Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I purchased this guitar from Musician's Friend on Amazon. Due to some trouble, I had to wait for it for a couple of months. It finally is in my hands and I must say I'm impressed and absolutely satisfied. There's plenty of good reviews of this guitar on the web, so I refer you to those for the features; instead, I want to focus on the quality of the product itself. There is some concern among guitarists about buying instruments online, with random reports about people receiving badly constructed specimens of supposedly quality guitars. It hasn't been my case. This guitar has been known, since it was first released, for being a big improvement in quality for Epiphone, and for being the closest reproduction of a 1961 Gibson SG, for less than a third of the price. The one I received from MF and Amazon completely lives up to such fame: completely solid, flawless construction; gorgeous looks and quality appointments; and above all, near professional performance. Like any guitar that comes new out of the box, it required some action and intonation setup, but that was all: no flaws at all in the general construction or in the finish.
A few comments on the features.
The playability is amazing. The neck has the same satin finish as the body; it's wide and flat but not annoyingly fat or thick; and it joins the body at the 20th fret, giving free access to the last frets. All this makes for a lightning fast playing guitar.
The sound is just great. The pickups are hot, they can really give you that Gibson humbucker crunch, and with high distortion it's just brutal, perfect for everything from riffs to soloing to the mighty pinch harmonic! Of course, there are things that no SG can do, but if you wanted to do those things you would be looking at Strat reviews... but it IS a versatile guitar, it can suit many playing styles, and, unlike other guitars popular in the hard rock/heavy metal world, it can handle clean playing very well.
I encourage anyone who is thinking of buying an SG guitar but cannot afford a Gibson to try this one. Other brands might offer the same quality but just lack the "original" vibe that only Epiphone, being a Gibson subsidiary, can offer... and no, I don't work for Epiphone.
EDIT: the first painful quality issue has surfaced. The wood around the input jack is thin. Due to this, any untoward pressure exerted on the area can potentially crack the wood. I turned around with the guitar plugged in, but the cord was stuck under the amp, and so the plug forced the input jack into the wood and it cracked badly. I had heard that before but I never thought it would happen. So be warned... either you take special care in avoiding this kind of situation, or you don't buy this guitar.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Epiphone Vintage G-400 Electric Guitar, Worn Cherry
The Epiphone Vintage G-400 Electric Guitar plays fast and is a super value. Epi has re-created this SG-shaped legend using a worn satin finish and aged fretboard inlays that give it the look of a cherished original. Crafted with chrome hardware, a mahogany body and single-piece set neck with rosewood fretboard, LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece for more sustain and easier string changing, and armed with a pair of Alnico V humbuckers, this guitar is ready to rock right out of the box.
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