software

as you may or may not know, i live in chicago now for school, and occasionally i go back home to detroit on weekends when my band has any shows booked. i left my gibson back at home, and the only guitar i brought with me is my squier strat.

the problem i'm having with my strat is that when i get back home, my gibson feels weird to me because by then, i'm used to playing the skinny neck on my strat. it takes the better part of the day for me to get used to playing my gibson again, and that's just weird.

to counter this problem, i'm considering buying one of those $150 epiphone SG's to keep at my apartment here in chicago so i have a guitar with a similar feel and i don't get all thrown out of whack every time we play a show.

is there anything i should watch out for with these epiphones? i know to of course play a bunch of them and find one that's alright. i played a few at GC today and it seemed to me that it was like buying any other guitar from there...crappy until you take it home and set it up well. i just need to buy something cheap that will offer a similar feel to that of my SG standard (although i'm well aware that a $150 epiphone almost definitely won't match the playability of my gibson...or will it )

but i suppose i'm done rambling now...any input??

I'd be warry of the Special. You might find a good one, but it's doubtful. The G310 and G400 on the other hand are some of the better Epis in my opinion.

I played a G400 a while back that rocked. Even the stock electronics were pretty good.


Originally Posted by mnbaseball91I'd be warry of the Special. You might find a good one, but it's doubtful. The G310 and G400 on the other hand are some of the better Epis in my opinion.

any particular reason why?

i know that there's a little more limited versitility with the special since there's just a master volume and tone as opposed to one for each pickup, but that doesn't bother me. and i know that it's not always the best idea in the long run to go the cheap route (trust me, i've learned that the hard way). but going into the ballpark of $300 and $400 simply isn't possible. and this isn't meant to be a main guitar for me.

even if there are any other decent gibson copies, i'll go for that too. even if it's a les paul copy...basically i just need a dual humbicking guitar with a neck on the thicker side for under $200. doesn't have to be super fancy or super nice, just something that will get the job done and won't break under normal use.

Musicians Friend was selling a flat top double cut Hamer in black for around $200. I'd take the all mahogany, set neck Korean Hamer over the bolt on Epi any day.


Originally Posted by Benjy_26Musicians Friend was selling a flat top double cut Hamer in black for around $200. I'd take the all mahogany, set neck Korean Hamer over the bolt on Epi any day.

interesting. definitely something i'll take a look at. thanks man.

i just bought my dad the $200 Epi SG as a first guitar for him. tell you what, after I set it up, its not too bad! the only problem is the weight/balance issue. i have my gibson LP here at school, and I play his SG when I go home. doesnt take that long to get used to

it seems to me that any weight/balance issues can be countered by using a leather strap. (i use one on my gibson that has a fabric top and a leather bottom...that thread about straps got me thinking that it's actually a really cool strap, or maybe i'm just weird ).

but that's what a i figured...as far as playability, any guitar really won't be *too* bad as long as it's set up well.

My two sons have an EPI SG and an EPI LP bought this spring at the same time. The necks are very different. The LP neck is much fuller than the SG. I don't konw if that is typical or not but the difference is easily felt.

It's just that all the Specials I've played have terrible fingerboards, terrible resonance, and bad tuning stability. Maybe I've only played bad ones though.

Of you're looking for good affordable Gibson coppies, is the place for you.

The SG special goes out of tune like crazy. especially if you like shredding. Its....not horrible for $150. Like mnbaseball91 said, the fingerboards SUCK. Even for the price...
So just try to find something better. for cheap guitars, i'd avoid epiphone. maybe something like an J. reynolds les paul or SG copy. Those play nicely, maybe just a pickup replacement would make it a good choice for a Gibson substitute.

speaking of rondomusic, where are Agile's made?

i've always wanted to get my hands on one of the agile's, i've heard nothing but good things about them

Agiles are made in Korea, quite probably in the same factories that churn out Ephiphone, Samick and others. I've played excellent instruments from many of the Korean-made lines of several companies, but none that achieved a $$/quality ratio like the Agiles I've played. I've owned two (one just long enough to turn around and sell it for a small profit) and they were both felt and sounded like instruments that would cost at least twice as much were they branded Epiphone. I can't speak for the newer, slightly cheaper 2000 series, as I haven't played any and there are a number of corners cut there that concern me (mostly I worry about the tuners), but from the 2500 series on up, I think you'd be in good shape.

^ah ah, Epis are made primarily in China now.

G400s are so/so.... the neck was huge for me, but thats for me, im used to a jackson

mnbaseball91 beat me to it! I was gonna suggest Agiles. They seem like they'd be exactly what you're looking for. Their SG-type guitar is $230, or you could just get an LP-copy for $150-200. That seems like a better route than the Epi Special. Everyone of them I've played have been pretty bad.

are the agile's difficult to find? they sound like something i want to look into, but unfortunately i have never seen them in any shops.

the only place i've been to so far in chicago is the GC...i still have to learn my way around here, and more importantly find all the nearby music stores . anybody know of any good shops in the south loop area?

They are only sold by Rondo Music in NJ. Nice folks there, give 'em a ring.

I love epiphones, but they suck. The good ones are overpriced for what you get, and the lower end ones are.... lower end.The cheep ones will mean a maple neck, multi piece alder body, and one heck of a bad setup until they're fixed up. The more you pay the better chance you get for a mahogany neck and mahogany body, and the les paul custom is supposed to have a maple cap instead of alder. A lot of the les paul classics and standards from china that I've seen in stores seem to have alder bodies though. I really don't know what the rule is, or if there are any rules.

The three epiphones I've owned and what they were made with:

7 string les paul
Maple neck, mahogany body, alder cap.

Korina explorer
Maple neck, cheep mahogany body (bleached).

Special I (China)
Maple neck, four piece body at least half of which is alder, I haven't refinished the body so I don't know what the side pieces are made from.