Bought one for my son, immediately switched strings to ernie ball slinky 10's let it sit a day to stretch out. Never had a problem since and my son loves it,plays everyday and stays in tune. Perfect starter guitar for him.
yeah, i see guys bag on epiphone and mim fenders for that all the time. These guys must buy mostly from guitar center or something because good dealers put new strings on it. And I bet they dont understand the "breaking in" part to new strings
@@Kylegatzke1997 Nope! Trust me the tuners are horrible and i know how to break in the new strings , once i changed them and adjusted the truss rod it was like playing a different guitar. Tuners made a huge difference.
@@mikeg.9238 I believe you... epiphone was a respectable company until gibson got ahold of it. I can see them putting bad tuners to make you want to "play authentic". like give me a break gibson. and dont get me started on their video where they ran over their guitars with a construction vehicle. All the wasted wood... may god not have mercy on them for that. But I am curious.. What kind of tuners did you slap on it?
@@Kylegatzke1997 A generic brand called Musicaly pro 3+3 semi closed tuners. Found them on Amazon and had excellent reviews , paid under $20. But had to search for the exact one's with screws the are in the corners not the center. I can't believe the difference , they are better than some of the tuners on my more expensive guitars. Like I said before , I don't want to dump all kinds of cash into a guitar that cost $230. Definitely the QC sucks on these epi's at this price point , can't speak on the more expensive one's. I guess you get what you pay for , but I've bought other guitars in that range including an Ibanez and a Jackson that were perfect out of the box with tuners that hold up fine , especially the Ibanez. That thing stays in tune forever , it's one of my favorite guitars to play...
Correct me if I’m wrong but it seems as those strings were never stretched. Like if they are brand new and were tuned once and never got a stretch. Where as every time u tune it will keep getting out of tune until fully prepped. I usually spend 5 minutes tugging the strings and that way the guitar stays in tune :)
Exactly right. I don't think preferences like not opening it for me translate into a poor instrument. Also time and user experience play a big role. Thanks for your comments.
@@Mulberry2000 I agree. This is a great instrument and although GIBSON DOES IN FACT have tuning issues(I have a Les Paul 60's reissue and an SG maestro reissue) I'm not entirely sure Epiphone suffers from the same side effects. To be fair the les paul i have never had tuning issues. It was mainly the sg lol also that being said, it is STILL my preferred axe of choice.
Umm if you all haven’t owned one of these then let me say the tuning stability is also just THAT BAD.. I agree stretching strings should happen but, I had the exact same issue with this guitar and it all came down to the tuners. I could bend nothing too exaggerated and boom out of tune. I could dig in with some heavier riffs palm muting and same issue. I tried changing the tuners too but, surprisingly it only helped but, didn’t outright fix the problem. I ended up selling it for very very cheap because I couldn’t remedy the problems. On top of that I worked at a custom shop for 5 years and I regularly buy and trade guitars online to fix them up..
Out of box is always going to be a crap shoot. ALWAYS put on new good quality strings FIRST! Factory strings at this level are trash to be immediately disgarded. Adjust the truss rod, adjust the action ,stretch the strings, set the intonation , play it for about an hour before filming, let the instrument adjust to the room temperature and humidity level...THEN demo it! Add the caveat to new players that you should always have a guitar set up first before playing. If they can't do it themselves yet they should take it to a shop and maybe also watch some basic how to tutorials for future DIY know how. The tuners are crap but knowing how to properly wind new strings can offset slippage on even the cheapest of tuners. I own the 2017 version of this exact guitar, done zero mods to it and its fine. It'll never be a real deal SG but it's good for a backup or a knock around home/demo guitar .
I think you are a little bit biased. We have purchased several Epiphone guitars and we had one tuner that "out of the box " would not hold tune. However after tightening it up it was fine.
I'm not digging out Epiphone Leo ...IV playd Epiphones that were better than some Gibson's.what I was saying bruv your not going to get a lot for ,£180.00. . And sqwires I'm sorry IV never played a good 1
@@brandonirving5014 it was just called a castle, it was a big house that burnt down and not rebuild , it has nothing to do with.page or Crowley anymore
@@bsideguitar yeah i guess so but i definitely want to start a collection of electric guitars as this is my first one. also keep doing what youre doing
It doesn't matter WHAT the cost of the guitar is. Bad QC and corner-cutting happens. Actual Gibsons (like the ones behind you), Fenders, PRSes, etc., have arrived with sharp fret ends, high frets, etc.Yes, Epiphone does skimp on the tuners on their sub-$200 models. But, even with all of that. One can still make a sub-$200 guitar play well and work well. Pay a tech to look it over and do a proper set-up/upgrades on it - if you don't know how. I'd put ANY of my Epiphones up against ANY Gibsons (no matter the price) any day of the week - and have done so. And this is coming from a vintage Gibson owner.
@@tavia.a.m There are so many great alternatives. Some of my favorite guitars in my collection are the ones that cost me less than $200. Guitars by Jackson, Ibanez, Firefly, Indio, SX (from Rondo Music), etc. are all really decent and under $200! With a decent set-up, they're more than ready to rock! I love my Samick 'Greg Bennett' Torino TR1 (SG Copy) that I bought for $50 used and upgraded with a $20 pickup in the bridge.
@@Axess-sv8nq Agree iv'e got an Ibanez also , paid $200 and i love it , plays great. Also have a Jackson Rhoads Js32T for under $300 & a ESP that i paid $200 for. The one i paid the most for is my Schecter Demon 6 and that's a metal beast , but your'e right if you take it to an expert and have it set up correctly or diy like i did you can make it sound pretty damn good. Especially nowadays , i think because there is so much competition a lot of these companies are making descent guitars at affordable prices!
@@mikeg.9238 haha! Affordable prices are fine by me! I was lucky enough to get a Firefly 335 copy which I love! Didn't have to do anything to it other than change the strings and do my usual set-up! I have one of their Les Paul Customs on the way next week as well. Looking forward to having a Custom to round out my stable of Les Pauls (my favorite guitar type)! I have a nice Ibanez GSA60 that I got off of Offer Up for $75. I put a Guitar Madness high output (17k) humbucker in the bridge and it's an 80's Rock/Metal monster!
@@Axess-sv8nq Sweet! Yeah same thing with my Schecter , didn't have to do anything to it , l love the way it sounds , I'm partial to the thin C neck style , my fingers are all screwed up from arthritis and breaking them when I was a teen , so helps with a thinner neck. My Ibanez is just a GRX70 , but hey for 2 bills it plays fine for me. I just jam around my house so I'm not spending a grand on a guitar. I'm in my 50's and hear enough crap from the wife already about having to many guitars , I told her no such thing as to many , haha! Have a good one brother , keep rocking out✌🤘
A friend of mine paid £350.00 for sg Epiphone with tremolo system on it . And it plays as nice as nice as my sg Gibson. Sometimes it's just luck of the draw...james
Thanks for the in-depth and honest review! I agree 100% with all you said about it. I bought this model (new) directly from Epiphone in 2022 for $139. I thought that this is a good guitar to keep and try to make better. I replaced the stock pickups with Seymour Duncan JB Model Trembucker (bridge) for $99, Seymour Duncan JB Model (neck) for $99, upgraded the stock tuners to Grover 102-18C Rotomatic 18:1, Chrome, for $78. So it's now an awesome sounding and looking - and still affordable SG - for a grand total of around $415. It's now one of my favorite guitars to practice with and play in public. And it's lightweight, which my old shoulders appreciate (6.8 lbs).
Mine was gr8 right out of the box. Stays in tune, frets are rounded at the ends, low action and the ceramic pickups exceeded my expectations, especially through my interface and daw. This is perfect for road work or studio and is easily modified if that's your thing. Got mine from guitar center cheap...
