OK,

I quite fancy an archtop / semi acoustic…

… and have been dropping hints to mrs rkk01 about the Epiphone ES-339, below

Problem is, local guitar shops seem to stock the solid body Epis, but not the semis…

But they do stock similar Gibson 335 / 339 copies by Hudson

I’d not really given these much time of day – most of the Hudson stock seems very “competitively priced”, although I noticed today that the archtops are similarly priced to the epiphone versions.

Anyone had a play with / own a Hudson and offer any comment / feedback?

I like the red one. That’s all I know!

Why not pop along to the shop and play one see how you get on with it?

You would a bike.

FWIW – I’d go with the tobaco burst finish.

They appear to be something to do with Cranes music in Cardiff. One comment I read seems to think they are made in the Tanglewood factory, but to a higher QC.

They do seem to get good comments, although I mainly found ones regarding their acoustics, with little about their version of that one.

Thanks – that makes sense – it was Cranes in Cardiff that I was browsing in…

Have a look at Vintage as well

If my Epi Les Paul Std was anything to go by, the machine heads and the electrics will be shocking. Stupid thing never stayed in tune beyond one song and it was a crackly thing from new.

Maybe I got a lemon but based on my experience, I wouldn’t be too hung up on getting an Epi… 🙁

In the other hand my Epi Les Paul 60s Tribute Plus is perfect. Far better than the PRS Tremonti SE it replaced.

Fwiw I was hunting for a guitar in the 120 quid range for my daughter last Christmas and ended up with Hudson out of the 4 or 5 that I tried. Had never heard of them before but it seemed to play well for the money and looked good and I often end up picking it up now when I can’t be bothered getting mine out of its case. Not the same style as yours, just a comment on Hudson

Have a look at the eiphone shereton II too!

Mmmmm, I love 339-style guitars, I like the symmetry. The red one for me. If they’re made in the same place as Tanglewood instruments, they ought to be good. The only thing to do, though, is play one; quite apart from sound, it’s little, or not so little things like width and camber of the neck, action, height and smoothness of the frets…
all those things that can make an otherwise nice instrument too irritating to want to play.

You might like to check out one of these, as well:
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitars/washburn/hb35/index.html
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_rn=0&gs_ri=tablet-gws&tok=4L6kMDMEmit5h1Pb-d6z-A&pq=hudson+gibson+335+copy&cp=11&gs_id=1a&xhr=t&q=washburn+hb35&client=safari&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.&bpcl=39650382&biw=768&bih=928&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=10347951204779272154&sa=X&ei=cUjCUKu9HpS10QXh3oCYCw&sqi=2&ved=0CEEQ8wIwAQ

Pretty guitar, I like the headstock detail, and Washburn have always been reliable and well-made.

If my Epi Les Paul Std was anything to go by, the machine heads and the electrics will be shocking. Stupid thing never stayed in tune beyond one song and it was a crackly thing from new.

Maybe I got a lemon but based on my experience, I wouldn’t be too hung up on getting an Epi…

Well, Cranes had the Gibson ES-339 in a tobacco burst, very similar looking to the Epi version ^^.

£1799 instead of approx £299 😯

Back in Cardiff today and need to go into the music shop…..

Although this triburst is even more gorgeous in the flesh

I’ve got an ultra cheap Epi Les Paul – been very good for what it is

I’ve been using an Epiphone Casino for maybe 13 years now. They did suffer from QC issues back in the day-mine needed a new pickup selector out of the box. Last year/early this year a machine head broke. We’re talking 5-7 hours use everyday for the last 8 years though. Plenty of my students play epiphones and I can’t recall too many issues that they have had? Actually getting hold of some of the more obscure ones seems to be quite tricky. I’ve not come across Hudson before so can’t comment, but I’d avoid Vintage-they fall apart very quickly!

Edit: tobacco burst ftw

Played the Gibson and fell in love with it, but folks are telling me the Hagstroms are about as good as it gets without breaking the bank, so check them out.

I have heard good reports on the Epiphone too.

I am also being tempted by the Gibson Midtown for a cheaper than 339 alternative.

(Although I am not buying any more guitars until I have somewhere to put them!)

the epis have a nice thick sound but the components suck and the fretwork is average. i went to cranes and gamlins to buy a gibson les paul and came out with a tokai ls95f absolutly smoked then and is a perfect build of the 59 gibson the best of all. on a side note they look pretty these arch top guitars but fender shits all over them.

In what way do fender shit all over them?

the neck mostly. the build quality.. gibsons for instance….. now lets take all the electrics out as humbuckers ect are personal preference. now a fender is so well set up that even a cheap one will arrive with a perfect setup. im taking no dead spots, intonation spot on, and most importantly little to no fret buzz. if any fret buzz it will be on the low e string where you expect it. now i have never ever played a les paul that doesnt have buzz on the d and g string between the 10th and 14th frets.
not saying i dont like them, i own one and love the sound but my usa strat deuxe hss is in a diffent league to any other brand ive played.

olks are telling me the Hagstroms are about as good as it gets without breaking the bank, so check them out

Saw a recent review for a Hagstrom – and it did catch my eye.

Anyone know of UK dealers?

(Google failed)