Savis
OK, so continue in my experience with my Sunburst model… I put on some Grover tuners which are a big improvement. The ones that come with it or not bad but the Grovers are better… So now I’ve got about 425 into it. read my other remarks below. I’m probably going to fix the tongue control so it has better range and probably pop in a better pick up at the neck. So perhaps I’ll have about 600 or so into it to tell you the truth that’s still a bargain for the quality of the construction of this instrument. That’s the main plus about it is that it really is built quite well everything lines up the bindings are correct there’s no bleed. The neck is excellent and internation is perfect. So I say: everybody go ahead and get one… They are playable out of the box if you are a season player like me, you may want to do these upgrades. You’re not going to find a better 335 Clone built this good at this price. Guitarist of 59 years experience.
giuse_luz
Here is a photo of @giuse_luz on IG bringing us the awesome DJP-1000!
sidos_riffs
Video cr. @sidos_riffs.♥
David
Update: Donner customer service excellent. They issued me a partial refund for the wiring error. My local guitar tech fixed it. It was simple. One wire was in the wrong place which was resulted in the tone knobs not doing anything. Very fast response. So now that that is all done, the guitar is functioning as it should. My recommendation would be to put a different capacitor in so the tone range is better. Likely I will do some upgrades which will be well worth it given the outstanding quality of the construction of the instrument itself.
David
Update:
I put my preferred strings on the instrument, did a basic, set up and took it out to the gig!
Intonation is perfect.
This is a seriously awesome instrument with a lot of character. But…
As noted by others, the volume and tone pats are basically useless. Volume comes on in after to it doesn’t change. Tone control doesn’t do anything. This is really surprising given the kind of attention that has been put in to craft an instrument of this quality. I have sent an email to Service regarding this. It’s almost nonsensical to me given the quality of the construction of this Instrument.
I’m an accomplished musician, so I just use tone on the amp and used my hand position to adjust tone and dealt with volume by control of my right hand. To tell you the truth, I had an awesome gig with this instrument and can really feel the potential of it.
So I say to team Donner… do us a solid, and give us a voucher to get the parts fixed. Then I will give this instrument five stars, and this will ultimately result in increased sales and stellar recognition.
You’re doing everything correctly so let’s get this issue resolved! Thank you
David M.
As a guitarist who has played for 59 years, here is the lowdown… This guitar is an amazing value for the price. It basically plays perfectly out of the box ridiculously good construction. As other people have mentioned, the only real issue is the tone knob range. Donner could easily fix this by just putting a slightly better pot and capacitor and they would have a 100% ready for this instrument.
finish work is awesome on this instrument. The neck is superior Fret work very good. Soft case very usable. Neck shape is excellent. This one is going right on the gig after I put my preferred strings on. I had bought a GROTE version which is substandard. This is a real guitar meant for real Musicians you will not find a better value than this. and by the way, I have only three or four Gibson 335. This is a very close rival!
Lance B.
This guitar is built with the quality I expect from a high end instrument. For the price and free shipping I'm not sure anyone can compete building a 335 style guitar with your quality at this price point.
Great job.
David T.
I am mostly happy with the guitar, but the fourth fret looks as though someone came across it with a very coarse file once or twice and I cannot bend on that fret without it scraping across the fret and making a horrible sound.
Don Blasingame
I've been playing guitar for over 50 years, this makes the 13th in my collection, and I cannot be any more pleased with this purchase,. I have Gibson's Fender's and other high-end guitars, and this plays just as equal as any one of the high-dollar ones.. I would definitely purchase this again, and would HIGHLY recommend it to anybody looking for a semi hollow body guitar..BRAVO
Thomas Brackett
I already own a true Gibson 335, this is a beautiful replica of thev335! But the important parts are not the same . It is a beautiful guitar and well worth the money .
You can improve the electronics and the frets as you grow as a player a beginner will love the Ax!
Colton
It’s EXTREMELY well made you tell they care a ton about there craftsmanship. The sound this guitar produces is amazing. My small and ONLY complaint is this guitar did not come with an instruction manual for how the knobs work, or what they do. This is my first semi hollow body guitar and it would have been nice to have a guid on how to use the electronics. But never the less I’m extremely satisfied with this guitar.
