Epiphone Dot

This is an 2000 Epiphone Dot. Made in Korea, cherry red with chrome hardware. There are enough other reviews on here to know the rest of the specs. Came with the standard Epiphone Dot hardshell case. Fit and finish right out of the box were pretty decent although it needed a setup, but most guitars do, right?

This guitar plays really nicely. I played a few Gibson 335s, both new and vintage. The Gibsons are much nicer but for eight to twenty times the price of this Epiphone? No contest, the Epiphone is a much superior value, unless you are a working pro.

This guitar is mostly played direct into a mixer in our recording studio through a Korg PX-3. Through this little $200.00 box, the Epiphone sounds really nice, great for recording. I saw John Herrington play this past summer with Steely Dan and with this setup, I can emulate a lot of the tones I heard. Nails the Larry Carlton tone as well but can also get into other tones from open tunings ala Joni Mitchell to Foo Fighters. Everything from fat, warm, woody jazzy tone to very nice, ballsy, thick Les Paul tones are possible. The only tones that seem to be elusive are the twang and glassiness of either a Strat or Tele but since this guitar is the opposite end of the spectrum (dual HB, arch top, semi-hollow body) that is forgiven. The guitar is very quiet even though the Samsung made humbuckers are slightly microphonic. At some point, I will probably replace them with Gibson classic PAFs as I like the sound better but for stock, these pickups aren't bad. The guitar has a rich, woody tone and intonates perfectly.

The guitar was supposedly already setup in the USA by Epiphone after it got off of the boat but it still needed some work. Came with a .10-46 set but I will probably switch to an .11-48 set as I like the sound and intonation when chording better than the lighter strings. The pickup height came adjusted correctly, but the nut sucked. The guitar would not stay in tune out of the box but a trip to my local guitar tech took care of that. I had him replace the cheap plastic nut with a Corian one and it now sounds and plays much better as well as stays in tune really nicely now.

No flaws in fit or finish. Not Gibson level, but pretty good for the price.

Like any hollowbody, this guitar isn't designed to withstand abuse like a Tele or Les Paul. The guitar would be OK for gigs if it was babied but any abuse would be bad news for this or any other hollowbody. The hardware seems decent although the pickup selector is a little flimsy. The finish so far seems to be pretty decent although I am pretty easy on guitars as I like for them to last a long time. The strap buttons are decent but I will probably replace with something beefier soon. Can I depend on it? Hmm...for my needs, yes. For a working pro musician, I would buy two to have a spare. Heck at $369.00, most people could afford one in each color. Once again, you get what you pay for to an extent. For that price, it's built well. Compared to a Gibson, it's not built in the same league.

Have never dealt with Epiphone, but the lifetime warranty is nice. On the other hand, since I have replaced the nut and will replace the pickups, the warranty is void anyhow. If I encounter any problems, I have an excellent guitar tech so I'm not concerned.

I have been playing (non-professionally) for 24 years. I also have a Roland GR-303 Guitar Synthesizer, Fender Fat Telecaster and a Washburn D-21 Acoustic. So far (I have had this guitar for four months) I have no regrets.

It's been a decade since I last bought a guitar and I am amazed at just how good this guitar is for the money. When I last bought a guitar, almost anything under $1,000.00 seeemed to be pretty junky, yet now, for under $400.00, this guitar is awesome. The advent of standardized manufacturing processes and CNC routers has resulted in a lot of Asian made guitars that are pretty damned great for very little money. I also have a friend who owns a Chinese made Squier Fat Strat which he bought from Guitar Center for $79.00 on an ad mis-print. It is also a great little guitar and is much superior to a real CBS era Strat that I recently played.

Kids playing guitar today have no idea how great they have it compared to their dads and uncles who played 20 years ago. For the price of a Gibson ES-335, you could now buy an Epiphone Dot, a decent amp, A PC and software to act as an entire recording studio. What a great time to be a musician!

Everyone else has already given all this info........a well made guitar with the exception of the pickups. More said later........
Neck is especially nice. Very playable.
Get you some Classic 57 pickups or the like and you're good to go.....

