Even the sides are flamey... The color isn't right in this photo, though. The sides are actually more of a dark "raspberry red" than the brown in this pic:.
And I like the headstock shape better than the Casino-style headstock they used on the Dot and previous 335 models. I don't mind it on a Casino. It's supposed to have that headstock, but this looks more appropriate for a 335:
Upon initial inspection, I could only find one small imperfection where a bit of paint leaked under the tape onto the binding on the back of the guitar:
I was willing to shrug that off, since it's on the back, and I'd barely be aware of it. Otherwise, the guitar plays great. I'm pretty sure that somebody did a set-up on it before they shipped it to me, because it was intonated, and had pretty much perfect, low action right out of the box. The fretwork is great... No sharp ends, no high frets. The pickups sound good, but not exactly what I'm looking for. I knew what to expect in that department even before I ordered this guitar. This has the "Alnico Classics", which they previously used in the 335 "Pro" model, and I had played that guitar on numerous occasions so I had already planned to replace them with a set of Pro-Buckers.
It could be that I'm just so used to single-coil pickups, but I think the Alnico Classics lack clarity. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're "muddy", but I did have to boost the treble and roll off the bass on my amp more than usual (for humbuckers), and they don't have the "sweetness" that the Pro-Buckers have. The bridge pickup sounds a little too nasal, or "honky" for my liking, too. But where these pickups really shine is when you boost the gain and really dig in and play aggressively. It sounds thick, solid and legit when you want to rawk out, but I also play a lot of clean, articulate stuff too, and I prefer pickups with a little more sparkle for that.
Ok, so why did I say "I think" in the title? Well, everything looked cool and acceptable until I went to take photos of it for this thread, and under the bright lights, a multitude of flaws jumped out at me.
First of all, when the light is reflecting off the headstock at the right angle, you can see that this headstock also has scratches under the finish like the first one had. Also, that light discoloration on the surface is not a reflection. It's hazing in the clear-coat:
I noticed a tiny scuff in the finish down by the knobs, which probably happened during buffing. It doesn't look nearly as bad or noticeable as it does in this picture. It's actually almost invisible:
A bit more hazy ghosting in the finish on the top horn, and light vertical scratch (again, pretty much invisible unless you catch it in the light just right).
Some scuffs on the side:
There's also a lot of fine finish scratches and swirl marks on various parts of the body. If I had bought this from a store, instead of an online retailer, I would have thought they sent me a guitar that was hanging on the wall and shop-worn, but I think this came from the factory this way. Once I noticed the headstock scratches (and the intonation issue) on the first one, I stopped looking for flaws, but I have a feeling if I had put that one under the scrutiny of bright lights I would have found similar minor scuffs and scratches. Asian guitar manufacturers are having a hard time keeping up with demand since the Covid outbreak, so maybe Epiphone's QC has become a little lax when it comes to minor imperfections like these.
I've been vacillating back and forth regarding how I feel about it... I have a pretty good feeling that if I sent this back for yet another exchange (if AMS would even do that), the next one I get will probably be more of the same. On one hand, these are really minor, nearly invisible, nit-picky little flaws. You really have to be right on top of the guitar and have the light hitting it just right in order to see them (and I can buff most of that stuff out myself). Otherwise, it looks pristine and beautiful. And I can't find anything physically/mechanically wrong with it. It's built well and plays great. But on the other hand, I can't help thinking that every Agile, Squier, SX or even Harley Benton that I've bought have arrived looking untouched and flawless, and they all cost $200-$400 less than this guitar.
). I think after 2 returns, they have a vested interest in making double-damn sure that they don't send me anything to complain about.