Jeremiah Silva Jr
The guitar was a great purchase, and I would buy it again. Unfortunately, the tone knobs didn’t sound like their adjustment did anything. I wrote to customer service and asked what could be my issue…no response. I wrote again and asked for some wiring diagrams, so I could replace the knobs with a better brand…again no response. After replacing the pots, humbuckers and guitar jack, it’s a MUCH better guitar and I would now value in the $800 range. Sound, tone and pickups are now very nice.
DT
Absolutely gorgeous guitar for the price(Sunbrust Color). Fret ends are a little sharp, very minor fix with a fret touch up file. Also will probably look to replace wiring,pots, etc. Excellent build quality. Sounds incredible out of the box, however not much contrast / sweep in tone when dialing 1-10. Gig bag is nice quality, free strap, and wire are nice touch. No issues with tarnishing parts. Staying in tune so far no issues. I Love it. Worth upgrading electronics. I would definitely recommend this guitar in Epiphone, Ibanez semi class, before investing in Real Gibson es335 @ almost 10 times the price 3,500 usd. This is an incredible budget alternative. Nice job Donner.
Barry D.
Haven’t had much time yet to work with it. Sometimes life gets in the way.
Wayne M.
Great guitar !! Good quality and sounds great....
Sage D.
It’s a beautiful guitar. No question about that. And overall it’s not bad either. It’s very light, as you’d expect from a hollow body. It sounds pretty good. My only complaint is the tuners aren’t the best, but for this price and everything else the guitar does right, I feel like that’s a small problem. Overall, I can definitely recommended it.
Chris D.
Visually, the DJP-1000 blew us away with its unique jazzy look. But not only that, at this price, it also sounds amazing.
German S.
I loved it. It has the perfect tone I was looking for to play some blues. The settings give you a bunch of options and tone changes are excellent. I have played it for a few weeks now and it has kept its tunning even though I use lots of blending. The design and colours are beautiful, it is light and having tone and volume for each humbucker is perfect. I'm now very curious into other models from Donner as with those prices you can't go wrong.
Francis B.
I thought I would take a chance on getting a 335 type and saw the advertisement , I am impressed with the quality , was expecting less , no fret sprout as with other lower end guitars I have purchased, set up is good, sounds great , fit and finish is very good ,plays great I wish guitars like this were available when I started 50 years ago , my fingers would have appreciated it ,
Charles N.
The large E string vibrates on a fret when I play it. Donner was supposed to put $20 back into my account but I don't think it happened.
John D.
This is a beautiful guitar. It arrived well packed and fairly tuned right out of the box.
Very playable and has a great feel. I have a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Strat and this compares very nicely to them. Great guitar for the money.
Billy K.
Love the fretboard, Plays excellent also love the coil splitting and it has the same playability of a real 335. I highly recommend this guitar. The only downside are the tuners. It doesn’t stay in tune. I do recommend getting locking tuners. I did, and it cleared up the problem
Michael P.
This is a very good instrument! I enjoy mine, thank you.
Shawn
Awesome, versatile guitar!
Nancy
See video for sound demo!
I like to keep the stickers and pick guard plastic for a few months before removing them.(personal preference) Also, please forgive hearing the sound of the strings. I don’t like when it gets picked up by the mic, but I couldn’t play as loud as I wanted to at the time.
The first thing you’ll notice about this guitar is that it’s gorgeous. I love the cherry color/trim combo. My pictures don’t do it justice, neither do the advertised pics in my opinion. It’s beautiful in person.
I play all my guitar tones through my PC with a game called rocksmith 2014. I used to have more feedback/PC lag on my old guitar, but it’s significantly reduced on this Donner.
I like to stick to one guitar if possible to play as many styles as possible. I was thinking this one may not be the type to handle overdriven/heavy metal playing, but I was wrong. It sounds amazing on everything I’ve played with it. Absolutely versatile.
It’s cheaper in price than the name brands, but performs just as well.
My only quip with this guitar was its ability to hold a tune. However, I’ve noticed it getting better the more I’ve been playing and retuning it. It’s totally manageable now and doesn’t lose a tune while playing it, just after I’ve hung it for the day and return the next. As I write this review though, it hasn’t lost its tune and I haven’t played it for 2 days so that’s great!
Overall, this is a great option for any guitar player. You get versatility along with that beautiful look. It’s lightweight and can be played for hours without discomfort. I would recommend this guitar by Donner. It’s going to be my main one for years to come
Taylor A.
