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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

Customer service answered right away,and was pleasant and helpful. Price, 170 less than Guitar Center, and blemished, which I purchased was another 210.00 off! I called because I was concerned about buying a blemished guitar, not knowing what blemished meant. There isn't a mark on this guitar. Warm full sound, the matte natural finish is beautiful. The punch from the pick ups very noticeable. The guitar arrived 48 hours after I called. Was nervous about buying a "blemished guitar" sight unseen, but definitely came up a winner!

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

Out of the box: Absolutely gorgeous. Not a blemish anywhere and perhaps the nicest guitar I’ve ever owned (including low end taylors, martins and guilds) Upon first play the action was high. This is expected and I did a quick setup on it. A better one to follow later. This guitar sings, it is wonderful. Lows are low highs jingle and the sustain is outstanding. Epiphone does a great job with wood. The fretboard is extremely dry so I will treat it a lot. Electronics: the Gibson pups on this are fantastic, and the best ive played on a low end guitar. POTS are fine, full sized. Toggle switch may need replacing its sloppy. Hardware appears all good and I’ll go with it for now. There was no allen wrench for the truss rod which is disappointing but I will find one. The neck is dead on straight out of the box. Here are the changes I am making: 1) adding a treble bleed circuit. 2) replacing tuners (the stock ones are sloppy and fall out of tune, expected) 3) toggle switch 4) may change the top hats with black ones. Considering that I replace almost everything on a guitar in this range, this is all minor stuff. Bottom line: it plays well, sounds beautiful and sits great in my lap and standing. If you are thinking yet don’t, buy one you will love it. The ES-175 was designed in the 40s for jazz players and evolved into folk and then classic rock and it fits the bill in all. I play ernie ball 2255 extra-slinky 8-38’s. This guitar makes these strings sound MUCH heavier so I have the playability I want with the sound I crave. Never ever before have I had a guitar that could do both. Last, I have shopped the last few years at 3 internet retailers, zZounds, AMS and SW. I will now only do business with zZounds, they are heads and tails above the competition. Thanks to these folks for putting this beauty in my home. Next up is a tele.

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

Out of the box it was unplayable. Frets had sharp edges, pickups were unevenly spaced from the strings, bad string buzz. Took it to the local independent guitar store with a good luthier and they worked their magic.. Now it plays like I would expect from a good-quality instrument. Construction looks great. Binding is silky smooth. Matte finish and stain (wine red) is uniform. I have an Epiphone (Korean) Sheraton that I refuse to part with. That's what gave me the confidence to purchase this one. Disappointed? Not in the least. Awesome guitar for the money.

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