subject: Epiphone G-400 Review - Giving the Gibson SG a Run for the Money [print this page] Author: Author: . S. Rasnick" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/r.-s.-rasnick/205481.htm">R. S. Rasnick
The Gibson SG doesn't have the identical iconic history as the Les Paul or the Stratocaster, but it's still a noticeable rock and roll icon. Angus Young of AC/DC can testify to that.
Ever since its initial launch, guitarists from a large variety of genres and styles have utilized the Gibson SG as their primary instrument. While it's as popular as ever, the price tag is pretty exorbitant for a lot of individuals (around $1,200 at the time of this article). A more inexpensive selection is the Epiphone G-400.
The question then becomes, how well does the Epiphone SG stand up to the Gibson SG?
The SG body shape of the G-400 is faultless, regarding the replication of the original. The cherry finish looked mighty nice on the G-400's mahogany body.
Overall, the construction of the instrument is extremely well done. The mother-of-pearl inlays are appealing, but we did find some little traces of glue residue by the edges. Likewise, we viewed some more residue near the neck joint, but these are very small complaints, given the value of the instrument.
The tuners held the instrument's tune well, though some perfectionists might hope for the locking variety. We were able to set the action good and low, and the guitar intonated well, though the bridge saddle corners were a bit too sharp for our taste.
The G-400 passed the playability test with flying colors. We set the action really low, and scarcely noticed any buzzing at all.
Even though the guitar is quite light, it nonetheless has a full, vibrant sound, even when unplugged.
When we plugged the G-400 into our test amp (a MAZ-18 NR made by Dr. Z), we were very pleased with the tones we heard. The pickups provided well-balanced tones that could be functional for everything from blues to rock.
All three pickup positions granted quality sounds usable for just about every style you could imagine. When we tested the G-400 out with some extremely distorted sounds (using some high gain pedals), it sounded a little muddy to us, but that's probably because of the warm-sounding mahogany body.
If you plan to play the G-400 in a metal or shred context, a change of pickups might be warranted.
Ultimately, we think the Epiphone G-400 is a great guitar for people looking for classic rock, blues, and even hard rock tones, and who don't desire to spend a ton of money on their purchase. It's a fun guitar with several usable tones and one we strongly recommend.About the Author:
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