darling67 Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 Well, the saga of my Epi SG Special has finally come to a satisfying conclusion, and I am finally getting around to posting a "NGD". This guitar arrived with some issues. Fret buzz, and high-E string slippage off the fretboard. With all the Covid-19 disruption, it took Sweetwater a while to give me the "OK" to have the fixes executed at a local repair shop… but I just picked her up at the shop, and she now plays—and sounds—like a dream! Now that she's ready to rock, I present to you all my new 2020 Epiphone SG Special in Faded Pelham Blue! I kept the warranty sticker/plastic coating on the pick guard until I was 100% certain she was a keeper. Felt good to finally peel it all off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrvond Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 Congratulations! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richey88 Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 That's awesome! I got this one, lve teh P90's! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberyto Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Congrats!! That's a really nice color :), BTW what did the shop said about the repair? What do they do? Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 10 hours ago, richey88 said: That's awesome! I got this one, lve teh P90's! Ah, nice! Which one is that? It looks like the Epi version of what Gibson called the "Classic". I had one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 5 hours ago, roberyto said: Congrats!! That's a really nice color :), BTW what did the shop said about the repair? What do they do? Cheers, Upon first impressions, he said the neck appeared to be a bit bowed. He fiddled with the truss rod a little until the buzz seemed to diminish, and said it would be ready in just a couple days. In the end, he basically gave it a setup. Tightened the machines, adjusted/set the stop bar tailpiece for intonation, adjusted the P90s… and then some cosmetic things like polishing the frets and fretboard.... Sweetwater covered it, so it was no sweat off my back—save for a new set of strings, as I was a bonehead and forgot to bring a new set with me when I dropped it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberyto Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Nice! Thanks for the reply, now enjoy that beauty as much as you can! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted April 15, 2020 Author Share Posted April 15, 2020 18 hours ago, roberyto said: Nice! Thanks for the reply, now enjoy that beauty as much as you can! I have been! 😉👍 Btw... that's a cool TV Yellow LP Junior in our avatar. I love P90s. Discovered them a little late in my years as a guitarist. But better late then never. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sheehan Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Darling67, I was just wondering what the problem might've been that was causing your high E string to drift too close to the edge of the fingerboard and want to slip off, and what exactly was done to remedy that issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberyto Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 On 4/15/2020 at 3:54 AM, darling67 said: I have been! 😉👍 Btw... that's a cool TV Yellow LP Junior in our avatar. I love P90s. Discovered them a little late in my years as a guitarist. But better late then never. Actually is one of the new series of Epiphone inspired by Gibson, love the pickups, the guitar is gorgeous, and i like the fat neck shape. The only thing that it left me a huge bitter taste, is that it came full of high frets (look like that they are badly seated), a bad cut nut, and some minor paint issues. QC is very poor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 15 hours ago, Bill Sheehan said: Darling67, I was just wondering what the problem might've been that was causing your high E string to drift too close to the edge of the fingerboard and want to slip off, and what exactly was done to remedy that issue? Hey, Bill. You know what was weird... the high-E string slippage was the initial issue with this guitar. But that seemed to remedy itself, and it morphed into a dead string. Fret and pluck it, and nothing but a tinny, buzzy plink ensued. So, unfortunately, I can't give you any further info on what caused the string slippage... other than what I outlined a few posts above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, roberyto said: Actually is one of the new series of Epiphone inspired by Gibson, love the pickups, the guitar is gorgeous, and i like the fat neck shape. The only thing that it left me a huge bitter taste, is that it came full of high frets (look like that they are badly seated), a bad cut nut, and some minor paint issues. QC is very poor. Right. I was just saying it looks like the old Gibson "Classic" that they were offering in the late 2000's. Full-face