I'm sure you know what a 335 should sound like. I'm a BLUES player. Great guitar if you change the pickups.
I play thru a Boogie MK 4 head with a Peavey 4x10 cabinet and sometimes my little Fender Pro Junior (thru which it sounds EXTREMELY good now that the new pickups are installed and tweaked).
So here's the deal-----as has been said by others--CHANGE THE PICKUPS!!!! You'll be very very glad you did!
I just had some Gibson Classic 57's installed and it now sounds GREAT!
They did need tweaking, however to achieve optimum balance between neck and bridge and, of course, just to sound like I personally like them........starting out the bridge was too trebly and the neck was too warm (muddy) ----if I adjusted the amp tone knobs for the bridge the neck got muddier etc. understand? Adjusting the pickup height, angle (treble side to bass string side) and POLE PIECES made a HUGE DIFFERENCE. But once I messed with 'em a bit it just really GROWLS, nice.
A word about the old/stock pickups_---the neck stayed muddy, kinda like "woman tone" all the time--as if the tone knob was rolled down all the time. It sounded kind of cool but that's all it did, you couldn't lose it. The bridge sounded pretty good really but no where near as good as the Classic 57's.
IF ANYONE HAS ANY ADVICE ON POT VALUES--VOLUME OR TONE---PLEASE E-MAIL ME. I'd like to take it a step further and this is an area I don't yet know much about. I've heard a bit about changing 25o's to 500k's etc. Need to know more.........
Anyway, with new pickups I give this guitar a 10. With old pickups---oh, how 'bout a 7?

Factory set up was very acceptable. I always mess with it to taste.
The bridge saddles did require buffing to stop breaking the high E string after about 2 sets on a gig (every time)! and sometimes the B too.
I play 10-52 hybrid sets. A 10 on top is about as thick as I can bend on for long with my tendonitis!
The nut slots are a little bit tight--they probably need filing but it's not really causing a problem so I'll leave 'em alone at least for now.

With the pickup change and saddles buffed I now can definately play this with confidence. I've waited about 6 months to post this review just to make sure about my opinions after gigging with it a bit.
A word about strap buttons---their fine, just keep a nice new strap on it--in other words, one with the plastic or leather still stiff on the ends and it stays on fine. My cheap five dollar strap works great, nice and stiff--a little tough to get on the buttons that's what you want--once it's on no worries about it coming off! Really a cheap plastic ended strap works just great.

no experience here yet...........

Once you change the pickups, you've got a really nice looking/playing 335 for about a bazillion less than a Gibson. I'm really very pleased and get many comments and compliments on both the tone and looks of this instrument (mine's black).
Very nice. I've been playing a long time and have been gigging with my Epi 2-4 nights a month for about 6 months now. I would definately buy it again if it were stolen (but boy I'd be pissed after all the hours I've spent dialing it in and setting it all up just right for me......) I don't even like taking it to a tech 'cause they inevitably change something I didn't want them too! Ha ha ha ha
AGAIN------ E-mail me if you can offer advice on pot value changes or maybe wiring changes like how to wire it for just one master volume and tone and leave the others just there for looks. As a blues player, I ride the knobs and I'd rather have just one volume, one tone personally.............

Just like a Gibson 335. Classic configuration of two humbuckers, two volumes, and two tones. Three-way switchcraft selecter switch. 22 frets. Comes with gibson strings (.11's I think?) Tunomatic bridge copy (slightly wider than a Gibson.

I play all kinds of music. My main guitar for hard and metal is an Ibanez 7-string with Dimarzio's. I needed something warmer because I also play alot of blues, and I play in my High School Jazz Band. My main amp is a 1975 Marshall 50-watt Master Volume head with a 70's 4x12 cab. I also occasionaly use a Dunlop Crybaby. I will tell you right now, Epi stock pickups suck. Epiphone should sell their guitars without pickups. The Epiphone pickups are quite bland. They might work for a novice, but if you have played the real thing you know it sounds better. I replaced the pickups with Gibson Classic '57 Humbuckers, and they make this guitar an 10. the Gibson are warm and full, and make it sound like a real vintage 335. I totally recommend you make this change. So I give a 6 out of the box.

The guitar was set up O.K. I had to have it set up at the shop. The nut needed filig. The guiatr itself had a flawless finish. Ny only qualm was that one of the tone knobs came cracked.

