Epiphone SG Special Electric Guitar, Cherry

Very good guitar…versatile…a must buy

Great value for a guitar. And you can live your AC/DC dreams on a budget!

It arrived on time and in good condition.

Be prepared to make some adjustments to the instrument. Here is a list of the things the guitar needed when it arrived:

Intonation: The intonation was off on four strings. Very easy fix if you own a tuner and a small screwdriver.
Truss Rod: The truss rod was completely loose, I had to turn it a full turn before it “caught”. Then another 1/4 turn to get it just a hair off dead straight.
String Action: The strings were a full 1/8″ upon arrival, the truss rod adjustment got it down to 3/32″, and I had to lower the bridge to 1/16″. Once at the proper height, there was no string buzz at any point on the neck.
Pickups: The pickups were a little high, which caused the guitar to sound harsh and muddy. After adjustment to Gibson factory specs it was much better. The pickups seem very “hot”, so you may want to lower them below Gibson specs.
Tuning: Tuning was off, which is to be expected.

The frets were very shiny and smooth. No rough ends.
There is one spot in the finish, like a speck of sand under the clear coat. It’s a little bump, but only visible if the light catches it just right.
The guitar is very thin, light, and comfortable to play.
The tuning machines are the cheap parallelogram-shaped ones, but they get the job done and I see no reason to change them.
The volume and tone knobs are very responsive.
The Kill-Pot is really cool, but not something I will probably ever use.

I’ve been very impressed with the Epiphone “Special” models. I own a Les Paul Special II, and Special I P-90 as well. They are fun guitars to play. Do not be discouraged by the price. Neither should you be afraid of the bolt-on neck. It’s a cost-cutting measure that you won’t find on high-end Gibsons, but Fender has been doing that way since the 1950’s. These are great playing guitars with an iconic look and a sound all their own.

So, go ahead and get your “Angus” on!

I’m a total newb, just learning to play at 54 years old. I bought my first guitar based on Amazon reviews, it is the 3rd best selling solid body on Amazon. I was nothing but super impressed by the quality, sound, and packaging. Even the guitar tech that did the setup said it was way better than what I paid for it. So, I thought “why not get a name brand that’s also made in China?” Well, I wish I’d purchased the Leo Jaymz version of an SG instead.

This guitar didn’t come in a gig bag surrounded by laser cut foam like the Leo Les Paul did, just a single cardboard box with some cardboard drop point protection. Luckily no damage. The action is very high, it will need a pro setup more than my Leo Jaymz Les Paul did. The tuners have a lot of gear slack in them and have a very unique screw pattern, replacing them will mean drilling the headstock and leaving the old holes exposed or using Hipshot tuners with the ugly plates. But the final nail in this guitar’s coffin is the output jack. I can’t get a clean signal unless I put pressure on the cable. Beyond that the overall finish doesn’t compare to the Leo (which is like glass), it doesn’t have pickup covers and it doesn’t have separate pots for tone and volume like the Leo version SG.

In short, I spent $50 more for a brand name with fewer features. I’m going to spend at least another $100 or more to fix the issues and dress the guitar up a bit with chrome pickup covers and rings.

Oh well, you live and you learn. This one will likely end up a wall hanger and replaced with a Leo Jaymz SG.

Edit: I bumped this up from 3 to 4 stars. The noisy output seems to be either my cord or amp. After trying a small headphone amp simulator I no longer had to hold it to get clean signal. The tuners seem to be holding tune after a week, they still display gear slop, but if you slowly tune “up” so you don’t have to back “down” and start over, they hold tune decently. Still, at bulk pricing Epiphone could have put Grover style 18:1 tuners on this for about a $5 price increase. At least you wouldn’t have to drill to replace them if that wasn’t good enough.

Premessa fondamentale: questa recensione è scritta da profani e per profani, persone che non sanno nulla di chitarre e musica in generale, ma ne sono affascinati e vorrebbero iniziare ad addentrarsi in questo mondo.

La Epiphone SG Special si presenta già dalla confezione come un prodotto “no-bullshit”, tutto sostanza e niente orpelli. E’ venduta in una scatola di cartone (resistente e ben congegnata), dentro alla quale non c’è null’altro che la chitarra. Al contrario di molte altre soluzioni per principianti, è venduta senza set con amplificatore-cavo-accordatore etc., per cui il prezzo (158€ quello da me pagato) copre solo lo strumento in sé.
Per nell’impossibilità di paragonarla a prodotti di differente livello, la sensazione al tatto e alla presa è immediatamente positiva, i materiali e le superfici danno una bellissima sensazione, e le parti metalliche (in particolare i pick-up e la presa del jack) non hanno assolutamente un aspetto economico.
Dopo la prima accordatura e il collegamento ad un amplificatore (nel mio caso un Orange Crush Micro), le corde danno un suono pulito e “rock”, non c’è percezione di eccessivi ronzii e imperfezioni.
Bellissimo oggetto in generale.

Nota: di questa Ephiphone SG Special esiste anche una versione che riporta in più il suffisso “VE”, che sta per “Vintage Edition”, e costa in media 20€ di più. La differenza è solo estetica (c’è un effetto che riproduce le venature del legno) e non comporta nulla dal punto di vista delle componenti meccaniche ed elettriche.