality you ask? Its built like a tank from the grover tuners, bone nut, loctone bridge and tail piece with a 3 way toggle you can litterally abuse and the probuckers sound amaZzing in full humbucker and coil split. This is a 1,000 + quitar with an intermediate price tag! Got to take a minute to shout out to the guys and gals at zZounds this is the third guitar that ive bought from them and they just keep knockin it out of the park!!! I will never shop for a guitar any where else you guys are first ballad hall of famers all the way!!! If your sick of the used car salesman approach and being followed around the lot, zZounds is the answer, they are the most professional ive ever dealt with period. Whem the extura prophesy in purple burst gets in stock, put one back for me, that is my next purchaseTommy

This guitar is the best looking guitar I own. The finish was real good. Many people had problems with bad paint jobs but I would give a thumbs up on this one. The guitar had fret buzz every where. I spent hours working to set it up. The g string would not stay in tune and I ran out of room for intonation. I had to go to a wound g string and went up a gage 11 to 49 to get it close. If the guitar did not look so cool and sound great when in tune I would have sent it back. I am good at setups on guitar but I will take this one to a guru with setups I know at Cream City Music in Wisconsin. Also the case that came with it is poor quality but it came with it so it will do.Ken

From the moment I opened the hard case, this guitar really rocks! I've been recording using apogee duet II on my mac and sounds really good, pick ups sound so punchy, pure gibson sound!GABOBASSMAN

Stunning look and great tone. At times I just play it without the amp and still sounds great. Plus, I am massive Oasis fan!Andrea Supernova

I rated it 4 stars, because in the pantheon of available guitars it is not perfect; but it is definitely 5 stars with respect to value. This is a very nice instrument for the money, with very suitable intonation over the entire neck. It sounds great, plays great, looks great, and the set-up suited my playing style out-of-the-box. I got the Natural version, and it is an understated beauty. I don't know if it will hold up like my more expensive guitars (some of which play wonderfully even after 50 years ) but I cannot find any faults in the craftsmanship. This is a fine instrument for the money and I can't offer any reasonable complaints or criticisms, except that the pickups might be slightly less bright and a bit more muddy than I'd like – which I can easily handle with an equalizer and/or amp/preamp settings. (I admit that my evaluation of the sound of this instrument is purely a matter of opinion, since one man's sonic nirvana is another man's anathema). I definitely recommend it for someone who wants a basic guitar suitable for jazz, blues, and light rock, especially if you play fingerstyle – it also responds well to a pick, but IMHO I think it is particularly suited to fingerstyle.JMP

At first out of the box I look at it and think gorgeous . The Natural look ,The black headstock with a sort of tree of life and the Epiphone label really look nice , the gold hardware , the grover tuner's are very smoothe, love the looks, I really take in the Natural finish the beauty and the gloss of it . It makes you want to head for a standard book but, there is more to this guitar than I've found time to enjoy the playability of it . The cons aren't really that bad : the stickers were a bit of a problem to get off that whatever type of barcode thing on the pickgaurd was a pain to get off ,the headstock had these smudges that also took some time to get off,the pickups had these Epiphone stickers on them the bridge one was okay but,the neck one had a gluey type of residue left behind on it and I'm still yet to remove the made in Indonesia sticker which I'm sure will be more sticky residue . Then checking out the variable sounds from the rhythm and middle and treble and then checking out the coil splitting feature the bridge pick up was nice but,the neck pick up made this sound when lifting the volume knob up there was a sort of humming sound . I was concerned and was about to send the guitar back . I took it to my local music store for a second opinion and what I consider to be a friend told me the humming sound was natural because of the coil splitting feature almost but, not quite as noisy as a strat with texas specials on it . Do I love it still yes . I kept it and hope to have many years of enjoyment from it .Slowerhand

