Epiphone Dot

2003 Korean, you know the deal, get the case!

I like the sound. But then again, I had to have the guitar set up when I got it, and I'm not talking the bullsh*t setup like Guitar Center

I bought this from a friend who also owns a small shop. I ran into one of these in a bar in Amarillo and when I got back I told him I had to have one. He ordered it in and it was NOT set up I don't care what the f*ck they say at Samsung. I was about to get pissed but with a little coaxing the damn thing performs like a champ and I should know. Trust me, I abuse guitars on stage.

As I said, I abuse guitars and this thing is tough. Even for a semi-hollow. I used to have nightmares of people smashing one of the hollow sides but I've had drunks throw bottles at me on stage and it didn't crack and my ex-wife threw the case out of her car when she left me. Picked it up, took the guitar out and started to play a sad song. But like everyone here is saying, replace the nut, the selector switch and adjust EVERYTHING and you'll be happy. Yes, you can play it live. No, I don't care if you have the finest guitar made, NEVER play without a backup. But if I had to I guess I could

I've never had to use them but I'm sure I've voided the warranty. ha ha ha

Been playing about 5 years now. I own a 1970 Martin D-18 that I'd never dare to treat this badly. Trust me, this guitar earns her keep. I play through an old Kustom 100 4x10 built in 69 and I'm telling you it sounds freaky. It's just like my ex. Play her soft and she sings so sweet. Spank her and she hollers like a backwoods preacher. Wish it really did come set up from the factory. Wish epi would listen to the customer and fix the selector switch problem. Wish the warranty wasn't so cheezy but what are you going to do. I had a couple people laugh at me when I told them I bought it but when I showed her to 'em and after they tried it out they just looked over at me and said "Damn" There you go.

This is Epiphones copy of the Gibson ES-335. Dual humbucker pickups with volume and tone for both. Laminate Maple top and a stop tail piece. This one has a natural finish on it but the figure of the top isn't that great so getting a colored one isn't a bad idea. I'm giving this a 7 rating because the wood used for the top isn't very nice looking and there was a problem with the pickup selector switch that appears to be pretty common on that years production.

I've used this for everything over the years, from Metal to Jazz, and I worked ok for all of them. The pickups don't have that great a sound, but it's passible. The acoustic sound is pretty muffled, but ok for bedroom practicing.

The guitar was setup fine from the factory and I run 12's on it right now (it has 10's from the factory). There is a slight intonation problem on the fourth string at the fifth fret, but that is probably because of the heavier guage strings. The neck is thin and fast just like the 335 it's copying. The strings are set so low, that I always seem to hit the neck pickup when I play. The finish on the guitar seems to be built very tough. I have banged this guitar around quite a bit over the years and the guitar show's no signs of wear (chips, scratches, etc).

One major anoyance with the guitar the is location of the strap button on the back of the neck. It's located so the guitar wants to tip forward when hanging from the strap. If I was going to actually use a strap for this guitar while playing at shows, I would have the button moved up on the body to prevent this.

Had this guitar for about 6 years and it has held up very well. I wouldn't have any qualms about taking it gigging. The guitar itself is pretty solid. When I bought the guitar, the selector switch for the pickups was already going bad (it would cut out when switching to the bridge pickup). Just needed a good cleaning and it works fine now. Shouldn't need to do that from the factory though.

Never had to deal with customer support.

This is a good practice guitar and a pretty good deal for a 335 copy. With a little money invested (in better pickups) it would be an inexpensive gigging guitar with good sound.

Made in Korea, 22 frets, 2 volume and 2 tone knobs, 3 way selector, two USA-made humbuckers. I think it has a tune-o-matic bridge, but im not sure. Grover tuners. Creme binding. The one I bought was ebony.

I play jazz and contemporary christian stuff. It suits my style well enough. It's mellow and rich sounding, but like everyone else says, it'll never be as good as a real Gibson. I play through a 120 watt crate amp, and it sounds pretty good in my opinion.

Well I can't say that the factory set-up was perfect. The action was a little too high, the tuners were loose, and the little "E" on the pickguard eventually fell off on its own. There was also a questionable amount of fret buzz. The finish is very good though.

The pick-up selector seemed fine the first few days, but eventually the signal started breaking up, so I replaced it. The rest of the hardware is durable. Got orange knobs switched to gibson black knobs so it matches the rest of the guitar. This guitar was well-built, and it can withstand live playing. Just don't do anything crazy.

I've been playing for about 4 years now and I've had this guitar for about 8 months and its still sounding good. I use tremolo and distortion boss effects with this guitar. I also own an ibanez RG deluxe, but for obvious reasons, the epiphone suits my style a lot more. If it were stolen or lost, I would probably save up for a real es-335.

Made in Korea, 2003 a gibson es 335 knock off. usual features apply, grover tuners (is that normal?). The finish is natural letting the maple shine through.

I mainly play punky stuff in the veign of goldfinger and lagwagon, i just wanted a different guitar that isn't really used in this genre and it fits in perfectly, this guitar can sing. i know that this guitar can handle most styles of music but not through my own personal experience. im using the epi through a laney vc30 112 and a line 6 distortion modeller and it seems like a very good combination. My only gripe is (and it is a small one) is the pickups are poorly set up, but with a few minor adjustments you simply can't go wrong for the money.

This is only my personal opinion but the setup was shite, mainly because i like to play with guage 13 strings and this epi came setup for 9s but i soon rectified that. the finish is almost flawless its a little rough around the f-holes but again at the price you'd have to be pretty p*$&*d off at the world to grumble(i.e. in radiohead). If i liked playing with 9s the setup was more than reasonable.

This guitar has withstood numerous hot, sticky and sweaty gigs and looks like it could go another 10 rounds. i could depend on it in any situation but the golden rule still appies never gig with out a backup or you will learn the hard way (trust me i know), thats not nessercarily the guitar at fault but its alot easiar to swap guitars over than change a broken string.

never need it so i dont know even though i have owned numerous epis, but i guess thats a good thing

I have been playing for roughly 8 years and through making my own guitars i know a little bit about the instrument and this is a particulary good specimen but dont kid yourself it aint a gibson and no matter what you do to it it wont sound like one simply because gibsons are made with a great deal of love these babies aren't. currently i own 6 guitars 3 home mades and a 50's tele a epi g400 and of course this epi dot. i dont use the tele that much these days as its getting on a bit so i save it for studio work but my epi dot is the real workhorse she'll take anything i throw at her and for the money i am really impressed go get one, i hope its serves you as well as mine has.

This is a 9/2003 model. Made is Korea, which personally I'm ok with. I think it has 24 frets but I haven't actually looked to tell the truth. Been playing thirty years and have ten guitars, so I just try to get the best sound and technique I can, and try not to worry alot about the details. Maple top, back and sides are laminated, same as the real Gibsons.3 way pick up switch, two volume and tone, same as the real Gibson. Oddly, switching and wiring is backwards from the American counterparts. Two humbuckers that are "Gibson designed" which means that they are basically the same as the Gibson models, but made in Korea I'm sure. I think theseare PAF copies. One big difference is that the neck is maple, as opposed to mahogany, as with the real deal. You might get a little darker sound, should be close. 335 style body. finish on my particular model is really nice. Polyester finish instead of nitro-cellulose as with the American cousin. Bear in mind I have several Gibsons and don't expect a $350 dollar guitar to be the same as a $3000 Gibson or Heritage. Really nice Grover tuners, a real surprise considering when I build a guitar I pay fourty bucks for a set, eleven percent of the cost of the overall product.

