I’ve seen some reviews on KZfaq of this and other models in this series. They were good and valuable, but I was looking forward to your take as well. You have some details and perspectives that others don’t quite touch on, and then of course your playing as unique to you, which is always a pleasure. I appreciate your contributions to the guitar community.

Your analysis and perspective addresses the important factors, thanks for that and the excellent playing. I agree that this guitar is the best value of the new higher end IBG models, but also the new Les Paul Customs which replicate exactly the same specs as their Gibson counterparts. Like you mentioned w/ the 355, a used Gibson Les Paul Custom is also very expensive because they have been a custom shop only guitar for years…at least $3500+, usually north of 4K. This model and the LP Custom both represent the best value in that light. I have a few recent higher end Epis including the ‘62 ES-335 Bonamassa model which is a really nice guitar, it’s no slouch compared to my Gibson ES-335 Traditional which cost considerably more. Epiphone has been doing some great things lately, I hope they continue in this direction. Thanks for the vid ✌️

Epiphone ES-335 style guitars? I own 40 of 'em! Every one of them is set up to suit my style of playing Blues and Rock, most of them by me as I've gigged them relentlessly for the past 25 years. I started out in 1971 on a Coronet Telecaster copy that played OK but sounded less than OK. But it cost me $30 so I wasn't complaining. Then on Christmas Eve 1975 I bought a black Les Paul Lawsuit copy for $50. Immediately my playing lifted noticeably thanks to the much better playability and awesome sound of that guitar. In fact the entire sound of the band lifted thanks to my lead guitar sounding so much better. I sold the Tele straight away. For 11 years, that was the only guitar I owned. Then in 1987, my bass player told me about a wine red Gibson ES-335 copy with a trapeze tailpiece. It was at my local pawn shop which prior to that day, I'd never visited. Dunno why not. But I bought it and immediately fell head over heels in love with it, or more precisely, with the ES-335 style guitars. To this day I have never played any guitar other than either a Gibson or Epiphone, or other Asian-made ES-335. It was then that I read about my hero Ted Nugent owning 20 Gibson Byrdland guitars, and I quickly realised that it was perfectly OK to own more than one guitar! At the height of my career I owned over 15 x Epiphone Sheratons, 5 x Gibson ES-355s, 8 x Epiphone Rivieras, and other Epiphone models, including the Dot models. I took an interest in white Epiphone Sheratons many years ago and I own 11 of them at last count. Unfortunately I'm no longer active in the music industry because I can no longer play guitar at all. I have bone spurs on all my neck vertebrae and they're severely pinching the nerves to my hands, my left hand more so than my right. I'm intending to re-ignite my interest in bottleneck slide guitar. Guess I'll sell the vast majority of my guitars, since I can't play 'em any more, but which of my kids do I kick out of home first? I mean: they've all been really good to me, ultra-reliable, and they all look and sound fantastic. Which one do I let go for a fraction of what it cost me to customise it? I know they all paid for themselves dozens of times over and more. I played well over 3,800 paid gigs in my 25-year career, and I must have been to over 1,000 jam sessions as well. I've sold all but one of my Gibson ES-355s and I only still own one Gibson ES-335 Fat Neck. I wanna hang onto those in case I come good. But my 14 former stage guitars, all Epiphone Sheratons and Rivieras that are all customised to the max, I can't bear to sell them. They made me the player I wanted to be! I just can't reward them my letting them go for the measly prices they fetch, compared to the new up-market Epiphones that are available today. I had a storage drive go out of service a few years ago and it contained plenty of my videos from my prime as a guitarist. before I had the chance to upload them on KZfaq, so they're lost forever; but I still have quite a few videos on KZfaq filmed when I was in my late 50s and early 60s that still give an accurate view of what I used to play at every gig. I'll leave them up. I'm Number 3 in the Reverbnation Blues charts for my state capital city, despite my not doing anything at all to promote myself on that platform. So someone must be watching them!

I love mine. Worth every penny

If you like it and can afford it, it is worth it!

Elegant, that covers the guitar and, of course, your playing, and your vast knowledge of Both!!