I refinished mine, changed pickups and tuners added coil split toggles. Blue metal flame glitter paint. Honestly love it. Got cheap tuners and Chinese pickups and it sounds great, 👌
I’ve got one in each color and both needed a good setup but once I gave them some TLC they were unreal. For the money hard to beat. For this price your expectations need to be readjusted.
I'd say the guitar is fine, out of the box especially at this price and quality it won't be perfect and maybe not even ideal but with a bit of love and effort and some new strings I'd say this makes a great guitar for anyone who likes it
As someone who works as a tech/repair/setup guy I can tell you without question tuners have very little to do with the tuning stability on most guitars even budget guitars. Unless you can see the tuners themselves slipping the more likely culprit is binding in the nut slots and/or cheap factory strings. While I agree the less expensive tuners aren't the best if the guitar is setup properly and the nut slots are cut right then they should function just fine. All this guitar needs is new strings (Properly stretched out) and a good setup.
I would totally disagree with that, the epiphone sg speical is the only guitar i have that has problems with the tuners. I have cheap encores, a fender squire, Yamaha accoustic guitar, a Yahamaha C40 classical and all of them have great tuners. This guitar has the worse ones I have ever seen and for the price its a disgrace, also the finish on the fret boards with metal sticking out is a disgrace. The satin finish is not very robust and and it rubbed off while playing. No i do not wear a watch or any jewelery like rings or braclets. Its just a poor finish, with about 3 coats put on the guitar with one coat of satin selant. I had to varnish the guitar to make it playable and robust. Then add to neck dive issue and it was nightmere to play with well at first. I am getting used to it. I bought a very good strap for for it and that helps some what but boy does it want to dive. Like I said in my first post this guitar is mainly for standing. Maybe i got a dud and should of sent it back but i liked the look and sound it. The problem for me is i do not play new guitars straight away. I tend to let them sit in the bag for a few months and then switch. That was a big mistake.
I would take one of these as a project guitar. For sub $200 ,you can't really expect $2000 quality, but I think that you can get a lot of enjoyment just doing mods to make it better as long as you don't mind spending money that you won't get back. Just consider it a keeper and don't look back!
Yep you won't get that mod money back if you sell it. I pawned mine with about 300 bucks in upgrades and the pawnshop screwed me said the mods didn't increase any value. I pawned it cheap and lost it. I planned on getting it back but things happened and I lost it
I bought a used Special, no complaints. I’ve owned US Strats and Tele’s and a very nice Jackson, the Epi SG Special holds its own. Tuning with the stock machine heads is a a little dodgy but I’m considering upgrading them. Pickups have great tones thru a Marshall 1/2 stack, worth the $$ all day long. I’d recommend getting one.
I had the Epiphone SL. It stayed in tune. I think a lot of the tuning issues is that you have to change out the strings to new strings, ensure the nut slots are good and also lube it and also do a setup. It's not going to sound in tune if you don't intonate it. It is a lightning bar wraparound bridge so maybe not every string is going to be as intimated as others.
I think it’s the strings man, new strings always need about a day to stay in tune. I’ve had this guitar for years. Was a beginner for me, never been an issue
I agree tuners are s___. Having said that, to my knowledge this is the only sub $200 SG style guitar that comes with both a mahogany body & neck as well as a bolt on neck. I prefer bolt on due to the entire SG’s range history of neck breaks at the heel. As a project guitar, replace tuners/pickups/electronics and you’ve got a fairly dependable relatively inexpensive SG.
On the original indonesia runs I believe. Specs on my '23 SG special , China now , say hard Maple neck and mahogany body and I don't think that's updated because I'm seeing the bodies are poplar. Now. Kramer baretta specials did same thing went from Indonesia to China . Vintage cream white and rosewood fretboard original runs then they cheaped it up and went regular white and granadillo fretboard
As of todays date 2-23-23 i order it at guitar center for total of $153 including shipping and they will ship it by 3-9-23...buy now b4 it will be out of stock again on that blue color
I have only a 10 inch practice amp so i dont get the best tonality out of mine, Especially on the low E string. When i plug in to a good amp though, its like night and day. It sounds amazing.
I had one. It was cherry red. I lowered the action, changed the nut to a Tusq, I changed the pickups to DiMarzio D-Activator X. I changed the tuning machines to Hipshot locking tuners, I added copper shielding to the cavity. I added 3 toggle switches to do coil splits and phase reverse. I spent about 300 bucks on upgrades. This guitar was just as good as really expensive guitars. I lost it to a pawnshop. It sounded great and played great. You don't have to spend a lot on a guitar to have a great one
For some reason, I like the fact that these have both mahogany bodies and necks. So I have no problem spending the $40. for a set of tuners. Also am buying a ‘graph-tech’ nut, and some coated D’Addario strings. Since I bought it all with a 15% discount, it all cost less than $210.** . I have the guitar and everything, but have to wait a few days, before working on it. The guitar neck is straight, and level. Everything else about the guitar seems solid and well built. Except the strings are a bit high. So why not, right? Where else can a mahogany /body neck be found new for this price. Most others in this price range are basswood, and/or poplar, which are not in the class of hardwoods, like mahogany. I’ll get back to you, after the strings, nut, tuners are installed.
Our local shop has a tech that sets it up and puts a tag on it saying it’s been checked. So for 179 bucks your getting a pretty good deal. Not for me personally but when I saw all these for so cheap I was like I wonder what those sound like.
Mad Mike...It sounds pretty decent for the price , got it for Christmas and just changed the strings and tuned it. Unfortunately where I live their are no guitar shops , the closest is 35mins away. So I pretty much figured it out on my own from watching dozens of how to vids on UA-cam...
I actually just bought the cherry red on sale for $140. Looking to replace my “project” guitar. For the price point you get mahogany and not basswood. Which is nice. But always remember at cheaper prices you may need to do some work. Tuners and humbuckers will be replaced when I get it. My only concern is the tail piece. For $140 you can’t go wrong. Especially if you plan to do some work. 🤘
Not sure what year that one is, but its worth noting that the current SG Specials that I have seen have a set neck, and that one has a bolt on neck. Also not sure if yours is just a lemon, or if they cleaned up their act when they started using the set neck, but the SG specials hanging on the wall of my local guitar shop all seem like pretty decent guitars.
Just letting you know from my experiences. They use cheap strings on cheap guitars, and I doubt they stretch them at all. You should always put on a proper set of strings before or during the demo. I doubt the tuners are the problem.
I bought one in ebony and it's beautiful! It stays in tune very well with the D'Addario strings on it. I did buy from a place that did check set up and intonation before it went out the door. Very good recommendation. I'm totally happy with my guitar. YMMV I guess. I have found that GC is very dependent on the quality of each store's personnel. Our local store actually has musicians who care about the quality of their work and merchandise. Not the case with every store.
Before you change the tuners, try installing brand name strings and lube the nut slots while you're changing them. Safe to assume the Asian factories are installing bulk purchased cheapie strings, so for 7 or 8 dollars, go get some good ones. I own this guitar and the Les Paul special as well and that's all they needed. These are inexpensive, lightweight guitars that play and sound decent, and both have served me well.
I've had mine for over 2 years and it still slips out of tune constantly. I love the look of the SG so I won't give up on it just yet. I think the issues are 1. Tuners 2. The nut needs work and 3. I need smaller strings.... I like heavier strings, but I think I may have to suck it up and get something smaller. If that doesn't work, I'll try the coffee table suggestion...
Its not the tuners. All Epiphones need the nut worked over. They don’t come from the factory with any back filing done at all and need the string peg facing side of nut opened up a little in a vee shape especially for the g.