PG, P90's, fat/wide dot neck..... Sorry about the issues. Seems these new "Inspired by" Epi's are fraught with problems. One would be very lucky to get one that was ready to rock right out of the box. Edited April 21, 2020 by darling67 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sheehan Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 2 hours ago, darling67 said: Hey, Bill. You know what was weird... the high-E string slippage was the initial issue with this guitar. But that seemed to remedy itself, and it morphed into a dead string. Fret and pluck it, and nothing but a tinny, buzzy plink ensued. So, unfortunately, I can't give you any further info on what caused the string slippage... other than what I outlined a few posts above. No problem, and I might've misunderstood the issue, which I initially thought was that your strings (as a unit) were drifting off toward the treble side of the fretboard, such that your high E string was wanting to "slip off" the edge of the fretboard. Sounds like maybe you were actually just having some more general slippage of the high E string "tuning-wise", and it's good to know that's been corrected! Judging from your photos, your strings appear to be aligned just fine, i.e., you're not experiencing the dreaded "string drift factor" that guitars sometimes suffer from. Have fun with that nice instrument! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Bill Sheehan said: No problem, and I might've misunderstood the issue, which I initially thought was that your strings (as a unit) were drifting off toward the treble side of the fretboard, such that your high E string was wanting to "slip off" the edge of the fretboard. Sounds like maybe you were actually just having some more general slippage of the high E string "tuning-wise", and it's good to know that's been corrected! Judging from your photos, your strings appear to be aligned just fine, i.e., you're not experiencing the dreaded "string drift factor" that guitars sometimes suffer from. Have fun with that nice instrument! Yes, initially the high E string was, indeed, slipping off the edge of the fretboard with the most minimal of effort. I posted some pre-fixing pics—when I first got the guitar— in another thread in this Epiphone area. If you look closely, I think it can be detected that the high E was a bit too close to the edge of the fretboard—at the very least, it appeared to be further from the B than the B was to the G.... etc., etc. I could be wrong. It may very well have simply been the neck being out of whack and/or the stop bar needed adjusting in unison with the neck "straightening". Whatever the Guitar tech did has made it play perfectly now. Edited April 22, 2020 by darling67 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sheehan Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 (edited) On 4/21/2020 at 7:35 PM, darling67 said: Yes, initially the high E string was, indeed, slipping off the edge of the fretboard with the most minimal of effort. I posted some pre-fixing pics—when I first got the guitar— in another thread in this Epiphone area. If you look closely, I think it can be detected that the high E was a bit too close to the edge of the fretboard—at the very least, it appeared to be further from the B than the B was to the G.... etc., etc. I could be wrong. It may very well have simply been the neck being out of whack and/or the stop bar needed adjusting in unison with the neck "straightening". Whatever the Guitar tech did has made it play perfectly now. Good morning, d67, thanks for that followup! I'm a little surprised that your SG arrived with those issues, as the merchant from which you purchased it is known for giving an instrument "a good going over" (although not a formal "setup" unless you request it and pay the extra cost associated with it) before it goes out the door. And to be sure, I have had very good experiences with that merchant in the past. But, nobody's perfect, and occasionally even the best of us slip up a little. But anyway, I was wondering how you're liking your new guitar by now? I've been thinking about getting one, as I've always loved the SG body style, especially with those white-buttoned tuners, that clean and simple pre-compensated "all-in-one" wraparound bridge, and of course the P-90 pickups (which I've also yet to experience). In my 50+ years of playing, I've tended to be a Strat, Tele, and Les Paul guy. If you don't mind, I'm curious as to whether the P-90 pickups are able to be raised and lowered as on other guitars, or are they fixed in place? Do your P-90's carry a lot of electrical "hum"? Also, are you getting decent intonation from your wraparound bridge? And finally, are you maintaining "10-guage" strings on there? THANKS! Edited April 25, 2020 by Bill Sheehan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 12 hours ago, Bill Sheehan said: Good morning, d67, thanks for that followup! I'm a little