This guitar has worked fine so far. I always use a backup guitar,

Overall this a great guitar for anyone trying to cop a 335 tone, Gibson's are way to expensive for a high schooler. I also recommend cahnging the tuners which I did to Sperzel trim-Lok tuners.

It's basically a copy of the Gibson 335. Two humbuckers, semi-hollow body, etc. You know the rest.

It sounds pretty good, especialy for the price. Makes me wonder how Gibson justifies almost #2k or more for their 335 Dot Re-issues. The don't sound *that* much better mates.

Workmanship is good and has gotten better since my bandmate got his two years ago. Cherry finish is top, the neck is perfect and the pickups are improved. Nut stinks so replace it with a bone nut. The bridge is way better too. The older ones have a real shite bridge that doesn't intonate well and drifts all over the county. The newer ones that I have seen in stores (like mine) have an ABR-1 style bridge that intonates perfectly and stays intonated. Not nickel however. The older ones are crap, and it's major aggro to replace them with an ABR-1 because the anchor holes are huge and have to be doweled up, and the paint then needs a touch up. I know someone that went through that and it was a major deal. Not a DIY project mate. There's still a lot of those Dots left out there too. Avoid them!

Guitar is definatey reliable, just don't throw it around like Pete Townshend. I never gig without a backup. Too risky with any guitar.

Never dealt with them.

For the money it's an excellent value. Just replace that nut and watch out for the older ones with the shite bridge.

Two humbuckers, nice finish, crappy tuners. The tuners look nice enough but the thing always goes out of tune. You will replace them for sure.


Someone diss'ed the pickups. I find them to be just fine. A lot of that has to do with what you are playing through. You could play a custom shot Strat through a crappy amp and--surprise!--it'll sound, well, crappy.

I run my Dot (my other stage guitar is an American Standard Strat) through a vintage 64 black face Bandmaster and it kicks A**! But if I ran it through some solid-state clunker....you get the idea..

Excellent sound. Deep bass, glass shattering treble and all points in between. Decent sustain too.

No flaws to speak of. I replaced the tail strap piece with a locking one--my choice. Not really necessary. Nice factory setup.

I have kicked this guitar's butt and it keeps right on ticking. I NEVER play a gig without a backup guitar and amp. Plan for the worst....

Have had no problems/dealings

I have played for over thirty years. We do a lot of Beatle covers and such. When we play that genre, I play this guitar. I use my Am Standard Strat on noisier stuff....

I bought this for about $400 with a great lined hard-shell case from Victor Litz (on line). It was a steal!!!! Only problem is cheap die-cast tuners...Throw on a set of Grovers and you are in business!

2000 model made in Korea. ES-335 copy. Has the new Gibson designed passive humbucker pickups, which sound 1000 times better than old Samsung, microphonic, Epiphone mud-tone specials. Other standard features covered by other reviewers, so I won't repeat. Features are very functional and do the job. Mine is in cherry finish and came with new case and guitar cable.

The new Gibson designed pickups sound very good. I had purchased some Gibson 57 Classic pickups six months ago specifically to install them in either a Dot or a Sheraton II (See my 3/28/00 review of Sheraton II). But when I brought this guitar home and hooked it up to my favorite amp, I could not believe how good it sounded with the stock pickups. I remembered how bad my Sheraton II sounded with stock pickups. I was impressed...no, more like amazed! I even considered sticking with the stock pickups and not installing the 57 Classics, but I went ahead with the modification.

I really enjoy playing 60s covers, power pop and stuff that is guitar-hook driven. I look for a guitar set up that delivers good tone. When checking out hollow body guitars, always hear how one sounds without the amp - acoustically. If you feel the wood resonate well and there is good sustain, you've got a keeper.

I checked out 10 other hollow bodies the day I bought this one... many others before. This one had the best "unplugged" tonal characteristics. It turned out to be a FACTORY SECOND because of some minor finish flaw, so I got it with the case for a steal. It really does pay to invest the time to play every guitar on the shelf and find the one that SOUNDS best.

I had it set up. I did my usual routine of going with Ernie Ball .11/.48s. I love the way this instrument sounds...absolutely beautiful. The '57 Classic in the bridge position gives the warmest, fullest, most beautiful sounds I have ever heard out of an electric guitar: amazingly good, full tones - just like a hollow body is supposed to. I am still in awe. How can this sound so good for so modest an investment?