Sound: Stock pickups are very hot. So, not as articulate (less dynamics) as they could be if wound a lot less. Also, be prepared for sympathetic ringing. It’s the nature of the beast when dealing with this type of bridge. I used a piece of dense foam that is almost invisible between the bridge and tailpiece to solve the ringing. Features: Has all the bits you’d expect on this classic Ease of Use: I love the neck shape and upper fret access Quality: My only gripe was the ground wire that popped off a pot. It was the wire that connected the jack ground and the rest of the guitar which made it electrically buzz more than single coils normally do. Value: Fantastic value. Even if you gut it and upgrade everything, you will have saved enough on the original purchase to easily afford upgrading parts with top shelf components such as pickups, tuners and nut. Manufacturer Support: No issues The Wow Factor: A Casino in cherry? It’s a classic look. Overall: I liked the specs on the es-339 but didn’t like the neck shape and I wanted p90s. I played a regular Casino at the local store and liked the neck shape but upper fret access was limited. The Casino Coupe has given me all the specs I wanted.I expected to have to do some upgrades on such a low priced guitar. I knew what I wanted and so, after adjusting the action and playing it stock for a few weeks, I first upgraded the pickups. GFS p90 set and black knobs = $80. Next up, Tusq nut and Hipshot locking tuners = another $80. Now, this guitar is EXACTLY what I wanted and still under $700 total but outplays other guitars costing FAR more. The next cheapest hollow body that plays this well are D’Angelicos at $799. Alas, zZounds has a limited selection on those. I’m glad I got the Casino. After the D’Angelicos, the only guitars that I like as much as my Casino cost over $1400. I’ve put my time and half that amount into this Epi and couldn’t be happier.If I wanted to keep it cheap and gig with it, I’d have probably just upgraded the nut and pickups and stopped there. Maybe even just the nut and used the stock pups for high distortion or fuzz only, hehe. My only gripe is that when I removed the electronics to install new pickups, I found a bad ground wire that caused extra buzzing. Between that and being too hot of a wind for my liking, the pickups were a must change item. That said, I measured the tone caps, all the pots and inspected the wiring. Other than the ground that popped off the pot (common issue) and the very hot pickups, the electronics all measured within specs. Even the wiring looked and solder just fine. No need to upgrade to a high priced harness, not worth it.I finally have the hollow body that I’ve wanted for many years. Thanks to zZounds payment plans and a few parts, I got it!Tony

A well built fully-hollow small semi acoustic. It's smaller that a standard casino…only slightly bigger than a Les Paul. Build, hardware, electrics are all good for the price. It sounds great with a distinctively woody sound and is very light. Only let down by very microphonic pickups. Not a problem at lower volume but any overdive is a problem.Much debate online about this, it is definitely the metal pickup covers that cause a loud squeal. It was easily fixed by carefully stuffing some high density foam between the pickups and covers.mistercanetoad

The Wow Factor: Is this a guitar for beginners? Sure…but get a professional set-up. Hollow-bodies, in my experience, "fight back" a little more than a semi-hollow, or LP/SG/Tele/Strat I've played and that can be off putting to beginners. P-90's hum too, it's just the way it is from the design of the pickup. If this would bother you, the Epi 339 is a great little guitar. A good set-up and this guitar plays as comfortably as any of my guitars that cost 3-4 as much. Quality and build wise, it's the equal to any recent electric I played or owned that cost up to $1K…after a good set-up. Overall: Love this guitar! Punches far above it's class, but you'll need to probably tweak a few things first.Instead of starting out with what I love, everyone does, here's the cons I had:Frets needed a little leveling. Not much…but three did, which for a guitar in this price range isn't bad. But one was noticeable right away, the other 2 frets I probably would have wouldn't noticed until I really got in there with a detailed setup. I can dress and level frets, so this isn't an issue with me at all, if you can't take that into consideration. One tuner needed to be replaced. The high E tuner had about an 1/8 of a turn's worth of slack before engaging….but it held tune just fine. I have spares…again for me no big deal, YMMV. The nut cut is cut a little high, but it's still within the norm. Bridge rattle…well if you've ever owned an Epi or Gibson you expect this. It annoys me so the bridge was replaced. For new buyers of an Epi, it's only heard when played unplugged, you won't hear it thru the amp.The pros:I bought this guitar strictly to put a pair of Lollars I have into another older Casino. I've got a very well made '95 MIK from the Pearless era…and the nut width of the guitar is way too narrow to comfortably play. This neck is fairly beefy. If you've played a Les Paul with the 60's taper for example, the D shape will be more of a handful but isn't a baseball bat at all.The build on this guitar over all is the equal to what it's replacing. The finish is flawless. The original wiring and pickups were good. I did play the stock pickups for a week…they sound good. I like lower output P-90's, these are a little hotter but still sound good. The smaller body seems to feedback a little less.The smaller body also makes this a VERY comfortable couch guitar…and it weighs almost nothing. Slight neck dive, my full size Casino has more. The Pau Ferro board on mine is pretty dark…I honestly thought it was Rosewood when I unboxed it.Sounds fairly decent unplugged when you're on the sofa without an amp.David

