Aslin Dane Jazz 335 Copy

First of all I play left handed. So in essence I am a second class citizen in the world of guitar and therefore have limited choice in what's available and even then we Lefty's get stiffed with higher prices.

Having been in search of a hollow body guitar I ended up with this piece and on the surface it looked beautiful with it's candy apple red finish but trouble was on the horizon.

Made in Korea.

At the time I was playing surf music and I already had my Fender Strat and twin-verb. But I was looking for a guitar with a Hollow sound for those certain instrumentals that called for it.

The sound was rich and had decent tone but there were certain frets that were giving me a buzz.

First of all I placed a Bigsby on this guitar and it helped with those big Duane Eddy songs.

The thing that always bothered me was that there was a faulty fret on the high e at the 12. It always buzzed no matter how much I adjusted the action and neck.

The guitar performed okay for gigs but this isnt the best quality out there.

I had this guitar for about two years before it finally met its demise on the floor "Pete Townsend" style. It was good while it lasted but for the most part it was a lot of headache. It was constant maintainence on this thing. I could never get the buzz off of some of the frets no matter how much I adjusted the action and neck.

I finally found and bought an Epiphone Dot and have had no real problems since. Looking back I should have just done more shopping around before buying the Aslin Dane.

It's like a Sizzler salad bar: everything looks like its there, but you're still not convinced it's the real thing.

It sounds alright as long as you're barely touching it. Wait, it's supposed to sound like a Gibson 330. It sounds awful. You know those plastic guitars that sound like the absence of music? What if they made a jazz version? Oh wait, they do, and you're thinking about buying it.

Bookmatched top? Routed bridge? This guitar's so retarded it has saliva glands that will passively drool over your leg as you play. So now you have a wet leg, and guess what else--even though this is the action, fit & finish section--you still sonds terrible. On the plus side: you might find yourself wanting a little tremolo in the midst of a little weather report cover your bands doing, in which case, feel free to pull the neck back and lightly jerk it back and forth. You'll find that you can adjust the pitch about a half step in either direction. It's really indie.

This guitar will most likely be confiscated by the government in the future for the unholy compound they used to make the neck. The pickguard's also a little loose on mine, but yours might end up finding other ways to disappoint you. Realistically, though, this guitar has stood up to my immense disappointment in it for about 3 years now, compounded with what must be a very hurt self esteem at being passed by on craigslist for very modest sums of money multiple times. One guy offered me a two litre bottle of coke and a carton of camels. This guitar has reverted normal, tax paying Americans to bartering savages. That's how bad it is.

There's a customer support support group alt.aslindane.co.uk. They're really nice.

Sorry for the negativity exercise. But this really isn't a decent guitar, even for a student. If it didn't superficially resemble a Gibson 330 it wouldn't have a chance in the ears of any player. I just saw too many gushing reviews of it on here and had to try to represent another side. I'm a professional musician, I've played all kinds of music. I've giving you the real deal here. Buy a mexican telecaster, bump the mids, and play your jazz. The listening public will have no idea how sacrilegious you're being. And the scene kids will admire your scrappy ingenuity. Only if you play well.

This 335 copy is great. The semi-hollow, and light weight body makes for amazing sustain. The Seymour Duncan "52 paf" humbuckers are very nice. it features 2 volume and 2 tone knobs, (some say these, knobs are flimsy, they do seem loose and they turn very easily, but i like that) the 3 way switch switches very well. The frettboard is a very nice ebony-like resin/wood mixture, which I prefer over real ebony. This guitar is also resistant to feedback if you use a decent amp, it use to feedback like crazy through my Kostom 16 watt amp, but through my Marshall MG30 combo, or 50watt Marshall Valvestate half stack there is very little feedback unless I turn the wah on. i give it a 9 just because it isnt spectacularly tricked out every thing is very good but there is always room for improvement.

