Epiphone ES 335 IG fret size

[7whiskeycharley]

About a year ago I bought a new epiphone es 335 inspired by gibson in sunburst. The fretwire seems very small. I looked up the current specs and it says the frets are medium jumbo. My frets are NOT medium jumbo. Any body else notice this? The frets are so small that I find it a bit annoying to play. It certainly doesn't play as effortless as most of the guitars I'm used to.... and I've been playing for a long time.

Honestly I'm really disappointed by this series of guitars. This is actually my second, the first I returned because it had a bad Truss rod that rattled. Both guitars have had bridges that rattled badly and volume pots with a usable range of about 7 to 10. The guitars look great but that's about it...

 

[soulman969]

Welcome to Epiphone Talk. Hope you'll stick around for a bit and introduce yourself and tell us more about your gear and musical likes and dislikes as well. We don't often see an initial post like yours.

Sorry to hear about your issues if only because the hollow body and semi-hollow body models coming out of Qingdao these days are some of the very best guitars Epiphone has to offer and superb values given their price. If you don't mind telling us where did you buy your two ES 335s and were both brand new 2021 models. Details often help.

I have a 2021 ES339 in sunburst that's flawless. I agree that the frets are vintage size like my Casino and not medium jumbo and Epi should modify it's description of those. One of our other members may have more knowledge about why that's the case. The new models also have upgraded electronics with CTS pots and better quality switches so your experience with that is also somewhat of a surprise.

I wonder if a bad batch ended up getting shipped that weren't properly inspected and set up prior to sale because more typically they arrive in great playing shape needing little more than some personal tweaking to taste and a change of strings. Tell us more about it you can.

 

[7whiskeycharley]

Welcome to Epiphone Talk. Hope you'll stick around for a bit and introduce yourself and tell us more about your gear and musical likes and dislikes as well. We don't often see an initial post like yours.

Sorry to hear about your issues if only because the hollow body and semi-hollow body models coming out of Qingdao these days are some of the very best guitars Epiphone has to offer and superb values given their price. If you don't mind telling us where did you buy your two ES 335s and were both brand new 2021 models. Details often help.

I have a 2021 ES339 in sunburst that's flawless. I agree that the frets are vintage size like my Casino and not medium jumbo and Epi should modify it's description of those. One of our other members may have more knowledge about why that's the case. The new models also have upgraded electronics with CTS pots and better quality switches so your experience with that is also somewhat of a surprise.

I wonder if a bad batch ended up getting shipped that weren't properly inspected and set up prior to sale because more typically they arrive in great playing shape needing little more than some personal tweaking to taste and a change of strings. Tell us more about it you can.

I bought both guitars new at my local Guitar Center. Normally I would have taken the time to properly introduce myself but I was curious if the more recent models have larger fret wire. Do any of the other models in the epiphone 335 line have larger fret wire?

 

[7whiskeycharley]

My Casino has the same size frets as the 335 but I don't notice it as much on that guitar. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because the neck on the Casino is much thinner or maybe it's because I don't play the Casino as much high up on the neck because of its limited upper fret access. I play lots of chords high up on the 335's neck. I have a Gretsch 2622 which is very similar to a 335 and it does have medium jumbo frets and I find it much easier to fret complex chords up high compared to the 335..

 

[soulman969]

I bought both guitars new at my local Guitar Center. Normally I would have taken the time to properly introduce myself but I was curious if the more recent models have larger fret wire. Do any of the other models in the epiphone 335 line have larger fret wire?

I only have my ES339 which is new and a 2012 Casino and both have vintage type smaller frets. My '56 Gold Top does have medium jumbo frets. It may be that I'm more accustomed to smaller frets since may basses tend to use them. There it provides more precise intonation.

The truss rod issues would concern me too. We discussed this in another thread but I wonder if maybe trying one from another dealer like Sweetwater who does an inspection on each guitar before it's shipped may not be a reasonable solution for that issue. More typically Epi guitars come practically ready to play right out of the box.