This is a fantastic and very versatile guitar for the money. It looks like a tart's boudoir – almost over the top with all that gold and red, but that's somehow 'right' even for me who usually likes things understated. Great sustain, sweet cleans and a surprisingly aggressive 70s sounding bark with a bit of gain. its Mini Probuckers are the business! It's a fraction bigger than a Les Paul, and surprisingly light. The finish is better than most guitars in a similar price range – frets are good, finish almost faultless bar one or two very minor binding imperfections on the f holes and the masking of the side of the neck where it joins the body, but seriously, these are micro issues. Setup out of the box was close to perfect but action a tad too high – lowered it to my taste and it is now perfect.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Really amazing for the money – I've owned many US-made guitars from top-notch manufacturers and the quality of construction and finish on this one is immaculate. Not only that but it's a very well-designed instrument too, stylish and decently ergonomic for a semi. Perfect for providing a bit of jazz mojo. On the basis of my experience with this one, if I was in the market for a Les Paul I'd be looking for an Epi, not a Gibson. I've owned two Gibson Les Pauls and a Gibson SG and none of them was as well-made as this. One thing I don't like about this guitar – playing it for a while tends to make your fingertips go black. I suspect the ebony fingerboard has been stained. But it's mirror smooth (and the inlays are the nicest I've seen on a budget guitar) so I'm inclined to forgive that one foible. Good stuff.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Superb tone Appearance of course stunning Faultlessly made of high quality material Firebird pickups A2 dual mags Grover’s 18:1 fine accurate tuning Full neck a bit 1958 335 It’ll sing when fully setup Wish I’d known it was on its way! No one told me .. 🧐Mike S.

I bought this guitar after selling a 335 which was great but just too big and bulky to be comfortable. The 339 is the same guitar shrunk down and a lot more comfortable to play. It has the best setup of any guitar I've played and sounds beautiful, so many great tones.hugh2434

Gibson and Epiphone have got a winner here with two versions of pickups (P90 pros, & Pro-humbucker with a split-coil) in multiple vintage colors. Best part is it's a smaller version of the bigger ES-335's with vintage sound and great quality. The tones these can produce will win the hearts of jazz, rock, western swing, rockabilly…you get the idea what this guitar can do in a small quality package. But it's a heartbreaker. True to it's Gibson cousins (costing sometimes in the tens of thousands), the necks like to crack from the nut down into the neck, and sometimes the headstocks break off easily. There are scads of these for sale just like that. It's so rampant that there are websites of places that make a living off of just fixing separated headstocks, mostly Gibsons and Epiphones! Some believe it is the combination of the narrow design, and wood that is plain-sawn instead of quarter sawn to make these necks. It's like a ticking timebomb. Very sad.geomarr

This guitar has excellent intonation, and is fun to play even without an amp. It has an acoustic feel and can be played with heavy overdrive. The smaller ES-339 form factor is less prone to obnoxious feedback and can be used for rock and metal. It really compliments well as a combo to another guitarist playing a solid body. This guitar excels in the clean area especially if you pair it to an amp that has that crystal clear quality. For the cost this is a great value, the fit and finish is all there.TCF

