My 1st gigging guitar was a 1962 Gibson SG Special. Great axe. IT sounded SO good...[not ME...] Later...in 1972 orso, I stumbled upon a stunning Les Paul "Recording" guitar. It was a recording studio on a strap! Had to be 14-16 pounds! Seriously. But it was a magnificent achievement. Mr. Paul told me himself that THAT guitar embodied every single innovation and electronic wizardry he successfully created. He said the road beginning with his GIANT breakthrough with Multi-Track recording led, eventually, to that astounding "Recording" guitar. Whoa. Those were some of the best days of my elongated life. Mr. Paul was a legitimate genius. Great guy, too. Highlight of my studio recording daze.
I have the same guitar and after replacing the crappy nut with a tusk-XL nut it is absolutely perfect. Of course I had to set it up to my liking. Actually I have a couple of friends that want to buy it from me. Hell for the price just go out and buy your own. I'm not getting rid it.
ABSOLUTELY! That little puppy sounnds fabulous, Dude! I'm amaze Under $200?? That does not compute, Bud! That's less than a Barrell of Alberta Crude! No wonder Eric Clapton did Drugs! He knew that had he WAITED!, his $967,000 "Crazy Paint" SG could have been replaced by a $199.00 (CANADIAN!) SG "SPECIAL" from Long & McQuade - weird, eh? Regards!
In the us. Got this one for $200 and am only upgrading the tuners and pickups. I may have hit the budget guitar lottery, but I am absolutely in love with this one. Plays as well, if not better than my $500+ models. No sharp fret ends and a beautiful fretboard on mine. Mine also happened to be made in Indonesia as opposed to china (it seems the fretboards out of china are the biggest downfall.) In summation, A great buy if you can find one that feels good to play!
Bought this for my 11 year old as a step-up guitar and he loves it! Super light, great sound for the price. I'd highly recommend for a player who is on the small side and looking for a great beginner's guitar. Denver, Colorado.
@@EXSENTRIX it's the standard 24.75 scale for epiphones and gibsons. The body is very thin and the wood is light, so my son who's smaller doesn't has as much of a problem keeping it from diving as he would a fender that's a little longer scale and heavier.
@@acaeleus You've got a good point. I would have loved this when I was 11. That's the age I got my first guitar. It was a Synsonic Terminator. With the built in speaker lmao!
I will keep mine as a long term investment, thank you for the advice! Ahh, another thing, could you please give me the numbers of megamillions and powerball from 2023 to 2071? thank you.
I have the same thing in black and I love it. Sure it’s a cheap guitar but it’s fun as hell to play , sounds and feels great in the hands. I really like the simplicity of it.
Previous version of this was my first electric, years ago and was a great platform to learn on. Great guitar that looks inviting enough to want to pick up and play daily and sounds pretty good with affordable amps to boot. Checks all the boxes for a good early guitar to me!
A slightly older version of this was my first electric - gloss black finish and a kill switch. I swapped out the tuners for klusson style and put new pickups in. Mine has a rosewood board. Great modding platform and a cool guitar...
I believe this is the same guitar I bought about a year ago. At the time it was branded as Epiphone SG Special Vintage Edition. It was my first guitar, and having played some others since then my only criticism would be the pickups. The neck is smooth and easy to play, stays in tune and sounds great through my Boss Katana 50.
I like your style of presentation, to the point and no over hyping . You jokes are a good side step reminder as to not take things too seriously. Btw. I’m an old guitar player from the sixties( first guitar was Gibson sg and a fender bandmaster amp) then was told I was going to play Hammond b3 by my record producer. Did that for over 50 years ,now it’s time to go back to a sg, also looking at a finder 3/4 size due to my small arthritic hands. Again thanks and nice video. I subscribed too!
Your puns and word play are hilarious! You always enlighten and entertain. Also did I hear What's the Frequency, Kenneth? Class move! That's a rad tune from a lifetime ago it seems.
I watched your summary after buying one! Saw a Gator hard case in a thrift shop for £50 and it had one of these (walnut) inside. Even as a bassist, it was a no brained. And… as much as I love my old Precision, this thing really encourages you to play. Great technical and humorous review btw.
I have one, and love it ......Long and Mcquade will deal with the fret ends for you at no charge if you bought it from them ......mine were perfect new .......and I definitely agree with you regarding the neck......for me a superb shape / feel of the neck.....one of my favourites .
I've had several of the Epi Special Les Pauls. They really vary in quality. Some are good, some not so good. The Special SGs really used to look weird without the pickguard. These look really nice though. Saw they were 199-299 new. Definitely worth 199. But any more than that, you can likely get a used Epi SG Standard.