Received this 335 variation a few days ago. Purchased it with a black Friday deal at almost half off. So i Had to pull the trigger. Even at 400 it is well worth it. It looks great. No real issues. If your a beginner or intermediate. You really don't need to do anything. If your a little more advanced or pro. I still recommend it if you know how to do a setup and some basic electronics wiring. I did a little bit of work on the frets not much same with the neck. Adjusted the action and intonation still not much work. Dropped some pearly gates pickups in (though the stock pu sound better than i would have thought) and put it through its paces. It would hold its own against any gibson 335 or Washburn hb35. As far as the tuners and bridge they work great but I suspect may need to be replaced after 4 or 5 years depending use. I just don't see how they are not going to raise the price on this one once people get wind of it. A very pleasant suprise!
Craig
I have purchased a number of instruments from Donner, and the quality varies from one to the next. This 335 style is is quite good esthetically, especially for the price. There are a number of small flaws in the finish. I believe they are nibs or dust in the clear coat. Orange peel is very evident on the face. This is caused by improper surface prep (sanding the wood correctly and thoroughly and/or poor application of the clear coat. There is a small amount of glue on the finish around both f holes and there is a fair amount of glue on the f hole bindings themselves. The back has some small scuff marks that can be polished out pretty easily. The neck finish is flawless, only marred by the slightly sharp fret ends. The frets are smooth, but could stand a slight polish. Headstock is perfect and tuners seem good quality. Fretboard looks dry, but that's not unusual with any guitar. The high E and B strings are both rusted near the nut.
The most disturbing thing about the guitar is the stop tail seems to mounted lower on the low E side than on the high E side. I have not attempted to investigate this, as I received the guitar only a few hours ago. It may be a simple adjustment. If not, the guitar is going back as I cannot fix that level of defect, and taking to a luthier would be as much as the cost of the guitar, if they could fix it at all.
For the price (with a sizable discount) it is an excellent value. The stop tail issue may change that opinion and the fact I have not played it yet might also.
Michael P.
I just got my DJP-1000 335 Style Semi-Hollow Body "Jazz" guitar. This is the 5th Donner guitar I have ordered and purchased online. Donner provides good feedback throughout the purchase and shipping process. The guitar arrived in excellent condition via FedEx, which is superb. The guitar itself is very well made, and all the details regarding construction are excellent. The pickups sound great and both volume controls have push/pull coil taps. It arrived with a good setup which I only had to slightly tweak to a string height of .050" for great play-ability. I have been playing guitar for over 50 years, I am a repair/luthier of 40 years, and I highly recommend this guitar. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine.
Tom D.
I got my JDP 1000 a few days ago. I likr the way it feels; the neck is smooth & very fast, the tuners feel nice, not loose or gritty like some less expensive guitars. The only complaint I have is the volume & tone knobs: the one for the bridge pickup is either all the way off or all the way up; no volume adjustment and neck pickup volume knob doesn't work at all, and I don't hear any difference in tone when I adjust the tone knobs. It's not a hard fix; having already built one guitar & modded several others, I'm confident I can make this one playable, but it's just going to take some work. I already have one of your Thinline Teles and it was perfect out of the box. That is why I bought the JDP 1000. Having seconf thoughts now...
Agostino B.
What a great guitar. I've purchased a few items for my kids, and this is all mine...well made. Wonderful purchase.
Old R.
This guitar does not disappoint. I have a Fender and Gibson, but this one has become my go to guitar. I was surprised at it’s performance, and the pickups blew me away. The tones in each switch setting are where they should be for ES style guitar. It does Justice to the 335 family. I’ve been playing it every day since I received it. Nice finish, nice bindings and nice frets. For the money, they don’t come any better.
tuna
This is one of the best guitars I’ve ever purchased. It’s beautiful, plays beautifully and sounds great. I couldn’t believe it was this nice for the price. I’m happy I purchased it and would recommend it to others. Packaging was great. No damages.
Jonathon
My first time ordering a guitar online, took a chance on this one and I am over the moon!!!! It looks great! Plays wonderfully! And was packaged securely! I dig it! I dig it 1,000x's over!
Northeast Nerd
This guitar arrived in super strong packing and was perfect right out of the box. Plugged and played. I can go on but I'm simply amazed at the workmanship compared to the cost. Oh, and it sounds wonderful on my tube amp with the stock strings.