Just ordered one of these for my nephew who is interested in learning. It was on sale for $149. I believe Gibson style guitars are better for beginners because of the shorter scale neck. When I get it I'm going to throw a set of faux Grover locking tuners on it that I have laying around. I'll do a quick setup on it and it should be fine.
I'm not sure why, after the high e came off due to poor wrapping, that you actually think it's the tuners and not the stringing that's the problem. It's been pretty well shown that there is almost no way for the string tension to actually make the tuning peg turn. Would have really liked to have seen you restring it, let it sit for few days and THEN dig in. Sometimes the simplest answer is the best.
My friend had one of these and to me it seemed like a decent buy, but now that I’ve seen your review I’m just going to assume he was bsing me on the whole thing. Dude was annoyed for my love of Ibanez and was wondering why I didn’t buy a Fender Jazz Bazz instead of an Ibanez GSR250. At this point me and the vocalist within our band just assumed he got his ego checked by me because the vocalist knew I was a better bassist than him and he felt some type of way towards me. Funny enough Ibanez is leading the future with some of the best guitar innovation, as where I’ve yet to hear anything from Epiphone. I also bought an Epiphone Special 2 from the same guy and honestly I’d rather own a Schecter, Jackson, or Ibanez. Hell! Kiesal is doing a lot with their guitars and a custom made guitar will always beat out 90% of other guitars.
I play Jackson & Ibanez but I just slapped some strings on one that was in my drummers garage I replaced the toggle switch it was smashed through some new strings on it set up the internation & in awe as how good it sounds & plays. I stretch my strings out a bit b4 dig in & I can say it's worth it all day.. HOPE you gave it a shot cause the one I'm jamming took me a couple hours to fix it but like I said. Also any guitar I buy,, I take home & set it to my personal liking😎😎😎
Rule of thumb on these bolt-on Epis: If it's made in Indonesia, buy it. If it's made in China, forget it. I have an Indonesian one and it's one of my favorites.
I have the SG jr special in faded black. I agree the tuners were garbage. polished the frets and they were really good no sharp ends. Over all I like it. Cheap used in good condition. Tuners $45 Wilkinson black open back 19:1 Replaced the wrap around with a Wilkinson adjustable one $23 And a new set of daddario ny strings $10 Plays fantastic. Stays in tune,It’s light, that beardcomber screams.. All that with shipping $260 They are great for modding. I play it daily.
@@phillipholt6005 I've got some expensive guitars but I'm enjoying the squier - cheap as hell and pretty much a telecaster - I had one years ago and it was pretty crap, they've improved massively and are now even cheaper
The Squier Bullet tele i bend the life out of and all it does is sing back to me staying in tune. 119 bucks. Insanity! Hahaha. Squier is No joke!! Mod it or as is. I played on mine again yesterday. The bridge pup I bring back tone to 7ish. Nails that sweet tele bridge tone 😍....To each his or her own. Review here was awesome. Ive never tried the epi guitars. Ill try one day.
yeah i dont know why they called that rosewood... to me it looks more like pao ferro. AND pao ferro is lovely!!!! Rickenbacker only uses pao ferro necks.
My epiphone special is pretty great! The only problem is they didn't properly lube the nut for the b string so sometimes it goes out of tune. Other than that I set it up and it sounds amazing
The tuners have nothing to do with it...its a myth...tuning stability is about proper nut setup and taking ALL tension out of the strings. if you did not stretch them for 15 mins or so, I promise you didnt get it all out. As far as tone...you left the stickers on the pick-ups?
I just bought one and used coupon code Welcome to get $17.50 off. If it's defective then I'll return until I get a good one. Then I'll upgrade the pups, add chrome covers and use vintage electronics I have already. Always check out the site honey or use the add on. I save money on every site. My first sg, I'm excited and I can do all the work and fix any fret problems. If the tuners are bad, I'll get grovers. I'll break it in for a while before I make any changes but I think I'll want different pickups
tuners have nothing to do with going out of tune. Worm gears cannot be pulled backwards - it's mechanically impossible unless they are broken. Tuners never make guitars go out of tune. Strings never stretch either - they cannot be stretched elastically and achieve pitche - meaning if they were *stretched*, they will always break. The tugging is absolutely essentially but it removes the slack from the windings. Tuning instability almost always comes from loose (incorrectly) installed strings on the posts and from poorly cut nut slots.
The main issue with this guitar is its turners and neck dive. Yep, it neck dives, and the wood on the body is soft so it is prone to getting dents and chipping esp. at the bottom. The sound is good, the sides of the neck are rough and not smooth. Cheaper guitars like the encore have a better finish, tuners not so good, even the encore is better. The pick-ups are great and produce great sound and it has great action on them. The guitar is neck-heavy and you can end up fighting it, weight can put strain on your hands esp. your left thumb. I think is mainly due to the fact is not very good playing sitting down. The guitar likes to sit in the strap while standing up. To add; the finish on the body wears a way fast esp. when you are strumming (mine was a satin finish). No my clothes do not have sharp objects. To stop this I had to varnish the body of the guitar. To help with neck dive i bought a good leather strap, it helps a little but this guitar is hell play sitting down. Also, the finish on the fretboard is a mess, just run your hand down the side of the neck on both sides, they have the metal of the frets sticking out, very poor for the price. Also the tuners are rubbish, they do not very accurate and do not tune very well, but once turned for a session they do stay in tune. The problem is they are not very responsive and tuning can be a bit of a pain. I have cheaper guitars like an encore they are superior than than this guitar except for sound. Like I said the sound is extremely good way better than the encore budget guitars. So would i buy this guitar again, NO WAY.
I believe they only do the inspections on guitars over $500 ish??? (I may be wrong on that though) Let me know how it comes, I’m interested to see if they opened the factory triangle box and checked it out.
I hope people don’t waste more than the 38 seconds I wasted watching this. Man you bought a guitar for less than 200 bucks and you’re crying about things that only display your ignorance of guitars. Those guitars are worth every penny of what they cost. In fact over my 35 years of not only performing but also through my 25 years of guitar tech work, I can safely state the fact that Epiphone is the number one guitar manufacturer of all I’ve dealt with. Think not?? I won’t go into details because it would be Greek as far as your concerned. But the point is, you’re complaining about a beginner guitar that with proper setup, could probably be gigged by most any decent guitarist. People are so hung up on the $$$$$$&$ and the N A M E without having a clue as to what makes a guitar “good” or “bad”. The guitars of our day and age are far better built than ever before despite the constant “vintage” crowds idea. And the companies which built some of the best guitars in the past, which in turn created their ability to charge four times what their products are worth, build some of the worst garbage of today. While simultaneously, some of the companies which are looked down upon by the guitar snob crowds who generally couldn’t play their way out of a wet paper sack, are building the best gear ever. Just tired of hearing people spew nonsensical rhetoric about music equipment. But it’s a free country, or at least used to be. So I’ll keep my opinion and you keep spouting off yours. Have a nice day
You're being kinda harsh I have one and I put strings on it and set it up, the tuners aren't great but seems to get better the more you use it, I bought planning to upgrade a few things and make it my own like a lot of players do, maybe you should give it a chance, some people don't want a strat
I've heard the neck is not rosewood nor is the body mahogany, but rather basswood. You can tell by the weight. I've read that is the SG Standard. Just my 2cents.
At least you are trying to tune it . Most you tubers dont bother. It's really a shame when poeple post demos of their 7000 dollar Gibson R9 les Paul's and its horribly out of tune.
I think so too that the strings were not stretched or you got a bad batch because I paid $200 for mine brand new and although 3 tuners have some play that are all holding tune very well. IT's actually a great guitar, made in Indonesia, frets and fretboard are excellent and they definitely spend extra time getting it set up right. The biggest weak spot were the strings no questions.