I have this same guitar but it’s in a gloss cherry finish. It’s a great guitar that I’ve had modded. I had aftermarket p90s installed, changed the knobs and painted the fretboard black.
Hi enjoy your channel i am 76 and just learning my friend is a luthier advised me to try this so will arrive next week. Also have taylor gs mini. Mitchell, and vangora accoustic..just want to be able to play in church and around the firepit..again thank you for great advice
Awesome review as always . Got one with wrap around bridge . Regular finish. Had a Tusq nut installed. I love it and I think the pickups are fine for playing clean . Love the Michael Bolton cameo. I think maybe if you were to superimpose bolts on his neck ( ala Frankestein ) it would enhance the whole experience. Just a suggestion.
I have one of these in brown (probably something fancier officially). It makes a great travel guitar, partly because of its compact size and partly because of the price. I even took it to Afghanistan a few years ago. I actually cracked the neck just below the headstock, so I got my first repair experience with it. Then I replaced the tuning machines because of exactly what you pointed out. I'm looking at replacing pickups and the pots, just to see what that does. I think for someone who likes to tinker, this is a pretty good choice (again because of the price, but also the simple design).
Good show man. I got my mitts on one of them Epiphone Les Paul specials a few months back in red and added a third Epi pickup with a small red push botton. I've been wanting to get the SG version and make it match my little red sleeper. After some adjustments and obsessive strobing I'm put Epiphone necks and fret boards at the top of my affordable list.
In '95 I got a '92 Gibson SG Special, black with ebony fingerboard. It was my main for about 15 years and sold it because it's always been a love/hate relationship: the sound was amazing, those pickups were so high output! But I never really came to term with the fat neck. In 2001-2004 I used to gig with a VHT Pitbull and the combination was killer.
I bought this guitar played it for six months and have stepped up to the Epiphone standard SG it was $449 def worth the 200 extra my 13 yo is playing the special E1 now and it's a perfect guitar for him
I played guitar from the ages of 12-21 (2003-2012) then for some reason I just lost my passion for it and one day set my guitar down and never picked it back up. I eventually admitted to myself I probably wasn’t ever going to play again and sold my amp, two electrics and acoustic. Then in 2020 I started watching a lot of guitar CZcams for some reason and realized how much I missed playing and how much I regretted being a lapsed player. I decided after 8 years I wanted to play again. I always loved the look of SGs so I went with this and an Orange Crush 12 amp. I adore this guitar! It feels so good to hold and play, especially since I’m a smaller guy. Maybe one day I’ll upgrade to a higher quality Epiphone SG or maybe even a Gibson, but for now it’s a perfect for just playing in my apartment. It’s reignited my passion for playing and I plan to play this thing hard until it’s worn down. Another benefit of it being so inexpensive is I’m finally learning about good guitar maintenance which I never used to do, but hey if I screw something up on this (like adjusting the truss rod) it’s no big deal at this price point. P.S fellow Canadian here, I love Long and McQuade. Thanks for your great content!
@@landonbailey No both stock. I bought them both a year ago with the intention of installing a set of Railhammer pickups that I won. Long story on how I ended up with two of them, but anyway, I put the pups in the black one and HATED them. So they are both stock now.
$199 At GC. If you have any old gear laying around, pedals, amps, guitars…you can trade it is for a 10% discount and whatever they give you for the trade ins. Works on any price guitar too. I traded in 2 super cheap Amazon mini pedals and got it for $169 after tax. Wish it was an Indonesian copy instead of a the Chinese one, but frets and neck are pretty solid. Pretty awesome you can get a playable guitar, brand new for that price in 2024.
The difference between the neck and bridge pickup resistance is crazy! I have an older version of this from 2001. The bridge is about 15.5k ohms while the neck is 12.5k ohms. That's a lot closer. I guess with these cheap pickups they just stop the winds whenever they feel like it so you get crazy differences like this.
Thanks for covering this one. I was wondering if one of these and the Les Paul version would be good starter guitar gifts for my kids (my daughter really wants a semi-hollow instead, though, but the prices are friendly).
The Les Paul Special II I acquired was exactly the same. Those frets appear dull as well just like mine. The fretboard on the Les Paul was the same until it absorbed a gallon on F1 oil (Ok, not a gallon, but lots). The wood looks pretty good now that it's not so dry and the colour is much darker,. Frets also needed some spot crowning for buzz and polishing. Used Scotch-Brite fine on the fret ends and they feel fantastic now. Seems to me that they are common issues on pretty much all the value Epiphones. My Les Paul Special II (Slash AFD) was over $400 (Cosmo Music, Richmond Hill or Northern Toronto area for those not local) CDN and same crap with the neck on mine at almost twice the price. The devil is in the fret rocker, made a lot more work for me than I wanted.
