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A review of the Epiphone 339


joecool1963

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Ive had the guitar long enough for the honeymoon period to wear off, so I wrote up a review for those who might be interested. Will add a few pics to the thread later

Purchased From:
American Musical Supply
Features
- Body Material: Reduced size Laminated Maple body with solid center block
- Neck Material: Mahogany
- Neck Shape: SlimTaper; D profile
- Neck Joint: Glued-In; Mortise and Tenon
- Truss Rod: Adjustable
- Scale Length: 24.75"
- Fingerboard Materail: Rosewood with mother-of-pearl Dot inlays
- Neck pickup: Alnico Classic PRO
- Bridge Pickup: Alnico Classic PRO
- Controls: 3-way Pickup Selector, Neck Pickup Volume with push/pull coil tapping, Bridge Pickup Volume with push/pull coil tapping, Neck Pickup Tone, Bridge Pickup Tone
- Outputs: 1/4" Heavy-Duty Epiphone
- Binding: Fingerboard - 1 ply (cream), Body - 1 ply (cream)
- Fingerboard Radius: 12"
- Frets: 22; medium-jumbo
- Bridge: LockTone Tune-o-matic
- Tailpiece: LockTone Stopbar
- Nut Width: 1-11/16"
- Hardware: Nickel
- Machine Heads: Grover Vintage with Tombstone buttons; 14:1 Ratio
- Strings: Gibson Brite Wires 10-46
- Optional: Hard Case
- Warranty: Epiphone Limited Lifetime
Action, Fit, and Finish
Finally an Epiphone that doesn’t have junk electronics. The Pots are quiet and responsive. Feels Solid. As does the pickup toggle switch and the input jack. A+ on this. The Guitar stays in tune thanks to the solid tuning machines. Guitar is balanced and is not a neck diver.
The Fretwork is nicely done and level. Intonation, no problems at all. Action is very nice, low, but not quite as low as one would use for a Les Paul. All about preference here.
The only finish flaw that I have found is the paint used around the f holes is a bit sloppy in places.
The sustain of the guitar is quite nice.

Sound Quality
The 339 is a pleasant sized 335 style guitar. It isn’t quite as airy or woody as a 335, but much more comfortable to play. That said, it is much more airy and woody than a Les Paul which is comparable in size. It gets you into the 335 tone range without feeling like you are dragging around a giant Micky Mouse Head…
Most surprising is the tonal range that the guitar can cover thanks to the well done stock Epiphone pickups and the coil tapping feature. The personality of the guitar changes drastically when coil tapping is engaged.
Interesting as well is the ability to coil tap one pickup and blend it with the full humbucking features on the other thanks to the push pull pot controls. The guitar is quite flexible and can sound much like a Les Paul, but also provide tones that are reminders of a semi-hollow telecaster.

Realibility
2 months in, it is rock soild and I have used the guitar during several performances without worry. It sounds great through a variety of amps, including my Vox AC series amp.
Overall Rating
I’d buy another one in a heartbeat

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