Epiphone ES-339 PRO (Cherry) Reviews

4.9/5.0 based on 10 customer reviews

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Customer Reviews

Gene Ray
from Atlanta GA USA
April 1, 2013Music Background:
40 year guitar player

Very Satisfied

This is one of the best buys out there. I wanted a hollowbody that was more comfortable than the 335 I have and this one is just that. The Chinese manufacturing has really improved and the quality is very high. Contrary to what I had read about this guitar, the coil splitting is really a very usable feature on this guitar and provides a fairly wide variety of very usable tones for a hollowbody. Sweetwater does the best job in the business of ensuring that the guitars they sell are set up to factory specs and that there are no other problems and this one was perfect right out of the box. Jon Gillespie (Sales Engineer) followed up to make sure this was the case as he has done on previous purchases. Sweetwater is the best in terms of service whether its an expensive guitar or a less expensive one like this one.

Mike
from Columbus, OH, USA
March 4, 2013Music Background:
Hobbyist

Incredible Value

I checked out a Gibson 339 at a local store. Considering this was a custom shop guitar and just under $3000, I was appalled by it's condition. There were many flaws in the fit and finish, namely lots of overpaint on the binding and tons of splinters, finish residue and crap on the neck. It sounded and played great, and I know a "handbuilt" guitar is not supposed to look perfect but this was a case of poor qc. The issues wouldn't be a deal breaker had it not been a $3000 custom shop Gibson guitar. It boggles my mind that they let this thing go out like this. I also think the retailer bears some responsibility for making sure what gets hung on the wall is up to par. They had 3 Epi's in stock. The first ones' neck was badly twisted, and again I blame the store for putting it on the rack. The second was o.k. but not quite right. The third one was a gem and instantly spoke to me. I snagged it, took it home and gave it the treatment, and WOW! It has the same tone unplugged that grabbed me when I played the Gibson. The only words I can find are "woody" and "Airy". I LOVE how it sounds unplugged. There is something about the open B and the B 8va that just "sympathizes" with the wood. They just pop! I keep finding specific chords that do the same. Due to the fact that I have 2 Epi's and 3 Squire Custom Vibe guitars that match or beat ANYTHING I've EVER played without any mods except the nuts I make, I am officially DONE with expensive guitars. My playing will impress no one. Why should I try to impress anyone with the label on the headstock of my guitar?

Jim Cox
from Muncie, Indiana
January 1, 2013Music Background:
Singer/songwriter with small home studio, played in local bands since the '50s.

Epiphone ES-339 PRO (Cherry)

In looking for something similar to the old ES-335, I spotted the Epi 339 PRO and began to research it. In general it has all the features I was looking for in this style guitar; thin hollow body, humbuckers, coil tapping and thin neck for my small hands.

I love the low action and the perfect intonation up and down the neck, the cherry finish and oh, yeah.....the price was right.

What I failed to notice before I ordered mine was the reduced body size. That was a welcome surprise. Being small of frame I enjoy that feature more each time I pick it up – which is quite often.

I've been playing since the 50s and, considering electric guitars, have historically leaned toward Fender products, but the 339 caught my eye and after much review checking I thought I'd take a chance it. I'm glad I did. It's now a permanent part of my modest collection and I'm looking forward to featuring on my demos.

Dennis Kayser
from Denver Area
November 16, 2012Music Background:
28+ years of guitar playing

Epi ES339 Pro

I've played guitar for 28+ yrs. and have owned most of the good stuff. I just received the Epi ES 339 Pro from Sweetwater and I'm blown away by the quality of workmanship, the tone and the Pickups! If you blindfolded me and I played this guitar I would swear I was playing a Gibson ES339, except the Gibson doesn't have coil splitting and costs $2100.00 MORE. Great job Epiphone & Sweetwater.
Thanks Dennis K.

Jim Evans
from Newberry Florida
August 19, 2012Music Background:
over 35 years of recording and live gigs. Guitars owned - Martin DC28E, 50th Anniversary Stratocaster, Takamine E9 Hirade Classical (33 yrs old) Jay Turser JT-134, Fender Resonator Electric Cutaway

Worth every penny!

Excellent for the money. I wrote to Gibson years ago about having Epiphone offer an affordable version on the Gibson ES-339 and was excited when they came out. I had just purchased a Fender Modern Tele Plus (also excellent for the $) so I put off ordering one of these. When the price dropped to $399 I caved in and bought one. A gorgeous cherry red with a great neck and great tone. Well done Epiphone/Gibson, Well done!

Joanie977a
from Los Angeles, CA USA
June 30, 2012Music Background:
Guitar Player

Nice for the price.