OK. The sound is not a Gibson, stock pickups are not the best, I have a spare set of 57 classic plus's I'll probably end up putting in. Iplay through a '64 super reverb, '64 deluxe reverb, '99 tremo verb 412 cab, '03 rectoverb and a shitload of pedals, wahs, etc. Again, for what it is, it ain't bad. I can see wher the pup switch will fail soon, as it feels pretty weak. Switchcraft! I play Blues, Jazz, Rock, Metal if I can get to; great for Blues, Jazz and some styles of rock. Won't work for Metal. Bright sound , not to round though. Thin mids. Might just be 'cause it's new. Poly takes forever to break in because it's just plastic. Not alot of resonance, but it'll be fresh for a long time.

Great factory set-up. Pickups were off, but I fixed that easily. Top's ok, I didn'tbuy this with the intention of getting a showpiece. This guitar's only flaw is that one of the tuners was mounted slightly off,(rotated about a millimeter)but I got it really cheap because it's marked as a factory second. That's OK, 'cause it plays and sounds fine.

hard to predict how long anything will last until you use it alot. should be fine. I NEVER gig without a back-up, usually three or four.

No problems as yet. No experience with Epi. Stay tuned...

I won't go into all my gear, but it's alot. I have spent twenty five of my fourty one years collecting the best I could find. Until this guitar, none cost me less that a thou., many pieces were three to four times that. I bought this guy on a whim. However, if it were stolen or lost I would replace it. The Elitist series might be a consideration, but I have discovered over the years that if you're not in the studio, the drunk in the front row, or the chick eying you in the back really don't care what you're playing. They care about how much of you is put into it. Remember it's about sadness, anger,soul or whatever YOU feel. This piece is good enough for about everything the local level guitarist will run into.

Ebony, Chrome Hardware, Two Humbuckers, Three Way Switch, Grovers

I don't hear a problem with the stock Humbuckers, although I'm playing through a Gallien Krueger 1001RB II full stack (4X10 and 115), so I full control over low end and top end and a Lexicon MPX 100. It has the variations I like for jazz, blues and rock.

Action is great I set it myself. Fit is fine for me. Finish looks very good no flaws.

I've only had it two days. I did a gig 30 minutes after I bought it. No problems.

Very informative. Lifetime warranty......Great.

I love the Dot well worth the money, but if the Dot is this good I'm taking it back and raising the bar to the Sheraton II. Either are great deals.

Cherry finish. 2vol 2tone. stop tail piece. dot inlay. 2 gibson made (not samsung made) pickups. no binding on the neck. ivory binding on body. maple neck. plastic (not bone) nut. chrome (not silver) hardware.

FLIMSY!FLIMSY!FLIMSY!FLIMSY!FLIMSY!FLIMSY!FLIMSY!FLIMSY!FLIMSY!FLIMSY!i play through a line 6 ax2. this guitar dosent really sound that great. even after i changed the stock nut. i also changed the pickups to gibson 57 classics. the WOOD MATERIAL is not good quality. it sounds cheap and toy-like. i only like using the bridge pup, but even that is not that great sounding. the neck dosent feel good when you play it. it feels FLIMSY!

WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!WEAK!
intonation was completley off. action was too high. buzzing at a lot of positions. even after a pro setup, there was still some buzzing. inconsistant (cherry) finish. nasty pick up selector. it started going bad in a week. i replaced it along all the pots.

bad pots, bad nut, bad pickups. you gotta change all that.

come on man! customer support? whatever......

if you're gonna go through all the trouble of changing all those stock parts on an epi dot, why not look for something that comes with better stock part? like maybe a gibson? now i have to sell this one and save up for a guitar that i KNOW will increase its resale value even a hunderd years from now. after i sell this epi dot, i'm gonna save up for a guitar that i KNOW will sound better as it ages

Made in 2002. Korean made. 2 hb pups. volume volume tone tone. 3 way pup selectzor. cherry red.

I bought mine 3 months ago. It actually sounded nice straight out of the box. It had a nice meaty sound. The stock pups are not that bad contrary to what most folks say. Don't waste $110 for gibson 57 classics. The tone will mainly stay the same, the only thing you'll notice is that it make the guitar louder. A buddy of mine put 57s on his dot. I couldnt really tell. This guitar is good for all styles. Use heavier gauge strings. replace the 3 way pup selector (you'll have to anyway).

This is where the dot needs help. No matter what.....you'll have to get it setup. Either by yourself or professionally. The intonation was a mile off. the action was too high. there was a lot of buzzing with the strings. the truss rod needed some tweeking. The finish was very inconsistant. If you see one like this, don't panic, all standard epi dots will have a flaw in their finish. you can go to 10 different shops to search for a dot, but you'll notice the same thing

Quite reliable. But make sure you change the pots!!!!!!!

customer what?

The only thing that i changed on the dot were the pots. This guitar is great. if it were stolen, i would get a casino instead. you're paying 400 bucks, dont expect the quality of a gibson or and american fender. out of all the hollow body/semihollow bosy archtop guitars epi makes.

I don't really know when it was made - bought it used in 1999. I did have to tweak this guitar a bit. The original pickups (which were actually OK) were replaced by a SD 59 in the bridge and a SD Jazz in the neck. The pots are a little scratchy (doesn't bother me) and the 3-way switch is starting to bite it (I'll need to fix that!). You basically know the features.

I wanted this guitar for a back-up/complement/change to the Carvin "strat" I usually use - mostly I use it at home for my own enjoyment. I've only played this guitar live on one occasion for a solo jazz set at a coffee shop - was very tasteful for this setting. There's been several times others have played this live and man does it sound nice! Blew away my friend's Les Paul Studio (sounded brighter and more alive) and a guy played it at a gig I played bass for the other night and it sounded real sweet. I need to put down my strat and give this a shot in front of a crowd this week. I think the beauty of these guitars is that they're not all that common - the jangly yet warm sound is always a nice treat. Great for anything but extreme rock. Used with a wide variety of amps - most amps can handle these types of guitars pretty well since they are not extreme in any way.

Action is nice - I had a tech adjust it for me and I thought it sounded bad - so I raised the action back up and have really gotten used to it. Feels very silky after playing my strat. The finish is OK - some blems on mine but I actually like scratches and dings here and there... My complaint is the pots & switches. Nothing a little patience and a soldering iron can't fix.

The only thing I don't like is that I would think this guitar would be more fragile than a solid piece of wood (duh!) so I get a little nervous. The stupid 3 way can be a problem at times... I probably wouldn't go without a back up.