Working in a big chain music shop in the late 90s, I have always detected a big blindfold test difference between Gibsons and Epis. There's a certain difference in quality that could not be denied. Epis just felt cheaper and lighter. This new Nighthawk, much like a lot of reviews for other new Epi models, feels more substantial. Cracking open the back panel reveals full size pots (Korean made; not CTS) and a quality megaswitch to pull off an interesting and useful array of pickup selections. I won't bore you with details you can gather from the specification tab. All I'm saying is the gap in quality between Epiphones and Gibsons are narrowing. The fit and finish is excellent (with exception of minor fret sprout) and it comes with a quality hardshell case. Not as nice as a Gibson case, but its similar but more plush to the case that came with my PRS SE Hollowbody II. If you have any interest in this guitar, better act quick before Epiphone raise their prices!Bob

Overall: QC is lacking I believe they was in a hurry to get them out and things were missed. The soldering is sloppy position 3 and 4 did not work due to wires touching and the finish on the neck started cracking I emailed zZounds and was sent a copy of the warranty and basically I can mail it in and at my expense to epiphone and they may or may not fix or replace it. I'm starting to really question if I will buy anything else from here and that's sad because I have bought many guitars and amps from zZounds I know the guitar's failures are not there fault but I've had the guitar less than a month and it's been nothing but issues. I expected more from epiphone and zZounds. On the bright side the case is one of the nicest if seen to come with a guitar especially at this price point. Well done epiphone for making a great caseMike

Bought this online at a great price and I am very impressed with the build of the guitar-it is like a smaller and much lighter Les Paul! Soundwise it is unique with 5 settings from the 2 pickups. Can play rock with ease and any other type of music from the different sounds. Fantastic value and it comes with a lovely hard case! These may not be one of the popular models but it is well worth a try!gerrylh61

Overall: This is my umpteenth Epiphone custom sg guitar ive bought since the last guitar i had which was the more lower end 61 standard i bought here used last year. The caps pots and Gibson USA burstbuckers are definitely a step up in the right direction and are true to the original reissue Sg standards back in the beginning of the Gibson sg. It sounds like a 2000 dollar Gibson reissue sg but at Epiphone import prices. I intend on keeping this guitar for a lifetime and is a good backup guitar to my similarly pricef esp ltd viper 1000 deluxe i bought a year ago from a competitor in the now disconnected tiger eye finish from zZounds. Lastly i also intend on getting a real Gibson sg custom 63 version used for a discounted price. One more thing i might buy a backup les Paul sg standard by Epiphone just in case this one gets stolen or lost. Thank you Epiphone custom for stepping up your game and making better sg custom shop guitars than in the past. The black Epiphone sg custom with gold hardware is no joke either and i might another one when i get done paying for this Les Paul sg standard first fron here.Isaac

I got this guitar in sparkling burgundy and the finish is beautiful. The workmanship on this guitar is great; it feels very high quality. The fretwork is also really good, with no fret ends sticking out to cut my hands. That being said, the pickups are not very good. I initially debated purchasing the guitar since it sounded very ice-picky and thin when I played it in the store. But I decided to take a chance, knowing the return policy that GC has. I brought it home and the first thing I did was go over it completely. The fretboard was very dry. Even my wife, who doesn't play guitar, looked at it and commented on that. So removed the strings and polished the frets and cleaned/conditioned the fretboard. Then I swapped out the Alnico Classic Pro pickups, which are rather bad, and put in a set of Probucker 2/3 pickups that I had sitting around. Better strings, polished frets, and some nicer alnico 2 pickups made a huge difference. It sounds full and thick and warm, and it plays like an angel. I highly recommend it, as long as you can swap out the pickups.Robert

My first electric. Got it in a combo kit with amp and bag. Hook it into my computer now and rarely use the amp for anything. That being said, as many people have mentioned the bridge. If this isn't your first guitar, or you are looking for a second guitar – don't get this one. I learned about intonation and action and all that while having this guitar. You can only set the intonation on the outside E's and everything else is just what you get. My the height of my bridge for medium action on the low E is maybe a 1/16 from bottoming out, any lower it will buzz more. To get the same range of action on my high E my bridge is almost a 1/4" in the air. I do not know enough to get into shimming the neck to get it leveled out more, I just know enough to assume a 1/4" rise over 3" space probably isn't a good thing. However! I've learned plenty on it over these last 6 months. I bought this guitar because I did not want to invest a lot of money into it if I wasn't going to stick with it. I bought this in February of 22. The first 5 months I probably played on it maybe 50-60 hours. These last 4 months I've probably played on it 1-3 hours a day. I started using apps to learn and being able to plug it directly into my computer has been amazing. It's served it's purpose, I'm now getting to the level of playing where I'd like a better quality instrument and am looking in the $400-$500 range. For a first guitar, and you're not sure if you're going to stay with it, this was great for me and I will pass it on to someone else to get started with. Other than the bridge intonation and probably not flat fret board, I have had 0 mechanical issues with it.Jay