If someone said there was a solid bodied guitar with a mahogany body & neck & rosewood fretboard brand new for $179 I wouldn’t believe him, they use poplar for their satin finished SG’s for what that’s worth. Over the last couple of years people have been fawning over Epiphone models is this the inspired by Gibson series?
First of all I bought one and let me say even on sale for $125 it was a waste of money (sorry to anyone who owns one I am not trying to put you down). I have played guitar for 18 years, I worked at a custom shop for 5 and I have modded countless guitars but, this one was truly unfixable. I would strongly recommend a squier telecaster in this same range over this any day..
Update, the neck on the SG Special I was unstable and I verified that by adjusting the neck relief and measuring the height with feeler gauges. The neck goes in and out of bow depending on the humidity and the temperature… the tuners probably do not help but, I do not think they are that bad. I bought an Epiphone Special VE in black satin a couple months ago (don’t ask me why after the bad experience 😂) and it has the exact same cheapo tuners AND one was improperly installed (was crooked) but, this guitar holds tune fine after some TLC to the nut. I think at this price point it really is just hit or miss…
Taylor...Go with an Ibanez GRX70 , Jackson dinky JS11 , 22 ,32 or ESP MH-10 or F-10 if you're on a budget. They're all decent out of the box with minimal setup , also easy to learn on especially Ibanez , in my experience they stay in tune forever. Just some advice✌🤘
Hey man if you really like the design of the SG then I say this is the perfect beginners guitar. It’s such a good price and such an amazing guitar for me. I ordered this same SG from guitar center and I don’t have any of the issues that this guy has in the video. Highly recommend it.
He says it all at 1:34 mark...Under $200, what do you think your going to get.? You get so much more bang for the buck with the inspired by Gibson Epiphones at $349-$449 range.
Hi @Bside Talks Guitar. I almost bought this, but made at quick check here om youtube first. I really love the SG style, but you are not the only one who said it's not worth the money. What would you advice me to buy? I'm pretty new and it's going to be my first electric.
I ordered this a couple weeks ago, it’s on back order right now. After seeing this video I’m kinda regretting my purchase already. :/ I’m a beginner, never played a guitar before. Sad to see the tuners suck.
@@ichal8554 so I got the guitar a couple days ago. Been loving it ever since. I can’t really notice any of the issues he brings up about the guitar. I’m happy with my purchase overall.
I have this guitar as my first electric and I was wondering is it worth upgrading it or should I buy a second sg that’s a little more on the expensive side. I feel like I’m ready to upgrade but I also want to experience working on a guitar.
In my opinion any guitar under $300 is not worth it unless you plan to replace place parts on it. I got a $150 ibanez gio and its garbage, but i later bought an epiphone g400 sg pro for $420 and its amazing only issue is the g string tuning peg, other than that i have no issues
But the thing is that you can buy a 180 guitar and turn it into a 1,000 dollar guitar i did to my Ibanez GIO changed you just have to customize it to the way you want just have to know how to. I was so close to buying this guitar the other day at guitar center because I was like i can get this cheep and make it better but I was like na. If it was in black i definitely would of got it but blue's not my color. The thing that you can do to this guitar. New string's new pick-ups new volume and tone switch's new bridge and new tuning nobs. You have a better guitar already.
Dude how do you get out of tune so often and quickly? My Epi LP Special TV Yellow has stayed in tune for years now. For under $200. Maybe I don't understand the issue?
Damn bro you just rained on my Christmas parade , i just bought this because i ordered a jackson js11 to use as a beater. But it came damaged with a big ding in it , so i sent it back and ordered this for a few more bucks. Based on reviews and wanted some darker tones , more of a doomy Sabbath sound , now i'm bummed! But i appreciate the honest review , maybe i'll change the tuners and hope for the best...
This guitar is actually pretty damn good for the price after some setup, I’ve been using it for about a year. Just don’t expect to be able to down tune too much with this one
@@gothmoneycarti8394 Yeah I changed the strings to Ernie 10's and the action was set up pretty low , the way I like and played it with no problems. Also very minimal fret buzz once I changed the strings and tuned it. One of the reasons I bought this was for a darker Sabbath tone , but if it doesn't down tune that well I'll use my Schecter or ESP for that then...🤘✌ P.S. after playing this for a few days , the tuners suck and a lot of fret buzz , reset the intonation on a couple strings but only helped a little. Compared to my Ibanez which stays in tune forever , I'm kinda disappointed with this epi😒
Bought one for my son, immediately switched strings to ernie ball slinky 10's let it sit a day to stretch out. Never had a problem since and my son loves it,plays everyday and stays in tune. Perfect starter guitar for him.
They go out of tune at first then settle. You’ve just opened it
My tuners suck , had it for almost 2 months now. They go out of tune immediately!
yeah, i see guys bag on epiphone and mim fenders for that all the time. These guys must buy mostly from guitar center or something because good dealers put new strings on it. And I bet they dont understand the "breaking in" part to new strings
@@Kylegatzke1997 Nope! Trust me the tuners are horrible and i know how to break in the new strings , once i changed them and adjusted the truss rod it was like playing a different guitar. Tuners made a huge difference.
@@mikeg.9238 I believe you... epiphone was a respectable company until gibson got ahold of it. I can see them putting bad tuners to make you want to "play authentic". like give me a break gibson. and dont get me started on their video where they ran over their guitars with a construction vehicle. All the wasted wood... may god not have mercy on them for that. But I am curious.. What kind of tuners did you slap on it?
@@Kylegatzke1997 A generic brand called Musicaly pro 3+3 semi closed tuners. Found them on Amazon and had excellent reviews , paid under $20. But had to search for the exact one's with screws the are in the corners not the center. I can't believe the difference , they are better than some of the tuners on my more expensive guitars. Like I said before , I don't want to dump all kinds of cash into a guitar that cost $230. Definitely the QC sucks on these epi's at this price point , can't speak on the more expensive one's. I guess you get what you pay for , but I've bought other guitars in that range including an Ibanez and a Jackson that were perfect out of the box with tuners that hold up fine , especially the Ibanez. That thing stays in tune forever , it's one of my favorite guitars to play...
I own that guitar and it’s fantastic, no troubles staying in tune, no problems at all
Correct me if I’m wrong but it seems as those strings were never stretched. Like if they are brand new and were tuned once and never got a stretch. Where as every time u tune it will keep getting out of tune until fully prepped. I usually spend 5 minutes tugging the strings and that way the guitar stays in tune :)
Exactly right. I don't think preferences like not opening it for me translate into a poor instrument. Also time and user experience play a big role. Thanks for your comments.
I would agree on the new strings he should of let the strech and he came to do the review with his mind made up.
@@Mulberry2000 I agree. This is a great instrument and although GIBSON DOES IN FACT have tuning issues(I have a Les Paul 60's reissue and an SG maestro reissue) I'm not entirely sure Epiphone suffers from the same side effects. To be fair the les paul i have never had tuning issues. It was mainly the sg lol also that being said, it is STILL my preferred axe of choice.
Umm if you all haven’t owned one of these then let me say the tuning stability is also just THAT BAD.. I agree stretching strings should happen but, I had the exact same issue with this guitar and it all came down to the tuners. I could bend nothing too exaggerated and boom out of tune. I could dig in with some heavier riffs palm muting and same issue. I tried changing the tuners too but, surprisingly it only helped but, didn’t outright fix the problem. I ended up selling it for very very cheap because I couldn’t remedy the problems. On top of that I worked at a custom shop for 5 years and I regularly buy and trade guitars online to fix them up..