Of course this won't solve the dissatisfaction with the fret size. I'm gonna let a few others chime in with their own experiences about that issue.

 

[7whiskeycharley]

I only have my ES339 which is new and a 2012 Casino and both have vintage type smaller frets. My '56 Gold Top does have medium jumbo frets. It may be that I'm more accustomed to smaller frets since may basses tend to use them. There it provides more precise intonation.

The truss rod issues would concern me too. We discussed this in another thread but I wonder if maybe trying one from another dealer like Sweetwater who does an inspection on each guitar before it's shipped may not be a reasonable solution for that issue. More typically Epi guitars come practically ready to play right out of the box.

Of course this won't solve the dissatisfaction with the fret size. I'm gonna let a few others chime in with their own experiences about that issue.

I bought the Gretsch from Sweetwater and it's a winner... I've never adjusted or replaced a single thing on it. Plus, it looks great (forge glow) and only cost $450.

The Truss rod on my first Epiphone 335 IG had to be completely loosened to adjust the proper neck relief, so loose that it rattled when played. I had to replace the bridges on both guitars because of excessive rattle (of course I took off the bridge when I returned it). I currently have a Tonepros on the current 335. I had one high fret on it but lightly tapped it down and now I finally have a medium low action without any rattle or buzz. It actually plays pretty decent and sounds good now but I can't help but compare it to how well and easy the Gretsch 2622 plays straight out of the box and it falls short. I might put a new wiring harness in it if I decide to keep it long term. The taper on the stock factory volume pots is terrible.

 

[Noodling Guitars]

I'm not sure if what the current standard is for "medium jumbo" - and I definitely do not own an ES339. However, to put things into perspective, I measured the fret size on my "inspired by" line les pauls and a few of my Gibsons at home. They all have frets that are 0.09" wide and 0.054" tall - which translates to roughly the same size as Dunlop 6105s (i.e. what Dunlop calls "narrow tall" according to their nomenclature). These guitars are all advertised as having "medium jumbo" frets on Epi and Gibson's respective websites.

If the ES339 has frets anything smaller than that, then I think it would not be medium jumbo.

 

[soulman969]

If the ES339 has frets anything smaller than that, then I think it would not be medium jumbo.

That's how I'd describe the fret on my ES339 and pretty much the same on my Casino if not identical. I'd concur on the Dunlop 6105 thinking.

Whether this is a mistake on the website or simply a matter of one company's interpretation over another who can say but Epiphone themselves. Might be worth a call to their CS people 7WC.

 

[7whiskeycharley]

I'm not sure if what the current standard is for "medium jumbo" - and I definitely do not own an ES339. However, to put things into perspective, I measured the fret size on my "inspired by" line les pauls and a few of my Gibsons at home. They all have frets that are 0.09" wide and 0.054" tall - which translates to roughly the same size as Dunlop 6105s (i.e. what Dunlop calls "narrow tall" according to their nomenclature). These guitars are all advertised as having "medium jumbo" frets on Epi and Gibson's respective websites.

If the ES339 has frets anything smaller than that, then I think it would not be medium jumbo.

That is the same size as my 335. I measured my Gretsch and another guitar, both of which are advertised as having "medium jumbo" frets and they both measured about .107 wide and about .060 tall. The height measurement is only approxamate as it was harder to measure precisely with just a pair of calipers....

 

[Noodling Guitars]

That is the same size as my 335. I measured my Gretsch and another guitar, both of which are advertised as having "medium jumbo" frets and they both measured about .107 wide and about .060 tall. The height measurement is only approxamate as it was harder to measure precisely with just a pair of calipers....

Then at least we know that Gibson inc treats 6105 sized frets as "medium jumbo". The Gibsons I measured included both before and after the Chapter 11 era.

Each maker interprets fret size and neck shapes slightly differently, so unfortunately it's never really an apples to apples comparison. Classic example would be what Fender calls medium jumbo vs. Gibson and what Fender calls a "C shaped neck" vs Gibson.