Decent ES-335 copy?

Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

No one? No one owns a Hamer on here but everyone recommends them? :P

Sorry, I kinda slipped out of this conversation and forgot about it! I had one of these like I said. I believe it was a Made in Korea one. It played freakin awesome. The pickups left just a bit to be desired, but that was completely to be expected. Getting rid of that thing was one of the worst gear decisions I ever made. The guitar I traded for didn't even last 2 months with me before I got rid of it, but far too late to get my Echotone back.

I'd rock one of those again in a heartbeat if I didn't have my Gibson 137 and 135.
 
Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

The nicest 335 I've ever played was my old 78 Ibanez 2630. I sold it like an idiot, but ended up with a 77 which is a bit smoother in tone, even if it's starting to show it's age. The 2629 was the meat and potatoes version, but it's even harder to find and close to the same in price. I sold my old one for 1250 a few years back but since times are a lot harder now, you might find a good deal. The bottom seems to have dropped out of vintage Japanese axes.

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Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

Bright's not too bad. It's too 'woody' and thin sounding is what I'm worried about. I'm of the opinion that bright and thin are two different things--one much more use-able than the other.

Yeah, I've only played a handful of good Epis and the majority of them were made in Korea.

But I 100% agree with you on the Lennon Casino. If I had the cash for one of those, I don't even know what I would do. I'm not even a Beatles fan, but that guitar is smokin'.

Well no hollowbody should be thin ever unless it's from pickups, but hags are definitely a little brighter than your run of the mill 335

And yeah, the casino's great, I didn't even want one cause of lennon I wanted one cause it's the closest thing to an old school es-330 a la Grant Green being made, and it does his tone wonderfully
 
Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

Man, that Ibanez looks great. I wish ebay was giving me better results. Bright is cool with me, though.

Gotta see if I can get someone to go for a trade on one, it's looking like. :]
 
Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

Man, Ibanez really need to reissue this line. They still have the Scofield sig model which comes only in one finish.
Their other semi-hollows don't look half as good as the old ones.
 
Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

Well no hollowbody should be thin ever unless it's from pickups, but hags are definitely a little brighter than your run of the mill 335

And yeah, the casino's great, I didn't even want one cause of lennon I wanted one cause it's the closest thing to an old school es-330 a la Grant Green being made, and it does his tone wonderfully

Hey bro, Gibson put out a new ES-330. It's called the ES-330L

 
Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

I really, really like that.

Yeah they've reissued those a few times, but they're not legit es330's, the neck joins where it does on a 335, not at the 15th-17th like on the old 330's and casinos

That's my favorite part. The top frets are more than just decoration, unlike the originals.
 
Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

It changes the sound though. If i'm paying $2500 for a Grant Green guitar, I want a f-in accurate one.
 
Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

If you get lucky, you might find an OLDER Hamer Echotone, made in Korea, with full trap inlays and traditional tailpiece. I can't find a picture online (that is how rare they are!) but they show up on ebay every so often. Much nicer (IMO) that the standard white dots.
 
Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

If you get lucky, you might find an OLDER Hamer Echotone, made in Korea, with full trap inlays and traditional tailpiece. I can't find a picture online (that is how rare they are!) but they show up on ebay every so often. Much nicer (IMO) that the standard white dots.

They're called 'Echotone Customs' and were made in small quantities. Red with gold hardware, block inlays, and a trapeze tailpiece. Very classy. I'm fortunate to have a white Custom that was special-ordered from the factory.

I've also got an 'Aztec Gold' Korean Echotone, which has a flame maple top in amber and gold hardware. Nice guitars.
 
Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

I should add I heard him early in the night, with a relatively low blood alcohol content, so my memory is pretty reliable!
 
Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

I ended up with an Ibanez AS73B (flat black, no covers on the humbuckers) on the recommendation of two different music store employees, one a friend from back east and the other an old timer at the local GC.

I'm in the beginning stages of deciding how to upgrade what is already a decent guitar with ceramic PU to a Alnico humbucker that would sound good for the Blues (and occasional forays into other types of music). Will probably change out other things like the nut as well.

For less than $400 (I paid $250 for mine) its a very well-built guitar and better finish than comparable Epiphone Dots. (As to which sounds better, I'll leave that up to you.)


Again....very major kudos for the Ibanez Artcore AS73 335 copy.....Love this guitar!


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Re: Decent ES-335 copy?

I ended up with an Ibanez AS73B (flat black, no covers on the humbuckers) on the recommendation of two different music store employees, one a friend from back east and the other an old timer at the local GC.

I'm in the beginning stages of deciding how to upgrade what is already a decent guitar with ceramic PU to a Alnico humbucker that would sound good for the Blues (and occasional forays into other types of music). Will probably change out other things like the nut as well.

For less than $400 (I paid $250 for mine) its a very well-built guitar and better finish than comparable Epiphone Dots. (As to which sounds better, I'll leave that up to you.)

Awesome guitars! Love mine!
 
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