Out of box is always going to be a crap shoot. ALWAYS put on new good quality strings FIRST! Factory strings at this level are trash to be immediately disgarded. Adjust the truss rod, adjust the action ,stretch the strings, set the intonation , play it for about an hour before filming, let the instrument adjust to the room temperature and humidity level...THEN demo it! Add the caveat to new players that you should always have a guitar set up first before playing. If they can't do it themselves yet they should take it to a shop and maybe also watch some basic how to tutorials for future DIY know how. The tuners are crap but knowing how to properly wind new strings can offset slippage on even the cheapest of tuners. I own the 2017 version of this exact guitar, done zero mods to it and its fine. It'll never be a real deal SG but it's good for a backup or a knock around home/demo guitar .
I’m fine with using it out of the box I couldn’t replace or change anything without breaking it lol
Epiphone claims they install D'Addario strings on all their guitars. I haven't had any issues with the ones on my SG.
I think you are a little bit biased. We have purchased several Epiphone guitars and we had one tuner that "out of the box " would not hold tune. However after tightening it up it was fine.
I'm not digging out Epiphone Leo ...IV playd Epiphones that were better than some Gibson's.what I was saying bruv your not going to get a lot for ,£180.00. . And sqwires I'm sorry IV never played a good 1
It's wood and metal at the end of the day, figure out how to take them apart and out them back together and whatnot and you're good to go!
@@brandonirving5014 it was just called a castle, it was a big house that burnt down and not rebuild , it has nothing to do with.page or Crowley anymore
@@brandonirving5014 think got me wyres crossed here somehow.. Brandon.. not sure if we're talking bout guitar. Or boleskin house Jimi page
I've owned about four Epiphones over the years and never had problems with any of them.
Same just I’ve only owned 3 over about 15 years if you count the one that arrived damaged then I’ve had 4 but that’s not the manufactures fault
i have one of these and mine works extremely well not gonna lie
You got one of the few good ones.. HA!
@@bsideguitar yeah i guess so but i definitely want to start a collection of electric guitars as this is my first one. also keep doing what youre doing
@@yesitsgamingtime did you remove the tape on the pickups? Because i still have the tape on the pickups because i dont wanna damage it
@@Chipymichupy remove the tape it won’t hurt it
I have 2 different Specials, the tuners just need tightened with screws on back of headstock, stay in tune just fine
It doesn't matter WHAT the cost of the guitar is. Bad QC and corner-cutting happens. Actual Gibsons (like the ones behind you), Fenders, PRSes, etc., have arrived with sharp fret ends, high frets, etc.Yes, Epiphone does skimp on the tuners on their sub-$200 models. But, even with all of that. One can still make a sub-$200 guitar play well and work well. Pay a tech to look it over and do a proper set-up/upgrades on it - if you don't know how. I'd put ANY of my Epiphones up against ANY Gibsons (no matter the price) any day of the week - and have done so. And this is coming from a vintage Gibson owner.
Honestly thank you for posting this because I'm looking for a guitar but not ready to purchase a Les Paul yet
@@tavia.a.m There are so many great alternatives. Some of my favorite guitars in my collection are the ones that cost me less than $200. Guitars by Jackson, Ibanez, Firefly, Indio, SX (from Rondo Music), etc. are all really decent and under $200! With a decent set-up, they're more than ready to rock! I love my Samick 'Greg Bennett' Torino TR1 (SG Copy) that I bought for $50 used and upgraded with a $20 pickup in the bridge.
@@Axess-sv8nq Agree iv'e got an Ibanez also , paid $200 and i love it , plays great. Also have a Jackson Rhoads Js32T for under $300 & a ESP that i paid $200 for. The one i paid the most for is my Schecter Demon 6 and that's a metal beast , but your'e right if you take it to an expert and have it set up correctly or diy like i did you can make it sound pretty damn good. Especially nowadays , i think because there is so much competition a lot of these companies are making descent guitars at affordable prices!
@@mikeg.9238 haha! Affordable prices are fine by me! I was lucky enough to get a Firefly 335 copy which I love! Didn't have to do anything to it other than change the strings and do my usual set-up! I have one of their Les Paul Customs on the way next week as well. Looking forward to having a Custom to round out my stable of Les Pauls (my favorite guitar type)! I have a nice Ibanez GSA60 that I got off of Offer Up for $75. I put a Guitar Madness high output (17k) humbucker in the bridge and it's an 80's Rock/Metal monster!
@@Axess-sv8nq Sweet! Yeah same thing with my Schecter , didn't have to do anything to it , l love the way it sounds , I'm partial to the thin C neck style , my fingers are all screwed up from arthritis and breaking them when I was a teen , so helps with a thinner neck. My Ibanez is just a GRX70 , but hey for 2 bills it plays fine for me. I just jam around my house so I'm not spending a grand on a guitar. I'm in my 50's and hear enough crap from the wife already about having to many guitars , I told her no such thing as to many , haha! Have a good one brother , keep rocking out✌🤘
Mine is a 2017 sg special. I have not had any issues with it whatsoever. I got mine from Musicians Friend and it still plays great today.
Me neither was surprised he shit on it so much. I never get out of tune with it , plays really nice good weight I really like it
A friend of mine paid £350.00 for sg Epiphone with tremolo system on it . And it plays as nice as nice as my sg Gibson. Sometimes it's just luck of the draw...james
Thanks for the in-depth and honest review! I agree 100% with all you said about it. I bought this model (new) directly from Epiphone in 2022 for $139. I thought that this is a good guitar to keep and try to make better. I replaced the stock pickups with Seymour Duncan JB Model Trembucker (bridge) for $99, Seymour Duncan JB Model (neck) for $99, upgraded the stock tuners to Grover 102-18C Rotomatic 18:1, Chrome, for $78. So it's now an awesome sounding and looking - and still affordable SG - for a grand total of around $415. It's now one of my favorite guitars to practice with and play in public. And it's lightweight, which my old shoulders appreciate (6.8 lbs).
Mine was gr8 right out of the box. Stays in tune, frets are rounded at the ends, low action and the ceramic pickups exceeded my expectations, especially through my interface and daw. This is perfect for road work or studio and is easily modified if that's your thing. Got mine from guitar center cheap...
Mine was terrrible, no rounded frets poor tuners, good low action and pickups. The body of the guitar is rubbish.
I refinished mine, changed pickups and tuners added coil split toggles. Blue metal flame glitter paint. Honestly love it. Got cheap tuners and Chinese pickups and it sounds great, 👌
Yeah i varnished mine. I had to.
I’ve got one in each color and both needed a good setup but once I gave them some TLC they were unreal. For the money hard to beat. For this price your expectations need to be readjusted.
I'd say the guitar is fine, out of the box especially at this price and quality it won't be perfect and maybe not even ideal but with a bit of love and effort and some new strings I'd say this makes a great guitar for anyone who likes it
I have one of those, bo't 2nd hand. I really like it. No gigging, cheap modelling amp(s). No complaints. It's Epihone, it's good!
As someone who works as a tech/repair/setup guy I can tell you without question tuners have very little to do with the tuning stability on most guitars even budget guitars. Unless you can see the tuners themselves slipping the more likely culprit is binding in the nut slots and/or cheap factory strings. While I agree the less expensive tuners aren't the best if the guitar is setup properly and the nut slots are cut right then they should function just fine. All this guitar needs is new strings (Properly stretched out) and a good setup.
I would totally disagree with that, the epiphone sg speical is the only guitar i have that has problems with the tuners. I have cheap encores, a fender squire, Yamaha accoustic guitar, a Yahamaha C40 classical and all of them have great tuners. This guitar has the worse ones I have ever seen and for the price its a disgrace, also the finish on the fret boards with metal sticking out is a disgrace. The satin finish is not very robust and and it rubbed off while playing. No i do not wear a watch or any jewelery like rings or braclets. Its just a poor finish, with about 3 coats put on the guitar with one coat of satin selant. I had to varnish the guitar to make it playable and robust. Then add to neck dive issue and it was nightmere to play with well at first. I am getting used to it. I bought a very good strap for for it and that helps some what but boy does it want to dive. Like I said in my first post this guitar is mainly for standing. Maybe i got a dud and should of sent it back but i liked the look and sound it. The problem for me is i do not play new guitars straight away. I tend to let them sit in the bag for a few months and then switch. That was a big mistake.
