The Gibson ES-335 is a legendary guitar, but its size can be a bit cumbersome for some players. Enter the Gibson ES-339, a more compact semi-hollow body that promises similar tones in a player-friendly package. Recently, I had the chance to check out a brand new Gibson ES-339 in a stunning Blueberry Burst finish at my local dealer. The price certainly raised eyebrows, but the allure of a smaller, potentially snappier 339 was too strong to resist. As someone who appreciates semi-hollow guitars – with a stable including a 335, several 355s, PRS Thin Hollowbodies, a Gretsch, and an Epiphone Sheraton Pro – I was eager to see if the ES-339 lived up to the buzz.
My initial test run was through a Fender Blues Junior, drenched in reverb. The ES-339 sounded undeniably sweet. While the dealer generously offered a studio session, the hefty $4700 price tag (Canadian dollars, as implied later in the text regarding CAD pricing) made a deeper dive feel premature. Instead, they offered a cherry red ES-339, a guitar that had been patiently waiting in the store, for a more extended trial.
Of course, seasoned guitarists know that finish and inlays are purely cosmetic. The cherry ES-339 felt a touch lighter than its blueberry counterpart, but the difference was negligible. These are straightforward, dual-pickup guitars – no coil splits or taps, just pure, unadulterated semi-hollow tone. The cherry version was priced at $4000, matching the Manufacturer’s Advertised Price (MAP) across Canada at the time.
Plugging the cherry ES-339 into a blackface Twin Reverb, it sang beautifully. However, the pairing with a Tone King Gremlin proved less synergistic. While the Gremlin is a fantastic amp, dialing in the ideal tone with the 339 required more effort. Ultimately, I turned to my trusty ToneMaster Blonde Deluxe Reverb for recording tests, and as you’ll see (or rather, hear) later, I put it through its paces with a range of other amps in my collection.
This Gibson ES-339 is undoubtedly a very nice guitar, but the $4,000 price point remained a sticking point for me. Upon closer inspection, I noticed minor misalignments with the fretboard markers and control knobs. In an attempt to straighten the neck volume knob, the rim unexpectedly snapped off in my fingers. While I take responsibility for the mishap and intended to replace the knob, it was a surprising fragility for a brand-new instrument and the first time I’ve experienced a hat-style knob breaking in this manner. My trusted guitar tech, Kevin, offered some perspective, mentioning he’d seen instances where overly tight knobs on new Gibsons had ripped the potentiometer right through the thin hollow top – a concerning thought!
However, credit where credit is due: Gibson got many other aspects of this guitar right. The maple laminate top, while flawlessly finished, was rather plain in terms of figuring – aesthetically “bland,” as the original reviewer noted. The paint job was impeccable, free of blemishes or runs. The binding was pristine, without the dye bleed often seen on Gibson instruments. Remarkably, the typically sharp binding edges were rounded over, a welcome detail I hadn’t encountered on a new bound Gibson in quite some time. The frets were perfectly seated with no sprout and no pressure on the binding. The Grover Rotomatic tuners operated smoothly, and the tone control offered a usable range without abrupt drop-offs until the very end of its rotation (from 1 to 0). The potentiometers are not explicitly identified by Gibson, but a quick peek inside the f-hole with an endoscope suggested they were the smaller Alpha pots. Gibson proudly highlights the use of orange drop capacitors and “hand-wired” electronics, which likely signifies a lack of circuit boards rather than meticulous point-to-point wiring. While capacitor quality is debatable in terms of tonal impact, the electronics were noise-free, as were the pots and switch. The neck profile was excellent, and the factory action was commendable. Naturally, it arrived strung with what felt like overly heavy gauge strings, but as with any new guitar, swapping out the factory strings is always the first order of business, especially with Gibson and Fender instruments.
The smaller body size of the ES-339 was indeed appealing. The pickups, a 57 Classic in the neck and a slightly hotter 57 Classic+ in the bridge (rated at 8k and 9k respectively, with Alnico II magnets), were voiced to my liking – not overly aggressive. Overall, the Gibson ES-339 presented itself as a well-crafted instrument, complete with a high-quality hardshell case, plush lining, strap, and typical case candy.
Yet, the price tag remained a significant hurdle. Considering that the US MAP for the ES-339 in cherry or blueberry burst is $3499 USD (at the time of writing, and as referenced later by the original author), the Canadian price felt inflated. The lower prices observed on cherry and black ES-339s in some shops likely indicated older stock being cleared out.
