Memphis ES-335

Cherry Red stained finish with cream colored binding on ES 335 type semi hollow body, binding on fret broad. Block inlays. Made in Asia this guitar has a center block, hollow "wings", Gibson styled headstock, holly veneer,schaller looking gotoh tuners, tune o matic styled bridge, trapeeze style tailpiece. Black,long pickguard, 2 humbucking pickups with black plastic pickup mounts, 2 volume and 2 tone controls.
The cherry stain and gloss finish rival two high end Gibson ES Series instruments which I own. The neck is very similar to a fast 60's styled Gibson neck. The frets are medium, set into a rosewood fingerboard. Body seems similar to laminated maple back & sides with mohogany one piece neck.

I play blues, country, jazz & southern influenced rock. Sounds very, very , very close to a real Gibson ES 335. I am not kidding. I own an ES 335 and a Gibson Lucille.With the action & intonation set up correctly and with 10 to 46 strings, this guitar has a great tone. The neck pickup is warm,fat,full and creamy , the neck pickup can be very bright to brittle, and the middle pickup in-between.The tone & volume control tapers are not as good as a vintage Gibson with CTS pots and bumble bee caps, however, at this price, who cares? Like a "real 335", this guitar is great for lead & rhythmn work, clean or overdriven. Upgading the volume & tone pots could only improve this guitar's performance & versatility.

I always set up a guitar to my comfort zone, higher action, heavier strings, soft string tension; so I do not rate how I received this guitar when I aquired it.The pickup heights are well matched. I always change the individual pole piece pickup screws to enhance individual string volume.The finish and fit of the guitar are very, very good. The pickup selector feels a bit flimsy, and will be upgraded. The tuners work well, better than some of my stock Gibsons, and the hardware is good,if not up to Gibson level.Controls work well, put as said before good use an upgrade to more responsive taper.

The guitar seems up to my other Gibsons. I've played out with it and this guitar,as a semi hollow should be treated with careful respect.
A good hard shell case is a must. The hardware will hold up and people were surprised when they saw this guitar up close that it was NOT a Gibson.The finish looks like it would last.I always have a backup instrument, just in case

not applicable

I have been playing for over 30 years, and I own a vast array of Gibson and Fender guitars, Fender, Vox and Marshall amps with several different speaker cabinets loaded with different brands of 10 , 12 or 15's.
I love this guitar, for the money, it is what I play out when I want or need that 335 sound & feel...instead of taking out a prized Gibson.If it were lost or stolen,I'd be disappointed, and perhaps search for another one.

1970s Memphis es335 clone made in Asia. Copy of late 1950s Gibson ES335. 22 frets. Arched top and thinline body of laminated maple with center block of mostly mahogany set on a maple base shim shaped to curvature of of body. rosewood fretboard.
3 way selector, two vols., two tones. Two humbuckers with chrome covers. Electronics and hardware are made in Germany and are high quality. Finish is black, white trim around body, abalone rectangle fretboard markers, abolone "Memphis" logo on headstock, enclosed tuners.
Tuneomatic bridge with trapeze tail. Neck is medium thickness.

Suits my styles perfect: classic rock, blues, jazz, pop. lots of variety, range of sounds from hard driving rock to mellow jazz. I use an Ampeg Reverborocket tube amp and a Fender champ solid state. Outstanding sounds, very full. sounds full through both. Bridge pickup trebly enough to cut through the mix, and neck pickup bassy, smoky and full, both pickups together blend both bottom and top ends. sounds great!

setup and action are excellent, as are pickup adjustment, bridge, intonation is correct, no flaws. well balanced, comfortable to play standing up or sitting for extended periods of time.

a very durable, reliable guitar, solid feeling, should last a lifetime.

i've been playing for twenty five years. I own ten guitars and have owned about twenty over the past twenty five years. I have a 1990s Samick SAT650 clone of ES335 of comparable quality, feel and sound. I've had several other semi-hollow body guitars that were significantly lower in construction and sound quality than the Memphis --a 2001 Ephiphone Dot, a Washburn ES335 clone, an ESP semi hollow with les paul shape, and a Harmony Rocket. The Memphis is comparable to a Gibson in quality, sound, and feel. The Memphis and Samick are my favorite guitars so far. I have a Memphis double cutaway solidbody with neck through design built in the 70s that is great too, but is too heavy for extending standing. I've also had a Les Paul special double cutaway, two Gibson SGs, Gibson firebird. Have also had Fender strats and teles, and Epiphone Texan. The Memphis ES335 and the Samick SAT650 are my faves so far.