Anyone got an Epi SG?

[dragonfire709]

I've got a couple of them. My custom 3 pick up was my main gigging guitar for 2 or 3 years and is a great reliable rock guitar. Ive got another one that was my back up guitar that wasnt quite so great, but only cost me about £100.00!! Im not even sure where it is now!

The singer/rhythm guitarist in our band has an Epi Les Paul which is a great sounding/feeling/looking guitar-i'm quite jealous of it really  :lol:.

[Spitfire]

Plus the tokais are made of nato/agathis/basswood. Think the lower priced sgs are alder, and the g400s are mahogany.

the jap ones aren't.

[Philly Q]

Keep a look out for a Japanese Epi SG with the proper Gibson shaped headstock.  I haven't actually tried their SG model, but I have two LP Juniors and an LP Special and they're totally excellent. 

They do crop up on eBay occasionally, although there don't seem to be any at the moment.

[badgermark]

Plus the tokais are made of nato/agathis/basswood. Think the lower priced sgs are alder, and the g400s are mahogany.

the jap ones aren't.

The ones in the same price bracket as epi sgs are.

[Modular1]

I had a vintage faded brown Epi SG. It was OK, but a bit "fake" if you get my meaning. The front and back were veneers,

funnily enough this was the model i was looking at. is the body not a solid piece of 'under-finished' wood then? i wanted to stay away from a glossy 'new' paint job

[martinw]

I had a vintage faded brown Epi SG. It was OK, but a bit "fake" if you get my meaning. The front and back were veneers,

funnily enough this was the model i was looking at. is the body not a solid piece of 'under-finished' wood then? i wanted to stay away from a glossy 'new' paint job

No, they're a piece of who-knows-what, with two nicely figured (mahogany?) veneers. The finish isn't like the Gibbo ones, which is very thin, and is actually quite a thick layer of matt poly varnish. Not nice.
Like I said, I was disappointed.

If I was getting an SG, I would save up the extra for a Gibson Special. I've got 2 budget Gibsons (a swamp ash SG 3SC which cost me about £450, and my Vintage Mahogany LP Studio which was £480 with Burstbucker Pros and a hard case) and both are stonking guitars. Loads of character, and the real deal.

[jibidy]

I have the SG with meastro vibrola like the Angus Young Gibson, and I use as my main guitar, over my Squire fat strat and my peavey V-type. I definatly dont think its a bad guitar especially for £320ish. I payed the same for my peavey and its so shitee and tacky. Nice neck to play and it stayes in tune nicely.

[Twinfan]

I have the SG with meastro vibrola like the Angus Young Gibson...

Me too  ;)

[jibidy]

I think its awesome!

[Jonny]

I hate my friend's Epiphone SG, it's just.. cr@p. I'm always tempted to give a Les Paul a go, but I can never find any to try.

As for Tokais, I decided to try one out but the sheer weight of the thing, I didn't want to even try and keep it on my lap.

Are Epiphone Les Pauls chambered? Or would I expect the same as the Tokai?

[Will]

Epiphone Les Pauls seem lighter to me, for no good reason. They may well have the swiss cheese rather than chambering, but more likely poor quality wood.

[AndyR]

My Epi LP, I found out, is made of basswood with a maple cap (and a thin "flame" veneer over it). I've had it for years, and gigged it with it's own pups - sounded very good.

I don't knock basswood myself, my JV Squier strat seems to do a fine job made of it, but when my Mules didn't seem to do what I expected in the Epi, I did end up wanting a mahogany beast.

I tried a few Epis, but none of them seemed to greatly outshine the one I own, and then I found and bought myself a Japanese Tokai Love Rock - that definitely does what I was expecting :D It is heavy-ish, yeah, but I'm not too good a judge on that - I like a solid plank hanging off the strap :lol: (I'm a strat player after all!)

I do have to say though, my basswood Epi LP has a FAR better accoustic tone than my old Epi SG that is apparently made out of mahogany - that one's always been prone to sounding "boxy" when amplified unless you put a lot of effort into the amp settings... I don't gig anymore, and so haven't run it through a real amp recently, but I suspect that it'll still have that "issue" even now its got Riff Raffs.

[_tom_]

Yeah my Epiphone LP Custom is a bit lighter than my Pearl, dont think theres much in it though really and they both sound fairly similar, the pearls just slightly thicker.

My mates Epiphone SG feels $%&#ing horrible but I have no problem with Epi Les Pauls for some reason.

[bucketbot]

Whats the quality of em like? how do you rate them? i was thinking of getting one of the vintage faded ones and sticking some riff raffs in it. would this be a worthwhile endeavor?

Used to have a G400, it was great after I changed the pickups. But I no longer have it.


My advice is try a few as they vary considerably. I only bought this as I picked it up in a shop & was surprised by the playability & feel of it!
Alternatively the low end Gibson SG's have come down quite a lot in price so why not consider that?
Depends on how much you plan to spend really.
The G400's are still around at bargain prices in some places as long as you like the 3 pickup look.