Epiphone SG Traditional Pro Electric Guitar Graphite Black

Most Liked Positive Review

Really nice guitar that punches above it´s weight

The short version is that this guitar is a great value proposition far beyond the "cheaper Gibson" stigma frequently associated with the brand. solid fnishing, electronics and pickups at a reasonable price for the quality. I bought this guitar at the Manhattan store and I really love it. The moment I saw the gold finish I thought it looked quite unique and beautiful, as far as my research, the gold finish is quite rare on SGs, more reserved to custom shop Gibson so that´s another plus on my book. I compared it side by side with a Gibson Standard 60s the staff very kindly let me play and even offered me to use another quieter room with bigger amps. Besides the finish being more refined and the initial setup, they weren´t that far off each other. The necks, frets and weight were very similar and to a normal guitar enthusiast (not brand fan) the biggest difference where the pickups, the off the rack set up, price and name on the headstock. The pickups on the Gibson sounded a little more rounded and overall clearer but the ones on the Epiphone sounded really nice as well, just the bridge pickup sounds a little thin clean but it cuts nicely distorted and has a lot of bite. I personally will leave the stock pickups on and explore the tonal posibilities (a ton considering the individual controls and split coil availability) before considering any upgrades. The store setup was not great with the action a little high and the strings already in used shape, not entirely unexpected given it was the one displayed on the wall, however it played without any fret buzz and didn´t have any sharp frets or noisy pots I could complain about and once I could set it up nicely it was playing and sounding even better. The customer experience was also very nice, the staff was really helpful and even helped my find the perfect case to travel safely on an airplane back home.