NA

I really like this guitar and hope others will check it out. It needs some tweaks (pickups, pots & switches) but it is a fun guitar to own. I HATE seeing average players paying for overpriced guitars when relatively inexpensive ones + a little common sense can get the job done just as well. This will do the trick - forget the expensive Gibson version. Unless of course they send you one for free!

Just purchased the Epi Dot this week. It was new so it must be a 2003 and it was made in Korea. I went to Guitar Center to try out some guitars, I was looking for the Epi Sheraton II but they did not have any, and this was sitting right at the front of the store. I instantly fell in love with this guitar. It is cherry red...if you have seen pictures on the internet it does not do this thing justice. Go to the store and look at it. It is amazing looking. Controls seem nice but I think I might change them out for black with chrome tops eventually. Grover tuners so the thing going out of tune has not been much of a problem. PUs are the stock Gibsons. Contrary to popular belief they sound really nice. Nice warm mellow tones, can get muddy but there are so many different tone settings you can avoid this (unless you want a muddy tone).

I had been playing a Fender Telecaster and I noticed my style moving more towards a mellow sound. Picked the Dot up in the store and it was a perfect fit. In the jazz and blues arena, this guitar delivers. I play mostly blues and original jazz/blues pieces and this guitar amazes me every time I pick it up. In the store I played it on some tube amps...and it kicked ass. I brought it home to my small Marshall and it still kicked ass. It did sound a bit warmer with the tube amps, but that was expected. My favorite pickup to use is the neck pickup on around a 5 tone setting. It is very warm and mellow. I haven't played it through much distortion but when I did it seemed to be alright. I did get quite a lot of feedback though. Some of you out there might really desire that. Overall, for the price you can't beat it. Those Gibson freaks out there who say it can't compare don't know what they're talking about. The sound is quite comparable to an ES-335. It's not about how EXPENSIVE your guitar is it's WHAT YOU DO WITH IT that matters. Some of these Gibson fanatics might have $3,000.00 guitars but can't play worth shit. Buy an Epiphone, save money and have those types of people kicking themselves when they hear you play.

The action on my guitar was quite good when I bought it. It doesn't really matter to me though. It seems like the PUs were adjusted correctly. There is one microscopic flaw in the finish but that's it! Other than that it is perfect. No string buzzing, no loose tuning pegs...perfect.

I don't play live, but hope to some day in the future. The Dot seems very reliable. The hardware SEEMS like it will last, but according to many Epi users the switches go bad after a while. Knock on Wood this will not happen to me (I know, wishful thinking)! I would probably bring a backup just in case though. It also seems very durable but I do not wish to find out! I take care of my guitars as if they were my own flesh and blood.

Haven't had to deal with them....hopefully I won't.

I've been playing for about 3 years now. I own a Fender Telecaster and that's it for my "gear". If stolen or lost I couldn't buy another one as I am a student and am therefore very poor. I could only buy this one as my parents gave me $150.00 for an early X-mas present and I had the extra 200 already saved up. I would probably save up for another one though. This guitar is great for jazz and blues and I can attest to that. There is nothing I can find to hate about the Dot.

2003 model, chrome hardware, 2 (stock) Gibson HB pickups, (stock) Grover tuners, 2 volume and tone knobs, 3 way pickup selector switch, (lam.) Maple body with a Natural gloss finish.

The guitar was made in Korea but setup and final inspection done in the USA by Gibson.

I played this guitar through my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe tube amp.

The guitar had .10 gauge strings on it when I got it and I replaced them with D'Addario ECG24 "Chromes" (Ribbon Wound) .11 gauge strings. The guitar sounded good with the original strings but I don't like thin gauge strings because I can't keep them in tune (I use .11 and .12 gauge strings).

This guitar sounds great, very close to an actual Gibson ES335. The rhythm picup has a very mellow sound that is full, rich and responsive (essp. after I put the new strings on it). The treble pickup is bright (but not too bright ... what a 335 should sound like).

The finish was very good, very glossy plus the wood has some really nice grain. There were a few small spots were the finish got onto the top of the fretboard (but was easily fixable by picking it off). The "dots" were a moto / mother of pearl material and was set pretty good as well as the epiphone logo on the headstock.

The guitar was setup at the Gibson USA factory and is fantastic. I don't trust alot of the music stores "setups", essp. from someone that can sell a guitar but doesn't even know how to play a guitar much less set one up.

The action was great, it's close to a medium low action ... there is no string buzz, etc. the strings are really easy to play and bend.

I got my guitar straight out of the factory box. This is the only way to get a guitar that will be setup properly, when you have a guitar that everyone has played (in the store) there tends to be problems with switches, nicks, etc. from kids that go in the store and bang on everything and don't care about taking care of an instrument, so I ask for most of my guitars in the box (like this one).

The guitar will probably last as long as it's taken care of. Which I've taken care of all of my gear and use cases when going to gigs.

But with the guitar being semi-hollow you need to be a little extra careful with it.

I haven't delt with them but they have a good website.

I've been playing the guitar for over 10 years and own lots of gear (10+ guitars, 4+ amps, 20+ effect pedals, etc.) and play Gospel, blues, country and classic rock.

This guitar is great for someone that wants a ES335 but can't afford the actual Gibson model and that doesn't want to go with the upper Epiphone models (Sheraton II / Elite models).

The Gibson pickups sound fine and the tuners hold the guitar in tune (you really don't have to use any "locking" tuners if you use a heavier gauge string).

Overall a great guitar for the price.

2003 model, chrome hardware, 2 (stock) Gibson HB pickups, (stock) Grover tuners, 2 volume and tone knobs, 3 way pickup selector switch, (lam.) Maple body with a Natural gloss finish.

The guitar was made in Korea but setup and final inspection done in the USA by Gibson.

I played this guitar through my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe tube amp.

The guitar had .10 gauge strings on it when I got it and I replaced them with D'Addario ECG24 "Chromes" (Ribbon Wound) .11 gauge strings. The guitar sounded good with the original strings but I don't like thin gauge strings because I can't keep them in tune (I use .11 and .12 gauge strings).

This guitar sounds great, very close to an actual Gibson ES335. The rhythm picup has a very mellow sound that is full, rich and responsive (essp. after I put the new strings on it). The treble pickup is bright (but not too bright ... what a 335 should sound like).

The finish was very good, very glossy plus the wood has some really nice grain. There were a few small spots were the finish got onto the top of the fretboard (but was easily fixable by picking it off). The "dots" were a moto / mother of pearl material and was set pretty good as well as the epiphone logo on the headstock.

The guitar was setup at the Gibson USA factory and is fantastic. I don't trust alot of the music stores "setups", essp. from someone that can sell a guitar but doesn't even know how to play a guitar much less set one up.

The action was great, it's close to a medium low action ... there is no string buzz, etc. the strings are really easy to play and bend.

I got my guitar straight out of the factory box. This is the only way to get a guitar that will be setup properly, when you have a guitar that everyone has played (in the store) there tends to be problems with switches, nicks, etc. from kids that go in the store and bang on everything and don't care about taking care of an instrument, so I ask for most of my guitars in the box (like this one).

The guitar will probably last as long as it's taken care of. Which I've taken care of all of my gear.