I got this guitar as a beginner guitar and I have upgraded all of the electronics by now, I wanted to see what a pro would say about it and I’m happy with my purchase
Great review. Just found your channel - I like your humor. Glad you did this. I’m looking for something for my 8 y/o son who won’t put my guitar down. He needs one of his own. Loves Angus. Did this stay in tune for you? I saw another review and the guy said he couldn’t get more than a few chords w/o having to re-tune.
@@alicegrant3731 Why not get the sound closer to a proper SG, your paying under £200 for this thing so you will mostly have some budget left over for modification
@@alicegrant3731 I use mine mostly stock with upgraded strings and well taken care of tuners. I can get amazing Sabbath like tones on it and I found it great for most punk and some metal
Great video again. In Australia they're about $350. I've never had an sg and it makes me want to try it. The dirty tone was more my frequency.! See what I did there Landon
My first electric was a no name bolt-on 'LesPaul Junior' in the style of a Black Beauty 🤔 With faked humbuckers no less🙄.... I shaved the neck and laminated a mahogany top onto the headstock, bought some Grovers, a new old stock Bigsby, some Seymour Duncan 59's and built a new body from aged mahogany I managed to pursued an old furniture guy to sell me. Bob Marley meets Neil Young..... Still have it 35 years on. Neck's pretty flexy but sounds great.....
I just bought a used one. Really like it, I feel like I am playing faster! I’ve always been a Strat guy… but this was lighter… like really light! My daughter was like, “AC DC!”
Had mine for a year now, it's all worn looking and needs to be set up again. But other than that it's a great start and it sounds alright on a little practice amp. Edit: tbh I like the worn look, and also want to mention how light it is, feels great.
been thinking about getting an epiphone special to modify but wasnt super digging the feel of them, went with a bc rich warbeast1 been enjoying it so much gonna leave it stock for a bit and look into epiphone again
I’ve been playing one for about a month now. I like it so much I’m seriously thinking about the new 61 Standard they go for around $500 in the U.S. A lot of fun for sure. Cheers….
4:29 for an inexpensive guitar at least the solder joints are clean and shiny. Sometimes you'll see dull and dirty joints and wires where the conductor strands are partially cut through during the stripping process.
Love this guitar! Just wanted to know whether it has NECK DIVE or not. Also, I NEEDED some ADVICE. I'm looking for a good, budget electric guitar (my first electric) and I'm down to three choices - Yamaha Pacifica 012/112J, Epiphone SG Special (this one) and Ibanez GRGR221PA-AQB. I like Pop, Rock (and Pop-Rock). Which one would be nice? Any help will be greatly appreciated!
I own an older one (2011 model) and I love it. I bought mine used on purpose because I wanted one with the "Made in Indonesia" sticker instead of the "Made in China" sticker. It makes a WORLD of difference. I'm not saying all Chinese guitars are bad, but the quality difference between the two countries when it comes to this model (and the Les Paul Special) is night and day.
When I was younger, I lover slender necks. Can’t hack them now, especially that thin, flat-back D profile that’s on the new worn Casinos, and evidently, this SG. Oh, well. Sounds good for the price. Different strokes for different folks…
But...But...I was AT Headstock in August of '69! There was No Weigh that Jimi, Pete, Carlos, etc. were concerned about the heaviness of their guitars! No Weigh!!! I saw it ...you can't get outta THIS one, Landon! No Weigh!!! P.S. The only bad puns uttered at Woodstock were by yours truly. I was lucky to aweigh alive! Whew...clothes call!
I dig your subtle humor dude !! 😆 Rock on 🤘 I just recently purchased one of the restocked Epiphone SG specials in Cherry , it has the kill switch also on the tone knob which I really love. I can get some cool effects off utilizing that, sort of the beefed up toggle switch effect 😃 Any ways yeah I have playing the hell out of it , ACDC , Zep, Sabbath Old Soundgarden , etc. Needed to do my own set up as from the factory was like WTF on the inspection , bridge set way high , action a mile away from the fretboard , but luckily I know how to do that crap , and at least fretwork was proper so thats good.
I just bought this guitar recently, and I want to make it my project guitar, I think it has a lot of potential! Just wondering if anyone would be able to point me in the right direction as to the best nut upgrade, tuner upgrade, etc. Thank you in advance!
