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HNGD (updated review post set up)

AlanH

By AlanH
in Epiphone Electrics

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AlanH

AlanH

Posted
Posted

I've been after a second LP and ended up going for a Studio Deluxe. I got it for £246 from Thomann in Germany and I also bought an Epi case for it. I was a bit worried about it being shipped from Germany to the UK but I have to say that Thomann packed it extremely well. I've not long opened it but, out of the box, it looks nice. Mini review to follow.

 

Alan

 

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duane v

duane v

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Posted
OK' date=' I should know this..

 

But I am sufficiently embarassed to say what does HNGD stand for? Some variation of GAS perhaps? Someone put me out of my misery.[/quote']

 

Have a Nice Guitar Day[biggrin]

 

BTW Alan....GREAT AXE!!!!:-k

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AlanH

AlanH

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Ok I've had a chance to do an initial review of my new studio deluxe.

 

Firstly, to answer the questions above: Sketch, the finish is the wine red as seen on the Gibson version so there is no hint of cherry. The photo above was taken at early dusk so I have caught it in lowish light but it is still a nice deep colour in any lighting. Copperhead, the finish on the back of the neck is the same and there's a limited edition 'custom shop' logo on there too.

 

Out of the box I couldn't find any marks, dings or scratches in the finish, although there was a bit of gunk stuck to the edge of the fretboard just by the neck pickup that will come off. Finish wise, it is a nice looking guitar with an attractive 'grain' but, I would say that the poly finish and the veneer makes it look a little bit more artificial on close inspection compared to my standard plus. I think this is because, on the plus, the flame and the binding take the emphasis away from the veneer/poly expanse. As for the hardware, the bridge and tailpiece look to be of good quality and the jack socket is very solid, with the guitar cord slotting in to place easily and snugly. The tulip tuners are clearly not the same quality as the ones on my Gibson SG, having a more 'plasticky' chrome look to the rear covers but there are equally functional. I do actually prefer the quality and lower gearing of the grovers on my plus. The pickup toggle switch actually functions quite nicely.

 

You hear about people saying that their new guitar was in perfect tune out of the box. Well, this one was way off tune (downwards). However, I realised that this had been deliberately done by Thomann for shipping - a wise move to prevent a stress headstock break, I think. Anyway I tuned up and, after getting the strings stretched out, the guitar says mostly in tune; although there is some slippage on the bass strings as they're not wound on correctly. There's no nut binding at all though, which is a good sign. Set up wise, the guitar has come with a virtually straight neck and a lowish action which suits me perfectly. It plays fast and silk smooth but I have had the occasional grinding noise on the bass side frets due to the awful stock strings. I also need to raise the stop bar to relieve some of the string tension across the bridge which will give a less stiff feel (although it's actually not that bad on this guitar).

 

Unplugged there is a nice long sustain but I think I need some half decent strings to hear that creamier side of the LP sound. Plugged in, I've only had chance to use my Zoom H4 processor. This is great for its high gain amp models but not so good for the clean or gritty type tones. Anyway, from first impressions I may be keeping these stock pickups. The tone with high gain on the bridge humbucker has a lot less muddiness than I got with the stock pickups on my standard plus (before installing Seymour Duncans). With this studio I'm getting nice bright, articulate metal tones. For a blues and rock test I'm going to have to wait to use my valve amp to see if I can coax som PAF type tones out of this guitar. We're going on a family trip tomorrow so I don't think I'll get chance to crank things up until Friday.

 

In conclusion, by my first impressions, I'm finding I have a highly playable, nice sounding guitar from stock. I can't wait to get going with some amplification - I'll let you know how those pickups are sounding.

 

Alan

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AlanH

AlanH

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Just thought I'd give an update on how I'm getting on with the guitar.

 

I've put the it through its paces with my Peavey Royal 8 valve amp plus my pedal board and have done some comparisons with my SD JB/Jazz equipped Epi LP standard plus.

 

The pickups seem a little better than the ones I took out of my standard. I don't know whether it's becuase the standard didn't have the 'new and improved' Epiphone pickups in it, despite it being an '07. Anyway the studio is not as muddy as I remember my standard being but this could be due to the fact that it has a brighter unplugged tone - same sustain but more 'bite' and less cream/fatness than the standard.

 

I tested both pickups on the studio by playing some hard rock and some bluesy stuff. Although less muddy than expected, there was still some mud there and I also found the Epi pickups to be a little sterile rather than complex/articulate. This contrasts completely with the Duncans in my standard which not only have more clarity but also allow the way you play to come out more (if you get what I mean.) I also noticed that the Duncans are a lot more powerful than the Epis. With the studio deluxe I had to do two things to get a comparable tone. Firstly, my Green Monkey pedal gave me that extra bit of power and distortion I wanted and; secondly my EQ pedal allowed me to cut of some mud by dialing out a mid range scoop. It sounded good with the lower frequencies either scooped out or bolstered. However, I didn't get that complexity that I have with the SDs. Nevertheless, the Epi pickups are still more than up to the job and I may well yet keep them in.

 

Another thing I've just done with my studio is get rid of the awful Epi strings and replace them with Ernie Ball 10-46s. I've also managed to lower the action slightly more on the treble side without getting any fret buzz. The tail piece has also been raised to match the angle that the strings fall down the headstock at the other end. This has just taken the edge of any tension during freting/string bending. The neck looked totally straight when sighted but the 1st/22nd fret test showed that there is a very slight bit of relief in there so I've left it 'as is'.

 

After my little set up the guitar is now a completely different animal. I knew the neck was nice but now it is so quick and comfortable I'm amazed at what I have for the money. The scrapiness on string bending that I was getting has also disappeared. Note that the stock strings were not tarnished in any way - the guitar is February 2010 made and had clearly not been out on display so I shouldn't have had to change the strings at all. It has really highlighted to me how absolutely dreadful the stock Epi strings are. I've yet to plug the guitar in so the tone through the amp may now be improved with decent strings on. I haven't checked intonation but the factory eyeball job sounds OK to my ear. I'll check it properly when I get chance.

 

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with my purchase. It's a very nice looking guitar with a super fast, comfortable neck. It sustains well but has a bit of SG type attack complementing a more modest amount of fatness compared to my standard. The stock pickups are adequate, especially with an EQ pedal and, for my tastes, an overdrive pedal to give them some 'oompf'. Yes the finish a bit 'polyfied' / artificial looking on close inspection compared to the Gibson version, but those are £900.

 

For £246, plus the price of a packet of decent strings and some very minor tweaking, I've got myself an excellent little addition to my arsenal. Plus the wife is not too distressed due to the price, so the family jewels are also still intact.

 

[EDIT: Forgot to say - no tuning problems now properly strung. Absolutely no string binding too.]

 

Alan

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StreakyPete

StreakyPete

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Good comprehensive review.

I had my eye on getting a new Studio if I couldn't pick up a decent used LP Standard.

It's encouraging that the quallity is as good as you find it for a relatively modest price.

Little wonder that there are so many happy Epiphone owners here.

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animalfarm

animalfarm

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LOVELY Guitar - you have done well!

I bought my Studio in 2008 before the Deluxe Model

was offered, came with open-coil HBs and grover D-tip

tuners, dots on fretboard vs Trap inlays. Had THIS version

been around then, I would have jumped straight on it!

Ultimately, I upgraded mine with Gibson pups and Gibson

tulip tuners.

BTW, Excellent review... Great that you took the time to do it!

 

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