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(More customer reviews)First, let me say that many years ago (when I still thought I had a chance to be Paul McCartney) I bought a first year of issue ES355TD, in red, to try to round out my bass playing. I even had the serial number verified as such with Gibson and got a really cool letter from them to prove it. In 1975 it was already a classic and I still want to kick myself every time I realize I sold it two years later for the same $450. Now you could probably add a zero onto the end of that price. Bummer for me.
The point is, I've seen the best and now I have recently received what I thought would be a pretty good imitation that both my son and I could strum a little bit. A sort of decent quality "beach guitar" idea but electric. It's not a copy of the 355, it's a 335 but the missing (was it six position?) tone control and stereo capability were never really necessary. This Epiphone Dot also has some other stuff missing like the pearl inlays in the neck and around the head but the overall appearance is absolutely gorgeous! I see in the Wikipedia ES335 entry that most models did have just plain dots in the fretboard but mine was the red one Chuck Berry is playing in the 355 entry. Anyway, I won't fault Epi for the decision to go with dots for the down home feel (and lower price) since it is historically correct. The red finish is beautiful and is in direct competition with the original. Wood grain is visible through the red and looks terrific. All seams and connections are silky smooth. This will be considered blasphemy but fit and finish is probably better than the original in many respects.
This part IS blasphemy but the thing plays just as well as the 1958 model. I lowered the bridge a tad and it's just fine. Obviously the frets are not as nicely worn but I have a feeling that will come, we'll be playing this guitar a lot. You will probably find the pickups to be better quality than those made in the 50's. Really. 50's metallurgy and electronics vs. 2000's tech? No contest. I won't pretend I remember exactly what the 355 sounded like but this one is probably just as good. Remember that a lot of guys want the old model simply because poor pickup design and materials give the guitar a "dirtier" sound. I would replace the strings pretty quick with whatever you like, I'm a big fan of Ernie Ball Super Slinky sets for generic use and they are sold on Amazon for your convenience.
If you are a parent and unsure if your child will continue on or just somebody looking for a good buy in a semi-acoustic electric guitar I don't think you can do much better than the Epiphone Dot. BTW, even if your child does continue playing, this guitar will work through several levels of playing ability. There's a difference between "want" and "need", someday they will want a guitar with the Gibson name but they won't really need it. This one's good enough.
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