I haven't delt with them but they have a good website.

I've been playing the guitar for over 10 years and own lots of gear (10+ guitars, 4+ amps, 20+ effect pedals, etc.) and play Gospel, blues, country and classic rock.

This guitar is great for someone that wants a ES335 but can't afford the actual Gibson model and that doesn't want to go with the upper Epiphone models (Sheraton II / Elite models).

The Gibson pickups sound fine and the tuners hold the guitar in tune (you really don't have to use any "locking" tuners if you use a heavier gauge string).

Overall a great guitar for the price.

You should know by now.

Can do most sounds you want: rock, folk, pop, jazz, etc.
Pickups Ok. But could be better (mine are the Gibson endorsed ones).
Sounds best through a tube-amp rather than distortion pedals.
It will cope with lots of various tunings (always staying in tune), I usually opt for varitions of Open G or Open C.
The 2nd Strings intonation is pretty poor.

Action was good, especially with 11's strings.
Finish was poor around the f-holes and the headstck.
The first thing to go, within 1 week was the pickup switch.. spend #20 and put a Gibson one in yourself (it's very easy to solder it) now it's totaly reliable.
The volume % tone pots are starting to go after about 2 years.

Will it last? ... I've sold mine.
Why? because I could start spending a few hundred quid on changing pickups, pots, bridge, nut, etc.. But I sold mine for about #300 after 2 years and the few hudred qiud I could have spent means I now have about #500-#600 to spend on a new guitar.

Never used.
Just took it to the shop where I had it from when I neededit set up

Have been playing many years and own many instruments.
If your not bothered about the name on the headstock its fine.
Lets face it, it might be endorsed by Gibson, but it's not a 335 is it. You might only be buying it because you want to think you have a 335.
If like me it was bought on the pretext of: use it; look after it; sell it after a couple of years it's fine.
An instrument is meant to be played. What do you do with your car.. keep it polished & locked in a garage or actually drive it, then in a few years replace it??

OK, Just got mine! It is a 2003 model, and korean Made.
22 frets, your standard Gibson Epi scale. The bonys I guess are Laminated Maple. And your standard volume volume tone tone threeway selector electronics. I have the stock PU configeration no mod's yet!
Mine is in the standard Cherry transparent finish.
I have always liked the 335 Gibson looks. Tuners are stock but plan to change them. The nut is a joke. It has a nice feel from neck to body and everyware else.
Here is my list of things to change:
Tuners, to Sperzel Locking's.
Nut, to a graphite.
Pickups, Duncans.
Sadles, there to sharp or have a burr.
Posibly a Bigsby.

I go for a big yet fuzzy sound, like the Smashing Pumpkins.
So the sound has got to reflect that.
I use a Tech21 Trademark 120 2x12 combo and a stack of pedals.
The guitar stays very clear even under heavy fuzz. I has great feedBack!
I like the cleaner sounds to.
I just want more from it though.

Factory setup was a Joke!
String oh man you have to change those like I read elseware 11's are good. I used GHS TNT Boomers 10-52.
The wood on this one is kind of nice.
And the F holes had Black paint runover on the top of the geetar.

The guitar seems tough! its somewhat heavy.
Hardware looks good. finish is good except for the paint runover.
I changed to Dunlop strap loks rightaway I wont drop a guitar.
Yeah I can depend on it!
I would use it on a gig with a backup. But I never would cause thats just plain dumb!

WHy I dont speak Gibson-eez!?

I would give this guitar a good rating.
I did not buy it with a case cause the idiot at GC didnt have one and sait it would fit in a Dred case! NO!
I have owned a couple of Epi's and liked em(LP Custom Black and a LP Special II Burst).
GET ONE GET ONE GET ONE, THEN MOD IT!

2003 Standard Epi Dot. Double HB. laminted body. 3way pup selector......

The Dot is a guitar that has great potential, but not right away. You have to work on it a little. The stock pups are unclear, unresponsive, fake sounding (toy like), muddy, and actually annoying. But i didn?t give up, and neither should you. I went out and got some gibson 57 classics. replaced both stock pups. and DANG, what a freakin difference. I had to drop some extra dough, but very well worth it. Better tonal sound, variety, feel. i like using the bridge pup the most. You might want to change the nut too, because some nuts on some Dots are nasty and they will cause you to go out of tune like a mofo. Oh and you're gonna have to change the pots soon, because will start giving you some static. Before the upgrade i'd give the dot a 6 or 7.

Again, straight from the factory this guitar sucks. My dot needed intonation, lower action, truss rod adjustment. There was way too much buzzing going on. i dont like how the fingerboard is so dull and buffed looking. finish was fine. f-hole were painted kinda sloppy. you might as well just toss out the stupid epiphone E logo. its gonna fall off anyway. I had to get the whole axe professionally setup. Afterwards it was actually very nice. so after the setup i'd give it an 8. oh BTW use 11's on this guitar.

The only thing i have to say on this section is the static on the controls. and maybe the nut, which causes the guitar to go out of tune. (but not if you upgrade)

Never bothered.

I play shoegazing and space rock. This guitar (w/57 classics) are great for controlled amp feedback. Remember upgrade, upgrade, upgrade. these guitars suck straight out of the factory. But honestly, after all the modifications, the Dot can sound excellent. My DOT is living proof. I'm very happy with it.

Epiphone "DOT" model, 2001 model made in Korea for Gibson USA. 22 fret neck (standard Gibson scale length). Body and neck are made of maple finished in the classic "Cherry Red" finish. Standard 2 humbucking pickup configuration with volume and tone controls for each pickup. Standard 3 way pickup selector switch. Stock Epiphone pickups, tuners, ABR-1 bridge and stopbar tailpiece. White bound body with no neck or F-hole binding.

First off, the pickups: Not bad at all. I know a lot of people complain about Epi's pickups but they sound sweet to me. My Dot sounds very much like the more over-priced ES-335 cousin. The humbuckers do the classic Allman Brothers, Cream and "blues thing" all day long with a little overdrive to gas 'em up. In the clean setting the Dot is capable of a clear toned Gretsch sound (think Chet Atkins) when both pickups are engaged. The Dot doesn't feedback, even at higher "on stage" levels which really surprised the hell out of me. I've been playing Strats and Teles for over decade so when I returned to a humbucker equiped guitar I was blown away by the increased volume it has over the single coils. Of course, humbuckers don't have the upper end shimmer of single coils,but with some intelligent EQ(ing) you'll be pleasantly suprised. (I sure was!)
The body, neck and rosewood fingerboard work together to produce a full-toned sound that really is great for rock, blues, jazz or even country (in the clean setting, especially).The humbuckers are a whole lot quieter than my old single-coil guitars were!
The shop setup wasn't too swift, so I had to restring and set the guitar up for my comfort. First off, the ABR-1 bridge was put on backwards which made the g-string sit up unusually high! I went to the Epiphone site and noticed that the Dot's bridge had the adjustment screws to the rear of the guitar (closer to the stopbar). So I turned it around and what a difference that made! I was then able to set up the action properly.
The next issue was the tuning slippage.This no problem to fix with the "life-saving" graphite I always use on my guitars. I simply put some graphite in the black-plastic nut slots and in the slots of the saddles. (I do this everytime I change strings). Graphite is cheap and a container lasts for years... No more tuning problems! Soon I was pulling strings like B.B. King! (Not sounding like Mr. King, but hey,you get my point!)
I play in a "classic rock" band that does a mix of late 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s rock. The Dot is perfect for everything that I like to play in the band.
The Dot is also capable of some sweet jazz tones as well. We do an occasional gig where we have to play "cocktail-hour music". The Dot sounds great on clean "jazz-styled music" with the neck pickup doing it's share of the load. Yes, it is versatile sounding, playing and good looking guitar!
Dislikes: Epiphone's choice og gold-toned knobs on a guitar with chrome hardware...strange decision. The golden knobs have numbers that are hard to see- so on a dark stage you have to go by "radar" to dial in the right sounds and levels. I'll probably change the knobs to black speed knobs or silver "top hat" knobs inthe future. No big deal,really!