My local L&M(summerside) is fantastic. Really great company to work with and their financing options are amazing, recently picked myself up a used epi sg g400 for a sweet deal.
About two years ago I think it was, I bought a Epiphone SG Special VE, and I still play it all the time. This guitar is almost the same exact guitar, no frills and all but a working guitar that sounds pretty good.. I got mine for like 130 ish USD and it wasn't on sale.. I would never pay any more than that for this guitar, any company that charges more than that is gouging you period.
So, I have owned my Epiphone SG Special VE for about three or so years now, and I figure it would be cool If I replied to my own comment from a year ago.. I didn't include much information about the guitar its self, outside of the fact that it worked and sounded good, so I figure I can give some details now. First was the truss rod issue, the first one I got sent by the online outlet I bought it from, had a truss rod issue. By that I mean, when I did my setup on it, It worked, but when I tried to pull the tool out, the truss rod followed.... So, I got it replaced, and my second one was fine. The fret ends on both guitars needed a little love, as they were kind of sharp and they needed a quick shine up as well lol. The tuners worked on both guitars, and the tuners on the guitar I still have work fine. It's possible they are crap, but the guitar doesn't go out of tune very fast, generally I can tune it once a week and I am fine with it. Even then, its just little adjustments that is needed, so its fine. The neck did get glossy pretty quickly, but I bought some of those green Scotch Brite Heavy Duty scour pads and they worked perfectly for fixing that issue.. I hate glossy necks with a passion, as they seem to get sticky real fast and no matter what I use I can't get them to stop while they are still glossy, which the Scotch Brite pads work to fix pretty well. Lets see, it still sounds good, the pickups are fine and the electronics have held up, though its only been like three or so years so..... We will see how long they last until they need replaced.. The guitar gets played at least 4 to 15 times a week for at least 30 minuets at a time, so it gets plenty of usage. I clean it up every time I change strings, which tends to be about once a month or so, so it still looks pretty good. It is a different color, its Heritage Cherry Burst or something like that, and I like it. Its one of the top three guitars that I play, its on the list with a Ibanez JivaJr and my Fender CP-60s acoustic guitar... I am almost constantly picking it up or one of those other two lol. I would recommend this guitar to not just a new player, but any player and at any level, as its fun to play... Oh and that fret board is a strange one, though I use Music Nomad stuff on it, and once I did it got a bit darker.. Its a cheap priced wood and all, but it works just fine for the purpose, and it is different than what you generally see on other guitars... I fell in love with these guitars, because for some reason, to me, these felt better than the more expensive Gibson SG's I tried... Could be the satin finish on the neck that I like more than anything else, but its still a guitar that I like a lot more than the other SG's that Gibson produces.... If I remember this, Ill come back in another year or so, and give a update.. Though I doubt I will remember, who knows.. this video popped up in my feed for a second time, so maybe it will happen again lol. I wonder if he kept his, or if he got rid of it...
Just got mine new at GC for $200 before taxes 🎉. Love it sounds incredible I played on an old cheap Washburn Lyon signed by Brian bell, that I scrapped off as a child and now deeply regret and for breaking it and throwing it away, however that guitar gave me the best and greatest load ups for palm muting and releasing and just ROARED when done right at the right time. This guitar does the same thing and it brought me back to being 18 and feeling bullet flipping proof again, I’m only 27, and reinvigorated my passion to continue growing in guitar playing even though I have “better” guitars and more expensive ones, I’m about 95% sure this will be my go too unless I wanna feel like ripping heads and pulling out the ex50 and walking in hetfields’ footsteps. However this guitar really does rip and sing any clean or dirty Metallica riff along with any other band you can think 🤔
Oh and EXTREMELY light. My ltd explorer shape is heavy af and suuuper neck heavy, kind of a bitt to play when standing but this thing is like butter. I won’t ever stop saying it more is less and less is more if it’s done right, feels right, and sounds right to the player!
Great video as always Mr Bailey ! I'm sceptical about the graph tech nubone nut, it looks more like plastic... There's one like that on my area, walnut version, second hand, mint condition, bought but not used during the COVID confinement.. 120€ I'm wondering if it's a good idea to buy it or not...
Always wanted one of these to tinker around with, but the neck shape is wrong for me. Do you know if it can and how hard it would be to get a thicker (50's style) neck on there?
I saw a Pelham blue one a while back at guitar center had a wraparound bridge so maybe the tune a matic is a upgrade. Also I think the speed knobs are too. Sounded alright and good job on what's the frequency kenneth.