Many guitar companies are now offering three or more price point tiers. Gibson now has Custom Shop, Gibson, Epiphone Inspired By Gibson and then Epiphone. PRS does the same with PRS Custom Shop, PRS Core, PRS S2 and finally PRS SE lines. There is a model for every player. The good news is that all the lines are now good to great quality…none are dogs like the lower tier guitars were when I was a young guitarist 60 years ago. This is a great time for guitarists…great quality, tone, and playability can be had for very reasonable prices and there are MANY choices.

Hi Len, when I first heard about these, I thought to myself, has Gibson gone mad? Then I slowed it down and did some actual homework. What it boils down to for me is simple. The pickups on this Epi 335 cost $500 when purchased from Gibson. Now for me, that's crazy money, but that's what they cost. Then you toss in a Gibson harshell case which will run $219. When I subtract $719 from $1300 I get $581 for a guitar with CTS pots, mallory caps, and upgraded hardware including Grovers. When you put it in perspective, this is a very fairly priced guitar. Like you, I get totally annoyed with Epiphone's ever present rough fret ends on new guitars. I bought a couple of the Epi inspired by Gibson 50's LP's.Both showed up with really sharp fret ends. Granted I got them for $519 @ from SW during gear fest, but still, in this day and age, that shouldn't happen. If this gorgeous 355 was available in lefty, I'd buy one with zero hesitation. I think it's a fair deal. The purist's will cry no Nitro finish, and I get it, but for this money, this guitar is a deal. The tones you were getting from it were as good as any Gibson I've ever heard. Thanks for a great and unbiased review.

Leonard makes any guitar sound good. If I didn’t already have a couple 335 types, I’d surely get one of these Epiphones. That headstock is a great improvement, and those pickups are serious.

I've been contemplating getting one of these for a while now, and I think this is the best review I've seen so far, not to mention the playing! I think you helped a lot in me deciding buying one! That being said, I'll blame you when my wife finds out!

Best review I’ve seen yet of the epiphone inspired 335. Keep up the great content, sir. 😊

Very nice playing.. i tried one of these 2 weeks ago. I also tried a gibson 335.. I ended up settling for an Eastman T59 in antique cherry... To me it was on another level to both the epiphone and gibson in playability and tones... Granted i cant make any of them sound as good as your good self.. but my pick would be the Eastman. New subscriber from the UK

I would happily buy this guitar and not feel the need to buy a legit Gibson ever. Matter of fact, I already bought one of these 😂

WoW Best sounding bridge pickup ever. Great video and playing.

Great review and great playing as always! These have been on my radar for a bit.

This is the just the sort of review I wanted to see. Thanks for the video sir.

Mine should be arriving by Tuesday! Ultimately this is hardly an Epiphone anymore. Real ebony, real MoP inlays, Gibson wiring and spec electronics, accurate selector switch, Gibson pickups, accurate headstock, etc. just unbound fret edges and a different name at the top. Good as it gets. I have owned two Gibson 335s and just sold the newer Epiphone Lucille for this. The Lucille was just about on par with my Gibsons (lacking mostly in the finish and the pickups). This seemingly rectifies every issue the Epiphones have had and I'm super stoked

The Gibson Les Paul Tributes are the only brand new Gibsons that are the same price as these Epiphone inspired by Gibsons. It’s crazy what assembly in another country will do to a price tag. I know that the US builders are likely a lot more experienced, more careful, use the best choice woods, etc, but most of an electric guitar’s tone is in the pickups; then in the player’s hands and then things like action height and bridge material.

An excellent review Leonard, and some very "tasty" playing! You touched on several points that other reviewers have simply left out. I concur with your comments (it is the sum of its parts that matter, not the headstock shape!), and have picked one of these up in white. I'm very pleased with it and have no regrets whatsoever. The fretwork on mine (which has been my biggest gripe with Epiphones at all model levels) were nicely finished with no high frets. More times than not, this has NOT been the case with those that I've tried. This is a legitimate professional quality instrument.

Recently bought 2003 es355, Korean built, great guitar, nice workmanship

I did the same thing. I took it to a gig the same day i picked it up. My main guitar is a 58 reissue lespaul. I ended up playing the 355 almost the whole night. Great value.