After some at home adjusting I was able to get the DOT set up for my tastes. I think a good guitar should be able to do that for you, because every player can be totally different. I love guitars with close action that some players may not need or enjoy at all. Close action lets me get those country-style bends down just right.
The pickups had to be adjusted once I squared-away the backwards
ABR-1 bridge. I use an old time-tested method to adjust the neck pickup. Simply place a dime on the pickup and fret the highest note on the low E and high E strings (the dime should not block the string when you fret the note). Simple right? It works, try it.
The neck pickup is very strong, so it remains set a lot lower than the bridge pickup! You don't want the neck pickup too close or all you'll get is a muddy and cruddy sound!
The overall quality of the guitar is very good,but not perfect.There are no major construction problems that I see. The medium-jumbo frets are are comforatble and dressed very well with no major buzzing problems. All in all, it's an affordable version of the ES-335 that is a whole lotta fun to play!

The Dot is reliable enough to gig with without a backup instrument. The hardware (tuners and bridge) probably are not the best in the business but seem like they'll hold up. I figure I can always replace the ABR-1 bridge and tuners IF they don't hold up. So far, so good!
The strap buttons are secure and really hold on well to my strap, Lord knows, you don't need to drop your guitar!
I like the chrome hardware beacuse it will hold up for a long time. Gold toned hardware tends to mellow and fade as time goes on. I use a little chrome cleaner (once in awhlie) on the tuning heads to keep them shinny.
No major concerns on this subject.

Epiphone/Gibson QUICKLY responded to an email I sent to them with some questions about my guitar. I was VERY impressed with their honest and fast response!
I bought an "extended warranty" from my dealer when I got my guitar. I figured, just in case something does wrong I won't be left in the dark! The guitar was purchased from Daddy's Junky Music ( a company that I had GOOD experience dealing with). Kudos to Daddy's!

I've been playing for 32 years. I have a Fender Princeton 65 amp that has been that has been faithful to me for a couple of years, now. I have a "collection" of Danelectro effects that are really cool (Reel Echo, Danowah, chorus, tremolo, flanger, EQ, compressor & chorus).
I've had to get used to the shorter scale of the Dot after playing Strats and Telecasters but that's not really a problem.
I would be nice if the Dot had a vibrato but I can live without that.
Epiphone guitars are some of the best instruments made today. When every dollar I spend MUST be accounted for the Epiphone makes SENSE! I can't afford a $2000 guitar and I have to be honest about that. I wish I could afford an expensive guitar but with kids in college, etc. I cannot justify spending that much cash!
Epiphone seems to apprieciate that everyone isn't a millionaire or "collector" that doesn't actually play an instrument! They build good guiatrs for us "regular people" to play with at gigs and to have fun with! You gotta love their affordability factor alone.
I'm proud to say I'm a Epiphone player!

2003 Natural finish Dot copy with the "Inspected in America" sticker. I wanted a real Gibson Dot reissue but did not like the feel of the neck as much as the Epiphone.

I wanted a 335 style guitar for blues and I liked the original sound but it lacked clarity due to the original pickups. I could have left it alone and had a nice sound but no - as usual, I went on a crusade to find a better sound. More on that later.

This guitar should carry the Gibson "Project Shop" label because it takes some work to get it into shape. The set-up was pretty awful. The action was OK but the intonation was out by a mile. There were a few bad buzzes; one that rendered the guitar virtually useless in the key of A, until I dressed a couple of frets. Fortunately, the pitchfork "E" logo fell off the pickguard with just slight pressure from my fingernail. The finish looks great and everything fits perfectly otherwise. I find that this guitar has an unusually comfortable neck that makes it easy to play and, if you are considering an ES335, it is worth trying this guitar before forking over $2000. Just keep in mind that there may be some "debugging" involved to get it just right. I got the well-designed Epiphone hard case too.

I would take it anywhere. I think it is as durable as any semi-hollowbody.

Thankfully, I have not needed any service.

It is okay out of the box but it can be made into an awesome guitar by removing the stock pickups and replacing them with burstbuckers. Use a 2 in the neck and 3 in the bridge. It's a $200 investment that will yield a guitar that absolutely smokes. I could rant on-and-on but I won't. It is awesome switched to the neck or middle position and edgy but useable in the bridge position. If you roll back the tone control to 7, it will make that 57 classic pickup sound too. You will have spent $600 and have a guitar that sounds like it cost $2000. Granted, it will have some buzzes when unplugged that you might not get with a real 335, but it is just an excellent value. You can spend the difference on a Rectoverb or braces for your kid or whatever.

My Dot was made in 1996, Korean made, in a beautiful chestnut burst. It has all the features listed in the other reviews. I purchased this guitar used, with the notion of upgrading it,and
the guitar was in remarkable almost unplayed mint condition. One of the first things I noticed was that the neck seemed thinner than all the other more current models I played, and I prefer the thin neck.
When I first bought this guitar, the tuners were holding tune fine, but were leaking some kind of grease, so I replaced them with a set of Grover Rotomatics. When I took the strings off to replace the tuners, a big chunk of the nut broke off (I suspect it was cracked to begin with). So I replaced the nut with a pre-slotted nut from TUSQ.
Finally, I changed the pups with a set of Gibson Classic '57s. That really made a difference in the sound.

Before I upgraded the pickups, the guitar sounded very good, but it had a rather dark sound. I had to ease off all the base on my amp, and increase the treble all the way; but, the base strings still sounded rather muddy.
With the Classic '57s in there, this axe will give any Gibby 335 a run for it's money. Sweet mids, with that clear, bright sound. With the upgraded pups, I would give this guitar a definite "10" for sound, but since we are reviewing a stock guitar, I'm giving it an "8".

Again, I bought this guitar used so I don't know how it came from the factory. I set it up with a set of .011 - .050 strings, tweeked the neck a bit, and lowered the action a little too. Now the action is low and smooth. Frets are well dressed.
The finish on the guitar is a beautiful chestnut sunburst, whic I don't see on the more current models. However, the wood is rather plain with no figuring. Otherwise the finish is flawless.

