Epiphone Jim James ES-335 review

Just over a year ago, we looked at Jim James’s signature Gibson ES-335. With its calibrated T-Type pickups and light weight, it proved to be one of the most playable and vibrant-sounding 335s we’d encountered for a while. 

The signature guitar for My Morning Jacket’s frontman came across as a real journeyman ES thinline, a guitar that sits comfortably in pretty much any musical genre. And if this new Epiphone version comes anywhere near close, it’s game on.

Lifting it out of its large, owl logo’d hard case it’s an encouraging start. Like the Gibson it’s inspired by, which weighed a trim 3.55kg (7.81lb), our Epi JJ tips the scales at a very close and still light-for-the-style 3.62kg (7.96lb). 

Of course, it’s a nitro-free zone here, but the dark brown, almost black gloss poly finish is typically well done. The body is all laminate (or ‘layered’ as Epiphone prefers) maple, with a maple centre block, and internally it’s very clean with tidy kerfed linings and neatly painted edges to the classic f-holes.

The neck is pretty close to the USA model, too, and virtually identical in width: 43.5mm at the nut, 53.6mm at the 12th fret. It’s very slightly thinner in depth, measuring 20mm at the 1st fret and 22.7mm by the 12th, with that typical SlimTaper profile – which can polarise opinion but is very successfully used on numerous mainstream Gibsons, such as the Standard ’60s and Classic Les Pauls. 

Rosewood is switched to laurel for the fingerboard, which does look a little pale and dry, but the fretting is very good from a medium-gauge wire, just like the recent Epiphone Joe Bonamassa ’62 ES-335 we looked at. It really plays well, tuning stability is very good and unplugged it’s lively, responsive and quite loud, like a noisy youngster.

Plugged in, though, it sounds considerably more mature and is quite the all-rounder, equally at home for your retro jazz-funk as it is with pretty gainy alt-rock and beyond, not to mention janglier styles, old and new. 

There’s a crisp attack at the bridge with a slightly relaxed midrange and good clarity at the neck, although the volume pot tapers are quite quick, which won’t suit everyone, and the modern wiring means we lose a little high-end as they’re rolled back. 

It’s a little generic-sounding, perhaps with less character than you might hear with Gibson Burstbuckers, but if we’re honest that probably adds to its broad stylistic appeal, which is always a part of the ES-335 proposition and very evident here. 

Specs

• PRICE: $/£899 (inc case)
• ORIGIN: China
• TYPE: Double-cutaway, semi-solid thinline electric
• BODY: Laminated maple (5-ply) with f-holes and solid maple centre block
• NECK: Mahogany, Jim James Custom Profile Slim Taper C, glued-in
• SCALE LENGTH: 629mm (24.75”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech/43.5mm
• FINGERBOARD: Bound Indian laurel, dot inlays, 305mm (12”) radius
• FRETS: 22, medium/jumbo
• HARDWARE: Epiphone LockTone tune-o-matic bridge and stud tailpiece, Kluson Waffleback – nickel-plated
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51.5mm
• ELECTRICS: Epiphone Alnico Classic Pro covered humbuckers, 3-way toggle pickup selector, individual volume and tone controls for each pickup
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.62/7.96
• LEFT-HANDERS: No
• FINISH: Walnut (as reviewed)
• CONTACT: Epiphone