marcbc Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Ive been looking at sgs for a while now and i have some money saved up. i have a epiphone les paul standard and gibson lp studio and an epiphone shearton. ive been playing for about 2 years. should i spend 400 bucks and a g 400 or save a little more and get a gibson faded sg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Go play both and choose, no one can tell you what you need or want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerdlap Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 From what I have heard, you get basically the same quality in a G-400 as in a Gibson SG, for less cost. That is one reason why I am getting a G-400 instead of a Gibson. But if I were you, I would go out and see which one feels better to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 I'm not a fan of the SG Special Faded... the pickups, mostly. I wasn't a fan of the G-400 I played, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byrds1965 Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Play both, but I own both and if you have the cash Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 "From what I have heard, you get basically the same quality in a G-400 as in a Gibson SG, for less cost." I don't agree with that...you get a good guitar for the money when you buy a G400 but you don't get an SG for half the price...and the PUs in the SG special faded are basically the same as what is in the elitists...I would look for an elitist SG, just ask rotcanX... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 From what I have heard' date=' you get basically the same quality in a G-400 as in a Gibson SG, for less cost. That is one reason why I am getting a G-400 instead of a Gibson. But if I were you, I would go out and see which one feels better to play. [/quote']No, they definitely are not "basically the same quality". But the Gibson costs more than a "little more" Marcbc. If you have the money get the Gibson. But since you've only been playing for two years, you may want to start out with the G400 first, and step up to the Gibson later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerdlap Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 No' date=' they definitely are not "basically the same quality". But the Gibson costs more than a "little more" Marcbc. If you have the money get the Gibson. But since you've only been playing for two years, you may want to start out with the G400 first, and step up to the Gibson later. [/quote'] ok, thanks for that info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 I really like the G400 S.O.R. or 1966...the full pickguard...also the LE w/ the maestro...two that are not available in LH boo hoo : ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgIdoc Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I really like the G400 S.O.R. or 1966...the full pickguard...also the LE w/ the maestro...two that are notavailable in LH boo hoo : ( me, too. thats what i got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 $299 or so...pretty good and leaves $100 of your $400 for setup, new nut, PUs, whatever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 the PUs in the SG special faded are basically the same as what is in the elitists... Not quite dubstar... the SG Specials have two 490s' date=' while the Standards have the 498T in the neck, which is what the 60ST in the Elitist is supposedly equivalent to. As to the quality, well, particularly with the current EE models, the quality of [i']workmanship[/i] is very close; it's the material quality that is lacking. Comparing the two unplugged, the G-400 will sound 'deader' than the SG due to the low-grade tonewoods. I think, when comparing price, you really ought to add in the cost of upgrading the pickups on the G-400 before arriving at your final decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRizZ Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I have a Gibson SG Faded and I love it. I love it a LOT. Some people aren't that fond of them, and that's cool, because there are a lot of guitars I'm not fond of but that work for other people. If I were you I'd just go for the Gibson as long as you're going to look after it well then it's not going to get totally ruined in 6 months as some people would have you believe! But the choice is yours obviously - I hope you enjoy whichever you go for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 For a person playing two years you have the Gibson/Epi solid body guitar thing pretty well handled. Why not try something completely different like a Sheraton, or 335, etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everdying Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Not quite dubstar... the SG Specials have two 490s' date=' while the Standards have the 498T in the neck, which is what the 60ST in the Elitist is supposedly equivalent to. As to the quality, well, particularly with the current EE models, the quality of [i']workmanship[/i] is very close; it's the material quality that is lacking. Comparing the two unplugged, the G-400 will sound 'deader' than the SG due to the low-grade tonewoods. I think, when comparing price, you really ought to add in the cost of upgrading the pickups on the G-400 before arriving at your final decision. think u meant 490R in the neck. 498T is in the bridge. tho im not a fan of those pickups. and yea, i have 4 gibson SGs...2 epiphone SGs and a orville by gibson SG. when unplugged, the epiphone doesnt resonate like the gibsons do. the other epiphone i have is a double neck, due to the mass of it, that one actually feels pretty nice unplugged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansmitchell Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I can't confirm 100%, but I've been told that epiphones standard line and the lower-end gibsons (BFG and faded series), both use the same phillipine mahogany. The higher-up gibsons use honduran mohagany. The elitist epis use african mahogany. In my expirience, from trying six different SGs in a shop, the 5 best(in order) were: Gibson SG special, Toni iommi signiture G-400, Epiphone