The left handed selection from Epiphone has dwindled over the past few years, to the point that we now have only 5 guitars to choose from. One of the most disappointing recent losses was the Dot, which used to be the go-to choice for southpaws looking for their first semi-hollow.
Unless you’re willing to trawl eBay for a nice used example you’ll probably be wondering what similarly priced alternatives there are to choose from, right? So we decided to throw together a list of some of the best substitutes for for those after the sound of an ES-335 on a budget.
Epiphone Dot Left Handed Alternatives
The right handed Dot at the time of writing is $450 USD new, but Epiphone usually charges a premium for southpaws so let’s call the budget around $500. To keep the list interesting we’ve included some guitars that are a couple of hundred dollars more and some that are a couple of hundred less. If the more pricey models are outside of your budget, at least this gives you some alternatives to look for on the used market!
Let’s have a quick look at some of our favourite left handed Epiphone Dot alternatives.
Ibanez Artcore Series
The lefty range from Ibanez can change quite drastically from year to year, but there is generally a left handed semi-hollow offering available from the Artcore series – quite often as part of a spot production (limited edition) run. At the time of writing the current model is the AS93FML which is a part of their Artcore Expressionist range.
It’s a little bit more pricey than the Epiphone, but it does come with premium features such as stunning flamed maple top/back/sides and a bound ebony fingerboard.
Hagstrom Viking
Like the Ibanez above, the Hagstrom Viking is a little more expensive than the Epiphone, but for that little extra money you do get a lot more guitar. The Viking regularly wins semi-hollow shootouts in guitar magazines – this is a good’un!
It is available left handed in both gloss black and transparent cherry. Unique to the Viking is Hagstrom’s ‘Resinator Wood‘ composite fingerboard and ‘H-Expander‘ truss rod. Find out more about these proprietary features at the link below!
Gretsch Streamliner
The Gretsch G2622 Streamliner is pretty much bang on the price of the Epiphone, making this a perfect alternative! The Gretsch website has it available lefty in Torino Green and Single Barrel Stain, but you can also find it in Cherry!
With its commanding sound and stalwart looks, this guitar puts a modern twist on a traditional classic.
Eastwood Classic
Eastwood has various left handed semi-hollows in their range which you can either buy directly through their website, or via a dealer. If you’re in the USA, a great dealer to try is Adirondack Guitars.
The Classic 6 is the most affordable of the range and is only very slightly more pricey than the Epiphone depending on where you buy! It comes in an elegant walnut finish and is based on the Gretsch Country Classic which George Harrison made famous in the 60s. Check out the Eastwood site below to learn more, and while you’re there check out the rest of the left handed range. Eastwood has some really quirkly southpaw models on offer!
Harley Benton HB-35
This one is mainly for those of you in Europe as it is an in-house brand from Thomann Music. I personally can’t comment on the quality of these, but they are certainly the most affordable guitar in this list. Let me know if you have one, and what you think of it!
If you think that there are some awesome alternatives that we’ve missed, drop us an email or send us a message on Twitter/Facebook.