That was a really nice review and assessment and the playing is always outstanding. You know what impresses me, you always get great tones from whatever guitar you showcase. I'm pleasantly surprised at how well that Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb sounds which I believe you replaced the speaker with the Celestion G12 Neo Creamback in place of the Jensen. Great stuff Leonard! 👍👍

Great playing and overall excellent review. Looking forward to picking one of these up when they land in the UK, thanks Len 👍

I like your slow blues. I reserved a les paul standard 60's. Hope i won't regret. Of course, as you always say, it's not the guitar who make the guitarist... Great playing Leonard

Ya know, after watching your video this 355 is the first Epiphone I'd consider buying. Now if they released a Byrdland with similar features I'd probably give in and pay the ransom ;)

Excellent review

Thank you for your in-depth review and opinion of this model. Just ordered this guitar in Ebony. My first-ever semi hollow body. Can’t wait. SUBSCRIBED.

Great Review A+,.... Thanks much

Hi Leonard, as ever lovely phrasing. A real alternative would be the Epi Lucille. You can buy a new one in the UK for around £700 (maybe $800). It has the gold hardware, CTS pots, ebony fb, and, for all us semi-hollow fans, a backplate to switch out the loom and switches if desired without resorting to aquarium tubing or surgical forceps. No Custombuckers but you could invest in some SDs. A dealbreaker for some might be the lack of f-holes. Having said all that, that 355 plays and looks the business. All the best.

Decided to go for the Epi '59 Les Paul (Bought it yesterday), but I think this one will be bought at some stage too. Thanks for the video!

Great video Leonard, very interesting guitar Take care ✌️🧷🎸

I've watched your videos and have always enjoyed your playing and your critiques, because you always seem fair and impartial in your reviews, but in this review, I really heard something different in your playing this time, as if you were singing with the guitar, a flow like I haven't heard you play before. I also like how you put the cost in perspective to what would be this guitar's closest comparison, an actual Gibson ES-355, which here in NYC, I haven't seen for less than 2500, and that was for one that was in run down condition, a guitar you would need to completely work over to get right, so to me, trimming the fret ends is a smaller task in comparison, although I agree that Gibson/Epiphone need to keep a closer eye on the fretwork. I know they use plek machines, but after the machine is done, they need someone who manually rounds the frets if need be

Great information and great playing! I have watched all the videos on this 355. Yours is the most descriptive and your tone was by far, the best. Could you please reply with what you ran this guitar through? Thank you for considering this.

Whoa...great guitar and awesome playing.

I've got a 2012 Gibson Studio and believe me when I say its fret ends earned it the nickname "porcupine". So just being a Gibson is no guarantee that a guitar will be free of that particular problem!

Great video, great playin’!

Nice video Mr Leonard. Seen this several times. Just got my IGC 1959 ES-355 in Ebony today. My very first semi-hollow body. And it’s fantastic. It’s VOS. But, I prefer gloss. As expected, it’s got those sharp fret ends. Other than that, craftsmanship is flawless. For me, it looks, feels and plays great. Like you said, it’s got that woody and airy tone. Cheers!

Excellent review and commentary on the Epiphone 335, while I have yet to pick one up and play it, it seems to be the best offering of the new releases, I think the upgraded pick ups are nice, but the fact that it has an ebony Fingerboard makes it worth considering. Excellent playing ! You definitely highlighted the guitars ability to be great

Hey Leonard, great review, answered all my questions, just waiting for Epiphone to release stock of the black version and I’m buying one. Love your tone and appreciate all your reviews, Kind regards 😊

Es355 will do all the tones, BB,Richard Betts, tele and more. I run this into a Roland ss amp. Frets were good , it was USA setup by Epiphone..qc sticker on the headstock.

Epiphones are now the entry level Gibson’s. There is no shame in playing an Epiphone they are great guitars and the company has as much history in guitar making as Gibson.

You sir are a very fine guitar player !

It's worth the price...JC Curliegh Restored Epiphone back to high end Epiphones in 2019/2020.. epiphone was never meant to be a budget brand in the first place and they weren't until Norlin ruined them when they took over Gibson that ends with JC Curliegh he restored epiphone..the legendary Epiphone brand..

I need the white one of these !