I'm reviewing the gold top model. I own a lot of guitars but I didn't have a gold top Les Paul and always wanted one. This is an amazing guitar for the price! Fit and finish are perfect. It sounds and plays great. I love it. Note, always put a new set of strings on a guitar that comes with strings on it. It's a simple fix for a lot of problems you thought you had, but don't. Who knows how long they've been on or what brand they are. Now, the details. Frets were perfectly level, no sharp ends. Slight amount of oxidization. I polished the crowns and ends with Micro-Mesh pads. I used 6000>8000>12,000 grit pads. I wasn't taking metal off, just polishing them to a jewelery finish. Really makes bends and vibrato silky and smooth. I do that to all my guitars. I like the Indian laurel fingerboard. It's a good alternative to rosewood. I cleaned it with alcohol, then applied a very light amount of fingerboard oil/conditioner. Let it sit a few minutes then wiped it dry. It has a beautiful look and feel now. As for setup, the only thing that was set correctly was the intonation. So I lowered the bridge to the (low) action I like, and it was pretty clean, a little buzz on the upper frets. The neck was trussed completely flat, so I loosened the truss rod about 1/4 turn and that gave it the right amount of relief. No more buzz. Next, I filed the nut slots slightly wider and deeper. Action was too high off the nut. I use XL strings (9-42) and the slots were even too tight for them! That was the only real glaring problem on this guitar. Tight nut slots cause tuning issues and your average customer isn't going to have the tools or skills to fix that. I have a set of precision nut slotting files and feeler gauges to cut them to the proper depth. Man, that was the magic touch. The action is amazing now, all the way up the neck. No problems with tuning stability. And that's all I needed to do. It plays like a dream. I thought I would need to swap out the pickups but I like these. I'm old and play mostly classic rock, and these sound just right for the Les Pauls of that era. I get that sound that Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon), early Joe Walsh, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Joe Perry, Page, Billy G, had in the late 60's – 70's. I ran it through a Goat distortion simulator and got Tom Scholtz Boston sound perfectly. It was actually better than another LP I have with DiMarzio super distortion pups. Easier to control the overdrive. All in all, Epiphone has really raised their bar. If you have typical electric guitar setup skills, you'll make this a sweet playing guitar. If you don't, it's worth it to find someone who does. Just a few minor adjustments and you'll have a fine axe to play.Rich

I got this guitar in sparkling burgundy and the finish is beautiful. The workmanship on this guitar is great; it feels very high quality. The fretwork is also really good, with no fret ends sticking out to cut my hands. That being said, the pickups are not very good. I initially debated purchasing the guitar since it sounded very ice-picky and thin when I played it in the store. But I decided to take a chance, knowing the return policy that GC has. I brought it home and the first thing I did was go over it completely. The fretboard was very dry. Even my wife, who doesn't play guitar, looked at it and commented on that. So removed the strings and polished the frets and cleaned/conditioned the fretboard. Then I swapped out the Alnico Classic Pro pickups, which are rather bad, and put in a set of Probucker 2/3 pickups that I had sitting around. Better strings, polished frets, and some nicer alnico 2 pickups made a huge difference. It sounds full and thick and warm, and it plays like an angel. I highly recommend it, as long as you can swap out the pickups.Robert

I bought this on a whim, I really didn't need another guitar, but when I saw the price was down to 429, I figured a Gold Top SG might be kinda cool. And it is. Mine is well balanced (no neck dive) stays in tune really well and sounds good. I don't see myself using the coil splits, but they work well. Yeah, it needed a setup after I got it out of the box, but most guitars do. This probably won't be my #1 guitar, but there are certain times when only an SG will do. I'm glad I bought it.Buzz