As I mentioned, I changed the nut and tuners, because I had to. The pickups I changed because I wanted to. I could have played the standard pickups and they would have done the job. But, I'm glad I did swap the pups, because the sound difference is significant.

So far, I've only dealt with Gibson once. I asked for help dating the guitar, and they were very helpful in telling me when the guitar was made.

I've been playing for 10 years, and this guitar is one of the best in my stable. I love the way it plays, I love the way it sounds, and I love the way it looks. I am a big fan of semi-hollows and I have 2 others: a Guild Starfire III-90, and a DeArmond T-400, and this guitar ranks right in there with them. I would definitely buy one again if a trolley were to run this over.
Whether you upgrade this guitar, or leave it stock, It is a real good buy, and well worth the money.

2003 Epi Dot, 335 style semi-hollow, black (Ebony) body. Laminated maple body, maple neck, chrome Grover tuners, 2 humbuckers, gold vol/tone knobs, 3-way switch. The other reviewers summed up the features pretty well. It is what it is - a no frills semi-hollow guitar - so it gets a 9 for function and simplicity.

Keep in mind I've been playing for 13 years now, and I've owned guitars from Fender, Gibson, Steinberger, PRS, Hamer USA, Jackson, and Yamaha. I knew going in that this guitar was the low end of Epi's 335 line, so I'll try to be as fair as I can.

I hate the fact that a lot of import companies these days try to lure buyers with "Duncan Designed" pickups. Apparently Epiphone is trying this with their guitars now, as this one came with "Gibson Designed" humbuckers. However, they are alnico pickups (much nicer to my ears than ceramic), and I'm pleased with the overall sound. They do seem to have a lot of string pull, which causes warbled notes in the higher frets, so I had to lower the pickups quite a bit. I like to use a variety of Tube Screamers and a Boss Blues Driver, and this guitar sounds good through all of them. It really shines through a clean amp with some chorus and reverb - I got just the sound I was after.

One thing to note, when played acoustically (unplugged), it sounds like a plastic toy guitar. I've played some semi-hollow guitars that had a very pleasant, balanced tone when played acoustically. Unfortunately, the Dot sounds like a Tyco guitar, most likely as a result of lower grade wood and the plastic nut. No biggie if you play with a lot of effects, but keep in mind you won't get that wood-sy tone of a great semi-hollow guitar.

This area was my biggest disappointment for the Dot. The paint is very uneven, especially on the headstock. Mine is black, so I see every little imperfection. I probably should've got it in Natural finish ;) No chips/nicks or uneven binding. There are some pretty nasty gouge marks where the fretboard meets the binding on the side of the neck between the 17th and 22nd frets. The only way to fix it would be to file down the fretboard surface, which I'm not going to do. Another complaint I have is with the overall appearance - let's see, a black guitar, chrome hardware, and GOLD KNOBS? What were they thinking? The gold knobs look so out of place. I replaced them with OEM Gibson black speed knobs, and it looks a lot better.

The action was set pretty low from the factory, but the truss rod needed some adjusting. The low action plus the 24 3/4" scale make this guitar a dream to play. The frets were in really good shape as well. I'm knocking a few points for the paint and the gouges in the fretboard.

These guitars are inherently delicate, so as long as you remember that, it'll hold up pretty well when gigging. Like everyone else mentioned, the 3-way switch will be replaced soon. I may also replace the vol/tone pots while I'm at it, but the stock pots are smooth and may last a while. I also plan to replace the stopbar and tailpiece with a Gotoh set. Nothing wrong with the stock pieces, but I'm picky about getting as much clean tone as I can.

Never had to deal with Epiphone, but it looks like they have a lot of information on their website, and tons of information is available through the HC Forums.

About six years ago I bought an Epi Sheraton II (this was before the Dot was being made). I was real pleased with the looks and build of it, but the overall sound just didn't cut it for me. Most likely just poor pickups. The Dot seems to be the opposite - the looks and build quality are pretty poor, but it sounds real nice. But what do you really want from a $400 guitar? Anyone who comes and reads these reviews should understand one thing - you get what you pay for. I have guitars that range from a $300 MIM Strat to a $2600 USA Hamer Artist Custom. The more you spend, the better quality of construction and components, and no matter how many upgrades you do, at the end of the day you still have a cheap guitar. The Dot is a very good guitar considering it's price. It serves it's purpose very well for me, and that's all I can ask.

2003 Epiphone Dot (Gibson 335 replica). Made in Korea. 2 volume, 2 tone, 3 way switch (very loose and cheap feeling). Twin '57 Alinco humbuckers. Maple body, rosewood fretboard. Beautiful cherry red finish. Grover tuners.

I love the sound of this guitar. Played 6 or 7 Dots before I bought this one and they all sounded great. Played some similar guitars from Samick, Ibanez, Fender, Guild, etc. and I kept going back to the Epi. Looks better than the Gibson 333 (much better) and has a very similar tone to that of the 335 for $2000 less!!! I'm a blues fanatic and I can get incredible John Lee Hooker tones out of this thing. I have several effects but none are needed to get great blues tone straight of a slightly overdriven Peavey Classic 30 or my Fender Hot Rod Deville. It also sounds incredible run through my Presonus tube preamp directly into Boss 352 board. The '57s are incredibly sensitive in this thing. I see no need to replace them at all. Sweet jazzy tone from neck p/u but my favorite is the middle position. Great blues leads there.

Set up was superb right out of the box as were the 7 others Dots I tried. Absolutely no fret buzz and intonation dead on. Action just a tad high but two turns of a screwdriver fixed that right up. I'm afraid to adjust the pickups at all as I absolutely love the tone I'm getting right now. I chose this guitar for the tone but also for the impeccable finish. The grain of the wood shows through beautifully under the cherry finish. Love the chrome hardware and the slightly raised pickguard. The nut isn't abalone but I have had no problems at all with it. Very solid feeling guitar. Heavy after an hour or so on the shoulder.

Play live with this guitar all you want, very solid. Hardware holding up great so far (3 months or so). Not cheap feeling at all, expect it to last awhile. Strap buttons much better than my Gibson SG, which falls off all the darn time (strap locks are collecting dust in the package). Stick another guitar in the corner at a gig if you want but I've played with just my Dot and a couple packs of strings no problem.

Lifetime warranty as long as u don't "modify" it at all. Now that is poor in my opinion because the 3 way selector feels like it may go at any time. Is that modifying if I put in a good quality selector?? Feels like a trap to get out of the "lifetime" warranty. That's customer support in my book and it really ticks me off that Epi won't put in a better switch. We've been bitching about this for years now to no avail. Can't give them a decent rating here until they listen to the customer.

