The Epiphone Dot is a
semi-hollow archtop electric guitar manufactured by
Epiphone, a subsidiary of
Gibson. It was introduced in 1997
[Fynn Callum]
My Love for the Epiphone Dot
Red Dog Music, 5 February 2013 as a more affordable version of the
Gibson ES-335, at the high end of entry-level pricing. Reviews describe it as a robustly-constructed, versatile guitar with a smooth, powerful sound, suitable for
jazz,
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
and some
rock styles, but lacking the high output required for
heavy metal.
[Epiphone Dot vs Casino vs Sheraton]
Gig Gear, 26 June 2013[Mick Taylor]
Epiphone ES-335 Dot Review
Music Radar, 17 July 2009
Construction
The Dot has a semi-hollow body made of laminated maple. Two hollow "wings" with
f-holes
[Epiphone Dot review]
, Which Electric Guitar, retrieved 16 July 2015 sit on either side of a solid block of mahogany or maple on which the pickups, bridge and tailpiece are mounted, which makes it less prone to
feedback
Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...
than a fully hollow-bodied guitar.
It has a glued-in neck of mahogany
[Art Thompson]
Epiphone Dot Guitar
''Guitar Player'' magazine, February 2000 (before 2008, maple)
and a rosewood fingerboard.
[Epiphone Dot Archtop Review: A Player’s Take on a Vintage Axe]
Guitar Adventures, retrieved 16 July 2015 The name "Dot" is in reference to its fretboard markers, which are simple dots, unlike other Epiphone archtop guitars such as the
Casino or the
Sheraton, which have more elaborate block
inlays
Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form Ornament (art), ornament or pictures that normally are flush with th ...
.
It has two
alnico humbucker pickups, each with its own volume and tone control, a three-way selector switch allowing the player to choose one or both pickups,
a
Tune-o-matic bridge and a
stop-bar tailpiece.
Formerly made in
Korea,
since 2002 the Dot has been made in Epiphone's factory in
Qingdao
Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
, China.
[Michael Molenda]
Epiphone Dot Studio
''Guitar Player'' magazine, June 2005
Variants
Also available is the Dot Studio, described as a "stripped down" version of the Dot, with a body made of laminated mahogany, one volume and one tone control, uncovered pickups, no pickguard, and no fretboard markers.
Models formerly available include the Dot Deluxe, with a
flame maple laminate top and gold-plated hardware; the Dot Super VS, with a flame maple top and
mother of pearl block inlays (2006); and the Dot Royale, with gold-plated hardware and a pearl white finish.
Notable users
* Nathan Amundson (
Rivulets)
*
David Bazan
*
Mary Halvorson
Mary Halvorson (born October 16, 1980) is an American avant-garde jazz composer and guitarist from Brookline, Massachusetts.
Among her many collaborations, she has: led a trio with and Ches Smith, and a quintet with the addition of Jon Irabago ...
*
Josh Homme
Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...
(
Queens of the Stone Age)
*
Lee Ranaldo (
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
)
Lee Ranaldo - Epiphone Dot
on Equipboard, retrieved 21 July 2015
References
{{reflist
Dot
Semi-acoustic guitars
1997 musical instruments
1997 in music