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G-400 vs G-400 PRO


Levander

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Looking at these two guitars, the G-400 and the G-400 PRO. I think I'd be happy with either of them, it's just a matter of deciding which.

 

Couple of questions:

 

1.) Is the only difference between the two guitars the color choices and whether or not you can coil tap? It looks like both guitars have Al Nico pickups, but the G-400 PRO has Al-Nico PRO pickups which let you coil tap.

 

2.) Is it possible to upgrade the G-400 with pickups that I could coil tap? Or maybe most after-market pick-ups don't coil tap anyway so it's a non-issue? How much harder would it be to upgrade the G-400 to coil-tapping pickups than it would be just to change out the pickups on the G-400 PRO to other coil-tapping pickups? How much more expensive would upgrade the G-400 pickups to coil tapping, like would I have to also change out the volume knobs to ones that push up and down and about how expensive are those knobs?

 

I don't even know if coil tapping is important to me or not. But I'd like to know before I decide anyway.

 

I am half-figuring that if I can get to the point where I'm trying to play some Hendrix, I'll want to split the coils to get a little closer to the sound because he usually played a Strat. Would it be closer enough to make a difference? No idea. I suspect everyone will have their own opinion and I'd have to try it for myself to see if I care or not.

 

The other thing is, I'm not so stoked about the color choices on the G-400 PRO. And I like the worn brown color of the G-400. The $50 price difference is a non-issue to me. That's close enough where I would just get what I want when it's something I plan to keep so long.

 

I figure before I get to the point where I'm trying to play even easy Jimi Hendrix, I'll have wanted to upgrade the pick-ups anyway. So if you can upgrade the pick-ups on the G-400 to coil tapping ones, it's win-win.

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Looking at these two guitars, the G-400 and the G-400 PRO. I think I'd be happy with either of them, it's just a matter of deciding which.

 

Couple of questions:

 

1.) Is the only difference between the two guitars the color choices and whether or not you can coil tap? It looks like both guitars have Al Nico pickups, but the G-400 PRO has Al-Nico PRO pickups which let you coil tap.

 

2.) Is it possible to upgrade the G-400 with pickups that I could coil tap? Or maybe most after-market pick-ups don't coil tap anyway so it's a non-issue? How much harder would it be to upgrade the G-400 to coil-tapping pickups than it would be just to change out the pickups on the G-400 PRO to other coil-tapping pickups? How much more expensive would upgrade the G-400 pickups to coil tapping, like would I have to also change out the volume knobs to ones that push up and down and about how expensive are those knobs?

 

I don't even know if coil tapping is important to me or not. But I'd like to know before I decide anyway.

 

I am half-figuring that if I can get to the point where I'm trying to play some Hendrix, I'll want to split the coils to get a little closer to the sound because he usually played a Strat. Would it be closer enough to make a difference? No idea. I suspect everyone will have their own opinion and I'd have to try it for myself to see if I care or not.

 

The other thing is, I'm not so stoked about the color choices on the G-400 PRO. And I like the worn brown color of the G-400. The $50 price difference is a non-issue to me. That's close enough where I would just get what I want when it's something I plan to keep so long.

 

I figure before I get to the point where I'm trying to play even easy Jimi Hendrix, I'll have wanted to upgrade the pick-ups anyway. So if you can upgrade the pick-ups on the G-400 to coil tapping ones, it's win-win.

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Looks like the neck pup on the worn g-400 is a classic and the bridge pup is the classic plus.

 

On the g-400 pro both pups are the classic plus.

 

I'm not sure if the pups included with the worn g-400 are 2 or 4 wire as the product website doesn't say either way. If they're only 2 wire then you'll need new 4 wire pups in order to get coil tapping which alone would run you more than the $50 price difference (not to mention the new pots you'd need).

 

Perhaps there is someone here who owns the worn g-400 who can let you know about the wiring.

 

My advice always is to try out both guitars and see which one you like.

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Hi Levander,

 

The finishes for the Worn G-400 are Worn Brown (WB) and Worn Cherry (WC). The G-400 Pro finishes are in Cherry and Ebony (nice n' shiny but you can still see the wood grain)

 

The G-400 Pro has the flexibility of split coil pickups (pull vol. pot(s) up to activate).

 

I own a lefthanded G-400 Pro in Cherry finish. I've always been a fan of the PAF 57s pickups and was tempted to upgrade the pickups (used to have a Gibson Les Paul Standard) But in all honesty I am so pleased with the pickups already on the guitar I'm leaving well alone. As the saying goes 'if it ain't broke don't fix it). Infact I have progressed more in the short time I've had this guitar than on the Les Paul.

Sound wise I was suprised of the single coils. Very versatile, and its allowed me to expand my tone/sound. I play through a Fender Champion 20 and can easily dial up the tones of my fav. guitar players, Angus, Page, BB King and Hendrix.

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I don't even know if coil tapping is important to me or not. But I'd like to know before I decide anyway.

 

That would lead me to say, no, coil tapping is not important to you.

 

You don't say anything about what level you are at in regard to your playing, so I am assuming you are a beginner on the guitar?

