old epiphone sg400 help please!!!

[paul liverpool]

first post in this forum and any help i would be so happy,ive just bought this epiphone sg-400,i knew it was unusual by the headstock styling.it still has the serial sticker on which ive tracked to :

 

Guitar Info

Your guitar was made in

Korea

March c.1989

Production Number: 1729

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

but thats all i can find,can anyone help with any more info,what type of neck,pickups or if its worth anything,i was goin to buy a brand new one for £249.99, but seen this in a 2nd hand guitar shop for £180 with case,

 

(the guy who sold me it said it belonged to a professional musician from the city..he didnt wanna say who because hes fallen on hard times? who knows if its true )

 

 

it does need a setup,bit of string buzz possibly a new nut,nothing major, but im debating do i take it back the shop (get a refund and buy the brand newy) or spend the £40 quid gettin the setup and service it needs and keep it...its it any better than the current stock models on the shelf...any help i would be grateful

[RobinTheHood]

Nooooo....KEEP IT!!! Spend the money and get it set up. I believe these models were made for the Japanese market. Lots of people want the Epis with the Gibson style headstock, but they arent always easy to come by. Not to be confused with rarity or monetary worth, but you'll be the envy of many people here on the forum...hehehe.

 

Anyway, Someone qualified will be here in due time to tell you all about your guitar. Until then, sweet axe and HNGD!

 

CharlieBrown...calling CharlieBrown....

[paul liverpool]

thanks for the reply i just wish i knew more about it,the main thing is for me,is it any better than the standard sg400's off the shelf, construction and hardware wise ,for a 21 year old guitar its in very good condition, all electrics are fine untouched, just the usual signs of wear (beltware,couple of tiny nicks nothing noticeable)

[RobinTheHood]

I dont know, man. I'm not the guy. But my personal opinion is that I like the older Korean stuff better than the Chinese. But that is up for debate with many people as far as actual quality. I really like having 20-something year old guitars in good condition, but thats me. I like the mojo that usually comes with them.

 

Like I said, you'll have a swarm of people commenting on this guitar by mid-day tomorrow. Just be patient.

[lpfan]

I think its a fake, umm, yeah it is. You should probably go ahead and send it to me so I can save you the trouble of having to deal with the law enforcement agencies. LOL! I think robin the Hood is right about this guitar but Charlie Brown will know for sure. Definitely hang on to it. Its hard to find the SG's with the cream binding on the neck, but to find one with a Gibson headstock is very hard to do. They made those for sale in Japan because of legal issues with the Gibson headstock. I'll go ahead and ease your trouble though, my address is........ Go ahead and send it to me. LOL!

[maniak]

Wow,,sweet lookin from what i can see,,,my vote would be definitely keep it if it ony needs some minor tweaking to bring it up to snuff.I havent played any from that time period,,my oldest epi is a 98 but i know that those gibson style headstock models are not that common anymore and kind of sought after and even though its not always true that older is better ,,,its definitely cooler so ,,my vote is keep it ,,nice score,,play it in good health

 

MY Noisemakers:

Epiphone 2008 Sg Custom Prophecy GX

Epiphone 2003 Korina G-400 Sg

Epiphone 1998 Korina Explorer

Epiphone 1998 Korina Flying V

BC Rich 1981 Maple Mockingbird Handmade

Ibanez 1976 Stratocaster

Gibson 1968 Les Paul Custom

Charvel Fretless Bass

Washburn Lyon P bass

Guild Madiera P-600 Jumbo Acoustic

Applause A-25 Acoustic

Chuan Yin Marina Mark 20SS classical

Carlo Robelli 5 string Banjo

Carlo Robelli Electric Violin

Kay Electric Mandolin

Lignatone Mandolin

Midiman Radium Keyboard

2 Marshall JTM-612 60 watt 1 12 Combos

[maniak]

Oh snap,,cream binding,,i didnt see that,,,definitely keep it!!!

[RobinTheHood]

Just out of curiosity, where are the strings buzzing?

[charlie brown]

Yeah, looks to be late '80's (as your post stated) Korean. As to keeping it, or not? That would

be up to you. It will have little (if any) "collector" value, unless the story of the previous owner

is factual, and...depending on WHO it is...their might be "some?" value attached, that way???

But, I'm no expert. IF...it you like the guitar, give it a go!