surprised that your SG arrived with those issues, as the merchant from which you purchased it is known for giving an instrument "a good going over" (although not a formal "setup" unless you request it and pay the extra cost associated with it) before it goes out the door. And to be sure, I have had very good experiences with that merchant in the past. But, nobody's perfect, and occasionally even the best of us slip up a little. But anyway, I was wondering how you're liking your new guitar by now? I've been thinking about getting one, as I've always loved the SG body style, especially with those white-buttoned tuners, that clean and simple pre-compensated "all-in-one" wraparound bridge, and of course the P-90 pickups (which I've also yet to experience). In my 50+ years of playing, I've tended to be a Strat, Tele, and Les Paul guy. If you don't mind, I'm curious as to whether the P-90 pickups are able to be raised and lowered as on other guitars, or are they fixed in place? Do your P-90's carry a lot of electrical "hum"? Also, are you getting decent intonation from your wraparound bridge? And finally, are you maintaining "10-guage" strings on there? THANKS! Hey, Bill... Yes, the merchant in-question is known for their "55-point inspection"... and truth be told, this is the second guitar I've purchased from them that had issues. First was an Alvarez acoustic. Had some fret buzz. In that instance, I didn't bother with contacting them about it. I took it to a luthier who is a friend of a friend. Anyway, this SG's issues were obviously more extensive, so I had no choice but to get them involved. Anyway, about this SG.... I've had several SGs over the years. Eight to be exact. They're my all-time favorite guitar. I only own three of them today (and one of them is this new Epi). I didn't know about P90s, myself, until maybe six years ago....? I've always bought guitars with humbuckers. Crazy, considering I've been playing for like 40 years. I love them... and I love this guitar. Never had a guitar without a tune-a-matic bridge, so that is a new one for me. The intonation is great—of course, I just had it set-up... and yes, the P90s are adjustable. He actually adjusted them a little bit on this Epi. Not much hum from them. I am not much of a stickler for things like that (unless we're talking unacceptably noisy)... a little hum doesn't bother me. Lastly, yes—I use 10's on all of my guitars. Basically, this guitar has been out on the stand since it was fixed, and I love playing it. I know that's the case with any new guitar. But I dunno... this thing is very.... seductive. 😍 I would go ahead and get one of these. I'm sure the 2019 Gibson version of this guitar would feel more expensive. But this feels and sounds great... and for 1k less? It was a no-brainer. I would just beware of the QC issues that these 2020 "Inspired By" Epi's seem to be plagued with. I took a chance and bought sight unseen. I'd say check on out in-person, but that's not possible at the moment 😷. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Krashpad Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 ¡Felicidades! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sheehan Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 13 hours ago, darling67 said: Hey, Bill... Yes, the merchant in-question is known for their "55-point inspection"... and truth be told, this is the second guitar I've purchased from them that had issues. First was an Alvarez acoustic. Had some fret buzz. In that instance, I didn't bother with contacting them about it. I took it to a luthier who is a friend of a friend. Anyway, this SG's issues were obviously more extensive, so I had no choice but to get them involved. Anyway, about this SG.... I've had several SGs over the years. Eight to be exact. They're my all-time favorite guitar. I only own three of them today (and one of them is this new Epi). I didn't know about P90s, myself, until maybe six years ago....? I've always bought guitars with humbuckers. Crazy, considering I've been playing for like 40 years. I love them... and I love this guitar. Never had a guitar without a tune-a-matic bridge, so that is a new one for me. The intonation is great—of course, I just had it set-up... and yes, the P90s are adjustable. He actually adjusted them a little bit on this Epi. Not much hum from them. I am not much of a stickler for things like that (unless we're talking unacceptably noisy)... a little hum doesn't bother me. Lastly, yes—I use 10's on all of my guitars. Basically, this guitar has been out on the stand since it was fixed, and I love playing it. I know that's the case with any new guitar. But I dunno... this thing is very.... seductive. 