Keeping in mind that I paid 399 for this guitar. I am giving it 5 stars based on the price and what you are getting for the price. I am blown away by the quality. I have some decent guitars in my stable: Fender Strat American Std, Rickenbacker 620, Gibson Les Paul Std. I also have owned some crappy Squiers from the 1990's and too many other guitars to name, so I know when something is decent or just plain crappy. My main daily guitar is the Strat, so I was looking for a semi-hollow humbucker guitar to add to the mix. This Epiphone ES-339 has really exceeded my expectations. It is made in China, however there is nothing wrong with the neck, it is straight. The frets are good and smooth, the nut is decently cut. The bridge is also decent. The soundhole is clean, there isn't any woodchip/crap inside as I have seen on other low-priced gear. The neck feels thicker than my American Strat, but thinner than my Rickenbacker. It is not hard to get used to the neck. My only big complaint is that the volume and tone knobs do not line up the way I like. So I had to pull them out and line up the numbers the same. The neck pickup is good for mellow stuff like jazz. I will keep it. The bridge pickup will be the first thing I replace when I get the chance. The bridge pickup just doesn't scream enough for blues/rock/metal leads. The coil splitting option on this thing for switching between single coil and humbucker is a nice to have, however I don't think I'll be using it often. I find that the single coil sound on this Epiphone really cannot compare to the wonderful cleans that you can get out of a Fender single coil pickup. Epiphone's attempt at a single coil sound really does not do it for me. I do think this guitar is best when used in humbucker mode only, because that thick meaty sound is what the Epiphone humbucking pickups are meant for. I want to also mention that the cherry color is very classy looking-- the color is dark, but transparent enough to see the wood grain underneath.

As for the service from Sweetwater, it was excellent as usual. The guitar came double-boxed and it was ready to play straight out of the box. I didn't have to adjust the action. I literally took it out and plugged it into my amp. After my initial test runs, all I did after that was change the strings out to my favorite flatwounds and I'm happy as can be. Thank you Dennis at Sweetwater!

Leo
from Canoga Park, CA
June 6, 2012Music Background:
pro attitude guitar player and recording artist

ES-339 PRO awesome

Seriously, plays as good as any of the three Gibsons I own, right out of the box. It was practically in tune on arrival, no adjustments needed.

John Anzalone
from Long Island, NY
May 13, 2013Music Background:
Guitar, Bass guitar and Keyboards

Awesome Guitar

This guitar plays and sounds great. It is really we'll made. The body and finish are flawless. The neck is the right thickness and is very easy to play. You defenintly want to replace the strings as soon as you get it, I was told by my sales engineer Dustin that they come with Gibson 10s but they're terrible strings. I replaced them with Ernie Ball Cobalt 9s and the guitar really came alive. If you're looking for a very affordable semi hollow guitar this guitar is definitely the one.

Campo Smokie 54
from Campo, CA USA
January 27, 2013Music Background:
Recording & live musician, hobbyist, composer, garage musician.

Surprizingly Great Semi-Hollowbody Is A Steal

I've had mine for eight months and I am very pleased with it. I like the size and shape and the cherry finish is beautiful and flawless. The feel is right and it's very comfortable to play. It provides the classic open tone. It feels solid and well made. The tuners are silky smooth and there is no string slippage at the nut whatsoever. This guitar is easy to tune and stays in tune. The neck shape and thickness is familiar and comfortable as I've played old Les Pauls for many, many years.

It arrived well packed and in flawless condition. I did replace the strings after a few days with my own and did some minor tweaks to the setup and aside from that have no plans nor need to upgrade anything. There was a thin layer of scale on the new frets which quickly polished away from playing the guitar. My action is low enough to be very fast but high enough to make for easy bends. I have no issue with string buzz or fretting out.

The pickups are on the mellower side but express the open tone all right. I always use the bridge in full humbucker mode and usually keep the neck in single coil mode, and that keeps a nice contrast and balance. This guitar works well with a clean setup, overdriven, or heavily distorted.

I'm very happy to have this guitar and i would buy it again in a second. I appreciate the ability to view the photos online at Sweetwater. I don't know if I just got lucky but this one has definitely exceeded my expectations. I've had it and played it every day so we're out of the honeymoon period. This one's a keeper. I play it every day.

Kat
from Springfield, MA
October 18, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist/performer; have been playing for 12 years

Great blues guitar for the money

I have a Gibson LP and a Fender Deluxe Strat but I was looking for something light weight with a nice fat blues sound that didn't break the bank. This guitar is just what I was looking for. It's my first semi-hollow body and it's not much larger than my solid body guitars so it felt comfortable right out of the box. The humbuckers deliver a rich full sound and the coil taps give you more tonal variations if you need them. I rarely use them but you never know. This is the first non-American made guitar that I have purchased and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the fit and finish of this guitar far exceeded my expectations. It's beautiful! I couldn't find any imperfections on it. A few of the frets needed a little polishing and the input jack needed snugging up but so far those are the only problems I've encountered. The guitar stays in tune very well despite my bending the strings a lot. I think that this guitar is a great buy.