Epiphone 1962 ES-335 Reissue Sixties Ch

I recently tried the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom ES-335 1962 and was immediately impressed by its stunning looks and excellent build quality. The finish and attention to detail are truly top-notch for this price range, and the guitar feels solid and well-made.

Sonically, the ES-335 delivers the classic semi-hollow tones you’d expect. On my Supro amp, I found the neck and neck+bridge positions a little too dark for my taste, though the overall sound is rich and full. The guitar has a lot of character and would be a great fit for blues, jazz, and classic rock.

However, I struggled with the ergonomics. The large body is less comfortable for me, especially when sitting, and I found it difficult to keep the guitar stable on my lap. Additionally, I’ve realized—after trying this and several Les Pauls—that Gibson/Epiphone neck profiles just don’t suit my hands or playing style.

In summary:
This ES-335 is a wonderful instrument in terms of looks, build, and sound, but it’s not the right fit for me personally due to ergonomic issues and neck feel. I’m glad I gave it a fair try, but I’ll be looking for something that suits me better.

After seeing the somewhat less that positive reviews I thought I should share my experience. I had a friend with a Gibson ES335 many years ago and would play it whenever we were jamming and loved the sound and the feel of it. .

This guitar comes very close to the sound of the Gibson ES 335 ( this is my opinion and not based on any detailed comparison).

I didi pay for the "set-up" that Thomann does (about 50 Euro) and it was well worth it. Guitar out of the box was perfect. The sound is great and for the price this has to be one of the best quality /price options out there. Having bought an Epiphone "inspired by Gibson " a couple years ago, this guitar is major step up for Epiphone.

The guitar is awesome, but only if you get a good example. The first one I received was terrible. The nut was misaligned, the fret ends were sticking out, and the neck binding was uneven, raised and damaged in places. The 21st fret was dead. There was no way to set it up properly without taking it to a tech for fret work. To be clear, this was not a shipping issue on Thomann’s side. It’s a QC problem at the factory.

I sent it back, and the replacement turned out to be a fantastic guitar with no issues at all. I set it up to my taste without any trouble. I’m not planning any upgrades or mods apart from installing strap locks.

Playability: the neck is great. The SlimTaper profile is very comfortable. It’s slimmer than the baseball-bat necks on 50s Gibsons, but it’s not an Ibanez either.

Sound: the pickups are absolutely killer. The guitar can be wild at times, and it really opens up with a tube amp at the edge of breakup. It handles quite a lot of distortion without going into squealing feedback. Fuzz is trickier. With a Big Muff it can start to squeal, but with a gate on the pedalboard or on the pedal itself (I have Sovtek Big Muff Deluxe) or by switching the pedal on and off it stays under control. You can also get great sustained notes and controlled feedback, which is really hard to get out of a Les Paul.

It sits well in a band mix. The guitar sounds quite open. The attack isn’t as strong and punchy as a Les Paul’s, but I wasn’t looking for a second Les Paul. I wanted a different instrument.

Comfort: it’s a big guitar, but that doesn’t bother me. I find it comfortable.

Looks: really beautiful. Everyone who has seen it was blown away, and the first reaction is always “wow”. The finish feels closer to satin, so the neck doesn’t get sticky. The overall finish quality is top-notch. It looks expensive and classy, but not in a “hang it on the wall and be afraid to touch it” way. It’s the kind of guitar you want to pick up and play all the time.

The case is perfectly fine: soft, well made, no glue sticking out anywhere, feels robust. I’d call it ideal, although I probably wouldn’t check it into the hold on a flight.

P.S. Big thanks to Thomann for their help and the hassle-free replacement. Great service as always!

I really wanted a slim taper 335 for a long time. Decades actually, but recently started looking seriously. Just by specs alone this guitar is a winner in my book. And I expect to hold onto it forever. Even if if I end up with a Murphy lab ‘61 or something similar. But that is after a PLEK and lots of setup. As the frets where really bad and the general setup below average. However, that price was so low that I can live with that. Bonus point for Thomann: make it easy to add PLEK/setup when you order… and promise at the same time to make sure the guitar is ok from the factory. I would have bought that instantly.