People need to get their heads out of the clouds....Gibson is NOT the end all.....the days of Epiphone being a budget guitar....or a guitar that you bought and wish you could buy a Gibson .....are OVER....you DON'T need a Gibson unless you just want to impress your goofy friends .....learn your chd ges ...and BUY the NEW Epiphones ... these guitars are FANTASTIC

What a fantastic video have a wonderful day also today is my oldest sister birthday ❤😊

Every time I see an argument about the price, claiming they rather have a used Gibson, I always politely ask them to show me where are they seeing an ES-355 anywhere near $1299. I never hear or see a reply. I’ll be getting one of these soon… If I’m patient enough, they’ll be on the used market for way less.

You have a natural and professional presenter's voice. 😉 I agree with you, this appears to be the closest to the Gibson version out of all of the new releases. Personally, the 3 screw truss rod cover annoys me after someone pointed it out to me. Now I am fixated on it. I know, WhackO. ha

Sounds great ❤

Clap, clap, clap...good video.

After owning both a Gibson 335 Dot and Epiphone Joe Bonamassa 1962 ES-335 I can say there is little difference in sound both feel great and play amazing. Gibson has the Name and will retain its value more, Gibson will have real rosewood and Nitro Finish and has a slightly better feel. You can get a very good Gibson Dot used for about $2200 vs the $1300 for a new Epiphone.

I bought a used 2022 Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded 60’s for the same price as the epi Greeny and that was from a major uk retailer

Fantastic review. Seems like a great value. I'd be curious how it compares to a Sheraton or for that matter any semi-hollow that offers as many features for the money. I love the idea of all the Gibson features for a third of the price.

The 355 is worth every penny. I bought one and it is every bit as good as my gibson 335 I had. Actually the workmanship is better on this 355. Like you the only thing was I had to polish the fret ends. These are a no brainer especially for the price. These are pro guitars and not like the dinky epiphones of past.

That sounds Sweet🎸👍

what beautiful tee-shirt ! ! I want the same.. ^^

I like the pickups. Everything else is OK but the pickups are a definite plus. But the limited colors has left me pausing... "maybe they'll offer something I prefer."

Tasty playing Leonard. I wish I could get my hands on one to try to see if I like that fat 50's neck.

Saw one of these for £1,100 in UK online. Its very tempting, also nice review man and playing. 🎸 Any chance of posting the link of the sweet A maj Jam track? 🤞🙏😎

Keeo it! Sounds great live, too. :)

Epiphone vs Eastman what do you think? ✌️🧷🎸

Here's the specs on the 2021 Epiphone exclusive limited run modern figured Sg.. also recently discontinued....both the epiphone koa Les Paul and the epiphone exclusive Run modern figured Sgs will have fantastic resale value as time goes by... also both have the proper epiphone Kalamazoo headstocks.....Modern Figured Guitar Trans Red Epiphone SG Modern Figured Electric Guitar Specifications Shape: 60's Kalamazoo Brand Logo: Modern Epiphone in MOP HS Center Logo: Gibson Pineapple Machine Heads: Grover Locking Rotomatic with Tulip Button HS Face Color: Black Gloss Truss Rod Cover: 2-Ply, (blank) Binding: None Neck Material: Mahogany Nut: 43mm Graphtech WHITE Neck Profile: Asymetrical Slim Taper Neck Joint: Set Neck Finish: Gloss Black Fingerboard Material: Ebony Inlay Style: Std. Trapezoid 12th Fret inlay: Std Trapezoid Side Dots: 2mm Black Binding: Single Ply WHITE (needs to be true White) Scale Length: 24.75, (628mm) Radius /Number of Frets: 12", 24 Body Style / Shape: SG - Body blends smoothly with side of neck Heel Sculpting: none, 3mm step Material: Mahogany with 3/4" Plain Maple Cap Veneer: Top: AAA Flame Maple Neck Pickup: Epiphone Probucker 2 PB2NHBN-4 Bridge Pickup: Epiphone Probucker 3 PB3NHBN-4 Pickup Mounting Rings: Black Switch Type: 3-Way Toggle / Black Cap Control Assembly: 2 Vol(coil splits via push/pull)/2 Tone(1 with Phase via push/pull)/ 3 Way V/T Knob Color / Type: Clear Top Hats with Ridge Output: Nickel plated metal plate Back Plates: Black Hardware Plating: Nickel Tail Piece Type: LockTone Stop Bar Bridge: LockTone ABR Strap Button: 2, Butt and Back of Heel

Looks Fab🤠

The Sire 335 is nice for 700

Hey One Question. I like playing Blues and Jazz on the neck and funk on the bridge. (Split coil Duncans). Do you think using 250k pots is better than the installed 500k for the bridge? - A strat in position 4 is my favorite funk gear. Many say split coils on a 335 for funk aren t the real deal. - Could be true cause the 500k make the single coil too shrill. So getting into strat territory the 250k could do something good to my 335? Thanx dude. Beste blues channel out there.

