I own an EPI Sheridan (Korea)with Gibson Classic 57s,an old Washburn HB-35 (Korea) with Gibson Classic 57s, and this ES-335. The Gibson sounds more refined even though it has the same pickups. If you hold your hand on the neck with your thumb on the back on the neck as most are taught, the 335's flat center of the neck is perfect. However I am one of those who grab the neck, so the flat part is not as comfortable as the EPI or Sheridan. Listening to all three having the same pickups, if you are playing blues there is little difference. I would have been much happier with a neck more like the Washburn or EPI and I find myself rarely picking up the 335, but that is me. So all I am saying know the neck is not round, but flat in the center. You can see this in the photos as the flat carving comes down from the head. The wood on the body on my 335 is so good I though it was the more expensive fancy top, though I don't like the darkness of the shading of the sunburst too much, so I should have picked another color. The photos here are representative of the shading. The guitar I bought was absolutely made perfectly with no flaws. Smelled great too! I buy many guitars and every once in a while I sell the ones that don't give me inspiration, some guitars are just magical for some, others not. If I were playing nice jazzy stuff you could not pull this guitar out of my hands, but for me this guitar, may or may not stay with me. Rarely are you going to find a lot of 335s in a store to demo, and not already played by others, and with the current technology guitars can be made more perfectly and consistently, so I would not hesitate to buy one from Musicansfriend.

I received my new ESE-335 about two weeks ago and I took a little time to get to know it before I wrote this review. I purchased the ebony, high-gloss model primarily because I got a great deal, although I do love the black finish.

First thing I will discuss is the feel of this guitar. It is heavier than my other guitars (Fender Strat and Parker Nitefly), but it feels solid and very stable. It is also a larger guitar in size, and since I am a big guy, it fits me perfectly.

Last week, I took it two my local guitar tech thinking it might need a set up. I put on Gibson BB King strings which have very heavy bottom strings and Gibson recommended that I have the truss rod tweaked to accomomdate these heavier strings. The guitar tech's assessment was that my ES-335 was PERFECT !!! No need to adjust anything.

Now for the best...... the tone of the guitar is simply in a league of its own. Clean tones are absolutely beautiful and balanced perfectly across all frets. Another factor worth mentioning is the distinctively different tones between the neck and bridge pickups. Both have great lead solo tones and the neck pickup is excellent for chording. Of course, the bridge pickup produces more of a twangy, treble-dominant, vintage sound of past guitar greats. What is really amazing is the effect you can get by pushing the guitar into crunch and metal modes, also the best I have ever heard. I would also argue the the ES-335 is the best blues guitar available today.

Bottom line is........you get what you pay for and this guitar is worth every penny. Everything considered, the ES-335 may be the best guitar ever made.

Recieved my brand new 335, & the intonation was way out. Took it to a authorized Gibson repair shop, & was informed the bridge needs to be re drilled & moved back 1/8". I'm very dissapointed in the quality & lack of attention to detail by Gibson.

I just purchased the Gibson ES-335 today. This guitar is unbelievable! I play jazz, gospel and blues music and this guitar caters to each style with class. I've tried lots of semi-hollowbody guitars, from Dean to Ibanez and none of these guitars can give me what the 335 can. It's such a versatile guitar that can go from smooth warm jazz and with one click of the Ibannez TS9 can peel the paint off the walls! If you're contemplating on which guitar to buy, you cant go wrong with an ES-335.

I recently purchased the ES-335 Dot in Vintage Sunburst finish. It was the smartest purchase I have ever made. This guitar can play ANY style of music. I play with a lot of distortion, chorus, flange, Wah, and echo. GREAT guitar for Rock, Blues, Jazz, or just to jam!