I've been looking for the right Epiphone SG for years now, but it's been difficult to find one that I loved the feel of. I love this guitar. The neck feels fantastic. The fit and finish are very high quality. The pickups are great, if a little muddy at the neck, and they drive my Hot Rod DeVille just right. The split coils are decent and you really can get a workable single coil sound from it if you want. It sounds surprisingly close to my 40th Anniversary Stratocaster even though there is still a noticeable difference. The only real upgrade I'm thinking of is some locking Grovers in nickel, but the stock tuners are serviceable. I took a really close look at the Fender Classic Vibe Telecasters with humbuckers, but Epiphone is just crushing it with their Inspired By Gibson line. If you've always dreamed of owning a Solid Guitar, you owe it yourself to play one of these.Dustin

This thing is SWEET! Like reeaalllyy sweet. I have a solid body LP in my arsenal but the shoulder-wear gets to be a bit of an issue especially for practicing, this little guy? Play all day. The build quality is tremendous, the finish is gorgeous, the hardware is enough chrome to make late 90's rappers jealous. The only part I swapped out from stock was the bridge. I went with a TonePros locking tune-o-matic and instantly this thing went from good sustain to like, walk away and drink a coffee, come back and the guitar is still singing sustain. I bought mine as an open box level 1. The only flaw worth mentioning is a small finish crack on the fret binding at the 4th fret, not sure if this happened in the factory, with the previous "owner" or during shipping, to be honest it doesn't bother me in the slightest, if anything it makes me want to actually PLAY the thing and not just stare at it longingly as it sits in a case because i'm afraid I might make it imperfect in some way. Bottom line; you should own one of these.Daybone

IMHO there are two major considerations when grading a guitar.(1. Quality (2. Cost If I grade a guitar with five stars, (I do this one) it doesn't mean that I think it's the best in the world or even the best I've played. It does mean that at this price, this is way up top. 1. finish. I found no faults at all and it is beautiful. 2. Mechanical: Nothing broken, Nothing Bent, Nothing loose (so far). The frets are a little sharp on the ends but at this price range about as good as it gets. As mentioned by others, the tuning slips just a little, but I personally think this will take care of itself. If it doesn't and I find it to be really an issue with me, the guitar is worth new tuners. 3. Playability: It's like the guy in Indonesia new exactly what I wanted in a guitar. String height is perfect. Intonation is within a couple of hertz on every string and I mean this literally (my ear would never know the difference). For my ears the pickups are adjusted exactly where I want them. The volume of the Lows and Highs are very balanced. 4. Tone: Tone is something I've always struggled with. I'm not a great player and I have hearing difficulty so tone is something I'm working on constantly. I have a 1982 ES 335 that I believe is the best sounding guitar around; it will sound any way your talents will take it. I wanted this to sound like my 335: it doesn't and I don't believe it ever will but the tone that it does have is very pleasing and very versatile for just about any type of music. The coil splits are more fun for me than useful but I think for a professional they would really be useful. A Diehard Les Paul solid body lover may scoff at this new innovation.,,,,,,but just until they play it. You may get the idea that I like this Florentine and that would be a fact but keep in mind that all reviews are subjective and each guitar has it's own individual sound just as each player has their own likes and skill level. I'm not a good player and I need an easy playing. This is my guitar and I would buy it again.oge

I have had an older version of this same guitar for ten years and is my go-to secret weapon. I can't say enough about mine. Like all Epiphones you have to find a good one. By that I mean play several and pick the one that feels the best. There's always a remarkable difference between them – more than any other guitar. I won't list all my other guitars, but a lot of people can't believe this is my favorite model. The only thing that greatly improved mine was switching out the pickups for Duncan 59s. This thing now sounds so hot that you can't put it down. I'm not kidding, this thing is a steal if you get a good one. Your $5000 guitars may come and go – if you are ever lucky enough to have them – but this one stays where you can grab it when that riff comes to you at all hours of the day. You can't go wrong quite simply if you follow my advice; most importantly to swap the first one for a second if it's not right. You'll know when you hit the jackpot like I did. BTW, that swapping them out goes for all Epiphone guitars. If you were to line up ten, one will be much better than the others. I know stuff after many years and lots of guitars. Good luck and practice, then practice some more.Mikestrat