Been playing 27 years. I own a Gibson SG (think this Epi sounds better for blues stuff) with P-90's, Fender Tele, Fender Strat, Seagull accoustic (now that is a great sounding guitar) Epiphone accoustic/electric (horrible accoustic sound, decent electric sound) Fender accoustic (anyone wanna buy it.... cheap??) 1979 Peavey bass (favorite guitar for looks and tone) Classic 30 tube amp, Fender Deville, little Crate 20 tube practice amp (neat tone on that thing) couple solid state amps collecting dust. Original Dunlop Crybaby Wah, Yamaha DG stomp for recording, other stomp boxes I don't use anymore. I'd definitely get another one if I lost this one (how do u loose a guitar???) Way underpriced guitar for the tone, looks, solid feel. Everytime I touch that damn 3 way switch I get ticked, feels soooooo flimsy unlike the rest of this guitar. How could Epi let it go with that hunk of crap on it???? Compared it too many, many guitars. Was going to buy the Gibson but I could buy 8 of these for 1 Gibson and this thing sounds and plays just as good. I think it actually plays better than the Gibson's I tried.

This is a 2002 model, made in Korea with the 'Factory set-up by Gibson USA' sticker on the back of the headstock. Authentic Gibson humbuckers and decent electronics, unlike the earlier Korean models which used Samsung electronics. Though these come from the factory with .11s mine was an Ebay purchase where the guitar had been refitted with flatwounds. Laminated maple body with a brilliant cherry finish. It's big as a coffee table, but not too heavy on your shoulder.

I play wall-of-sound, Phil Spector-esque, Jesus & Mary Chain rock and roll, which well suits the pentatonically inclined output of the Gibson humbuckers. I'm currently running through a Boss GT-5 effects rig into a Vox AC-50 head and a 2 x 12 cab. The pickups are extremely sensitive to pick-placement and offer a great variety of sound. The neck pickup is fat and distorts with little coaxing. The bridge pickup jangles all over the place, and can move into Gretsch territory if you strike the strings just above the bridge. This guitar practically begs to be beaten upon & jumped around with.

Right out of the box after a cross-country ride in a UPS van the tuners showed what they were capable of, as the guitar played perfectly in tune. Action was perfectly workable as well, and I have not made any modifications to enhance or detract its performance. In all manners this guitar behaves like a very expensive instrument.

It's taken a good beating from me thus far, though I've heard rumors here about the strength of the electronics. I may replace the pots eventually but have had no trouble within the last year. The strap buttons are screwed into the body of the guitar and seem very secure. These guitars are inexpensive enough to keep a handful around for gigs, which is exactly what I am prepared to do.

N/A

After playing numerous 60s-era Danelectros, Teiscos, and EKO's I thought it may be worth my while to get a newer instrument, and an archtop at that. I was originally attracted by the price but have been thoroughly surprised at how versatile this guitar could be. Seriously it's difficult to imagine how much nicer the $1500 Gibson model could sound.

Made in Korea, doesn't mean much nowdays as it's pretty good. The pots and switches are of good quality, and the pickups work well. Mine is a 2003 model and has Grover tuners. It's a vintage sunburst color, and it's so well made I bought a nice hardshell case for it, and I'm usually not so careful with a cheap (under second mortgage price) guitar. Two humbuckers, three way switch, pots that work very well in incrementing tone. Plenty of maple, comfortable to strap on, no apologies for the name on the headstock. Probably a good 335 copy, but I'm happy for what it is on it's own.

I like overdriven fast pentatonic rock. I also like clean blues, not shy of rythm or lead. I wanted a guitar with a wide palatte, and I feel I got it with this guitar. I'm happy with what I've heard.

I wrote an earlier review based on a borrowed Dot which was ok, good enough for me to purchase one for myself. It was a year older than mine. Mine at first seemed a bit fat on the neck, but after a couple of months of playing has shown itself to be remarkably fast all over the neck, anywhere I want to play. The string height is ideal after a bit of adjustment to the bridge, the fretwork beautiful, and the neck is true. It invites aggressive travel all over the neck. I lowered the bridge a bit, raised the pickups a tad, played with the pole pieces a hair, and I've got it how I want it. The intonation is fine with very little tweaking. I have yet to see a single flaw, visually as satisfying as a Rickenbacker I used to own that was a LOT more expensive and took three months to build. Very little adjustment necessary. My dealer has a good eye and a good selection.

This is a good guitar. Never gig without a backup if you want to do a good show and care about the details.

Don't know.

This isn't about me. I've played many years, have gone through a lot of guitars. I don't remember a guitar with so much versatility as this. Maybe you know of some. I don't. I compared it to Gibsons when I first got it, but after some time with it I like it for what it is as an Epiphone Dot. Earlier Dots didn't impress me quite so much, but mine was made in January, 2003 and I think mine benefitted from a lot of feedback from reviews like this. I love the thing. I'd buy another just like it if I had to. I like my Dot with my Marshall doing what I do. I have three other guitars that have been gathering dust since I got it. Incredible value for money spent. I've been delighted every time I've picked it up.

2002 (or 3?) model. Humbuckers, standard Gibson 335 stuff. I looked at several and picked out the one with the best setup and workmanship, sunburst color. Solid block of wood in the center; this isn't a hollow body nor does it act like one, and semi-solid means solid and not half-assed acoustic and it will NOT play acoustic anymore than a Strat will. Haven't had a chance to put it through it's paces, but there's a story behind this. A friend loaned me his (a 1-year old DOT) because he got it mail order and it was setup poorly and he asked me to check it out. I set it up, then played it for several hours last night. Woke up this morning and got one for myself.

I go for sound first. My main axe has been an old American-made Peavey Reactor, tele copy. Extremely dense, heavy wood, great neck, love the sound, much better than the Fenders to my ear. It's a great Fender sound. But that sound is fine on the bass and glassy on the highs, thin in between. I plugged the borrowed DOT into my Valvestate 2000 Marshall and was immediately hearing that fine BB King tone. I started to play some blues, played with the knobs a bit, and I realized that these are some fine '57 Gibson pickups, nothing missing in that tone, definately NOT the old crap pickups the Korean Epiphone bolt-on 335s had. My first guitar was a '61 model ES350TD with '57s. But the center block made the DOT sound a lot more solid-body, and through my Marshall it gave me something between a 335 and a LP, a very pleasant and useful range of tone. These are NOT cheap sounding pickups! Clean or dirty. Now I can get the best of both worlds between my two guitars. I started on electrics and although I have a couple of acoustics, I still gotta have that electric tone. I was really surprised at the quality of this DOT's tone.

The one I just got is setup pretty decently. I think that has more to do with the store I bought it from as they do a great job of checking them out before they display them. The one I borrowed was mail ordered, and the setup was horrible. The bridge was jacked up over half an inch, pickups not adjusted, intonation off, 3-way more like a 360 degree. At first I thought it was a Korean piece of crap, like an acoustic I also got mail order. But once it was adjusted and after about an hour's playing, I realized that this was not only a fast neck but that the frets were really well done and level. This is where the big bucks for Gibsons seem to go, into excellent attention to detail. Mine, setup by the store (which is also our local Gibson dealer,) is fine. The mail ordered DOT was horrible when I got it.