Factory set up was actually quite good. Neck tension needed to be adjusted for my heavier gauge strings. Guitar was well constructed with all hardware set up as it should be. Stays in tune perfectly. (I have heard people complain over and over about Epiphone guitars going easily out of tune. I have four of them - Dot, Sheraton II, Les Paul Standard and Korina Flying V - and have not had that problem with any of mine.)

Despite improved pickups, pickup selector switch appears to be of the same poor quality as all the others on Epiphone guitars. As noted, I bought this one new as second. You would never know unless you looked carefully. Nut needed a little filing done, but O.K. All in all, a good rating for this category.

Only had it a month, but have been playing it almost daily. I will be playing it live on occasion and have no concerns about that. I always gig with a backup no matter what guitar I am using. Hardware seems solid, in good working order and gives no clue of anything other than that is ready to play.

I have had mixed experiences with Epiphone. They have been very responsive on some warranty repairs I needed done on one of my other Epiphone guitars. They ignored me completely on one occasion. I have not needed warranty work on this guitar. Warranty is Epiphone's Limited Lifetime, but I think their representation is misleading. The warranty is only 1 year on electronics and is voided when you replace inferior Epiphone parts with good stuff. They should not punish their consumers for investing in quality improvements.

Playing something like 22 years. Other Gear: Gibson SG Standard; Gibson SG Deluxes - (2) of them; Gibson '67 Reissue Flying V; Gibson Nighthawk Standard; Rickenbacker 325; Rickenbacker 330; Fender American Standard Telecaster; Fender Squier Stratocaster; Parker Nite Fly IV and the 4 Epiphones mentioned above. I could not be happier with this guitar. The sound - as modified and set up - is heavenly.

I decided a while ago to stick Gibson P-94s in a Sheraton II I have. It sounds absolutely fantastic - especially when the two pickups are played in tandem. I decided back then that I would pick up a second reasonable priced hollow body and stick '57 Classics in it to compliment my P-94 equipped Sheraton II. I now have two hollow body guitars; both sound wonderful; and my total outlay is still several hundred dollars less than what you would have to spend just to buy one ES-335. In other words, I have a wider tonal spectrum covered and I have spend less.

I love the ES-335s. And I am fortunate enough that I can afford one. In fact, I could afford several of them, but ruled them out right off the bat due to their outrageous cost. I am not giving my hard earned money away, but do not mind spending it where justified.
The sound quality I am able to get out of my Dot just does not justify my spending the extra money for a real ES-335. I also have looked extensively at Washburn HBs, Guild Starfire III and IVs, etc. This particular guitar gave me the best acoustic, unplugged sound, and that was the #1 consideration. (An Ibanez AS80 was a close 2nd.) My DOT sounded best, and the best sound - not the steepest cost - is what it is all about. And I knew I was going to have a winner with upgraded pickups. My set up is far more reasonable cost-wise and simply sounds better than the competitors I checked out.

epiphone dot limited edition pid 449.00 included hardshell case

my music style is blues and classic rock. This guitar has a full rich tone and when overdriven on my crate vcs amp it wil really scream!

I had the guitar professionally set up to factory specs and set for intonation

this guitar is used weekly for live playing. The hollow body can create some very intresting feedback loops that are controlable.

Manufactured in Korea. Made in September 1999?. Bought in June 2000. Model No.: Dot (ES-Dot: Gibson ES-335 Dot copy). Electric, Arch Top, Thin Semi Hollow Body, Semi Acoustic. <http://www.epiphone.com/inst/Archtop/ETDT.html>
Pickups: 2 Humbuckers
Controls: 2 Volume, 2 Tone, 3-Way Pickup Selector
Tuners: ? Sealed
Hardware: Chrome
Scale: 24.75" (22 Frets)
Nut Width: 1.68"
Neck Joint: Set
Neck Material: Maple
Fingerboard/Inlay: Rosewood/Dot (Mother of Pearl)
Headstock Inlay: Abalone
Binding: Body (White)
Body Material: Laminated Maple
Top: Laminated Maple
Finishes: Cherry, Ebony, Natural, Vintage Sunburst. Mine is a rare Natural. I have also seen Heritage Cherry Sunburst's second hand.

