This is an SG. Sounds good, plays good, looks good, rocks good!
However, this is not a Gibson and as much as I like it here are things to consider:
- If not for the name on the headstock you might think that this is a Gibson. However, the veneer betrays it. Not that it looks bad, actually it is very nice. But it might be an acquired taste for some.
- The guitar is high gloss and I think that the neck was coated with some production related thing that was somehow sticky. Not sticky like glue but detaining the hand from flawlessly moving through the whole length of the neck. However, with playing and always cleaning with cloth before putting away the guitar the "thing" has cleared and now it is а pleasure to play.
- I brought the guitar to a luthier to check it for issues and if we decide that I should keep it, to set it up with 9s and lower the action and fix the small buzz on the 4th and 5th fret.
4th and 5th fret were a little high because of poor installation. So the luthier had to press them to the fretboard. Not great QC from Epiphone but expected for this price.
- The frets are missing height as the Gibson frets are usually higher (around 1.2-1.3 mm) while this guitar's frets are 0.98mm. So it might not be possible to crown them after they wear off and the guitar will need a refret. The Gibson frets can probably be crowned twice before refretting.
I think that those issues are expected for this price range. But the look or the cherry color, the overall build and that sound...amazing!
The pickups have great dynamics!
For 4 times less the price of the Gibson equivalent, this is a great guitar!