If so, than IMO you don't need to worry about coil tapping at all. I would just worry about becoming a more skilled player.

If you want to sound more like Jimi, I would recommend you just getting a Strat. They are not much more than a G400. And you can get a Squier for significantly less.

 

BTW, the G400 is a discontinued model. You can still find some around, but many places no longer carry them; only the Pro.

I like my G400 very much. It's one of my favorites.

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Thanks for the responses guys.

 

No one knows if the G-400 pickups can be upgraded to coil tapping pickups later, after you buy the guitar?

 

Deeman above makes it sound like you can. About how expensive would it be? Including the pots. Roughly like within $50-$100.

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As Deeman said, if they're 2-wire pickups, then no you can't do a coil split/tap without changing the pickups themselves.

 

I would suspect if the guitar didn't come factory stock with a coil split/tap, the odds they put 4-wire pickups in it is pretty slim.

 

If you want to swap out the pickups, you have a LOT of options (which frankly sound like they would just confuse you further at this point). Yeah, you could go cheap (GFS 4-wire humbuckers might run you about $90 for the pair + shipping), but then you also need to change out the pots (if you're going THAT far, you might as well replace the harness too). If you can do the work yourself, new pots & wiring might run you another $20 - $60 depending on what quality stuff you choose. You can get pre-wired pots & harnesses online, but decent sets can run $75 - $150.

 

I'm not against modding guitars, or Epiphones more specifically (Recent Project), but I've been playing 40+ years, can do the work myself and I always have a definite goal in mind and a pretty good idea how to achieve it before I start.

 

I'd suggest choosing the guitar you like best "as is" for now. Having a guitar you like will inspire you to play it more and that's more important than the whistles & bells until you're more confident in your preferences.

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Thanks for the responses guys.

 

No one knows if the G-400 pickups can be upgraded to coil tapping pickups later, after you buy the guitar?

 

Deeman above makes it sound like you can. About how expensive would it be? Including the pots. Roughly like within $50-$100.

Well yes, you can replace the G-400 pups with 4 wire pups, I know because I have done it. There are many wiring options available for this conversion. I opted for the Jimmy Page 21 sound option which requires replacing all four pots with push-pull pots. This requires a lot of soldering and should be done by someone who is comfortable with a soldering iron. The pots are not expensive, but there is a wide range of cost on the pups. i chose the Iron Gear pups and like them a lot http://www.irongear.co.uk/

 

long_shaft_jp_rig1_leed_urwr.jpg

 

JP-IronGear.gif

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  • 2 weeks later...

Doh! I thought I replied to this earlier... Must not have hit submit or something...

 

I realy appreciate all the answers guys.

 

The G400 in worn cherry went on sale at Guitar Center for Labor Day. The price was $250. I got them to price match for the worn brown, kind of. They charged me $255, so I grabbed it... A G400 PRO would have only been $280, but I liked the color on the G400 so much more, I went ahead and saved the $35.

 

I wasn't getting the guitar to change the pickups right away. But if I stick with this thing, and feel like I'm getting decent at it, I probably will try to upgrade the pickups like a year or so from now... The reason I was asking because I wanted to go ahead and get a new guitar now that was at lease upgradable to one I could do coil splitting with.

 

You guys may think I'm crazy for doing it that soon after buying the guitar, especially since I've never soldered before... But if you don't take any risks, you never really partake in good gains either... I will study, find some way to practice soldering before opening up guitar, etc.. In an attempt to reduce risks... But of course it's not mission critical, so if I start studying and it looks too daunting...

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Doh! I thought I replied to this earlier... Must not have hit submit or something...

 

I realy appreciate all the answers guys.

 

The G400 in worn cherry went on sale at Guitar Center for Labor Day. The price was $250. I got them to price match for the worn brown, kind of. They charged me $255, so I grabbed it... A G400 PRO would have only been $280, but I liked the color on the G400 so much more, I went ahead and saved the $35.

 

I wasn't getting the guitar to change the pickups right away. But if I stick with this thing, and feel like I'm getting decent at it, I probably will try to upgrade the pickups like a year or so from now... The reason I was asking because I wanted to go ahead and get a new guitar now that was at lease upgradable to one I could do coil splitting with.

 

You guys may think I'm crazy for doing it that soon after buying the guitar, especially since I've never soldered before... But if you don't take any risks, you never really partake in good gains either... I will study, find some way to practice soldering before opening up guitar, etc.. In an attempt to reduce risks... But of course it's not mission critical, so if I start studying and it looks too daunting...

 

Hey Guys,

 

The G-400 has stock Epi Alnico Classic & Classic Plus - 2 wire HB's. (China Mfg.) The G-400 Pro has Alnico Pro - 4 wire HB's. These HB's are manufactured to USA Gibson specs. Identical parts Gibson uses in theirs. (USA Mfg.) These are higher quality and having 4-wires allows for coil splitting. They sound closer to Gibson HB's also. I believe they are using CT pots now too. Epiphone has definitely raised the quality of their electronics with these modifications.

 

Worth the $35 extra!!

 

Faded.....

 

 

 

 

 

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