First of all this was just the type of comparison video I was looking for and I have to say a friend of mine recently bought a epiphone casino in olive drab and just like with the one in your video I was amazed by the sound it achieves, great guitar!
I really appreciate your very personal rationale for your preferences. "Fitting in" or "complimenting" or "clashing on the EQ with another guitarist" - those are great arguments. "Fitting in with my voice" is another excellent argument, and it's so seldom used but it really should be.
I own a 339. I love it. The weakness is in the very high notes. They can be a little thin. Can get a little muddy when playing multiple strings with any overdrive. Don’t use the coil taps, but it is very playable.
I also have the 339 and I can't get the sound I want with the coil splitting. The inspired by Gibson inspired version has two models and one doesn't have coil splitting but I like the humbucker and the rosewood fretboard better even though it has the original headstock!
Personally I'm good with with the coil splitting. He's playing the es 339 pro. I'm good with es 339 it's got a c shaped neck with medium jumbo frets. Plus grover tuners. The pro model has a d shaped slim taper neck. With medium frets and epiphone vintage tuners.
I tried out the starcaster a few weeks ago. Forget string bending. On the one I tried anyway, it fretted out just after a single note bend up around the 12th.
I tried epiphone es-335 at guitar stores, just amazing, but I prefer a modern c neck of fender and squire because it’s just too comfortable for string bending and chord strumming
Yes There all beautiful guitars for me some how I’m going with the Epiphone ES 339 the coil splits give it a biggest arrangement but they are all fantastic guitars also just subscribed to your channel.🎼🎶🎸🇬🇧👍🏼
I had an Alleykat for about 15 years and completely regret parting with that thing. Completely swapped the electronics along with adding a Dimarzio Evo bridge and Seymour Duncan minihum in the neck. It was remarkably versatile with that combo, neck gave me the jazzy tones for HS jazz band and the bridge gave me all the heavy tones to jam with friends after school. Just had to learn how to handle a semi with high gain haha 😅
Hello ! Thanks to you for the video ! I can confirm that I prefer the ES-335 sound over the Starcaster. But I love the style of the Starcaster !!!! I'm going to buy some epiphone pick-ups and put them in a Starcaster... ^^ But I'm afraid of what it will sound like....? ES-339 sound? Do you have an opinion about this? Also is the Starcaster ok to play without an amp? Or is an ES-335 much better without a amp? THANK YOU!
That's an interesting idea. If you do that, circle back and share some video of the end results. As far as playing unamplified, all of these except the Casino have a center block so their unamplified sound --while slightly more robust and audible than a solidbody electric-- doesn't begin to project to the degree of an acoustic. The Casino is a little bit closer, but is a pretty slender cavity, so again, doesn't project as well as a true acoustic, but for "futon rehearsal" purposes, it can be heard unamplified.
I should have the Starcaster tomorrow. My first hollow body. mainly due to the cost of an es335. My daily players are Tele's. looking for some humbucker sound through a 65 twin reverb to play some older blues and some older Rush. If it doesn't work out I'll spend more and go for the Gibson.
@@CodyWeathers It's here and unboxed, tuned her up and gave her a test run. Nice finish, neck feels great, however it needs some set up, but for price paid it's worth it. The headstock does take a minute to grow on you but the classic vibe is a great guitar for the money.
I’ve had my Alleykat for almost 10 years now and I love it! I use MainStage and logic with all the easy to use presets and an audio interface. You can get almost any tone with this guitar, except djent… it just feels wrong. Other than that I don’t think I’ll ever sell this one.
Digging the Coronado 2 reissue, has it's own kind of fat look which sets it apart from a 335 lookalike, the "filterton" style pickups sound like they tend to be nice and bright and not very muddy with a dirt pedal.
@@jmacc9876 I'm not much of a lead player, so to me, it seems similar to the others in that regard, but you may be on to something. For people who are used to acoustics or full-body hollowbody jazz boxes, it's probably a familiar journey past 12.
@@jmacc9876it's harder after fret 17, I haven't problem because I'm not reach that zone often, but if you're a strat player 18-21 shredder you'll regret it
I'm only 3 minutes in, but you have an Epiphone Casino there, which is the greatest big-brand guitar ever made in my opinion. I hope it's what you chose.
If you don’t want to play above the 15th fret it can be a good pick. Just don’t get one in natural or you will see all the nasty wood pieces they use to build up the neck, and the extremely nasty black paint they dab on the f holes, apparently with a finger.
@@ghalston5641 I recently bought a natural one and the wood grain on the body and the neck are fine. I’m sure some make it past QA that shouldn’t have, but some are truly great guitars for their price point. The black f hole paint isn’t the best but it’s such a small thing most people will never notice.