Those were very early Korean (Samick, most likely) production models, as you can tell, by the headstock

design, neck/body joint, and decided lack of any real serious "SG" beveling, and even the later ones, were

only recently starting to approach Gibson specs...which themselves, aside from the '61 Reissue and VOS versions,

have been pretty conservative, on beveling, and interior horn scarfing, since about 1968. Nothing like the '61-'66,

especially. Some feel 1964 versions to be the "ultimate," in that regard. Other's here, may know more about

your particular version. If nothing else, send Gibson/Epiphone the photos, and serial number. They should

be able to give you some more history.

 

CB

[AS90]

My mate had one of these a few years ago, the pickups and electronics were terrible, it also buzzed all over the neck! It may be the same one. I always though it played well enough though, Im after one of these or an SG Custom just for the neck binding.

 

 

If you don't like it I'll give you the £150, Im on The Wirral.

[paul liverpool]

thanks guys for your help,as i said my main query was,was i right to buy this guitar or should i have forked out the extra £60 for the brand new model, am i going to get a better made guitar for it (are the electrics and neck any better in my model than a new one),im kinda pissed because it wasnt setup and have to spend £40 to get the setup corrected,whereas that money could of went on a new one,but if its worth getting the work done for an unusal guitar that will last me then it will be justified...i may even get a partial refund of the shop where i got it to cover the setup? it depends what they say...im gonna give it a quick blast through my 100watt marshall this afternoon as i only had a quick fiddle through a 10watt practice amp in the shop

 

 

p.s. to robin hood the b+g string are buzzing around 5th and 7th fret

 

p.s. to as90 private message me ur number i can get to the wirral easily im only in kirkby,i might be intrested selling it rather than taking it the shop arguing the toss (which im not good at really),im off work to day and tommorw

 

once again guys thank you for all your help

[gearhead]

Definitely looks like one of MIJ axes, sweet. Looks good! A KEEPER!

And setting up the action isn't that hard of a job that you can do yourself if you have a little mechanical ability, unless you have some loose frets etc. Myself and others have posted on the subject of neck adjustments and setting the action.

Here's a link if you'd like to check it out:

 

SG Bully Setup Thread

 

Also look closely at the frets that are getting buzz and be sure they are seated FIRMLY against the fingerboard, shouldn't be any gap between them. (The G-400 I own had a couple frets sticking up and had buzz at 2 locations.)

 

And not to get off-post, but I think Maniak needs to get a couple more guitars, huh? LOL

[RobinTheHood]

thanks guys for your help' date='as i said my main query was,was i right to buy this guitar or should i have forked out the extra £60 for the brand new model, am i going to get a better made guitar for it (are the electrics and neck any better in my model than a new one),im kinda pissed because it wasnt setup and have to spend £40 to get the setup corrected,whereas that money could of went on a new one,but if its worth getting the work done for an unusal guitar that will last me then it will be justified...i may even get a partial refund of the shop where i got it to cover the setup? it depends what they say...im gonna give it a quick blast through my 100watt marshall stack this afternoon as i only had a quick fiddle through a 10watt practice amp in the shop

 

 

p.s. to robin hood the b+g string are buzzing around 5th and 7th fret

 

p.s. to as90 private message me ur number i can get to the wirral easily im only in kirkby,i might be intrested selling it rather than taking it the shop arguing the toss (which im not good at really),im off work to day and tommorw

 

once again guys thank you for all your help[/quote']

 

 

Well, to be quite honest, buying the new guitar doesnt meant it will be set up. Often times people buy brand new guitars and still have to pay extra to get them set up, or convince the seller to set it up as part of the sale price.

 

As for the electronics, on a personal level, if they are not as good as newer models, that really woudnt bother me because I like to mod. But that is my preference.

 

Also, fret buzz on B&G at the 5th & 7th frets shouldnt be a big deal. Sounds like a little back-bow and old strings at best and maybe a couple unseated frets at worst. As long as its not buzzing at the the first fret across the neck when the action is low, you should be fine. That would be a sign of scarf-joint warp and the neck would be no good.

 

Anyway, do what your instincts tell you to do. Follow your gut feeling and you wont go wrong. If you are having doubts, this may not be the axe for you.

[paul liverpool]

ive checked all the frets they are fine,just needs a setup im guessing,plugged it into the marshall before pickups and electrics are working perfect also...