😍 I would go ahead and get one of these. I'm sure the 2019 Gibson version of this guitar would feel more expensive. But this feels and sounds great... and for 1k less? It was a no-brainer. I would just beware of the QC issues that these 2020 "Inspired By" Epi's seem to be plagued with. I took a chance and bought sight unseen. I'd say check on out in-person, but that's not possible at the moment 😷. Thank you, D, I'm glad to know you're enjoying that new SG! After much consideration, I went ahead and "pulled the trigger" on the same Special P-90 model, in sparkling burgundy. Although I've had very good service from "SW" in the past, I decided to go with Chicago Music Exchange this time, as they are a little closer to home, and they indicated that they'll do a full inspection and basic set-up before sending the guitar to me, including the installation of a fresh set of 10's. It sounds like these are on back-order right now, so it may be a while. But I'm really excited to be getting this new guitar, and grateful for all of your input! I'll let you know when it arrives! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Bill Sheehan said: Thank you, D, I'm glad to know you're enjoying that new SG! After much consideration, I went ahead and "pulled the trigger" on the same Special P-90 model, in sparkling burgundy. Although I've had very good service from "SW" in the past, I decided to go with Chicago Music Exchange this time, as they are a little closer to home, and they indicated that they'll do a full inspection and basic set-up before sending the guitar to me, including the installation of a fresh set of 10's. It sounds like these are on back-order right now, so it may be a while. But I'm really excited to be getting this new guitar, and grateful for all of your input! I'll let you know when it arrives! At a point where I thought I might be returning this guitar to SW, I was considering maybe asking them to replace it with a Sparkling Burgundy model.... but the Faded Pelham is great, and I wanted to keep this guitar if possible. I chose it specifically, at a time when they had four to compare/choose from. It felt like "mine", and I am glad I kept it and finally had it fixed. Good news that you're pulling the trigger... and you're welcome for my input. I just checked and Guitar Center has Sparkling Burgundy in-stock. But I understand you'd want to have a guitar that gets a thorough once-over before it ships. I'll be on the look-out for a "NGD" post from you. 😉👍 Edited April 26, 2020 by darling67 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberyto Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 Hello Bill Adding to what darling67 told you, I have a Les Paul Special from the same Collection, Same P90's, and they sound awesome whit very low hum, no problem in that context, and the guitar for the price seems good, just be especially careful to inspect it when it arrives. Mine came whit an overly filed nut that I will have to replace, and a LOT (i mean like 8 ) high frets. So be aware of that. I hate this because the idea behind this line is really good, I just wish that Epiphone could keep the quality of a Squier Classic Vibe, for example, just to tell a similarly priced guitar. I hope yours will be rocking from the beginning! Cheers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sheehan Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 3 hours ago, darling67 said: At a point where I thought I might be returning this guitar to SW, I was considering maybe asking them to replace it with a Sparkling Burgundy model.... but the Faded Pelham is great, and I wanted to keep this guitar if possible. I chose it specifically, at a time when they had four to compare/choose from. It felt like "mine", and I am glad I kept it and finally had it fixed. Good news that you're pulling the trigger... and you're welcome for my input. I just checked and Guitar Center has Sparkling Burgundy in-stock. But I understand you'd want to have a guitar that gets a thorough once-over before it ships. I'll be on the look-out for a "NGD" post from you. 😉👍 Thank you so much, D67, and I'll hope to be posting a little review soon! Have a good week! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sheehan Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 2 hours ago, roberyto said: Hello Bill Adding to what darling67 told you, I have a Les Paul Special from the same Collection, Same P90's, and they sound awesome whit very low hum, no problem in that context, and the guitar for the price seems good, just be especially careful to inspect it when it arrives. Mine came whit an overly filed nut that I will have to replace, and a LOT (i mean like 8 ) high frets. So be aware of that. I hate this because the idea behind this line is really good, I just wish that Epiphone could keep the quality of a Squier Classic Vibe, for example, just to tell a similarly priced guitar. I hope yours will be rocking from the beginning! Cheers! Thanks, Roberyto, I'll be mindful of those things, and hopefully my new SG will be a good one! Really appreciate your input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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