Blind test the Gibson sounded better . I sold my 335 when my children came along because we needed the money at the time . Now the children have grown up and made their way in the world my lovely Wife bought me a Yamaha SA 2200 for my 60th what a fantastic instrument just perfect.

I recently purchased an Epiphone 335 "husk" ( body and neck with no hardware or electronics, pickups, etc), which gave me the opportunity to assemble the "perfect" 335 for my taste. I started with gold Grovers, a gold roller bridge, and a gold Bigsby B-7. I added a hand shaped bone nut, CTS pots, Switchcraft 3-way toggle switch, and Gavette cloth-covered wire. And finally, an incredible sounding set of gold-covered Gibson Burstbuckers (1 & 2) to top it off. I've now owned five sets of Burstbuckers, but this set was the best out of the lot. I couldn't be happier with the tone, playability, nor looks. I debated sanding the polyurethane off and refinishing it in cherry nitro lacquer, but I believe I'll wait. Both guitar bodies are built of plywood , and to the same size specs, so theoretically, the tone should be comparable with a similarly appointed Gibson. And with the new Epiphone headstock design, I am especially besotted because, in my opinion, the old Epiphone headstock, as used previously on their Les pauls, etc. was ugly as homemade sin. It wasn't that it didn't look like a Gibson, it was just ugly and the improved version is much more appealing.

I've had my Epiphone Dot in Ltd Pelham Blue totally stock and well played over the years bought with the idea in mind of changing out the stock pickups. Those pickups you've demonstrated as an upgrade are on my To Do List as of this excellent vid! Thank You! Awesome sound.

OMG that middle position on the Epiphone is so nice...

Blast, I've been wanting a Sheraton for a couple years now as an upgrade platform and now I want one even more. Thanks guys...:)

I have that same Sheraton - mine is a 2002. Just put Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers in it with new CTS pots and braided shielded wiring. I love it and it will never leave even if I one day get a Gibson.

I've been playing a Schecter Corsair for the last 5 years and recently went to the music store to buy another 335. Found the Ephiphone 335 Figured and was amazed by the sound and comfort. After that I tried a Gibson 335 custom shop (6 times more expensive) and I didn't found 10 times better sound, build quality or comfort for playing. It sounds different (not better, not worse) but definitly the Ephiphone is more comfortable to my hands. I'm not saying the GIbson is a bad guitar but all of you that are looking for a 335 give it a try with the Ephiphones (the Inspired by GIbson series at least). Just to let you know the Ephiphone was 1500USD and the Gibson like 10k USD.

I have wondered about this for years… thank you guys so much for making this video.

Old video, but gotta vouch for irongear pups. I've put them in three of my guitars so far and I'm blown away by them.

nothing wrong with that video guys lol. Im already looking at those pick ups. I love that "attack" sound on the bridge. Thanks as always from Michigan.

I got a aria pe -ltd with blues engine and sounds amazing, I use iron gear pickups before and never let me down , guys I love your videos carry on many thanks 🙏.

Nice video! It made me plug in my Epiphone Dot for the first time in many, many years. I normally play strat style guitars so the Epi body feels absolutely enormous under my right arm. Bought it pretty much because I thought its natural wood finish looked so much better than the more common red colour. Must have been around 1999. If I remember correctly I traded a very nice Squier Jazz Bass for it. I wish I still had that bass... The Epi actually feels pretty nice but it doesn't stay in tune all that great. Maybe I'll look for a set of reliable machine heads to replace the stock ones. New pickups probably wouldn't hurt either. :)

Great video, cheers guys I have an Epiphone 335 and have thought about changing pickups and switch, I will look up the pickups you mentioned

Please if you tap them, do it with a resistor like PRS does. I honestly prefer the Sheraton, it looks better, those inlays are just gorgeous and after pickup swap it sounds just as good if not better than a Gibson for a lot less.

I have a Dirty Torque and Blues Engine in my PRS knock off, man it bought the guitar alive. I also have a set of Iron Gear Texas blues single coils in a Strat copy, great pickup’s highly recommend.

Glad you didnt coil tap !! I have always found that split to a single coil with the redundant magnet and coil next to the live one wrecks the tone compared to a straight single coil..

Obviously they’re gonna sound both very good because the tone of the guitar is in the pickups. You might as well grab any semi hollow and put the same pickups and it will also sound awesome. The thing about how much I choose to spend on guitars, at least in my opinion, is not so much how they sound plugged, because, again, you can just change pickups and get an amazing sound of any guitar at any price point. I look more to how comfortable they are to me, the quality of construction, how much I prefer it visually, etc. It’s kind of paradoxical and contradictory at first glance: “I don’t mind how an electric guitar sounds”, but seriously, that’s my last concern because it’s the one thing I can easily change to my preference with a simple Pickup change.

