buffoonery's Full Review: Epiphone SG G-400 Deluxe Electric Guitar
Bargain-priced guitars are improving in quality all the time. I’m sometimes quite amazed when I pop by Guitar Center and mess with the cheapo axes littered around the place. The sounds can be great and price impossible to beat. Such is the case with the Epiphone G-400. This little number retails for $299 street at your local big box store and delivers an incredible value for that price point.
Epiphone, of course, is the entry-level Gibson guitar line, manufacturing overseas (mainly China) lower-priced knock-offs of the models made famous by its premium-priced brother. The G-400 is a Gibson SG model. A quick recap of the SG’s history: Gibson issued the Les Paul in about 1954. It was intended to be a solid body competitor to the Fender Tele’s and Strats that were starting to take the guitar world by storm. The Les Paul, of course, is a fabulous guitar, but for whatever reason, by the late 1950’s the model was starting to see a sales fall off. This is utterly ironic because the Gibson Les Pauls manufactured from 1957 to 1959 are widely considered to be the best solid body electric guitars ever manufactured, with prices now going above $300K for mint models.
At any rate, Gibson was feeling the heat and, working off LP inspired single-cutaway, came up with the famous SG two-horned design. The guitar offers two major advantages over the Les Paul. First, the lower cutaway offers superior access to the upper frets. Second, the SG’s model is a lot lighter than the LP and hence is easier on the performing musician.
Adding more irony to the fire, though, Les Paul hated the design and insisted that his name be removed. So Gibson went with the SG moniker and started making rock and roll history and the guitar would be played by innumerable classic rock musicians, with Peter Townsend of the Who and Angus Young of ACDC leading a very large pack. The guitar packs a mean overdriven punch, a little lighter and not quite as growly as the Les Paul but still fabulous for classic late 60s and 70s Brit rock tone.
The G-400 is a great copy of the SG. Made in China, my model was a faded cherry. The neck is set mahogany, 24 ¾” with a rosewood fretboard and 22 jumbo frets. The action, as befits an SG, is very fast and smooth up the neck. The reach to the 22nd fret is unparallel for an electric guitar. The mahogany body is very light—lighter than a Tele or Strat—and extremely easy for performance. This includes waving the guitar over your head, jumping around, and whatever you do after the fourth Black Label kicks in after midnight.
The electronics include two humbucking pickups, an Alnico Classic in the neck and an Alnico Classic Plus in the bridge. There are two volume and two tone controls along with a three-way switch. The tunes are Grover and the bridge a LockTone. Given the price, the construction isn’t perfect. The neck looked just a tad sloppy but nothing noticeable except to the practiced eye. The setup and intonation were both good.
For the money, the tone is terrific. Granted, these aren’t Gibson Burstbucker or 57 Classic humbuckers or the lot, but these Alnico’s generate some nice growl, good bright top end and some nice chunk as necessary. Push this thing through a Fender, Marshall or Hiwatt, put the amp into overdrive, and you’ll have a riot playing Pinball Wizard or Highway to Hell or War Pigs and maybe even you’ll pick up some chicks in the process. You might also want to substitute some Seymour Duncans or EMG pickups for additional bite. Given you’re only coughing up $300 for this, you ought to have some cash left over for some extra goodies.
Before you think I am waxing too eloquent over a bargain-priced Gibson knock-off guitar, let me make it clear that this guitar is a great value for the money but isn’t a 61 Gibson SG Reissue. This guitar is intended for a very specific audience, primarily the introductory guitar player who likes hard rock and can’t afford anything more expensive. It has no collection value whatsoever. A lot of guitars sound better and are made better. But for the newbie who is light on cash, or the pro who wants a cheap practice guitar or even a performance guitar that he can afford to have stolen, you’ve come to the right place. This is a solid three-star guitar for the money. I may pick one up myself.
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