Epiphone SG Standard Electric Guitar User Reviews (2023)

FAQs

Are Epiphone SG Standard guitars any good? ›

The SG is an icon of rock guitar for a reason. Not only is it highly playable and fantastic sounding – it's drop-dead gorgeous. Now, while this wallet-friendly version may be missing the high-end sheen of its big brother, Epiphone proves that you don't need to spend big money to get a big sound!

All of these delivers an easy-to-play guitar for rock and heavy metal. So, overall, the Epiphone SG Special helps beginner players discover rock playing style for a friendly price tag.

It's hard to believe, but, in 1961, Gibson discontinued the original Les Paul guitar and replaced it with the SG, which originally bore the Les Paul name. But Les himself wasn't a fan of that, so the guitar was renamed SG, which stood for… solid guitar!

It's made of lightweight tonewoods, and its pointy horns afford easier access to higher frets; this is why an SG is a perfect guitar for solo guitar players while its decently sized frets make it an excellent choice for rhythm players.

The Epiphone SG Special Electric Guitar best fits into a hard rock sound, that's filled with overdrive. While this guitar does perform distortion well, the SG Special handles overdrive better. If you are a guitarist that is looking for a clean and clear sound, I would not suggest to you to purchase.

Where Are Epiphone Guitars Made? Epiphone guitars are manufactured in Gibson's Chinese-based Qingdao factory. The majority of Epiphone's instruments have been made exclusively in this facility since 2004, including their solid-body, hollow-body and acoustic guitars.

The Epiphone SG Standard is equipped with two Alnico Classic PRO pickups in the neck and bridge.

The guitar features the historic SG profile with “batwing” pickguard, a pair of Epiphone's Alnico Classic PRO™ humbuckers, and 18:1 ratio Epiphone Deluxe Tuners.

Most Gibson and Epiphone SG models have two humbucker pickups and a 3-way pickup selector which is labelled “rhythm” and “treble”. Rhythm position: activates only the neck pickup creating a warm and mellow tone. Treble position: activates only the bridge pickup creating a brighter tone.

While both guitars have the “Slim Taper” neck profile, and the carve on both is very much similar, the SG Custom is slightly different. The SG Custom has the classic cream binding, and that certainly changes the feel of the neck just a little. The SG Custom has always felt like a chunkier neck in my hands.

What guitar did Eddie Van Halen play? ›

What Guitars Did Eddie Van Halen Play? Eddie Van Halen is most known for playing his self-built Frankenstrat guitars. Later in his career, after starting his own brand of “EVH” gear, he played primarily EVH Wolfgang guitars. Eddie designed and built much of his own gear throughout his legendary career.

The SG has a heavier and more biting and full tone compared to the Telecaster which sounds more bright and twangy, and a bit thinner. The SG is commonly associated with heavy and classic rock music, whilst the Telecaster is very versatile and is commonly used for blues, jazz and rock music.

whatever the guitarist plays. Sg plays rock to heavy metal music like AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, you name it.

Thicker bodies obviously require more wood, therefore making them more expensive. In case you don't know, thickness of the body affects the tone big time. Along with the more wood thing, the older Les Paul necks tend to be larger while SG's have faster slim-taper necks. Therefore, more wood=more money.

For beginners, you really can't go wrong with the Epiphone SG-Special, let's take a look at this special guitar. Despite having a very low price compared to the original Gibson SG, the Epiphone SG-Special rocks the same feel and look, with the same trademark asymmetrical body shape.

The Gibson SG Standard is a tone monster, one of the coolest guitars ever made, and a rock 'n' roll classic. But, while they aren't as hefty in price as a Les Paul, a new Gibson SG Standard will still run you a pretty penny. Of course, they are worth it: Gibson guitars are among the best in the world.

Pro Guitarists Who Play Epiphone

That means, for guitarists who are counting their pennies but always wanted a gorgeous Les Paul, Epiphone is a brilliant choice. Their mid-level instruments are of excellent quality, and they're good enough for gigging and recording.