I definetly under rated this guitar at first. if figured that because the cost was so low it must have a lower quality sound. i was under this impression for years. Then when I bought an Epi LP Plain Top, I found that I prefered this guitar. The sound is wonderfull, i play blues/blues-metal, along the line of Zeppelin or Cream, and this is does it great. If I could give it a 15 i would. By manipulating the volume and tone knobs you can get almost any sound from, thin and twangy to thick and muddy. this guitar is great with any level of gain. turn the gain up and play metal or turn it down and play some old stye blues.

When i bought it from my friend the action was finebut resently i lowered it just to see what it would be like. I lowered it as low as it could go with out buzzing. It is now perfect (for me). The finish was great mine was red, very red. I say was because I just painted it, not because it didn't look amazing, just because i wanted to make it more me. The neck is nice and fast. This earns a 10 once you get it set up like you like

Very reliable, i have giged with it with out a back up with no worries, the strap bottons are solid but my strap is not but with a good strap or with locks it would be perfect. the finish is very good when I was preping it to paint it it took along time to get it to sand off, you wont lose this finish unless you really try.

never had to use it but i have heard it is good.

I have been playing for 4 or 5 years. This was the 1st real guitar I bought. as I said earlier I underestemated this guitar, alot. I almost sold it to buy my LP plain top, but i desided to keep it as a back up, but now i use the Plain Top, which was $200 more, as a back up, athough you shouldn't need. I have compaired the sound side by side with Gibsons and it stands up. Don't let people say its a good guitar for the price, this is a great guitar period. If it was stolen or I acidentaly droped it or broke it some how i would buy a new one right off. Through my Marshall Valvestate Halfstack it is the only guitar I need. I just cant say enough about it.

My guitar is a 1990s model bought new because I lvoe the 335 style guitar and can't afford a Gbison! Having played it for half an hour in the shop, I wan't going to leave without it at the price they were asking. It has the standard 335 style layout with two Seymour Duncan "52 paf" pickups and mine is in a reasonable tobacco sunburst finish. I like the overall look of the double cutaway thinline semi and this does the job to my eye although the Tune-O-Matic bridge is something I've had to get used to as my natural right hand position keeps catching the heel of my hand on the bridge. Love the superphrenol neck. It is wider than my strat but as I play a lot of 12 string acoustic, it's no problem. Tuners seem ok as far eatern generics go and it seems to stay in tune.

This is where the guitar excels. For the money, I can't fault it, it is so versatile. I play through a Marshall valvestate and use a Boss MEll. This guitar firstly gives me the nearest thing to an authentic BB King tone that I can expect without being BB King (or having an equivalent talent!), but it also copes with lots of overdrive to deliver great rock/blues sounds with plenty of sustain, which you can also get on the clean sounds. This guitar seems capable of almost everything except thrash metal. With a little chorus and delay, you can play softer rock styles anyhting from REM to the Kaiser Chiefs and I'm sure a better player than me could do more.

This is the weakness, but not by much. The setup wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. It was totally playble and the intonation was ok. However, I am fortunate enough to live near Martyn Booth, who set the guitar up and now it plays like the proverbial dream. OK so the controls are a bit flimsy, but if I could be bothered to change them it would be fine. The minor flaws were sorted out by Martyn and I'm not impressed by sheer looks.

I am always suspicious of the durability of semis but this seems as durable as many a more expensive guitar and has not let me down yet. I never gig without a backup, either my strat or my 1970s Yamaha SG 1300T. The finish is standing up to its 5 years of use very well, I just make sure it is taken care of.

No use to it.

I've been playing 30 years and always wante a semi in my collection, which incudes 2 teles, a strat, a cheap strat copy, the 70s Yamaha, a Parker P38 and some other copies. The Aslin DAne fits beatifully

Standard 335 copy

Well, it's a blues/jazz machine - mainly jazz before you crank it up. But get it going and it's not half bad as a blues clasic. Only played it through a Behringer cheapo but have definitely found "that" sound. No background noise, just big deep response. Better than I expected.