I really love the neck on the Starcaster. Imma put some new pickups in mine. Would love to make it like a slightly tamer version of the original 60s Coronado II, which was a glorious jangle fest of a thing (single coil). e.g. czcams.com/video/Ewdnn_EgU1s/video.html
I love the Wildwood finish in that link --I'd never heard that story before. Good luck with that project, and you're right: the Starcaster is super comfortable.
@@BudiPrasetyoHarsono Yes $277 would still be a great price for that guitar. They typically sell used closer to $400 USD median. Very comfortable neck 1.68" nut width. I'm having trouble verifying this, but I once wrote down that according to the 2003 EPiphone catalog, the DCR on the mini-humbucker was 6.65K ohm
Yeah, I know what you mean. I have affection for each of them, and the Alleykat suits my specific needs just a little bit better, but that ES-339 is the one I'd recommend for a Swiss-Army knife in the absence of other factors, for sure.
For what it's worth on the vid (for me) the "Alley cat" sounded worse than the others, I just thought the first Epi and the Starcaster sounded better, but hey man you're playing em live. 😉
Reasonable people may disagree on what subjectively sounds best. The Alleykat has proven out to be ideal for *me* and what I require, but that said, my ranking is the least important part of this comparison. To me, the video exists to allow you to make your own apples-to-apples comparison and draw your own conclusions.
@@CodyWeathers Hey hey Cody As I said it's difficult from listening to to a video, but for me the the Alley cat just sounded "wrong," if that's the right phrase but hey as I said it probably sounds better live so to speak and it suits you, but hey cheers It's made my decision slightly easier N
The Ibanez AM93 would wipe the floor of all of them. And since the Fender Starcasters are no more, you really should have included the Squier Classic Vibe Starcaster. It is the equal of the Mexican and is also better than the Epis. The 339, by the way, was a reaction to Ibanez's AM50 from the early 80s. Gibson can say whatever they want, but it wouldn't exist without the AM50 (which is the ancestor of the AM93).
I got an 2001 Alleykat off of eBay for like $200 and it didn't work at all and the intonation and action was all f'ed up. I put all new electronics in it and fixed the intonation and action and man I freaking love that guitar now. Also, I wanted a 339 for the longest time because I wanted a smaller body and loved the look. But I ended up hating the way it played and sounded. And listening to your sound of it here, I have to say, I STILL hate it.....lol. You should add a Gretsch to your lineup. That's the only thing missing.
I've played a buddy's Streamliner G2627T and it was a nice instrument. I personally don't care for Bigsbys, but I did like those Broadtrons. I ended up picking up another Alleykat on the cheap and putting a Duncan Psyclone Filtertron in the bridge position to have my top 2 favorite characteristics in one guitar
@@phillipholt6005 True, out of all of these, only the ES339 had coil splitting, and that's why it has to get the edge over the Starcaster as a utility guitar. With the variety of tones it can create with dual splitting, it can wear many hats. Having played the Starcaster live as an alternate tuning guitar, I'm comfortable and happy with it --it remains my opinion that all of these are good guitars, but you'll get no argument from me that the ES339 is a little better choice.
thank you Cody. Helpful commentary. Now, looking forward to trying an Alleykat.
The alley cat is ridiculous more expensive.
First of all this was just the type of comparison video I was looking for and I have to say a friend of mine recently bought a epiphone casino in olive drab and just like with the one in your video I was amazed by the sound it achieves, great guitar!
CW : Great vid, great topic. Thanks for your upload.
Thanks! Much appreciated!
I really appreciate your very personal rationale for your preferences. "Fitting in" or "complimenting" or "clashing on the EQ with another guitarist" - those are great arguments. "Fitting in with my voice" is another excellent argument, and it's so seldom used but it really should be.
Thanks; I couldn't agree more
Great vid man love all of em i have the Epiphone casino coupe right now. The two fenders sound identical too a telecaster
Beautiful collection!
Thanks!
Thanks Cody
I own a 339. I love it. The weakness is in the very high notes. They can be a little thin. Can get a little muddy when playing multiple strings with any overdrive. Don’t use the coil taps, but it is very playable.
I also have the 339 and I can't get the sound I want with the coil splitting. The inspired by Gibson inspired version has two models and one doesn't have coil splitting but I like the humbucker and the rosewood fretboard better even though it has the original headstock!
Personally I'm good with with the coil splitting. He's playing the es 339 pro. I'm good with es 339 it's got a c shaped neck with medium jumbo frets. Plus grover tuners. The pro model has a d shaped slim taper neck. With medium frets and epiphone vintage tuners.