Great video guys! I recently bought an Epiphone 335 'Inspired by Gibson' and for the money it is quite good but I'm not in love with the pickups and the switch definitely feels cheap. Going to look into these upgrades for sure 👍

Difference is sooooo clear. Clear, clear, clear. Much better AR-TI-CU-LLA-TION in the Gibson. Epi sounds great, good pickups exchange, congrats but....it's night and day for me. Sorry to say it, but it must be said

I rebuilt my 2000 Korea Sheraton with Seymour Duncan Custom 5 (SH14) and 59 (SH-1) and it sounds great! I've played harder rock and stoner with it for years, love the way it resonates with my Marshall JCM 900. Best Guitar!

Very interesting, thank you. I have exactly the same Sheraton (early 90's, Samick built, 'Gibson' on truss rod cover). I love the guitar but I've always thought it sounded a bit crap. This was confirmed when my new jazz guitar teacher asked me to turn up the tone on my neck pickup as it was too muddy, even for jazz. The tone was already fully up! So, I'll be getting new pickups installed. These Iron Gear pickups sound great, but I think there are plenty of great budget options. Obviously I can't really justify spending a ton of money upgrading a guitar of this value, but even budget pickups should make a huge difference.

The take away is that everytime the guy in the left asks if it makes sense to pay that much more for the gibson, the guy on the right does not give a straight answer 😂😂😂. Im not a pro and for me the sounded so close that ai prefer the epi, and money leftover to buy more gear. Excellent video guys!!

My Sheraton II Pro has split coils for both pickups, which are Probuckers. I thought they sounded pretty good, but now I'm having doubts. LOL This is definitely an upgrade I would consider, though, for my Epi 335, which has standard Epiphone humbuckers and aren't very lively. Good video, guys.

Iron gear are great pickups. I've been a fan for a few years. I've got a set of blues engines in a PRS SE. Improved it no end. I put an overwound rolling mill in my lads Yamaha Pacifica bridge. You should try the pig iron Strat set as well if you have something to drop them in to.

Get a pair of Seymour Duncan P-rails in the Epi . Swap volume pots for push push switched pots , give you HB series , P90 , Single rail coil , HB parallel . The sets are reverse wound , so middle positions are all humbucking .

i also changed to cts pots on my sheraton , im not sure its better but its very different , more treble

That is the only ebony coloured 335 I’ve seen other than mine. It’s an unusual finish with the aged binding.

I have a Sheraton Pro 2 and it’s a great guitar. Wish they still made it in a tobacco burst though.

I prefer the epiphone. I classically Have never liked epiphones but (I guess it’s the pickups?) the epiphone sounds significantly more emotive in the cleans. It’s got a more scooped midrange but has enough clarity so it just sounds really nice . The gibson sounds “clearer “ as in more midrange forward but it sounds flat in comparison. The gibson may be spankier though but frankly I think a 335 sounds best for big open tones and not for midrange cut, for that regular sized guitars are better imo.

Great stuff, those pickups are serious value for money! I have a G&L ASAT Tribute Bluesboy that I am about to put a set from Monty's into shortly, and I've been thinking about getting a secondhand Les Paul and putting a set of Monty's PAFs into it as well. Keep up the great work! 🙂

Thinking of putting Iron Gear Pickups on my Jackson Soloist now 🤔

Had Tesla Sharks (Iron Gear) in LP, loved them, much better than stock Gibsons/DMarzio36/SD59. Gave them to a friend and he was astounded as well. Great pickups. I suggest looking up Artec Giovanni pickups , as well. "Cheap" amazing pickups.

May have to check into the Iron Horse Pickups. I have a strat with some tones that I just dont love. Love this style of vid.

Nice: very good results in tone improvement... BUT the pickup swap on an ES hollow body is a hassle. I've experienced it myself. If you want to go this route, you better count on a good luthier and put some money aside for his fees besides the pickups themselves... To my ear, in the middle position, the Gibson sounds more "nasal", the Epi having a slightly clearer tone. AND the Gibby has a chunky neck, which I play and love.

I would love for Gibson to make an Epiphone ES339 in the U.S. If not then in S.Korea. They did a very good build on several guitars I have owned including the birdseye maple LP.

Guitar snobbery is an EVIL thing. I have a 1967 Epiphone Riviera 12 string, which is a USA made in Kalamazoo Michigan guitar. in other words, it is for all intents and purposes a Gibson (same factory, same parts and materials, same assembly line, same craftsmen, etc.) The only difference between this and a Gibson branded ES-335-12 from the same era is the headstock shape, logo, and this particular model has mini humbuckers (which I think are actually more appropriate for a twelve string as they are brighter and more clear than regular humbuckers). However, even though I know what I have, if I were playing on stage most people who know anything at all about guitars would just look at it and think, eh, just an Epiphone. James, the guitar sounds great and I would love to have it.