G-400 with EMGs(i guess they use different quality wood?), gibson faded SG, epiphone G-400 vintage(faded), . This isn't only the plugged in sound(which was very different), I'm judging from my impression of the acoustic sustain and tone. As for plugged in, that is mosttly the amp, but I liked the iommi best there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderstruck507 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 try to find an elitist, better than the gibson special and g400 if not play both and pick whats best out of whats available...g400 and sg special are about the same on average in terms of quality but you can find some amazing ones of each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biff Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I can't confirm 100%' date=' but I've been told that epiphones standard line and the lower-end gibsons (BFG and faded series), both use the same phillipine mahogany. [/quote'] Err... Can you confirm any of that Gibson part? I seriously doubt that, never heard anyone even have a bad dream of something like that. It would be a scandal. They grade the mahogany in the factory floor and use the slabs of best quality for the best instruments, BFGs and Specials get what is left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 think u meant 490R in the neck.498T is in the bridge. D'oh! I keep saying 'neck' when I mean 'bridge' and vice-versa. Of course you are absolutely correct. Thanks. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Like everyone says...play them all! Gibson will be the better "investment," over the long haul. But, if your budget doesn't allow for that, or you don't care one way, or the other...get the Epi! Elitist (obviously) would be the best Epi, but the EE serial numbered standard G-400's are nice, as well. Play 'em, see what talks to you...you'll know! Might consider a good "used" (but not abused), Gibson SG standard, too. Just my 2-cents worth. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I can't confirm 100%' date=' but I've been told that epiphones standard line and the lower-end gibsons (BFG and faded series), both use the same phillipine mahogany.[/quote']Whoever told you that needs to check his sources. We've had a few BFGs in the store and none of them were made of Philippine 'mahogany'; same goes for the faded guitars. Gibson does not use Philippine 'mahogany'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRizZ Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 try to find an elitist' date=' better than the gibson special and g400[/quote'] Hmm, I seriously doubt that an Elitist Epiphone is better than a Gibson SG! People should stop being so hard on poor old SG Faded saying it's made of crappy wood etc. It's made from the exact same woods as a Standard - the difference being the finish and the bridge pickup - oh and the $$$ of course!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Hmm' date=' I seriously doubt that an Elitist Epiphone is better than a Gibson SG! People should stop being so hard on poor old SG Faded saying it's made of crappy wood etc. It's made from the exact same woods as a Standard - the difference being the finish and the bridge pickup - oh and the $$$ of course!!![/quote'] Different finish and pickups don't add up explaining the price difference between the Standard and Faded. I really think it's down to wood-selection. Not saying they use crappy wood for the Faded. But instead of A quality they'll use B-quality. Regular Epiphones have what I consider B/C quality, Elitist would be A/B, Plywood= D/E.:-) Not saying your Faded is not a fine guitar. Just that it's more likely you'll end up with a great sounding specimen buying the Standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwhi2001 Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I would expect that the woods used in Chinese or Korean Epiphones would vary in source and quality from batch to batch. I wouldn't even put it down to which country it comes from - trees just do vary! You'll get good Phillipine mahogany and mediocre Phillipine mahogany. I doubt that Gibson deliberately use inferior woods in the fadeds. Based on my 2004 doublecut, all the hardware and electrics are A1 Gibson quality, no compromises. The real difference is the paint job, plus the headstock logo. A good Gibson nitro paint job requires many coats, much finishing and is labour-intensive. My faded has a few cursory light coats and no polished finish. That helps keep the cost down. The logo is just a cheap decal instead of a MOP inlay. These things don't affect the sound - unplugged, it sings more than any of my other guitars. I don't consider it a second-rate Gibson in any way. I also tend to think that part of the reason for the price difference between Gibson fadeds and standard finish is simply about a high profit margin on the standard. It's not that the fadeds are cheap - it's that the others are expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRizZ Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Different finish and pickups don't add up explaining the price difference between the Standard and Faded. I really think it's down to wood-selection. Not saying they use crappy wood for the Faded. But instead of A quality they'll use B-quality. Regular Epiphones have what I consider B/C quality' date=' Elitist would be A/B, Plywood= D/E.:-) Not saying your Faded is not a fine guitar. Just that it's more likely you'll end up with a great sounding specimen buying the Standard.[/quote'] I think the nitro finish adds a lot to the price of the Standard, not only in material costs, but also in labour costs. I am fairly sure that I am right in saying that the extra time taken to finish a Standard contributes substantially to the cost. That nitro finish isn't just a one spray and it's done type of thing. But anyway - as you say there are no guarantees when buying any guitar that it will be a definite 10/10 , when dealing with nautral materials such as wood it is impossible to get a perfect level of consitency of quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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