I would take one of these as a project guitar. For sub $200 ,you can't really expect $2000 quality, but I think that you can get a lot of enjoyment just doing mods to make it better as long as you don't mind spending money that you won't get back. Just consider it a keeper and don't look back!
Yep you won't get that mod money back if you sell it.
I pawned mine with about 300 bucks in upgrades and the pawnshop screwed me said the mods didn't increase any value. I pawned it cheap and lost it. I planned on getting it back but things happened and I lost it
I bought a used Special, no complaints. I’ve owned US Strats and Tele’s and a very nice Jackson, the Epi SG Special holds its own. Tuning with the stock machine heads is a a little dodgy but I’m considering upgrading them. Pickups have great tones thru a Marshall 1/2 stack, worth the $$ all day long. I’d recommend getting one.
I’ve had mine for 3 years no problems stays in tone
Change the nut as well - or at least lubricate it. That will help the tuning stability no end.
Good tip there. I will say, even though I didn’t talk about it on the video, the nut on this one was rough.
my red S1 settled in in a day or so. Strings are the answer. No tuning issues left
I had the Epiphone SL. It stayed in tune. I think a lot of the tuning issues is that you have to change out the strings to new strings, ensure the nut slots are good and also lube it and also do a setup. It's not going to sound in tune if you don't intonate it. It is a lightning bar wraparound bridge so maybe not every string is going to be as intimated as others.
It's worth it ! Mod. Pick ups.
Locking tuners. All you need !!! 🤘😎
I think it’s the strings man, new strings always need about a day to stay in tune. I’ve had this guitar for years. Was a beginner for me, never been an issue
I agree tuners are s___. Having said that, to my knowledge this is the only sub $200 SG style guitar that comes with both a mahogany body & neck as well as a bolt on neck. I prefer bolt on due to the entire SG’s range history of neck breaks at the heel. As a project guitar, replace tuners/pickups/electronics and you’ve got a fairly dependable relatively inexpensive SG.
On the original indonesia runs I believe. Specs on my '23 SG special , China now , say hard Maple neck and mahogany body and I don't think that's updated because I'm seeing the bodies are poplar. Now. Kramer baretta specials did same thing went from Indonesia to China . Vintage cream white and rosewood fretboard original runs then they cheaped it up and went regular white and granadillo fretboard
As of todays date 2-23-23 i order it at guitar center for total of $153 including shipping and they will ship it by 3-9-23...buy now b4 it will be out of stock again on that blue color
I have only a 10 inch practice amp so i dont get the best tonality out of mine, Especially on the low E string. When i plug in to a good amp though, its like night and day. It sounds amazing.
I had one. It was cherry red. I lowered the action, changed the nut to a Tusq, I changed the pickups to DiMarzio D-Activator X. I changed the tuning machines to Hipshot locking tuners, I added copper shielding to the cavity. I added 3 toggle switches to do coil splits and phase reverse. I spent about 300 bucks on upgrades.
This guitar was just as good as really expensive guitars. I lost it to a pawnshop. It sounded great and played great. You don't have to spend a lot on a guitar to have a great one
For some reason, I like the fact that these have both mahogany bodies and necks. So I have no problem spending the $40. for a set of tuners. Also am buying a ‘graph-tech’ nut, and some coated D’Addario strings. Since I bought it all with a 15% discount, it all cost less than $210.** . I have the guitar and everything, but have to wait a few days, before working on it. The guitar neck is straight, and level. Everything else about the guitar seems solid and well built. Except the strings are a bit high. So why not, right? Where else can a mahogany /body neck be found new for this price. Most others in this price range are basswood, and/or poplar, which are not in the class of hardwoods, like mahogany. I’ll get back to you, after the strings, nut, tuners are installed.
Very cool. Can’t wait to hear how it all goes. Which tubers did you pick up?
Just pulled the trigger on one of these. They're on sale for $139 at guitar center.
Our local shop has a tech that sets it up and puts a tag on it saying it’s been checked. So for 179 bucks your getting a pretty good deal. Not for me personally but when I saw all these for so cheap I was like I wonder what those sound like.
Mad Mike...It sounds pretty decent for the price , got it for Christmas and just changed the strings and tuned it. Unfortunately where I live their are no guitar shops , the closest is 35mins away. So I pretty much figured it out on my own from watching dozens of how to vids on UA-cam...
@@mikeg.9238 Awesome. Fix it yourself and feel more confident on your liking
I actually just bought the cherry red on sale for $140. Looking to replace my “project” guitar. For the price point you get mahogany and not basswood. Which is nice. But always remember at cheaper prices you may need to do some work. Tuners and humbuckers will be replaced when I get it. My only concern is the tail piece. For $140 you can’t go wrong. Especially if you plan to do some work. 🤘
Not sure what year that one is, but its worth noting that the current SG Specials that I have seen have a set neck, and that one has a bolt on neck. Also not sure if yours is just a lemon, or if they cleaned up their act when they started using the set neck, but the SG specials hanging on the wall of my local guitar shop all seem like pretty decent guitars.
My experience buying from a mom and pop has bot ensured it was good. They are happy to charge you to set it up though... same as guitar center.
Just letting you know from my experiences. They use cheap strings on cheap guitars, and I doubt they stretch them at all. You should always put on a proper set of strings before or during the demo. I doubt the tuners are the problem.
Yes i changed mine to better strings, still have issues with the poor tuners.
I just ordered the epiphone sg special ve vintage walnut $200 Cant wait
I bought one in ebony and it's beautiful! It stays in tune very well with the D'Addario strings on it. I did buy from a place that did check set up and intonation before it went out the door. Very good recommendation. I'm totally happy with my guitar. YMMV I guess. I have found that GC is very dependent on the quality of each store's personnel. Our local store actually has musicians who care about the quality of their work and merchandise. Not the case with every store.
Before you change the tuners, try installing brand name strings and lube the nut slots while you're changing them. Safe to assume the Asian factories are installing bulk purchased cheapie strings, so for 7 or 8 dollars, go get some good ones. I own this guitar and the Les Paul special as well and that's all they needed. These are inexpensive, lightweight guitars that play and sound decent, and both have served me well.
I've had mine for over 2 years and it still slips out of tune constantly. I love the look of the SG so I won't give up on it just yet. I think the issues are 1. Tuners 2. The nut needs work and 3. I need smaller strings.... I like heavier strings, but I think I may have to suck it up and get something smaller. If that doesn't work, I'll try the coffee table suggestion...
Its not the tuners. All Epiphones need the nut worked over. They don’t come from the factory with any back filing done at all and need the string peg facing side of nut opened up a little in a vee shape especially for the g.
Just ordered one of these for my nephew who is interested in learning. It was on sale for $149. I believe Gibson style guitars are better for beginners because of the shorter scale neck. When I get it I'm going to throw a set of faux Grover locking tuners on it that I have laying around. I'll do a quick setup on it and it should be fine.
I don't think the guitar is bad at all. You just need more experience playing and setting up guitars.
I'm not sure why, after the high e came off due to poor wrapping, that you actually think it's the tuners and not the stringing that's the problem. It's been pretty well shown that there is almost no way for the string tension to actually make the tuning peg turn. Would have really liked to have seen you restring it, let it sit for few days and THEN dig in. Sometimes the simplest answer is the best.
