Epiphone Ultra-339

Epiphone melds technology and tradition with the new Epiphone Ultra-339, sporting a classic semi-hollow look packed with modern features.

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The Epiphone Ultra-339 combines the classic shape and look of the ES-339 with the flexibility and technology of Epiphone Ultra-III electronics.

Released at the same time as the Epiphone ES-339, the Ultra-339 features the same size, shape, look and feel. However, the label “ultra” is a clear hint that this guitar is not an ordinary stringed instrument, and upon better inspection, you will find that the difference is in the electronics.

The Ultra-339, despite its built-in cutting edge technology, still maintains the same basic specifications that made ES series shaped semi-hollow guitars a popular choice among guitarists. The same Maple body with solid center block is at the core of the Ultra-339. It is glued in to a Mahogany neck with the same classic Mortise and Tenon neck joint. The SlimTaper neck profile is complimented by the classic looking Rosewood fingerboard. The design of the Epiphone Ultra-339 aims to produce a modern looking comfortable guitar with classic semi-hollow tone and solid body sustain.

The boundary where tradition meets technology starts with the two pickup systems installed on the Epiphone Ultra-339. The first pickup system is powered by Epiphone’s ProBucker humbucking pickups which are based on Gibson’s BurstBuckers. It features authentic 18% nickel silver base and cover, accurate bobbins, Elektrisola wire, slugs and screws and sand casted Alnico-II magnets. The pickups are designed to mimic the airy tone that defined the BursBuckers.

The second pickup system features Shadow Germany’s patented NanoMag pickup. It is discretely embedded at the end of the fingerboard. This pickup system features three samarium cobalt magnets, an air coil, and active electronics. It is a low-impedance pickup that captures subtle body acoustics and string harmonics, which gives out acoustic like tones. The two pickup systems give you a wide range of tones from humbucking rock to shimmering acoustic. The Ultra-III’s NanoMag Volume knob doubles as an A/B switch to allow seamless changes between each pickup system. Push it in to quickly toggle between Magnetic, NanoMag or both pickup systems without the unwanted popping sound and delay.

You will be surprised at how much features are packed in to this classic looking guitar, the seemingly innocent looking bridge pickup mounting ring actually houses a full-functional chromatic tuner. It is positioned discretely and intuitively for easy operation. Just push the engage button of the tuner to see eleven color-coded LED’s that tell you if your string is sharp, flat or in-tune. Two additional LED’s on the pickup mounting ring provide a visual indicator of which pickup system is active (Red=NanoMag; Blue-Magnetic or Red/Blue=Both).

The Epiphone Ultra-339 offers three different outputs. You have the traditional 1/4″ Mono output which mixes the Humbuckers and NanoMag into one signal. You can add in another 1/4″ cable into the Ultra-339’s Stereo output to separate the signals. In this way, you can plug the Humbuckers to your guitar amp and the NanoMag to the PA or an acoustic guitar amp. You can then use the A/B switch to change between the outputs or even to have them both sound at the same time.

The third output is the familiar USB out. Using the included USB cable, you can plug-in your guitar directly to your computer without the need for a USB audio interface. This makes it ideal for recording and even for live playing if you prefer using computer based amp and effects modeling to create your tone.

As if to cloak the high tech features of the Epiphone Ultra-339, it is fitted with classic looking LockTone locking tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece. Stability and intonation is further assured by its Grover 16:1 machine heads.

If you are looking for increased flexibility and functionality combined with classic looks that is not too heavy on your budget, you might want to check the Ultra-339 out. The current retail price for the Epiphone Ultra-339 is at $799, and is set to ship this December 2011.

For more information and complete detail specifications, visit Epiphone.com.

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