Electric Guitar Review

Well, the ink hasn’t even dried yet, but according to an e-mail from Epiphone two of their guitars––the Faded DOT Studio & Worn Firebird Studio––will be receiving the Gold Award for Overall Value in the June ‘07 edition of Guitar World Magazine.

Both instruments are low-cost remakes of classic Gibson guitars, and while I haven’t personally had a chance to play around with the Firebird, my time spent in-store with the DOT Studio left me more than a bit impressed.

In fact, having owned an ES-335 for nearly a decade I picked up the instrument with some hesitation, but quickly found the DOT Studio to be responsive, comfortable, and chock-full of 335-style tone. While in my mind the DOT can’t match an ES-335 on pure looks, that’s more than made up for by the DOT’s maniacal price point––less than $300.

Guitar World’s got a decent (not great) video demo of the Epi Firebird Studio & DOT Studio, but be forewarned––the video’s fairly un-watchable unless you let it load-up entirely before hitting play. And it doesn’t load fast. Still, if you “set it & forget it” it’s probably worth a look.