Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

Angus Young Signature

Suicidehummer

By Suicidehummer
in Epiphone Electrics

Recommended Posts

Suicidehummer

Suicidehummer

Posted
Posted

Why won't Epiphone make an Angus Signature? I can't buy a $3,000 Gibson just because I like AC/DC! I would do anything to get that SG, but I can't pay that much. Isn't that supposed to be what Epi is all about?

 

We should annoy Epi until they do it! That is unless I'm the only AC/DC fan here...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mattfeltham

mattfeltham

Posted
Posted

Hell no ur not the only AC/DC fan!

I cant much complain, my arsenal currently consists of (just 1 guitar, but its) a Gibson SG Standard.

Im running it through a Marshall AVT150X but i just cant quite hit that exact 'Angus' tone no matter how hard i try.

Being 17 i cant exactly afford to go out and buy another Gibson, let alone another SG just for the one tone. (God i had to sell me other Epi and my old amp just to afford the SG...and to be honest id prefer a LP now that i own the SG.)

Bue yeah, long story short...im with you.

CMON EPI...WE WANT AN ANGUS SERIES! YOU GAVE US ZAKK AND SLASH...WE WANT ANGUS!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SkEpTiKaL

SkEpTiKaL

Posted
Posted

As an SG lover and an AC/DC lover, I can do nothing but agree with you. I've been looking at that guitar ever since I started playing. If there was one signature that Epi should bring in to the mix, it would have to be the Angus! (Especially considering that there is only one SG Signature, the Iommi, compared to the many LP/LP Variant Signatures)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dave

Dave

Posted
Posted

Back in the 70's I had a Burgundy (wine) Gibson SG. I remember the Angus tone from the bridge pickup. It took pinch harmonics to complete that Angus-like sound. The reason I traded it for a Strat was lack of sustain. Well, someone post the specs and let's compare. I was told that mine had the same pickups as the Les Paul, I think it was 490/498 or 490/496. At the time, I didn't really care about pickup specs, just sound.

 

I played it through a Gibson amp that had 280 watts RMS and 8-12" CTS speakers. That was a smoking amp, but way too big for anyone but a young guy to carry around. David Cassidy came to the coliseum and his lead player rented it from me through a local music dealer for the night one time. He raved about how clean it sounded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lostindesert

lostindesert

Posted
Posted
Hell no ur not the only AC/DC fan!

I cant much complain' date=' my arsenal currently consists of (just 1 guitar, but its) a Gibson SG Standard.

Im running it through a Marshall AVT150X but i just cant quite hit that exact 'Angus' tone no matter how hard i try.

Being 17 i cant exactly afford to go out and buy another Gibson, let alone another SG just for the one tone. (God i had to sell me other Epi and my old amp just to afford the SG...and to be honest id prefer a LP now that i own the SG.)

Bue yeah, long story short...im with you.

CMON EPI...WE WANT AN ANGUS SERIES! YOU GAVE US ZAKK AND SLASH...WE WANT ANGUS![/quote']

 

For the ''Angus'' sound you'll also need a Marshall stack with TUBES.

A transistor combo will not deliver his (ANGUS) sound.

The Gibson SG Standard is a good way to start.

Maybe a Marshall (TUBE) combo is what you need.

 

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RotcanX

RotcanX

Posted
Posted
Back in the 70's I had a Burgundy (wine) Gibson SG. I was told that mine had the same pickups as the Les Paul' date=' I think it was 490/498 or 490/496.[/quote']

 

Not on a 70's SG, bud. I've had a couple of those (still have one) and the pickups are nothing like the 490/498. 1970s (the dark ages) Gibson pickups were the reason Dimarzio got rich. They were better than the HBs in the usual crop of Jap copies and I'd say they are somewhat better than today's Epi pickups but not at all on a par with current Gibson offerings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SG1973

SG1973

Posted
Posted

You absolutely have to have a tube amp to get that ac/ dc tone. I hve a 66LE G-400, and while I know it's not a Gibby, I can get pretty close with my Peavey Classic 30 cranked way up on the clean channel. I can't do it at home, but when I jam with my buddies I can CRANK it up ! Man, I love the sound of an overdriven tube amp. Well, anyway, man I got carried away for a moment, I'm toying with the idea of the Angus bridge pup in my G-400. Oh, by the way, AC/DC is what I ate for breakfast , lunch and dinner growing up, and Angus young has always been my favorite guitar man. No bigger ac/dc fan here than I.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RotcanX

RotcanX

Posted
Posted

Sounds like a viable idea. Probably end up costing about $700 I would say; more if they actually build it with 'Angus' pickups - maybe up to $900 at that point. Still interested?

 

Question is, would they do it properly, that is to say, produce a true '67 SG copy with the correct neck and heel for that period or would they just slap a '66 pickguard and a Maestro plus some witch hat knobs on the same old G-400 which is based on the geometry of a '62 SG?