Mine came with black Gibson knobs, and a black pickguard with white edging but without the E.

Came with SKB SKB-335 hardshell case <http://www.skbcases.com/cases/guitars/jg.html>.

I like its sounds - it fulfils my desire for a flexible guitar for playing my eclectic musical tastes. I'd say it fits the bill for everything except metal, hard rock, and classical. The neck/rhythm humbucker gives warm tones, while the bridge/treble humbucker gives bright tones. The sustain is singing. I have a Roland GC-405X stack amplifier, and a Zoom GFX-707 multi-effects console. It sounds great direct through either the clean or lead channels. It can give feedback on lead channel if not careful, but this is not unexpected on semi-hollow bodies. When I bought it I had a Samick LA30R amp. It didn't give feedback on that amp, but distortion wasn't noticeable on that amp until set to about 9! The Roland is an excellent amp with Roland's TubeLogic HOT Technology. The guitar isn't noisy at all.

I do intend to replace the humbuckers at some stage, as per the advice of many other reviewers, but I must admit I like the way it sounds right now. I just understand it can sound even better! For what it's worth, I'll throw in the humbucker replacement options I've come up with:
Option 1: 2 Gibson '57 Classic HBs - as per the Gibson 335.
Option 2: A '57 Classic in the neck and a '57 Classic Plus (higher output) in the bridge.
Option 3: A 490R in the neck and a 490T in the bridge - as per B.B. King's Gibson Lucille.
Option 4: 2 P-94's should make it sound like a Casino.
Option 5: A '57 Classic in the neck and a P-94 in the bridge. I want to explore this particular option further myself, as I expect this would provide for the greatest tonal variety, while retaining the warm tones the 335 is famous for, and hopefully adding the sounds of the Casino.

All the controls work as expected. Action is setup low, and I like it like that. There does seem to be a slight tendency for fret buzz on the low E, but only if you pick it hard - it could me just my bad playing though. Everthing seems well setup, but I am going to get the guitar professionally setup at some stage, but I think the setup as purchased is pretty good. I have just found an article on how to check and adjust the intonation, so I will give that a go by myself. The overall quality of finish and manufacture is excellent. Nothing was loose. The natural finish of this guitar is excellent. The wood is nice! The only flaw is on the fretboard, where a small area is lighter than the rest, but it doesn't really detract from the guitar. I guess this could be from the guitar having been on demo in the store where I bought it. The plastic on the truss rod cover is a bit "stressed" also, but you can only see this if you really look close.

Seems solid and well finished enough to me. I expect to gig with it at some stage. I think you should always gig with a backup, but I see no reason why less cautious types would not gig without a backup for this guitar. The strap buttons seemed fine, but I have changed them for Straplok buttons. I may well change them back though, as I installed the Straplok buttons with the original thinner screws to keep my options open, and have since purchased locking straps. I think (and certainly hope) I can depend on this guitar. It looks and feels like a million bucks. It seems sturdy and well manufactured. It sounds good, and I expect it will sound even better when I upgrade the humbuckers.

The only comment I would make is that the tuners seem very easily knocked out of tune. They're very easy to adjust, but obviously that makes them just as easy to accidently knock out of tune.

Haven't had to deal with them.

The warranty through the local importer is only 2 years limited, but the Epiphone international? warranty is of the Limited Lifetime variety.

All I can say here is: with all the "outs" in these "limited" warranties, they're not really much good. There's absolutely no warranty on the finish, and if you install Straplok buttons, you've invalidated the warranty.

I'm basically a beginner.

My main gear consists of: a natural Epiphone Dot (ES-Dot: Gibson ES-335 Dot copy); a red Ibanez Talman Inter City (TCY10) acoustic-electric; a Roland GC-405X stack amplifier, and a Zoom GFX-707 multi-effects console.

I would buy again in an instant. I love this guitar! - its look, its feel, its sound. It's a 335 - what more can I say! Price/features/performance wise it's great value. It's just great!

The Gibson version is now over NZ$7000 in New Zealand - seven times what I paid for my Epiphone. I can't see how that can be justified. Once I've changed the pickups for about NZ$500, it'll sound like the real thing. You could replace the chrome hardware with nickel fairly reasonably too. I can't see why you'd pay so much extra for the Gibson. I might buy a Gibson new or 2nd hand from the US, but not in New Zealand - no way.