The 3-way switch is pure crap. This is unfortunately an Epiphone thing, and there's no excuse for it. The borrowed DOT is as bad as my son's first Epiphone entry-level LP. The nut on the one I got looks to be better than the nut on the borrowed guitar which is a year older, the borrowed one being shiny plastic and brittle looking, the same as the crap they put on my son's first Epiphone entry-level LP. The pots are the borrowed one are iffy, but until the 3-way is changed out for a better one, (so bad that it can actually affect the pickup signal), it's hard to tell whether he got the good pots. That said, the quality of the woodwork and fretwork, the finish, and the really surprising pickups is far beyond the price range this guitar falls into. I can attest to genuine Gibsons I've owned that were no better if not worse in a few areas. It can be a gig guitar, but playing without a backup on any guitar is a bad idea anytime. You haven't played long if you haven't learned this the hard way.

I've always had good luck with the dealers I've dealt with, and I suppose that means the manufacturers are good to the dealers. What I won't do anymore is to purchase sight unseen from a mail order catalog. I've had too many problems with setup or condition on the instruments I've purchased that way, and shipping for repair or exchange should be free but isn't most of the time. I not only buy for myself, but I have three musician sons, and we go through a lot of gear. I always have better service through a dealer, and most of the time they'll beat the catalog prices.

I've been playing since 1964. I own two small amps, a Vox and a Marshall. I have an old Peavey Reactor that I love, a Dean acoustic-electric that I love/hate, and now this DOT. Between the Peavey and the DOT, I have the single/humbucker sounds covered well, in my opinion. My sons have everything from BC Rich to a vintage Fender Mustang and several amps. I play rock, blues, or lounge-lizard, whatever gigs work around my day job. My dad was a pro guitarist, we lived on the road, I learned to have a day job or he would have kicked my ass. I say this because to me there is a certain price range for a guitar, and some really famous models got famous when they were in that price range. I've had $300 Les Pauls, Strats, and Rickenbackers. We all know what they go for now. Not one of them was flawless. This Epiphone DOT rivals the sound of a 335 I played in the '70s and surpasses it's workmanship. I remember many Gibson pearl inlays popping out of '60s-'70s Gibson necks, including a 175 which was obscenely priced. I'm an old guy now and I like to play really fast but on a classically shaped guitar and I don't like to clutter myself with a lot of gear anymore, and this DOT ought to be a keeper and will be as long as it gets that gorgeous sound. I'm really impressed. Just wish and would gladly pay for a decent 3-way switch and I hope the new one's nut truly is better after some playing time than the one I borrowed. This is a screaming bargain.

This is a really solid guitar. I play mostly acoustic, and I can never find electrics I love, but this thing is damn good! The switch on it went the 2nd week I had it, but I accepted that. I really love the seperate volume & tone controls for each pickup. It's a wicked guitar

This guitar suits every style I play. It give me really nice full clean sounds, aswell as wicked distorted sounds. The two biggest reasons I bought it were because it's got the acoustic fell w/ full sound, and because it will deliver feedback whenever you need, it, but it's also easy to control. Once i tweaked my amp, it sounded beautiful. I got a little buzz, then then I switched the strings, and it was fine. Only thing I notice is that sometimes when I adjust the tone knobs, it makes noise

I had to fix the action, because it was too high at the bridge, and I kept breaking strings right on the bridge. It's been fine since then. A small finish blemish right where the neck meets the body, but that doesn't bother me at all. Only other small thing is that the nut needed to be fixed up a bit to accomidate heavier strings (again, I play lots of acoustics, so the strings I use on my DOt are 12-54)

Only tiny concearn was with the 3-way switch. You'd think Epiphone would realize that they sucks, and use better ones. It's kinda unacceptable that the unwritten law with Epi's is that they kick ass, but expect to replace the switch FAST. You'd think Epiphone would want to lose that rep

Never delt with them, but the store was really nice about replacing my switch

I've been playing for 7 years now. I use a Peavey transtube Studio 112 amp, and I have a late 90's Washburn D10 (amazing guitar! They've gone downhill a bit since then, but the ones from the 90's sound much better than they cost), aswell as an Epiphone SG style bass, and an old Squier Strat (modelerd after a 50's strat) that is down to one working pickup, but I just can't seem to part with it. I'm very impressed with the quality of the Dot, aswell as the price. I could have gotten a new one for only $100 more, but the one I got used was in amazing condition, and had wonderful grain that showed through the vintage sunburst finish. If it were stolen, i wouldn't buy another one right away. I'd pay for school, invest into my home studio, make some money first, but i would DEFINATELY get another one down the line when money's not tight

Check out Epi's website for the features. I'll just make note on a few of them however.
The top is laminate maple (even the Gibson 335's are laminate)
The pickups are Alnico Magnet humbuckers and sound decent. (more on the pickups later).
Pickup switch will eventually need replacing (inexpensive job)

The sound is decent because the pickups are decent. Since they are real Alnico magnet pickups and not ceramic (as is the case with most guitars this price range) the highs are pleasant - not at all harsh-sounding. Before you think of changing pickups as many have opted to do, try adjusting the pole pieces. Admittedly, these pickups sound a bit flat and lifeless, not much vibe to them but... if you adjust the pole pieces the pickups come alive. Don't just raise the height of the entire pickup, raise the pole pieces individually. I don't know why this improves the tone so much, maybe its the increased surface area of the magnet but there is definitely more sparkle and depth when you do this. I have no plans of swapping the pickups. I play blues, cream, oasis, third-day type of stuff and some jazz when no one is looking.
Out of the box, the guitar's sound is a 6, after some tweaking with the pickup height, its an 8.

Always get your guitar setup properly, its not cost-effective for most manufacters to spend an hour setting up each guitar. If you don't know how to do it your dealer owes you a setup with a purchase imho.
I cannot comment on the quality of wood used on my guitar, I have a feeling that its not the greatest (there's much more to sound than nice wood) In any case, the build quality on this thing is unbelievable. Frets are slick and perfectly laid. The finish looks better than any US guitar i've seen (US manufacters are under certain environmental laws therefore the finishes on US guitars while environmentally-friendly, often do not look as good or last as long as guitars finished in Asia).
The playability on this thing is superb. The neck is on the chunkier side but not at all cumbersome - I hate skinny necks. The guitar plays really fast. i don't know if its the oil from the rosewood fingerboard but something about this neck adds speed to my playing.

I play this guitar live at least once a week with no backup and with no problems.
The older Epi Dots had bad tuners but you can depend on the newer ones.
The Tune-O-matic bridge makes some buzzing noise but it doesn't get amplified.
I've replaced the existing plastic nut with a custom synthetic one for 11's. Epiphone if you're listending, stop using the cheap plastic nuts.

Been playing 15 years. I wanted a guitar with humbuckers to complement my strat. Once I get a DRRI or Vibrolux to add to my BJ, my gear list is complete. If lost or stolen, I may opt for a Tele Thinline with humbuckers but I still value this guitar.
It you're looking for a semi-hollow body guitar, you can't miss with the new Epi Dots, they have really tightened things up at the Samick plant in Korea and they are turning out some fine instruments. If you do get one do the following and you'll have one smokin' guitar:

Adjust the pickup height and pole pieces (free).
Replace the plastic nut (30 bucks).
Use heavier strings. At least 10's.
Make sure you pick the best of the bunch, I went through 5 or 6 before settling on mine.
If you pick the right one, I defy you to find a better semi-hollow for the money.