That will be a day when you can feel the pickup difference, but of course you can hear it. 😀 ( Yanaha tappped their SA 2200 etc guitars in 70's-80's already, Yamaha's 335, and with push-push pots which is the way to go )

Omg that playing off the bat!!! Wow!!! I have a 2021 Epiphone 335 and I really dislike it to be frank. The pickups are just woeful. Terrible. The pickup upgrade you’ve done sounds amazing- but the cost of an upgrade is just so high if you can’t do it yourself. But I think you might have convinced me to keep the es335 when I was going to sell.

If you want great sounding guitars then pickups are the key, they are the most important aspect of the guitars sound. Likewise, getting a guitar setup by a really good luthier can make night and day differences on how it plays. With pickups that you really like the sound of and a well setup cheap guitar they can sound and play as well as any high-end guitar.

Steve knows his stuff I've used him in the past he's literally 5 minutes from me

Its not hard with a router to trace out a cover plate hole, and only route out the thickness to accommodate the cover plate depth,...then remove all the center, leaving the outermost 1/4 inch surround shelf for the cover plate to rest on. I wouldnt do it with a Gibson, but I would with an Epiphone. With all due respect, I'd do a nice job, and forever have easy access to controls. I've done it on two import copies of a cs-336. Came out great. Now I can try any pickups in just minutes. Which Iron Gear set did you install? Thanks.

Both good , but still prefer the Gibbo , but I would not be unhappy to play the Epiphone

Great video guys, its amazing what a relatively cheap pair of pickups can do for a guitar.

First of all that epi is super classy! Also do you think these would work on a Zach myers PRS SE? Not in love with 245’s and I have no idea where to start? Would like a fatter articulate sound

Think about the pick ups. Then think about string contact with the tailpiece, beidge and nut. I have Gibsons. I have epiphones. The gibsons tend to be a tad better set up out of the factory. The best think I managed to learn was setting up a guitar to an OK level. Changing pick ups and the tailpiece is easy. Messing about with the neck is vital as it needs tinkering with the change in seasons anyway. The Nut I have never managed to master. I have one with a brass nut which absolutely SINGS, though it is obviously personal taste. Anyway, Noel Gallagher and bonehead say hi with their epiphones used on What’s the Story and Definitely Maybe and live at Knebworth. I guarantee 100% they have sold more records, made more money and played live to more folk than anyone in the comments. Epiphones set up correctly with a set of decent aftermarket’s (oh try Suhr Doug Aldrich for the BEST hard rock pick up) give you a guitar ever single bit as good as a Gibby. My next is a Es335 blue burst Epiphone. I love the garish guitar colours. Also I can wet and dry the epi necks without crying to give it a lovely satin finish.

It sounds amazing and a brilliant price, I was thinking of getting bareknuckle Pg blues pickups but now have second thoughts after seeing this. Would this combination be good for Gary Moore riffs and did you upgrade the pots. Thanks

What switch did you guys go with for the upgrade?

Great video guys!

Sounds great James. And for a quarter of the price. But how does it sound thru a Katana 😜

Gibson win BUT that Epi sounds really good. Btw if its a 30 years model ,then its propably made by Peerless Guitars in Korea and these are really good guitars (and kinda rare since people do not often sell a Peerless made Epi).

Can’t see the point of paying a huge amount for such a subtle difference in sound! I would confidently say that the Gibson name dictates the price, and not the sound. In any event, the real price is nowhere near the cost of production.

Already buy it .. coz of this VDO 🤣

Gipson is little better bat not much. I by Epiphone BB King from China what joy think

As much of a guitar snob I might be: this Epiphone sounds great! But still: the shape of the headstock is awful and the inlays in the headstock are absolutely over the top as far as I'm concerned (But I admit that this is a pure matter of taste). Paul, may I ask which picks and cables you use?

Love the tone from both guitars. What amp/set up are you using here?

What nobody ever seems to mention or think about is that the woods are different, while the Sheraton‘s sustain block is mahagony the 335 uses spruce. And the Sheraton‘s neck is maple with walnut stripes while the 335 is mahagony. So the results will always be different regardless the electronics… So comparing the 335 to an epi 335 would probably be more interesting…

Rarer than rockinghorse poo

Totally useless demonstration all anyone can hear is the fuzz.

Do you feel something like a unfulfilled musician and sound engineer (if you are one) ?