Bought off E-Bay and so came with previous players settings - fine by me. Slick action for this type of guitar. Really 100% spot on.

Everything seems solid although slight questionmark over tuners - but more likely to be the way it's strung as it tunes fine initially and I have yet to change the strings. I will follow up if there is a problem.

Hope that I don't have to contact them although their web site suggests that support will be A1

Been playing since circa 1970 as amateur - the odd band or two. Guitars include LP Pro Deluxe (early 80's), Strat (72), Mike Vanden PRS and acoustic. Also had Grimshaw LP copy - sadly under-rated and rare, Futurama - shouldn't have sold it. Amps now are Marshall mini stack, Fender Champ, Laney 50 Pro Tube Lead and the recently purchased Behringer 30. Previously owned Fender Twin Reverb and Selmer AC 30 - both sold for beer money.
I am so impressed with the Aslin Dane that I am looking out for one for my brother, and he is a player.
I would have to buy another simply due to the fact that it feels and sounds very good for the money although I would still be happy if it cost twice as much, or more. You get so much guitar for the money, particularly in the States (I hear). A great looking and well built guitar that any player would be happy with.

I have a jet black Korean-made Aslin Dane Jazz 35. I bought it late in 2004, it was advertised as brand new. As far as I know, this model has had no design revisions over the years, so I've nothing to add to what others have already said about the pickups / woods / controls etc other than to say the control layout doesn't allow you to do volume swells unless you have fingers like ET!

Oh boy! I am staggered at the quality and range of sounds this guitar can produce. I bought it with jazz in mind and it does jazz admirably, but it's a far more versatile beast than I ever thought it would be, and far more powerful. Those Duncans really pack a punch! I play through a Roland Cube 30 amp and I can easily nail some classic tones using this guitar: BB King, "woman tone", ZZ Top, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray, even Satch ballad tones. It has sustain to die for. Now I realise why I've not managed to get a great blues tone in the past - I've just not had the right guitar for the job. I do now.

The clean channel is equally useful; the neck is wide enough to allow me to play fingerstyle pretty much as I would on an acoustic, and the Jazz 35 sounds beautiful played in this way, with a little chorus and reverb added.

This, as others have said, is where this guitar falls down a little. The paint job is mostly OK but scruffy in places, particularly in the edges of the f-holes where it's really patchy. All the wiring is visible through the lower f-hole and it looks a real mess! The tape around the wires is so messy and it's coming away in places. The worst thing about the finish is on the underside where the neck meets the body (where the binding ends) ; there are a couple of substantial cracks in the lacquer.

The action is rather higher than I'm used to, but I got used to it after a couple of days. The intonation seems fine - the 12th fret is in tune with the open string on all six strings anyway.

The much talked-about phenol fingerboard is amazing - it offers less friction than any other guitar I've ever played, and it simply helps me play faster and smoother. For Satch-style legatos and slurs, it's a massive help. It's actually quite a wide fingerboard - exactly the same width as my Takamine EN10-C acoustic at the nut, so I don't know what the guy who described it as "skinny" has been smoking! I can bend notes right up without running into the next string - which is a pleasant change from my Strat.

I have only one concern about this guitar - it's so easy to make it go a little out of tune if you put any pressure on the neck as you play. For example: if you unintentionally pull your left hand towards your body even a little as you're playing a chord, the effect on the pitch of the notes is quite marked. It goes back into tune when you release the pressure, but it's a little unnerving - I don't *quite* feel like I can relax with this guitar yet because of this issue. I'm hoping it's just because it's new, and that it will settle down given time...

I haven't used them yet, but I hear they have a great reputation for support. Certainly they were very helpful when I spoke to them in the past about the difficulties of getting hold of their guitars in the UK.

I've been playing for 30 years. I have a 1980 US strat which goes into a Roland VG8-EX and on to a Roland Cube 30. For jazz, I play an Epiphone Emperor II Joe Pass model, and I play a Takamine EN10-C through a Trace Elliot TA40CR for acoustic stuff.