No, it won't actually appreciate in value, but you'll be able to sell it easily for a fair price. The point of buying an Epiphone is that you get a good guitar, 95% as good as a Gibson, for less than a quarter of the price.

Epiphone guitars are made in China and are actually very fine instruments. Less expensive components and labor result in a much more affordable product. I have several and they are very comparable in both sound and playability to the more expensive American models.

Should I get an Epiphone or Gibson SG? ›

The main quality difference comes in the electronics, as the Gibson SG has great-sounding 490R Humbuckers, while the Epiphone comes with lesser quality Alnico Classic PRO Humbuckers, which lack the finesse of the Gibson SG's pickups. The difference in the hardware quality is also apparent.

The Epiphone Prophecy SG comes with brushed nickel hardware and is equipped with a pair of proprietary Fishman Fluence® pickups with three voicing options that are selected with the push/pull master volume and tone controls - high gain, modern active high-output humbucker™ with both controls pushed in, classic Patent ...

Epiphone's Inspired by Gibson Firebird™ rocks a reverse body and headstock design as originally introduced in 1963 and was Gibson's first neck-through-body design. The traditional 9-ply mahogany/walnut neck-through-body provides rich, warm tonality and incredible sustain.

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The Epiphone SG Special is undoubtedly a cool looking guitar. It plays fast, it's comfortable to hold, and as for learning the fundamentals, it's a great starter – so much so that we included it in our list of the best electric guitars under $300.

Epiphone Les Paul's are foreign built. This is the main reason behind the price tag difference between the Epiphone LP and the Gibson LP. By not being setup in the United States, Epiphone guitars are comprised of cheaper quality materials and cheaper labor.

The Gibson SG Standard is a tone monster, one of the coolest guitars ever made, and a rock 'n' roll classic. But, while they aren't as hefty in price as a Les Paul, a new Gibson SG Standard will still run you a pretty penny. Of course, they are worth it: Gibson guitars are among the best in the world.

The Epiphone SG Standard is equipped with two Alnico Classic PRO pickups in the neck and bridge.

Most Gibson and Epiphone SG models have two humbucker pickups and a 3-way pickup selector which is labelled “rhythm” and “treble”. Rhythm position: activates only the neck pickup creating a warm and mellow tone. Treble position: activates only the bridge pickup creating a brighter tone.

The SG's set neck is shallower than the Gibson Les Paul's. The SG features the traditional Gibson combination of two or three humbucker pickups or P90 pickups and a Tune-o-matic bridge assembly, wraparound bridge, or vibrato tailpiece, depending on the model.

What are Firebird pickups? ›

A Firebird pickup uses two “rail” style bar magnets, one of which is placed in the center of each of the bobbins that the coils are wound around. This design does not use steel posts because, the rail magnets are able to pick up the string vibrations.

Compared to many other Gibson designs, the Firebird was fairly light. Most of these guitars weigh around seven pounds. For the sake of comparison, the average Les Paul weighs around 10 pounds, while Fender Stratocasters are usually about 7-8.5 pounds.

The Firebird line went on sale in mid-1963 with four models distinguished by pickup and tailpiece configurations (see below). Unlike the Les Paul and SG line, which used the terms "Junior", "Special", "Standard" and "Custom", the Firebird used the Roman numerals "I", "III", "V" and "VII".

In 1957, the company that owned Gibson bought out Epiphone and since then, they've been sister companies. Other brands may make copies of the Les Paul, SG, 335 etc but Gibson and Epiphone are the only two brands that can really lay claim to these guitars.

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It produced its first guitars in 1928. After Epi died in 1943, control of the company went to his brothers, Orphie and Frixo. In 1951, a four-month-long strike precipitated a relocation of Epiphone from New York City to Philadelphia. In 1957 the company was acquired by Gibson.