I tried out the starcaster a few weeks ago. Forget string bending. On the one I tried anyway, it fretted out just after a single note bend up around the 12th.
I tried epiphone es-335 at guitar stores, just amazing, but I prefer a modern c neck of fender and squire because it’s just too comfortable for string bending and chord strumming
Yes There all beautiful guitars for me some how I’m going with the Epiphone ES 339 the coil splits give it a biggest arrangement but they are all fantastic guitars also just subscribed to your channel.🎼🎶🎸🇬🇧👍🏼
Thanks! Those coil splits are a great feature.
I've had the ES 339 for 4 years and I still haven't discovered all of its sound capabilities.
My Squires sound great but I like the Epiphone sounds better.
I had an Alleykat for about 15 years and completely regret parting with that thing.
Completely swapped the electronics along with adding a Dimarzio Evo bridge and Seymour Duncan minihum in the neck. It was remarkably versatile with that combo, neck gave me the jazzy tones for HS jazz band and the bridge gave me all the heavy tones to jam with friends after school. Just had to learn how to handle a semi with high gain haha 😅
Hello ! Thanks to you for the video ! I can confirm that I prefer the ES-335 sound over the Starcaster. But I love the style of the Starcaster !!!!
I'm going to buy some epiphone pick-ups and put them in a Starcaster... ^^
But I'm afraid of what it will sound like....? ES-339 sound? Do you have an opinion about this?
Also is the Starcaster ok to play without an amp? Or is an ES-335 much better without a amp?
THANK YOU!
That's an interesting idea. If you do that, circle back and share some video of the end results. As far as playing unamplified, all of these except the Casino have a center block so their unamplified sound --while slightly more robust and audible than a solidbody electric-- doesn't begin to project to the degree of an acoustic. The Casino is a little bit closer, but is a pretty slender cavity, so again, doesn't project as well as a true acoustic, but for "futon rehearsal" purposes, it can be heard unamplified.
I should have the Starcaster tomorrow. My first hollow body. mainly due to the cost of an es335. My daily players are Tele's. looking for some humbucker sound through a 65 twin reverb to play some older blues and some older Rush. If it doesn't work out I'll spend more and go for the Gibson.
It's a good choice. It was a trusty utility guitar for me for a long time. Nice tone, great look, and a good complement to a tele.
@@CodyWeathers It's here and unboxed, tuned her up and gave her a test run. Nice finish, neck feels great, however it needs some set up, but for price paid it's worth it. The headstock does take a minute to grow on you but the classic vibe is a great guitar for the money.
Emm not sure opn the amp choice, but the Casino sounds great!
I’ve had my Alleykat for almost 10 years now and I love it! I use MainStage and logic with all the easy to use presets and an audio interface. You can get almost any tone with this guitar, except djent… it just feels wrong. Other than that I don’t think I’ll ever sell this one.
I'm with you; it's my favorite electric of all time
I recently had my Alleykat up for sale for $500. No interest in it whatsoever. Decided to give it another chance. I’m keeping it!
@@GrimpleGrombleno one understands the value of this wonderfully made guitar
Digging the Coronado 2 reissue, has it's own kind of fat look which sets it apart from a 335 lookalike, the "filterton" style pickups sound like they tend to be nice and bright and not very muddy with a dirt pedal.
How is the reach to the upper frets on the Coronado? That looks to be the main drawback to that guitar for playing leads.
@@jmacc9876 I'm not much of a lead player, so to me, it seems similar to the others in that regard, but you may be on to something. For people who are used to acoustics or full-body hollowbody jazz boxes, it's probably a familiar journey past 12.
@@jmacc9876it's harder after fret 17, I haven't problem because I'm not reach that zone often, but if you're a strat player 18-21 shredder you'll regret it
I'm only 3 minutes in, but you have an Epiphone Casino there, which is the greatest big-brand guitar ever made in my opinion. I hope it's what you chose.
#3... You'll come around lol
The Casino is great
If you don’t want to play above the 15th fret it can be a good pick. Just don’t get one in natural or you will see all the nasty wood pieces they use to build up the neck, and the extremely nasty black paint they dab on the f holes, apparently with a finger.
@@ghalston5641 I recently bought a natural one and the wood grain on the body and the neck are fine. I’m sure some make it past QA that shouldn’t have, but some are truly great guitars for their price point. The black f hole paint isn’t the best but it’s such a small thing most people will never notice.