I want this guitar but all the suppliers are sold out and say they have no idea when they will receive new stock.

Thx . Liked and subscribed ❤

Hi. Whats the brand of strings that you are using? Thanks

I have 2 Epiphone one 335 and one LP . The 335 will not stay in tune very well . Like the PL does . Had 3 guitar Tecks work on it all ready

On the subject of fret ends: Epiphone look like they're really going for the strictest accuracy, because every Gibson I ever owned had prickly fret ends. What's that? Your Gibsons didn't have that? I know the reason why. Any guitar that makes it through Gibson's quality control with less that a perfect finish in any way . . . ends up being sent to Australia, where I live. We're too far away to send every factory second back, so that's all the Gibson dealers end up being able to sell to us. Epiphone are just as bad. Back when the USD was worth jack, it became an attractive proposition to buy second-hand Gibsons and Epiphones from overseas, thereby bypassing all the factory seconds that the dealers were stuck with. By doing that I was able to see first hand how much better the guitars that i'd bought from American, British, and Japanese dealers really were.

Here's the spes on the 2021 Epiphone exclusive limited edition modern figured Sg.. recently discontinued ... very high end...Modern Figured Guitar Trans Red Epiphone SG Modern Figured Electric Guitar Specifications Shape: 60's Kalamazoo Brand Logo: Modern Epiphone in MOP HS Center Logo: Gibson Pineapple Machine Heads: Grover Locking Rotomatic with Tulip Button HS Face Color: Black Gloss Truss Rod Cover: 2-Ply, (blank) Binding: None Neck Material: Mahogany Nut: 43mm Graphtech WHITE Neck Profile: Asymetrical Slim Taper Neck Joint: Set Neck Finish: Gloss Black Fingerboard Material: Ebony Inlay Style: Std. Trapezoid 12th Fret inlay: Std Trapezoid Side Dots: 2mm Black Binding: Single Ply WHITE (needs to be true White) Scale Length: 24.75, (628mm) Radius /Number of Frets: 12", 24 Body Style / Shape: SG - Body blends smoothly with side of neck Heel Sculpting: none, 3mm step Material: Mahogany with 3/4" Plain Maple Cap Veneer: Top: AAA Flame Maple Neck Pickup: Epiphone Probucker 2 PB2NHBN-4 Bridge Pickup: Epiphone Probucker 3 PB3NHBN-4 Pickup Mounting Rings: Black Switch Type: 3-Way Toggle / Black Cap Control Assembly: 2 Vol(coil splits via push/pull)/2 Tone(1 with Phase via push/pull)/ 3 Way V/T Knob Color / Type: Clear Top Hats with Ridge Output: Nickel plated metal plate Back Plates: Black Hardware Plating: Nickel Tail Piece Type: LockTone Stop Bar Bridge: LockTone ABR Strap Button: 2, Butt and Back of Heel

Sounds really great Mr Leonard. Whether it looks great as well depends on personal taste. Personally, I prefer gloss over satin finish except for the neck. If this guitar gets polished and buffed to a high gloss, will it alter the sound? Any comment will be much appreciated. Thanks!

Love this review and your playing… I just bought a dot 355 for £150… it’s nice and a bargain but not like this

There appears to be an inconsistency in the Gibson CustomBucker pickups provided on this Epiphone guitar and the Gibson CustomBucker pickups provided in Gibson guitars. The Epiphone guitar Gibson CustomBuckers are “potted” and the Gibson guitar CustomBucker pickups are “unpotted”. According to the Gibson website, CustomBuckers are not potted. So, are the CustomBuckers provided on the Epiphone made in the USA by Gibson, or are they actually manufactured in some other country and just called Gibson CustomBuckers?

Did the 59's not come with the varitone switch?