Overall: I live in a large city and it is still impossible to find a Gibson 335 that plays and sounds great, has no issues or questionable history and comes with a price tag lower than a new one to justify the gamble. As a result, I decided to pull the trigger on a new one and went for the figured, not so much for the flame but for the lower weight and select wood, knowing both my back would thank me and that the guitar would probably be a bit more open and resonant. Block inlays are certainly nice and that may have helped sway my decision too. The 335 arrived with an impeccable setup, right out of the box from the factory. In my 35 years of playing, I’ve never had this happen. I’ve heard of it happening but never to me. I always have to tweak the truss rod to straighten the neck a bit, adjust the bridge action, widen the nut slots and intimate the guitar. Every time. The only adjustment I’ve had to make is lower the pickups a bit for balance, that’s it! Plays like an absolute dream. Here is why you want this guitar rather than a used one—. the neck. None of that weird pencil thin 335 necks from the past or those horrible and slow baseball bat necks… this is perfect. I don’t know what Gibson is doing in Nashville now, but they are making these guitars better than they ever have. Having always been a fan of Classic ‘57 pickups, I read about these T Type pickups being bright. It is true that they are bright, however it works so well in this guitar. Roll back the tone knobs for the mellower and darker sounds, especially when in the neck position for a classic straight-ahead jazz sound, or rolled back in the bridge to fatten up rhythms…but the thing is, roll the tone up for that beautiful bite and thunk in single line solos. I have had bright guitars in the past and there is nothing you can do for them. No matter the pickups or amp, it remains bright and pingy. This is not a bright guitar and has such a beautifully balanced and mellow acoustic voice, the pickups suit it well and I will not replace them. Is it an insane amount of money? Yes. It is. In 10 years when I have blown through $4K many times over and have nothing to show for it, will I still have this 335? Yes. I will. It’s an investment and zZounds makes it possible for someone like me to have something nice. This is an absolutely breathtaking guitar. In playability, sound, and appearance—Gibson is on top of their game these days and I think the future will look back at this era as their new golden age.Michael

Upon opening the case, the case was hard to open, like it didn't fit top cover to bottom cover. The guitar smells of cheap carnauba wax (if you wax your own car you know there are great waxes that smell good) this is not the great smell of the past Gibson guitars I have purchased in the past. There was a light haze to the guitar like the wax was dried but not wiped off completely. The was not common of years pasts Gibson's. Its a very light weight guitar. Nice to hold and even sitting with it to play does not dig into the underarm like a thick acoustic does over time. The ice tea version does look great front to back. I can't tell if it's AAA but its very nice. The head stock look s like it wasn't cut symmetrically compared to the other side or sanded to much. The neck is nice and thick and wider top to bottom which I like for fitting all my fingers on the 1-5 frets for chords. Their is a lot of fret buzz on the G string throughout the range of the neck, It looks like the G string is higher than all the other strings in an attempt to reduce the buzz. I thought these were machine prepped ?? I can most likely (hopefully)make some adjustments for this. The frets feel thinner than my Les Paul's. Not sure if I like this but I can get used to it. The sound on a clean channel is great. I really like the sound. The volume knobs have no volume from 0 – almost 2, they don't change the volume a lot from 3-7, from 8-10 is almost all the volume change. I have never had this experience before. The tone knobs actually lowers the volume from 1-3 which I thought is also strange. I have no experience with a ES model so maybe this is normal. If it is, then I am not sure I would have purchased. I don't regret the purchase but I was expecting perfection for this price.Just Me

I love 335 but played several that I found meh. Preferred the Heritage H-535 I bought to most Gibbies I tried. Until I played that one at my local GC store. Was immediately captivated with the tone. Went back several times, and took the plunge despite the sticker shock. At home, in my amp it sounded even better than in the shop. Absolutely wonderful guitar, that feels and sounds as good and sometimes even better than vintage 60s 335 I tried or owned. I am in love! But what a price tag…Gibson CS is becoming unattainable fast.Stéphane