 

And if that's the case, perhaps one could get off one's *** and just pick up a Maestro G-400 and change the pickguard, knobs and pickups.

 

Does Angus ever actually use the vibrato? My impression is no, but I am in no way an AC/DC aficionado so I wouldn't know. My point is that any G-400 with the appropriate pickups will get you into the desired sound envelope... after all, the lion's share of the task will consist of mimicking Angus' playing style, not just having a similar looking guitar... or is this only about 'looking' like Angus as you strut in front of a mirror wearing a beany with the propeller cut off? :-

Link to comment
Share on other sites
glenn1281733995

glenn1281733995

Posted
Posted

Angus would sound like Angus if'n he was using a Squier Strat into a 5 watt SS Bedroom amp. Its all about style, technique and personality. The ability to be competent enough to play very loud also helps. I reckon I've seen most ACDC videos, DVD's as well as several live performances. I dont recall ever seeing him use a maestro. You rarely see him play that actual guitar and when you do see it, the maesto arm is swung back. He plays at least one other maestro type SG but the one I've seen doesn't have the arm installed at all. From my experience, he mainly seems to use a 61 style SG, often black. My advise would be to stick a 57 Classic + in the bridge of a G400, leave the neck stock and practice for 20 years. A tube amp would be nice but in no way essential. School uniform, bag and cap are optional.

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=92644

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thunderstruck507

thunderstruck507

Posted
Posted

Eh, just get an Elitist.

 

The angus pickup sounds less like angus than the stock elitist pickups. The 57 classics are the closest I've heard in person.

 

Besides they'd prolly charge as much as an elitist for it anyway.

 

498T with the tone on 8 + marshall tube amp nice and hot = AC/DC live at donington tone

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Suicidehummer

Suicidehummer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Wow, lots of replies! I guess I'm not the only AC/DC fan here!

 

On the Angus sound subject, I've "studied" Angus's technique for years, and I've learned these basic Angus things:

 

1. It's just Angus and the guitar. He's said in several interviews that he does not use any effects ever. "I always keep it simple...If you've got too many toys up there, then there's too many things that can go wrong."

 

2. He never uses the vibrato, although it was on and off his first guitar several times.

 

3. The signature is mainly based on his first SG, although it's loosely based on others.

 

4. He always keeps his amp volume at 8, and constantly fiddles with the guitar's volume knob as an overdrive regulator. "A lot of people think it sounds best when you drive the amps to death, but I never do it that way. I think that when you turn things up too much, the sound sort of goes a bit mushy." "A lot of people who have picked up my guitar and tried it through my amp have been shocked at how clean it is."

 

5. Angus does not even own his Signature model.

 

6. Angus has tons of SGs, many black, although his favorite color is Aged Cherry.

 

7. He always keeps the stock pickups. "I usually like to leave a guitar alone because those pickups are part of the character of it. If I bought a guitar that had an old battered-up pickup in it and thats what gave it that particular sound quality, then Ill leave it."

 

8. He has only one non-Gibson SG, which was custom-made by Jaydee guitars. He aso owns several Gibson ES-335s, Firebirds, and Fender Telecasters.

 

9. He uses Ernie Ball .009 guage strings.

 

 

Biff: He has loads of SGs, the ones you have pictured are:

 

#1 - His first SG, a '68 with the Vibrola on. Despite him saying he keeps the stock pickups, that surprisingly looks like a Seymour Duncan on it.

 

#2 - His fairly new, Custom-Made by Gibson, SG. Notice the pickup mounting rings despite the '66 pickguard, and the lightning bolt inlays.

 

#3 - I don't know much about this guitar. There's no pickup mounting rings, despite the '61 style pickguard. Also notice the pickup switch placement, and where the cord plugs in. This leads me to believe it was custom made by Gibson, or, possibly even a copy of some sort.

 

#4 - One of his favorites; he uses this one constantly, and the easy way to differentiate it from any other red SG he has is the black volume knob. The paint on the neck is worn so much, it turned orange. It can be seen on the Plug Me In DVD during Hail Caesar.

 

thunderstuck507: The problem is that they don't make SG Elitists anymore, and some of us have had bad Ebay experiences...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
captmidnight

captmidnight

Posted
Posted

I don't know if the rest of the group here gets these emails from Gibson, but this guy tries to explain how to get that "Angus" tone. It's the playing style more than the type of guitar. I agree Angus could make an el cheapo guitar sound good.

 

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Lessons/InstrumentLessons/AC_DC%20Back%20In%20Black%20Part%201/

Capt

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Suicidehummer

Suicidehummer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Holy Crap! Fil is like my hero! (Next to Angus) I can't believe he got onto Gibson.com! I don't think he even knows he's on there! He's where I've gotten most of my AC/DC knowledge. He also got onto the AC/DC website. He's like a freakin' celebrity now!

 

Fil (AKA SoloDallas) is the go-to guy for anything AC/DC, trust me! Watch some of his videos, he's amazing at capturing Angus's sound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...