As I said earlier. I'd like to explore the '57 Classic/P-94 pickup combo. Stereo Varitone sounds useful, like on B.B. King's Gibson Lucille, the Epiphone B.B. King Lucille, Gibson BluesHawk, and Gibson Little Lucille. Not sure whether I'd like the VibroTone - it depends whether it stays in tune or not, and I've heard it doesn't. So I guess I'd like VibroTone with a double-locking Floyd Rose (or equivalent).

Cherry DOT with OHSC. Made in Korea. 2 Humbuckers, 2 tone, 2 volume, 3-way switch, rosewood fingerboard, 22 frets, stop tailpiece.

This guitar sounds absolutely wonderful for blues, 60s soul and 60s rock. I play it through a vintage '71 Fender Bandmaster reverb amp and twin 2x12 cabinets. I also use a vintage '66 Fender Bassman amp and 2x15 cabinet. Playing it through either amp gives that 60s rock sound and rich/full bodied blues sound.

I got this new through the net from a music store in New York state. The set up was good, not great, but no where near as bad as some I have seen. I have yet to find anything wrong with the guitar. It stays in tune better than the Les Paul and SG I also own.

This is the one I play the most, using the Les Paul and SG as backups, but would gig without a backup. About the only thing I would change might be the pickups. They are standard Samsung issue. A set of true Gibson humbuckers would add that final touch to make this a world class guitar. Considering the price of an Epiphone vs. Gibson, this is the only guitar to own.

Have not had to deal with Epiphone and hopefully never will.

I have been playing on and off for 30+ years. I now mostly collect guitars and vintage amps. I own a Les Paul, Les Paul 12-sting, Les Paul Special, two SGs, vintage EB2 bass, SG bass and Fender P-bass. Of the guitars, the DOT is my favorite. If it were lost or stolen would I replace it............YOU BET, in a heartbeat.

Double cutaway hollow body guitar. Looks just like an old Gibson 335. Mine is red. Tune-O-Matic bridge, non-locking tuners. The neck is very comfortable in my opinion. No accessories were included with the guitar.

I couldn't ask for a nicer guitar. The fact that the cost is so reasonable only adds to my appreciation of this guitar. I am completely in awe of how nice this instrument sounds. I originally set out to find a guitar that could not only get a sweet clean tone but could also give me a heavy distortion when I needed it. This guitar is all I need. I have been thinking about upgrading the pickups sooner or later but it isn't really something I'm too worried about. Worth every penny.

The guitar wasn't set up perfectly when I got it. I don't blame Epiphone for this though. I bought the guitar from Guitar Center. Those guys don't take care of any of the merchandise on the floor. It was obvious that this thing had been sitting around collecting dust for quite a while. It also had been tuned down a couple octaves by some numb nuts shredder that probably wondered in and decided to play it through a dual rectifier or something. I have had the guitar for over a year and I have only gotten it set up once!
The only complaint about the guitar is that I had a little problem with the toggle switch. I think that this was my fault though. I replaced the yellow knobs on the guitar with black knobs to make it appear more like a 335. I must have messed the wires up a little because I have been experiencing some static when I use the switch. Other than that I have had no problem.

I have used it quite a bit since I got it and I can't forsee any problems with it. It is a very sturdy hollow body. If anything happened to it I would buy another just like it.

Epiphone is a good company. I have never had a problem with this guitar but if I did I'm sure they would be helpful.

I don't give 10's away easy. This guitar is worth every penny. A great value in my opinion. I wouldn't mind having a bigsby on it, but it's not necessary. I play this guitar through a 1972 Fender Twin Reverb. I get such a spacey sound with this combination. It's magic.
I had about a thousand dollars to buy a new guitar about a year ago. Being an ex hardcore kid I have always admired the old Gibson SG's. But after seeing the prices they are going for these days, I reassesed. I wondered into Guitar Center one day and picked this thing up with no intent on buying it. I really liked the way it felt and kind of laughed at the thought of owning a hollow body. I plugged it in and realized that this was a really good guitar at a really great price. I bought it. I don't regret it at all. I have learned quite a bit about gear since then and I still feel that I made a good decision.