My friend had one of these and to me it seemed like a decent buy, but now that I’ve seen your review I’m just going to assume he was bsing me on the whole thing.
Dude was annoyed for my love of Ibanez and was wondering why I didn’t buy a Fender Jazz Bazz instead of an Ibanez GSR250.
At this point me and the vocalist within our band just assumed he got his ego checked by me because the vocalist knew I was a better bassist than him and he felt some type of way towards me.
Funny enough Ibanez is leading the future with some of the best guitar innovation, as where I’ve yet to hear anything from Epiphone.
I also bought an Epiphone Special 2 from the same guy and honestly I’d rather own a Schecter, Jackson, or Ibanez.
Hell! Kiesal is doing a lot with their guitars and a custom made guitar will always beat out 90% of other guitars.
I play Jackson & Ibanez but I just slapped some strings on one that was in my drummers garage I replaced the toggle switch it was smashed through some new strings on it set up the internation & in awe as how good it sounds & plays. I stretch my strings out a bit b4 dig in & I can say it's worth it all day.. HOPE you gave it a shot cause the one I'm jamming took me a couple hours to fix it but like I said. Also any guitar I buy,, I take home & set it to my personal liking😎😎😎
Rule of thumb on these bolt-on Epis: If it's made in Indonesia, buy it. If it's made in China, forget it. I have an Indonesian one and it's one of my favorites.
I have the SG jr special in faded black. I agree the tuners were garbage. polished the frets and they were really good no sharp ends.
Over all I like it.
Cheap used in good condition.
Tuners $45 Wilkinson black open back 19:1
Replaced the wrap around with a Wilkinson adjustable one $23
And a new set of daddario ny strings $10
Plays fantastic. Stays in tune,It’s light, that beardcomber screams..
All that with shipping $260
They are great for modding.
I play it daily.
for 180 you can get a squier tele that plays and sounds great and stays in tune, I've got a used one I bought for £100, it's great.
I bought the Bullet Mustang limited edition and it's better than the Epiphone.
@@phillipholt6005 I've got some expensive guitars but I'm enjoying the squier - cheap as hell and pretty much a telecaster - I had one years ago and it was pretty crap, they've improved massively and are now even cheaper
I don't buy duplicate style guitars!
This is true! I reviewed that one just a few months ago.
The Squier Bullet tele i bend the life out of and all it does is sing back to me staying in tune. 119 bucks. Insanity! Hahaha. Squier is No joke!! Mod it or as is. I played on mine again yesterday. The bridge pup I bring back tone to 7ish. Nails that sweet tele bridge tone 😍....To each his or her own. Review here was awesome. Ive never tried the epi guitars. Ill try one day.
yeah i dont know why they called that rosewood... to me it looks more like pao ferro. AND pao ferro is lovely!!!! Rickenbacker only uses pao ferro necks.
My epiphone special is pretty great! The only problem is they didn't properly lube the nut for the b string so sometimes it goes out of tune. Other than that I set it up and it sounds amazing
I have it and never had a problem. There are ways to fix a tuning prob.
Mine doesn't sound like that - change the strings to 9's and set it up properly
Love the color would rock tf out of this.... sometimes it's the cheep hunk of junk ur in love with
The tuners have nothing to do with it...its a myth...tuning stability is about proper nut setup and taking ALL tension out of the strings. if you did not stretch them for 15 mins or so, I promise you didnt get it all out. As far as tone...you left the stickers on the pick-ups?
I just bought one and used coupon code Welcome to get $17.50 off. If it's defective then I'll return until I get a good one. Then I'll upgrade the pups, add chrome covers and use vintage electronics I have already. Always check out the site honey or use the add on. I save money on every site. My first sg, I'm excited and I can do all the work and fix any fret problems. If the tuners are bad, I'll get grovers. I'll break it in for a while before I make any changes but I think I'll want different pickups
tuners have nothing to do with going out of tune. Worm gears cannot be pulled backwards - it's mechanically impossible unless they are broken. Tuners never make guitars go out of tune. Strings never stretch either - they cannot be stretched elastically and achieve pitche - meaning if they were *stretched*, they will always break. The tugging is absolutely essentially but it removes the slack from the windings.
Tuning instability almost always comes from loose (incorrectly) installed strings on the posts and from poorly cut nut slots.
This post is so wrong its like you want to fault the user instead of calling out a bad guitar.
Nearly 12 minutes devoted to review a guitar without the high E string just to make a limited point! Unbelievable. This is indeed a biased review.
Just a warning if you're thinking on changing the tuners; the holes are smaller than most standard tuners, you will need to ream or drill them out.
I'd change the tuners anyway, so no big disappointment for me
How’s the overall feel of the guitar/neck compared to a Gibson SG. Would it be a good guitar we I strip it down and change the Hardware?
The main issue with this guitar is its turners and neck dive. Yep, it neck dives, and the wood on the body is soft so it is prone to getting dents and chipping esp. at the bottom. The sound is good, the sides of the neck are rough and not smooth. Cheaper guitars like the encore have a better finish, tuners not so good, even the encore is better. The pick-ups are great and produce great sound and it has great action on them. The guitar is neck-heavy and you can end up fighting it, weight can put strain on your hands esp. your left thumb. I think is mainly due to the fact is not very good playing sitting down. The guitar likes to sit in the strap while standing up.
To add; the finish on the body wears a way fast esp. when you are strumming (mine was a satin finish). No my clothes do not have sharp objects. To stop this I had to varnish the body of the guitar. To help with neck dive i bought a good leather strap, it helps a little but this guitar is hell play sitting down. Also, the finish on the fretboard is a mess, just run your hand down the side of the neck on both sides, they have the metal of the frets sticking out, very poor for the price. Also the tuners are rubbish, they do not very accurate and do not tune very well, but once turned for a session they do stay in tune. The problem is they are not very responsive and tuning can be a bit of a pain. I have cheaper guitars like an encore they are superior than than this guitar except for sound. Like I said the sound is extremely good way better than the encore budget guitars.
So would i buy this guitar again, NO WAY.
This guy complaining about the Epiphone SG? needs some help
*Serious help*
My 2018 is good holds tune pickup little muddy but everything else is good
I'm looking at a 2018 sg special 1 in Pelham. In pristine condition. Just wondering if your still happy with yours before I make the purchase.
Looks great. They go for 399.00 army mom and pops and used. Dated 2023
I just ordered one from Sweetwater so I have faith they'll check it out before it ships.
I believe they only do the inspections on guitars over $500 ish??? (I may be wrong on that though) Let me know how it comes, I’m interested to see if they opened the factory triangle box and checked it out.
@@bsideguitar You are right.
I hope people don’t waste more than the 38 seconds I wasted watching this. Man you bought a guitar for less than 200 bucks and you’re crying about things that only display your ignorance of guitars. Those guitars are worth every penny of what they cost. In fact over my 35 years of not only performing but also through my 25 years of guitar tech work, I can safely state the fact that Epiphone is the number one guitar manufacturer of all I’ve dealt with. Think not?? I won’t go into details because it would be Greek as far as your concerned. But the point is, you’re complaining about a beginner guitar that with proper setup, could probably be gigged by most any decent guitarist. People are so hung up on the $$$$$$&$ and the N A M E without having a clue as to what makes a guitar “good” or “bad”. The guitars of our day and age are far better built than ever before despite the constant “vintage” crowds idea. And the companies which built some of the best guitars in the past, which in turn created their ability to charge four times what
their products are worth, build some of the worst garbage of today. While simultaneously, some of the companies which are looked down upon by the guitar snob crowds who generally couldn’t play their way out of a wet paper sack, are building the best gear ever. Just tired of hearing people spew nonsensical rhetoric about music equipment. But it’s a free country, or at least used to be. So I’ll keep my opinion and you keep spouting off yours. Have a nice day
Informative never shd have sold my ebony SG was thinking this might be good but won’t be the same I enjoy my Squier ‘51 that was $100
You're being kinda harsh I have one and I put strings on it and set it up, the tuners aren't great but seems to get better the more you use it, I bought planning to upgrade a few things and make it my own like a lot of players do, maybe you should give it a chance, some people don't want a strat
Good thing my friend gave this to me for free. Is Dad bought him this guitar and an amp when he was 14 and he never picked it up.