This experience led me to my familiar course of action when encountering questionable value or quality concerns with new Gibsons: investigating the Epiphone “Inspired by Gibson” lineup. Epiphone does indeed offer an ES-339, available in sunburst, natural, cherry, and Pelham blue metallic finishes. While Epiphone opts for a gloss polyurethane finish compared to Gibson’s gloss nitrocellulose lacquer (which I personally prefer), the initial shock came with the price. The Epiphone ES-339, manufactured in Epiphone’s Chinese factory, boasts a Canadian MAP of just $799 CAD! Naturally, a hands-on comparison was in order.
Epiphone specifies 500K CTS potentiometers, confirmed via endoscope inspection. The output jack also differed, with the Epiphone jack feeling exceptionally snug and secure, providing a more positive cable connection than the Gibson. The Epiphone also features Grover Rotomatic tuners. Based on the visual similarity to the Gibson’s wiring, I’d confidently categorize the Epiphone’s wiring as “hand-wired” in the same sense.
Both guitars share a comfortable “C” neck profile and a 12” fingerboard radius. Current Epiphone ES-339 models feature laurel fretboards, while Gibson specifies rosewood. Subtle examination suggests both fretboards are dyed. However, the Epiphone I evaluated, having been on display for some time, sported a rosewood fingerboard that was noticeably darker than the rosewood on the Gibson. Both guitars utilize GraphTech nuts. Gibson employs an aluminum stop tailpiece and ABR-1 bridge, while Epiphone uses their LockTone versions of the same hardware. In both cases, the saddle notches were cleanly cut without burrs, but both benefited from lubrication. Nut slotting was impeccably executed on both instruments. In terms of playing feel and overall playability, I struggled to discern any tangible difference between the Gibson ES-339 and the Epiphone ES-339.
The Epiphone pickups are their proprietary Alnico Classic Pro models, utilizing Alnico V magnets, making them slightly hotter than the Gibson’s 57 Classics. However, in a blind sound test through the Twin Reverb, I honestly couldn’t detect a significant difference. Both guitars use visually identical selector switches internally. One minor anomaly: I noticed the maple center block on the blueberry Gibson didn’t make full contact with the instrument’s back. This wasn’t observed on the Epiphone or the cherry Gibson, so I’d consider it an isolated issue.
The Gibson retained its factory strings, and as it wasn’t mine to modify, I left them as is. The Epiphone played well, but the strings felt somewhat rough, and the frets exhibited minor roughness. Given its time on display, I removed the factory strings, polished the frets, and treated the fretboard with Music Nomad F-ONE Fretboard Oil followed by Monty’s Guitars Montepresso wax. If I were to purchase either guitar, this level of setup would be essential. I must admit, in 2023, the continued use of nickel silver fretwire by both Gibson and Epiphone is perplexing, given that stainless steel fretwire is now similarly priced and offers vastly superior durability. Many high-end builders transitioned to stainless steel years ago, appreciating its smoother feel for bending and resistance to corrosion.
After restringing and stretching the Epiphone with a fresh set of Curt Mangan 9.5-44 coated strings, I plugged it into the same Fender ToneMaster Deluxe Reverb used for the initial Gibson recording test. Expecting a more pronounced sonic distinction from the Gibson considering the price disparity, especially given the indistinguishable playability and build quality, I was surprised. The only tactile difference was the fresh strings on the Epiphone compared to the factory strings on the Gibson – a factor that, as regular readers know, I strongly dislike. From a recorded perspective, any sonic difference was virtually imperceptible.
Audio Samples
For the accompanying audio samples, both guitars were recorded directly into the Deluxe Reverb’s DI output, fed via XLR to a Clarett+ 8 Pre interface into Logic Pro. Judge for yourself if you can discern a difference and which guitar you prefer. A month after this article’s publication, I will update it to reveal which sample corresponds to which guitar. The same cable was used into Input 1 of the “vibrato” (tremolo) channel (tremolo off, reverb on). Volume, treble (6 ½), bass and middle (5) settings remained consistent. The ToneMaster’s SM57-mic’d Celestion Neo Creamback IR was used for both recordings. No post-processing or plugins were applied, ensuring a raw and unbiased comparison.