So I guess the reason this guitar costs less than a Gibson is because it is made in China. I has almost the same quality body and electronics as the USA 355 but at a third of the price. Just goes to show that labor in China is way way lower than in the USA.

You must work in radio with a voice like that.

I hope they come out with sunburst soon.

Get the Epi '59 with custom buckers in your hands. If you say that one is no good, I will eat that hat.

I think at that price I would want an ES-355 to at least come with a Varitone, and ideally a Bigsby tailpiece too... Same goes for the Gibson version.

How are these weight wise?

Robin Trower

Only thing I will never understand...a lot of guitar players love those old made in USA Vintage Epiphones...so why they don't do Epiphones custom shop made in the USA at a price of a standard Gibson you can buy an American Epiphones with American wood.. maybe made in Mexico.. it think it would be a bargain in terms of tone and quality

Get the information my friend. You, like most reviewers default the Gibson as automatically the better guitar. The truth is that has not been the case for over 20 years. Features you say?? Try the 60's Tribute Plus made by Epiphone released in the 2005-2007 range. You couldn't get a Gibson Les paul with the same specs unless you ordered it specifically. I've written so much about it, I'll let you do the research. As for the SG's. My Epiphone SG plays better than my Gibson SG. It has 57 classic pickups, solid mahogany body and neck and a Rosewood fretboard. It has locking Grover tuners, a Faux Bone nut, aluminum stop bar and rollamatic bridge. The electronics consist of CTS, Mallory, SwitchCraft, and it uses orange Drop capacitors. the neck has binding as well. The particular guitar is the 61 Reissue Epiphone SG. I've worked on guitars over 30 years. When you learn of guitars by becoming a Luthier, you begin to see the games which have been played on human beings for decades. Dig and get the truth. You have a great method, just do away with the inherit bias and call a spade a spade so to speak. Gibsons are great guitars but so are Epiphones, as well as Ibanez, as well as many, many others like the Sire guitars. America doesn't hold the magic key to building great guitars any longer and until American companies can sell guitars for a normal price, they;ll not get the same business as their Indonesian counterparts, especially when the Indonesians are building guitars which not only rival all others, but in many honest cases, blow them away.

It's definitely closest to a Gibson Custom Shop in the new lineup. They are all great, but this ES-355 is the closest. Why? Let's look at the Epiphone 1959 Les Paul. Laural fretboard instead of rosewood and veneer over plain maple top are different than even Gibson USA Les Paul Stabdard 50's model. This one has the same body construction and gas real ebony fretboard as the resl thing. They all have the same stuff as well. Like they come with long tenon that's better than Gibson USA models but come with the poly finish while even Gibson USA models are nitro finished. Bridge solution is at the Gibson USA level but is not up to the Custom Shop level. Pickups are Custom Shop level while harness is Gibson USA level. Not that even Custom Shop comes with a good harness. It is definitely nicer and cleaner looking in the Custom Shop guitars, but it is definitely the weakest link in current Custom Shop guitars. I change them always and get great results. Pair of Custombuckers run above 500 bucks. That's simply added cost. Though I have done pickup upgrades for people, and even for myself, that cost more than guitar did. Here, you finally get a proper headstock shape. It was always irritating me seeing all other shapes Epiphone had in the past. This means a lot to many people. Plus, it comes with a case. You can get for 600 bucks normal ES-335 but with eastern pickups and no case and that headstock shape. Good guitars, but those can't compete with this.

I still think for $1300 you can buy a better made and sounding Korean made semi hollow from dangelico. While epiphone is solid, 1K+ for a made in China with no bump in QC is no different than their $400+ models. “Historic” spec wise they still have no hide glue, true ABR-1 bridge, or nitro finish. Sure you want the “look” of a real ES-355, the 1K seems to go into the headstock and pickups. Gibson is successful in marketing these as a “Gibson for a lower price” when it’s far from it.

I’m a lefty no such thing all epiphone lefty are 599. ,355 only

All they have to do is the fender thing call it a Gibson maid in china

Wow, i cant believe people buy these(or any) Epiphone.

they did them a great favor to cancel that ugly Epiphone headstock and use the beautiful Gibson open book headstock! (just like Fender and Squier; the design of the headstocks are iconic)

a 355 should have a varitone.

Yeah yeah but it's still an Epiphone. Save up for a real Gibson!