The tones from the Aslin Dane are, IMO, better than anything the strat + VG8 can manage. The sustain is amazing and the dynamic range is great - it's a very responsive guitar. The fingerboard is wider and chunkier than what I'm used to on an electric guitar, but I'm getting used to it and the width of the neck makes bends easier, for me at least. If it will only stay in tune (see my comments on this) then it's going to replace the strat in my affections - and on gigs - very quickly!

For 127 pounds, I think I've got myself an absolute bargain here. The Duncans alone would cost a fair bit. Overall it has great tones, a nice neck and it's incredibly flexible - you could use it for just about anything. It's just a shame there isn't a UK distributor, which makes them as rare as hens teeth here. I've been looking for a Jazz 35 for ages, ever since I saw the guys on the UK guitar newsgroups raving about them. I'm really pleased with it. Nuff said.

This, as you must know, is the Aslin Dane copy of the Gibson 335. I
played the real 335 about 25 years ago; I bought this one since the
Gibson is too expensive for my current budget. Man, was I dissapointed! OK, it does sound ok, pups are quite good, all the
electronics work fine, no problem with the look of this guitar. The
big issue here is that the neck is just not straight, especially in
the upper register, and I can't get the action low enough for playing
the rock stuff; fine enough for psuedo jazz, but I'm not a jazz
player, and I don't think you can be "psuedo jazz". Since I'm so
dissapointed with this guitar I'm not going any further with this.
Save you money; buy the real thing, not this crap excuse for a guitar

The only reason I rated this guitar so low here is that the action was appaling; I've never player a guitar so bad!

I think the guitar is built well enough, hardware and finish are quite good; I would use it live anytime if the neck was ok

I haven't had any use for support; won't since I think this guitar plays like crap

I've been playing for 35 years, mostly using Gibson guitars. Wish I had known what a piece of s... this was If someone stole it I would be sorry for the poor guy! Does not even in the least compare with a Gibson; for now I'm staying with my Gibson SG. I played a cheaper Chinese copy that was better than this; move over rover, the Gibson's
moving in!

2003 model, made in Korea. Semi-hollowbody design, very ES335-like -- smells like maple. Two covered "AD-59" humbuckers (actually Seymour Duncan '59s), with volume and tone controls for each. 22 fret maple neck with phenolic fretboard. Two tone sunburst finish. Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece.

I give it a "9" here -- it has all the controls you expect from a 335 clone, which is a great control layout. I've always thought the Gibson - style control format was a lot more logical than the Strat format.

I play rock -- everything from soft jangly stuff to pretty heavy stuff. My current band sounds a little like Foo Fighters or Green Day. I use this guitar as a change-up and backup to my main guitar, a 1999 Les Paul Custom. I play through a simple rack rig consisting of a Digitech 2120 VGS preamp and a Peavey Classic 120 tube power amp.

I was pleasantly surprised at the sound of this guitar, especially for the price. The clean tones are fat and ringing as expected, but what surprised me is how well the guitar handles heavy crunch. I really like the pickups. In fact, they were a big selleing point of the guitar, for me. I'm the kind of player who HAS to swap in aftermarket pickups, especially on inexpensive guitars. So the fact that this guitar came with Seymour Duncans already installed saved me about $120. I can't imagine a style of music I couldn't play on this guitar, except for the very heaviest of metal styles. I like my Les Paul better for rock lead playing, but the Aslin Dane holds its own just about everywhere else.

I give this guitar a very comfortable "8." Great sounding, versatile guitar.

Here's where it gets a little iffy. The action was fine, but the intonation was horribly off. No biggie -- I set up all my guitars for my string gauges and climate when I get them. I have the feeling this guitar is going to require a new nut, though -- this one is really high and the intonation on the first three frets suffers as a result. The volume and tone controls feel a little cheap, as does the bridge, complete with loose, rattling saddles. Not very confidence inspiring.

The finish is good -- smooth with a well done sunburst. However, there are a few drips and dribbles around the f-holes.