I've heard the neck is not rosewood nor is the body mahogany, but rather basswood. You can tell by the weight. I've read that is the SG Standard. Just my 2cents.
I just bought one from musician friend and was on sale for $140 ! Didn’t know about the the “tuner” problem so maybe I’ll invest in that. Thanks!
I agree the tuners are okay new strings sorted
Agreed about the tuners! Absolutely need to be replaced with ones that actually work!
At least you are trying to tune it . Most you tubers dont bother. It's really a shame when poeple post demos of their 7000 dollar Gibson R9 les Paul's and its horribly out of tune.
Ha! Gotta at least try! Thanks for the comment.
my friend's kid has an epi LP jr, it's utter junk - I set it up (tried to) but it simply isn't playable
Sadly I’ve heard this story multiple times. They could do so much better with the low end stuff.
Dude, how did you suspect the stings to be great at first??? Of course they won't tune easily at first, they've gotta break in.
I was thinking of buying one
I think so too that the strings were not stretched or you got a bad batch because I paid $200 for mine brand new and although 3 tuners have some play that are all holding tune very well. IT's actually a great guitar, made in Indonesia, frets and fretboard are excellent and they definitely spend extra time getting it set up right. The biggest weak spot were the strings no questions.
If someone said there was a solid bodied guitar with a mahogany body & neck & rosewood fretboard brand new for $179 I wouldn’t believe him, they use poplar for their satin finished SG’s for what that’s worth. Over the last couple of years people have been fawning over Epiphone models is this the inspired by Gibson series?
First of all I bought one and let me say even on sale for $125 it was a waste of money (sorry to anyone who owns one I am not trying to put you down). I have played guitar for 18 years, I worked at a custom shop for 5 and I have modded countless guitars but, this one was truly unfixable. I would strongly recommend a squier telecaster in this same range over this any day..
Update, the neck on the SG Special I was unstable and I verified that by adjusting the neck relief and measuring the height with feeler gauges. The neck goes in and out of bow depending on the humidity and the temperature… the tuners probably do not help but, I do not think they are that bad.
I bought an Epiphone Special VE in black satin a couple months ago (don’t ask me why after the bad experience 😂) and it has the exact same cheapo tuners AND one was improperly installed (was crooked) but, this guitar holds tune fine after some TLC to the nut. I think at this price point it really is just hit or miss…
The nature is its a new guitar. Stretch the strings out. Don't blame the tool blame the operator.
Would anyone recommend this for a first timer trying to learn ? I wanna play electric guitar and I don’t want an acoustic
Taylor...Go with an Ibanez GRX70 , Jackson dinky JS11 , 22 ,32 or ESP MH-10 or F-10 if you're on a budget. They're all decent out of the box with minimal setup , also easy to learn on especially Ibanez , in my experience they stay in tune forever. Just some advice✌🤘
Hey man if you really like the design of the SG then I say this is the perfect beginners guitar. It’s such a good price and such an amazing guitar for me. I ordered this same SG from guitar center and I don’t have any of the issues that this guy has in the video. Highly recommend it.
The yamaha pac 112 is a great beginner guitar
We adjusted the pickups, and changed the strings to Rev 7's and paired with a fender princeton reverb amp it sounds great.
These are actually pretty good, if you put a little time into them.
Shouldn’t you remove the plastic from the pickups?
Wow!! Maybe you should just suggest squire. That's really sad for Epiphone. Great video though.
He says it all at 1:34 mark...Under $200, what do you think your going to get.? You get so much more bang for the buck with the inspired by Gibson Epiphones at $349-$449 range.
In my country they sell em for 325$ very expensive for low tier guitar I bought a squier mustang bullet for 250$ and i'm not dissapointed.
Wow! Where do you live?
This wasn’t a fair review maybe try setting it up and new strings!
I’m own one and it’s very solid.
Hi @Bside Talks Guitar. I almost bought this, but made at quick check here om youtube first. I really love the SG style, but you are not the only one who said it's not worth the money. What would you advice me to buy? I'm pretty new and it's going to be my first electric.
If you are cool with the telecaster style the Squier telecasters are much better for the money.
@@bsideguitar That was quick :) Thanks man.
👍
Never had problems with mine perfect for me
I ordered this a couple weeks ago, it’s on back order right now. After seeing this video I’m kinda regretting my purchase already. :/ I’m a beginner, never played a guitar before. Sad to see the tuners suck.
Yeah maybe me too
@@ichal8554 so I got the guitar a couple days ago. Been loving it ever since. I can’t really notice any of the issues he brings up about the guitar. I’m happy with my purchase overall.
@@PULPDOOM but dude, i change it with a guitar called RADIX GES, then i just say like “DAMN, its fckin awesome!”
Just ordered mine that’s on back order, I think it’ll be just fine for a first one
@@Skoirn is it better i take a humbucker or single coil?
I have this guitar as my first electric and I was wondering is it worth upgrading it or should I buy a second sg that’s a little more on the expensive side. I feel like I’m ready to upgrade but I also want to experience working on a guitar.
In my opinion any guitar under $300 is not worth it unless you plan to replace place parts on it. I got a $150 ibanez gio and its garbage, but i later bought an epiphone g400 sg pro for $420 and its amazing only issue is the g string tuning peg, other than that i have no issues
But the thing is that you can buy a 180 guitar and turn it into a 1,000 dollar guitar i did to my Ibanez GIO changed you just have to customize it to the way you want just have to know how to. I was so close to buying this guitar the other day at guitar center because I was like i can get this cheep and make it better but I was like na. If it was in black i definitely would of got it but blue's not my color. The thing that you can do to this guitar. New string's new pick-ups new volume and tone switch's new bridge and new tuning nobs. You have a better guitar already.
Reading these comments make me believe this guy 1) is biased and 2) probably doesn't know what he's talking about
I have two of them and no tuning problems. What are you doing wrong?
Dude how do you get out of tune so often and quickly? My Epi LP Special TV Yellow has stayed in tune for years now. For under $200. Maybe I don't understand the issue?
and no one mentions that he left the stickers on top of the pickups? They are going to sound muddy...no shit.
Damn bro you just rained on my Christmas parade , i just bought this because i ordered a jackson js11 to use as a beater. But it came damaged with a big ding in it , so i sent it back and ordered this for a few more bucks. Based on reviews and wanted some darker tones , more of a doomy Sabbath sound , now i'm bummed! But i appreciate the honest review , maybe i'll change the tuners and hope for the best...
This guitar is actually pretty damn good for the price after some setup, I’ve been using it for about a year. Just don’t expect to be able to down tune too much with this one
@@gothmoneycarti8394 Yeah I changed the strings to Ernie 10's and the action was set up pretty low , the way I like and played it with no problems. Also very minimal fret buzz once I changed the strings and tuned it. One of the reasons I bought this was for a darker Sabbath tone , but if it doesn't down tune that well I'll use my Schecter or ESP for that then...🤘✌ P.S. after playing this for a few days , the tuners suck and a lot of fret buzz , reset the intonation on a couple strings but only helped a little. Compared to my Ibanez which stays in tune forever , I'm kinda disappointed with this epi😒
@@gothmoneycarti8394 this guitar can handle 1 or 1,5 steps down?