Epiphone SG

[Ratmick]

Hi all,

Looking at buying another guitar at the end of the year to keep my Tribute Plus company.

I'd like an Epi SG but I'm not particularly impressed with what is currently on offer. The most expensive Epi on Thomann is the SG G-400 but it's a bit 'meh'. The sound clip is ordinary...

The only one I can see in the current on-line Epi catalogue that seems reasonably decent is the Limited Edition 50th Anniversary "1961" version in cherry or black. Anyone have one?

We very rarely seem to get Elitists down here and when they appear they are as expensive as a mid-range Gibson SG.

I'm also not a great fan of the TV finishes. The Pelham Blue is in itself a nice colour...I personally just don't like the half-assed approach that they chose with the TV finish. The silver (in my opinion only) is exceptionally ordinary and not to my taste at all.

I don't particularly want to go down the low-end Gibson route, I'd rather get better value for money.

PRS seem to have a pretty good range, most have active pickups.

Maybe it's just a matter of waiting, Epi seem to release new models fairly frequently...

Thoughts?

Mick

 

[RaSTuS26]

Bound neck, vintage kluson style tuners, GFS crunchy pat pickups and under $200, bargain.

Xaviere XV-300 Double Cutaway Guitars

 

[Cyclave]

My 2010 G400 has 490r/498t pups in it and I love it.
They are great guitars.

Play one in person; Sound clips online are meh. So many factors can distort the true sound.

 

[r2d2]

I've just bought an Epi SG Pro in ebony. It has split coils and vintage style tuners. I like it very much although neck needs some fret work and electronics are cheap.
I'm going to install a 490/498 Gibson Set and a new wiring harness.
From stock you have split coils in volume knobs, I'll move them to tone knobs in order to use CTS knobs on volume controls.


Greetings

 

[MadWolfZX]

You can find the Pelham Blue(not TV) SG with maestro on Ebay; factory refurbished. I think Musician's Friend has an Epiphone SG PRO with Pelham Blue (non-TV I think). UPDATE: I did not realize at first, that you were in OZ.

I have one, and it's a nice guitar. But like most Epiphones, the factory pick-ups are the main weakness - very plain/generic sounding. The Stew-Mac Parson's Street pickups are dead wringers for classic Gibson units; a set of two is about $110 USD.

It might sound picky, but one thing that annoys me is the lack of proper neck binding. The weird thing is, they have a single ply BROWN binding, so it's virtually impossible to see in pictures; and barely noticeable in person. Why not just use white?!?! I keep mulling over selling it (just because of the binding) and trying one of those ES339 Pro semi-hollow units.

My SG:

 

[hotzlaw]

The stock G400 sounds really good "live". Don't let the sound clips (or the price) fool ya. My son has one, and when we are playing some AC/DC together, me with my Tribute Plus and he with the G400, I kinda wish that I was playin the G400.

Sounds almost blasphemous for a T+ owner, but the G400 does have a very good Angus Young sound. I have my problems recreating this with the T+, so the two compliment each other nicely.

I don't think that you'll regret it, especially played through your cool "new" amp.

 

[VintageGuitarGuy]

Why not go the whole hog and get one of these?

 

[truckermde]

I had an Epi SG '61 and although it was a great looking and sounding guitar, the neck was SOOOO flexible that I had to sell it off. I think it's a combination of the wood and the neck joint, but whatever the cause, the flex was unacceptable, to me at least.

Although I haven't tried one, I read that the new SGJ from Gibson has a maple neck, which would improve that situation.

 

[RaSTuS26]

I had an Epi SG '61 and although it was a great looking and sounding guitar, the neck was SOOOO flexible that I had to sell it off. I think it's a combination of the wood and the neck joint, but whatever the cause, the flex was unacceptable, to me at least.

+1

The neck on my SG custom may as well be a licorice stick it flexes so much, totally unplayable.

 

[RTH]

Weird. I dont feel the neck-flex thing on my '61 SG Special. Seems pretty solid to me. Then again, the frets need a bit of leveling, so maybe that is the trade-off. lol.

 

[QBob]

I had an Epi SG '61 and although it was a great looking and sounding guitar, the neck was SOOOO flexible that I had to sell it off. I think it's a combination of the wood and the neck joint, but whatever the cause, the flex was unacceptable, to me at least.

Although I haven't tried one, I read that the new SGJ from Gibson has a maple neck, which would improve that situation.

Interesting. I played one the other day at GC and I thought the neck was super sticky, my hand wouldn't slide down the neck like it was stuck. Nothing like my Epi Custom. Not sure if it was because every kid in town had played it off the shelf though, mabye it just needed polish but I was disappointed.

 

[Ratmick]

Thanks for the info guys.

Given there may or may not be individual 'bad eggs' and I'll probably be buying from Thomann I may need to either buy locally or buy something else...

Mick

 

[Ratmick]

Why not go the whole hog and get one of these?

I'm guessing that is a very expensive hog .

Mick

 

[RTH]

Thanks for the info guys.

Given there may or may not be individual 'bad eggs' and I'll probably be buying from Thomann I may need to either buy locally or buy something else...

Mick

Always play before you pay if possible. I was well aware of the issues with mine before I bought it. But it was the only TV-Yellow in stock and I'm leary of buying online. I figured that I'd just deal with the issues at my leisure. At the moment it plays good enough for what I use it for. It was intended to be more of a rhythm guitar for me anyhow. I have a feeling that going back to 10's will help greatly. I think that the 9's are a little too small for it with the high frets.

Now, what really bums me out is that I'm starting to develop some unseated frets causing buzz on my 1986 S-500. That guitar has been to hell and back, and its amazing the condition it is in. I figured it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.

 

[michaelinokc]

I've had an SG G-400 and it was a very well-built guitar. If I was more of a tinkerer, I would have kept it - I feel it was really weak in the electronics department. In fact, as I contemplate tinkering in the future, the guitar is still in the shop I sold it to and I wouldn't hesitate buying it back as a guitar to tinker with.

 

[Ratmick]

Always play before you pay if possible.

Yeah I hear you but we are seriously shafted price-wise in Australia and you can save big money buying from overseas and waiting a few weeks.

If I buy from Thomann (like I did with my Tribute Plus), and pay a luthier $80 to check out the guitar when it arrives, I can still be $200-$300 ahead in cost and I have a fully set-up guitar. If it can't be set-up then there's always Thomann's return policy.

Mick

 

[RaSTuS26]

Yeah I hear you but we are seriously shafted price-wise in Australia and you can save big money buying from overseas and waiting a few weeks.

If I buy from Thomann (like I did with my Tribute Plus), and pay a luthier $80 to check out the guitar when it arrives, I can still be $200-$300 ahead in cost and I have a fully set-up guitar. If it can't be set-up then there's always Thomann's return policy.

Mick

Absolutely Mick, I've imported about 50 guitars because of the ridiculous prices here, and never had a problem with any of them.

 

[r2d2]

Here is my finished electronics upgrade, very nice sound! PUs are still stock but uncovered them.

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/tonefreaks/253776-sg-wiring-harness.html

Greetings

 

[Ratmick]

Ok I like THIS one:

Or even better THIS one:

Very nice looking piece, I likey...a lot.

Mick

 

[RaSTuS26]

Have good specs, except only 2 controls, and the offset body looks odd (to me).