I LOVE the phenolic fretboard. As a big ebony fan (my main guitar IS a Les Paul Custom, after all), the phenolic is a dream come true. Smooth and hard as ebony, with the same high end "chirp", on a budget guitar. Any guitar in this price range that tried to use real ebony would probably have a real crappy piece of wood on the fretboard. I'm a phenolic convert after playing this guitar.

All in all, there isn't anything that $40 worth of new bridge and nut won't fix, but this is a department where the Aslin Dane's "budget" status definitely shines through.

I put Dunlop strap locks on all my guitars, so that is a non-issue. Aside from the flimsy knobs, everything else seems sturdy enough. I don't gig without a backup (in fact, this guitar IS my backup!), since I'm left handed. I can't just borrow a guitar from someone if I break a string. It isn't nearly as solid and confident feeling as my Les Paul, but go figure. The Les Paul costs literally ten times as much.

Never dealt with them, but the warranty is the usual one year deal you get on imports.

I've been playing for 17 years (I'm 30). If this guitar were stolen or lost, I'd definitely get another. At this price, they should sell them in six packs. It sounds very good, plays very nicely, and while it has some build quality issues, it compares favorably to Epiphones and Corts I've played. It's just your typical good Korean guitar.

I bought this off e-bay back in April, 2001 so I've had a fair amount of time to formulate my opinion. Styled after ES-330. Double-cutaway w/f-holes, two PAF-styled pickups, bound body, and suprephenol fretboard (feels a lot like the Parker Fly). Frets are large and in combination with the smooth, hard fretboard makes this one easy for chords, bends, etc. Comes with a three-way switch and a rather cheap-feeling volume and tone knob for each pickup. Standard tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece. Also came with an extremely cheap, flimsy pickguard which I immediately removed.

This guitar is amazing for the price! The pickups (especially bridge) are hot and bright. Played clean, they cut like a diamond, but as you add gain they begin to growl (neck/both) and scream (bridge) and do a very creditable job of imitating a Les Paul in full cry. This is without a doubt the most versatile guitar I own, and I have a US tele and a strat. This one sounds good at virtually anything I dial in on my Tech 21 Trademark 10 - from the cleanest tweed to the fattest california recto. I have also had very little problems with feedback - there is a solid wood block down the center of the body and I think this probably helps reduce feedback. The switches and pots feel cheap, but they are totally silent.

Here's where the 'bargain' price of the guitar is apparent. The setup was fine, and the pickups were properly adjusted, but the finish is not exactly "like glass". There are some file marks on the very end of the fretboard, the binding is a bit 'strange' in places and there are a couple of paint drips in the (unbound) f-holes. However, these flaws are optical only - where it counts, this guitar was well-set up; the Frets were immaculately leveled and dressed (one of the smoothest jobs I've seen - better than my '95 American Standard Tele) and the finish on the back of the neck is smooth and non-sticky. I tend to prefer relatively unfinished necks (a la Fender) and have had problems with some old Les Paul necks (a tacky feel on the lacquer), but this one has given me no problems. The hardware is pretty cheap, but it does the job - the tuners are grover-styled sealed units. I was initially concerned and considered replacing them, but they hold tune well, and if it ain't broke.... As I stated above, the pots, knobs and switch are pretty cheap, but not at all noisy, so they've stayed as well. I have had to make one minor truss-rod adjustment (started buzzing about three months after I got it) but it has settled down and been perfect since then.

In spite of the apparent cheapness of the hardware, it has lasted almost two years without a problem. The finish may not be the prettiest, but it's plenty stout. The strap buttons are solid and the tuners hold tune. If I were using this on the road, I'd probably swap the tuners for locking grovers or schallers, but wouldn't change any thing else. I would not gig without a backup - especially a semi-hollow like this. That is simply asking for trouble.