Here's my 2 bits
Keep all the semis
Change your amp to a Vox AC10
Casino for me 👍
Beautiful tone
I really love the neck on the Starcaster. Imma put some new pickups in mine. Would love to make it like a slightly tamer version of the original 60s Coronado II, which was a glorious jangle fest of a thing (single coil). e.g. czcams.com/video/Ewdnn_EgU1s/video.html
I love the Wildwood finish in that link --I'd never heard that story before. Good luck with that project, and you're right: the Starcaster is super comfortable.
@@CodyWeathers cheers Cody, many thanks.
Bridge pickup DIRTY comparison:
5:58 Epiphone 339
7:29 Epiphone Alleykat
8:58 Epiphone Casino
10:38 Fender Coronado
11:57 Fender Starcaster
I found an Alleycat under $250, is it worth it? How's the built quality?
I would buy that every day and twice on Sunday at 250. Love my Alleykat
@@CodyWeathers how's the neck feel? And I'm intrigued about the minihumbucker. How much the DCR of each pickup?
@@CodyWeathers oh sorry, I misconvert to USD, it's $277. Is it still worth?
@@BudiPrasetyoHarsono Yes $277 would still be a great price for that guitar. They typically sell used closer to $400 USD median. Very comfortable neck 1.68" nut width. I'm having trouble verifying this, but I once wrote down that according to the 2003 EPiphone catalog, the DCR on the mini-humbucker was 6.65K ohm
@@CodyWeathers thanks! One last question, how's the built quality, is it on par on Epi Dot?
Great comparison, overall es339 is the best choice, despite this I still prefer a Starcaster, but thanks for this comparison
Yeah, I know what you mean. I have affection for each of them, and the Alleykat suits my specific needs just a little bit better, but that ES-339 is the one I'd recommend for a Swiss-Army knife in the absence of other factors, for sure.
@@CodyWeathers Yes, it truly is some sort of an everymans guitar with how verstile it is.
For what it's worth on the vid (for me) the "Alley cat" sounded worse than the others, I just thought the first Epi and the Starcaster sounded better, but hey man you're playing em live. 😉
Reasonable people may disagree on what subjectively sounds best. The Alleykat has proven out to be ideal for *me* and what I require, but that said, my ranking is the least important part of this comparison. To me, the video exists to allow you to make your own apples-to-apples comparison and draw your own conclusions.
@@CodyWeathers
Hey hey Cody
As I said it's difficult from listening to to a video, but for me the the Alley cat just sounded "wrong," if that's the right phrase but hey as I said it probably sounds better live so to speak and it suits you, but hey cheers
It's made my decision slightly easier
N
The Ibanez AM93 would wipe the floor of all of them. And since the Fender Starcasters are no more, you really should have included the Squier Classic Vibe Starcaster. It is the equal of the Mexican and is also better than the Epis.
The 339, by the way, was a reaction to Ibanez's AM50 from the early 80s. Gibson can say whatever they want, but it wouldn't exist without the AM50 (which is the ancestor of the AM93).
I got an 2001 Alleykat off of eBay for like $200 and it didn't work at all and the intonation and action was all f'ed up. I put all new electronics in it and fixed the intonation and action and man I freaking love that guitar now.
Also, I wanted a 339 for the longest time because I wanted a smaller body and loved the look. But I ended up hating the way it played and sounded. And listening to your sound of it here, I have to say, I STILL hate it.....lol. You should add a Gretsch to your lineup. That's the only thing missing.
I've played a buddy's Streamliner G2627T and it was a nice instrument. I personally don't care for Bigsbys, but I did like those Broadtrons. I ended up picking up another Alleykat on the cheap and putting a Duncan Psyclone Filtertron in the bridge position to have my top 2 favorite characteristics in one guitar
The Starcaster has no class! I like my es339pro the best!
Agreed; I have to give the ES339 Pro the clear edge, though I still kinda like the Starcaster. I need professional help, I guess.
@@CodyWeathers No one needs professional help the Es339 sounds better than the video! The Starcaster is a Epiphone wanna be!
I've demoed the Star caster it doesn't have the COIL SPLITTING.
@@phillipholt6005 True, out of all of these, only the ES339 had coil splitting, and that's why it has to get the edge over the Starcaster as a utility guitar. With the variety of tones it can create with dual splitting, it can wear many hats. Having played the Starcaster live as an alternate tuning guitar, I'm comfortable and happy with it --it remains my opinion that all of these are good guitars, but you'll get no argument from me that the ES339 is a little better choice.
@@CodyWeathers I rather have my Strat my Tele and the Mustang Bullet. I like my 339 over MY LP Muse and it's awesome.