outforblood Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Got me a new git-fiddle today off of good 'ol Craigslist. A pretty rad G-400 faded brown. Everything is stock. The action is looooow...had to raise it a bit. Speaking of which, I am having some fret buzz at the 21st fret on the G and D string, is there a way I can get rid of the buzz there without raising the bridge any more? The electronics are all good, shielded and quiet. I wonder how this compares to a Gibson special faded sound wise? I think this guitar is a Chinese one, not Korean. I included a pic of the serial number if anyone knows the origin of this instrument. Cheers! Came with a sweet case too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manimal Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Kick *** man, with the hard-case too? as far as compared to the Gibson SG Faded, I think the biggest difference is going to come from the stock pickups in the Gibson, and perhaps the bridge/tail, and electronics. The guts of the Gibson really aren't that spectacular, but a little bit of an upgrade over the Epi. The pickups are better though. They are both such simply made guitars, the Gibson in most cases will ring out a little bit better than the Epi, but hell, there are some great guitars in every batch. Hope yours is a good one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outforblood Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 Yeah man...this SG plays and sounds really good for what I paid for it. Arpeggio sweeps and bends are a breeze on this thing. The tone on this beauty is nice and warm with rich mids. The stock pups seem pretty good, I'll probobly end up swapping them for some Gibsons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manimal Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Nice. Hell if you like the pickups as is, maybe try pot/cap upgrade if you feel like tinkering. You'll save dough in the meantime and really make the controls more usable on the guitar and bring out the best in the stock pickups. RS makes some great stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outforblood Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 Nice. Hell if you like the pickups as is' date=' maybe try pot/cap upgrade if you feel like tinkering. You'll save dough in the meantime and really make the controls more usable on the guitar and bring out the best in the stock pickups. RS makes some great stuff![/quote'] That's a great idea. I do dig the pups...so far. Anyone wanna chime in on how to solve the fret buzz problem at the 21st? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 fret dressing, simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outforblood Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 fret dressing' date=' simple.[/quote']What, just file down the 22nd fret so the g and d strings stop buzzing on the 21st? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Well, sort of. Its not as simple as that, but that's the basic concept. IF that is the issue. Have you checked the neck relief? After that ( and after the neck is pretty much dead flat) start checking for tall frets. Take something straight that will span only the three frets near the suspect fret, lay it on top of the frets and see if you can "rock" it. If you find a high fret the straight edge will see-saw on that fret as you rock it, if the frets are true it shouldn't budge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Then if you find a high fret, you must do more than just "file it down". You first must get the fret level with the surrounding frets. Not too high, not too low. Depending on the area of the fret board you may ned to go slightly higher or lower than the adjacent fret. The you must restore the proper rounded profile to the top of the fret, without lowering the fret too much in the process. You can really screw up your guitar (at least your frets and fretboard) doing this, so if it's your first time, try it on a guitar you don't like much nor paid anything for. Or even better yet, support your local repairman. This is one of the areas where novices shouldn't tread. It's not like re stringing a guitar where if you do a poor job you can just be better next time, a poor fret job will kill the playability of your guitar. And it is nothing you can nail right out of tha gate either. If takes a fine touch and finess, you must be accurate within a thousandth of an inch, and you have to do that by hand. Fret dressing is an art, I have years spent doing it, and I just in the last couple years feel like I really excel at it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outforblood Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 Thanks for the advice. I pretty sure that the 22nd fret is taller that the 21st...at least when I fret the d and g strings down at the 21st, the 22nd fret touches the string....I wonder how expensive it would be to get it corrected at a shop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Not much at all if thats all it is. Other things can cause the same issue so have a pro look it over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoop Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Looks nice, I'm quite keen to pickup a faded model myself, though I'm not sure I'd have much use for another guitar essentially the same as what I've got. There's an older Korean one for sale locally with the white bound neck too. I'd suggest checking the neck relief too, you might just need a little truss rod tweak to sort that buzz. You'll soon get the hang of that. I've spent a little time over the past couple of days with the truss rod wrench in hand, making little tweaks to my guitars, and have become pretty apt at it actually. They're playing great! I have to say too, plugged in my own G400 for the first time in a while and cranked up the gain. Boy does she purr! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniak Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 HNGD!!! Nice grab,,she sure is purty.I've been in love with Sg's for like 2 years now(since i got Korina G400 pictured here) <a href="http://s601.photobucket.com/albums/tt93/maniakmusik_photos/?action=view¤t=DSC01458.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt93/maniakmusik_photos/DSC01458.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> Hows the neck on that one??i knpw the satin finish on my Prophecy neck is just unreal so a faded must be pretty much the same feel. Sounds like you just get those frets looked at and you're good to go.As far as pickups go its always a crapshoot with Epiphones,,sometimes you get lucky. The stock ones in my krona(a 2003) give the Gibson DirtyFingers in my Prophecy a good run for thier money so you'll just have to see. Good Luck with her man!!!, Maniak 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniak Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 oops dont know what happened to my pics on the last post,,this should work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishdazzler Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 That is one gorgeous looking guitar!! well done mate and happy new guitar day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spyke1 Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 That's a great looking SG! Love the faded colour. Happy NGD! Two more classy looking ones there too, Maniak. I'm going to go and drool somewhere now so my keyboard doesn't get wet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG fan 420 Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Nice G400 man. I got a Gibbie Special faded and it sounds SWEET!! But compared to the higher end ones like the 61 reissue, the quality control is't near as consistant. You could get a dog or a diamond in the rough. I think I got a pretty well made one, the sustain is great for an SG. As with the Gibson, the only difference between it and the higher cost models is the finish. Your guitar has great bevels BTW, some of the best i've seen on an epi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outforblood Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 I can't seem to put this baby down! I'd swear I was playing a 800.00+(*insert big brand name here*) SG. Smooth creamy butter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhead Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hey on your buzz issue, Muzikron nailed it with his info. Only one other thing to be noted is that if your buzzing fret is taller than the ones next to it, look carefully where it meets the finger board, it should be FLUSH, flat against the surface of the fret board. My G400 had two frets that buzzed when I got it, and both weren't seated properly. A couple taps with my rawhide hammer fixed that. But if you've never messed with frets etc before, I would recommend a good repair shop. Make them SHOW you what needs done before they do it, an unseated fret shouldn't cost a lot to repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outforblood Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hey on your buzz issue' date=' Muzikron nailed it with his info. Only one other thing to be noted is that if your buzzing is fret is taller than the ones next to it, look carefully where it meets the finger board, it should be FLUSH, flat against the surface of the fret board. My G400 had two frets that buzzed when I got it, and both weren't seated properly. A couple taps with my rawhide hammer fixed that. But if you've never messed with frets etc before, I would recommend a good repair shop. Make them SHOW you what needs done before they do it, an unseated fret shouldn't cost a lot to repair. [/quote'] Good call. The 22nd fret does not appear to be perfectly flush with the fretboard, the fret seems to "arch" out a little from the middle. That's gotta be it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 yup, sprung fret. Thats why I said take it to a pro before you start hacking away with a bastard file. You can get that fixed for the cost of a few packs of strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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