I have e-mailed Aslin Dane three times at info@aslindane.com - once to ask for directions on truss-rod adjustments (wanted to be sure before I started that I was turning it the correct way!), once to get some technical info (scale length) and once to ask about amp availability. Each time, I very quickly received an automated acknowledgement of my message and received a personal reply within two working days (from Bernard, the VP). He was extremely helpful and very happy about my comments regarding the guitar.

I have been playing over 35 years. I own three acoustics, a strat clone and a US tele. If this guitar were lost or stolen, I'd look at the Gibson, Heritage and Epiphones, laugh a bit, and shell out another three bills for one of these. For the money, it is a wonderful bargain. It feels great, plays great, and most importantly, sounds great.

As below--comes w/cheapass gig bag. Mine's jet black (nice). Somebody said the p/ups are made by Samsung, then I was on the Seymour Duncan site and they list themselves as OEM--the 59 PAF model. So it's hard to tell what's going on hardware-wise.

The half-block makes this the perfect weight--my old Gibson 345 was an absolute bear--this is just right, very comfortable for extended sets.

Frankly, I was shocked at how narrow the neck is at the nut--I was expecting a 1.6875" width (43mm) like an American Strat or the 345--instead it's this skinny rock-guitar deal like my 56 U2. I hate narrow necks, my finger ends are fairly wide and I get all kinds of overlap, can't play clean.

Why do they call this a "Jazz" model and then stick a Twiggy neck width on it? Makes no sense. Anyway, the fabulous black phenolic (or whatever they call it) fretboard seems to help make up for it--super slick for effortless bends, and the frets are about medium jumbo--nice.

So yeah, the skinny sucks, but the black slick fretboard plays and sounds like a dream. I'll adjust.

It's like everybody says--this thing just plain sounds fantastic. Exceptional sustain, biting yet soulful treble p/up, all kinds of directions out of the neck p/up from jazz to Les Paul (I can do killer Clapton Bluebreakers)--fat but not tubby from the neck.

I frankly think it sounds better than my 345. Slightly hotter output, fatter tone, more relevant to modern blues and rock.

Overall, extremely versatile and if anybody could tell your tone on the stand from an original 335, OR a copy, it would only be because it sounds BETTER. Not so dull, dark and generic. Heard the Clapton live blues album where he plays mostly his 335? Dullest, most booooring tone he ever got. If he had this sucker, would've transformed the work.

A pleasant, vibrant acoustic sound, much richer than the dead, tinny acoustic sound of my 345 (but that's because of the giant block of wood in the 345).

I use it with a Roland Cube-30 (30W/modeling amp). The combination is amazing--I can go from AC30 perfect Day Tripper riff to Beck's Bolero to Bluesbreaker to Mike Bloomfield Electric Flag blackface Twin/LP in about 45 seconds. These pickups just eat up the COSM modeling for breakfast--my single-coils not so much.

Got a 56 U2, Charvel Custom TE.

Bottom line, like the man said, you pick it up, and when you put it down, hours are missing like you got abducted. Sonic probes not included.

Here's where we fall down a bit. My new ax was setup badly--medium high action with various notes flatting out above the 12th fret (2nd string on bends), others up there buzzy. Absolutely inexcusable even given the price, and I'm bringing it into my tech for a setup tomorrow. I'm assuming things will go well.

Besides that it's flawless--lovely smooth tuners, perfect finish, bindings, etc.

Feels solid, well-built. Should do fine. If it's stolen or you have to break it over a club owner's head, they'll make more. Who needs insurance when your main ax costs the equal of one monthly premium???

I've heard they are very committed, passionate about their product. I got it new on eBay--warranty? Who knows?

For $202.50 (okay, I waited for a holiday weekend on eBay and basically stole it, okay?) it is a cosmic screaming deal. It sounds great, and with a little pro setup work, I bet the neck comes around just fine. Just don't expect a comfortably wide jazz/US Strat/345 neck width. Rats! Coulda been PERFECT. Hint to A/D: give it the proper adult nut width--this ax is good enough for the pro circuit, not just for 13-year-old thrashers.