Ciao Landon, sono un musicista ma anche collezionista di chitarre, posseggo 32 chitarre e abito a Napoli-Italia. Ho anche io una epiphone sg, nel mio paese costa nuova 190 euro, io l'ho comperata usata per 100 euro. Mi diverto a modificare le chitarre, ho schermato il vano elettrico con carta adesiva d'orata, sostituito i potenziometri con dei 500k, ho cambiato la nut di plastica con un capotasto di osso, ho eliminato gli humbuker e li ho sostituiti con due p90 ed infine ho montato delle meccaniche autobloccanti. Naturalmente ho regolato il trussroad e le ottave. La chitarra è totalmente cambiata, ora è una vera bomba. Le modifiche le ho fatte personalmente e i pezzi che ho sostituito mi sono costati 80 euro circa, alcuni sono nuovi ed altri smontati da vecchie chitarre. Sei molto in gamba. Complimenti.
Have you tried one?
🎸Epiphone SG Special Satin E1
🛒 Sweetwater imp.i114863.net/e4eo0r
🛒 Amazon geni.us/gy1FA2D
🛒 Thomann bit.ly/3qVZhnJ
🛒 Reverb reverb.grsm.io/gpuv8wvdgd1p
🛒 Ebay ebay.us/F7bxvx
=============================
Timestamps:
=============================
0:00 - What is this guitar?
0:35 - Intro & disclosure
2:20 - Quick walkthrough
3:30 - Deep dive
7:55 - Clean tones
10:30 - Dirty tones
12:15 - Summary - Pros & Cons
17:05 - Plastic peel
My 1st gigging guitar was a 1962 Gibson SG Special. Great axe. IT sounded SO good...[not ME...] Later...in 1972 orso, I stumbled upon a stunning Les Paul "Recording" guitar. It was a recording studio on a strap! Had to be 14-16 pounds! Seriously. But it was a magnificent achievement. Mr. Paul told me himself that THAT guitar embodied every single innovation and electronic wizardry he successfully created. He said the road beginning with his GIANT breakthrough with Multi-Track recording led, eventually, to that astounding "Recording" guitar. Whoa. Those were some of the best days of my elongated life. Mr. Paul was a legitimate genius. Great guy, too. Highlight of my studio recording daze.
I have the same guitar and after replacing the crappy nut with a tusk-XL nut it is absolutely perfect. Of course I had to set it up to my liking. Actually I have a couple of friends that want to buy it from me. Hell for the price just go out and buy your own. I'm not getting rid it.
@@chrisullery3386 what specific tusq nut did you get to fit? I need to change mine as well
Literally my first guitar
I’m 57 I’ve played a lot of guitars, these specials are some of the “funnest” guitars I’ve ever played.
This sounds pretty amazing for epiphone. I’ve been rather impressed with their stuff over the past couple years
the amp contributed a lot to that
Over the last couple of years they have been doing a lot of good guitars with a amazing quality
ABSOLUTELY! That little puppy sounnds fabulous, Dude! I'm amaze Under $200?? That does not compute, Bud! That's less than a Barrell of Alberta Crude! No wonder Eric Clapton did Drugs! He knew that had he WAITED!, his $967,000 "Crazy Paint" SG could have been replaced by a $199.00 (CANADIAN!) SG "SPECIAL" from Long & McQuade - weird, eh? Regards!
In the us. Got this one for $200 and am only upgrading the tuners and pickups. I may have hit the budget guitar lottery, but I am absolutely in love with this one. Plays as well, if not better than my $500+ models. No sharp fret ends and a beautiful fretboard on mine. Mine also happened to be made in Indonesia as opposed to china (it seems the fretboards out of china are the biggest downfall.) In summation, A great buy if you can find one that feels good to play!
Hi,which tuners and pickups did u upgrade to??
What pickups did you install?
Bought this for my 11 year old as a step-up guitar and he loves it! Super light, great sound for the price. I'd highly recommend for a player who is on the small side and looking for a great beginner's guitar.
Denver, Colorado.
nice!
Is this not a full sized guitar? I'm interested in purchasing. But if it's not a full sized SG then I'll pass.🤔
@@EXSENTRIX it's the standard 24.75 scale for epiphones and gibsons. The body is very thin and the wood is light, so my son who's smaller doesn't has as much of a problem keeping it from diving as he would a fender that's a little longer scale and heavier.
@@acaeleus You've got a good point. I would have loved this when I was 11. That's the age I got my first guitar. It was a Synsonic Terminator. With the built in speaker lmao!
This guitar is $2500 here in 2071.
🤣👍
Thanks for the heads up, friendly traveler. I’ll keep mine for the time being as a collector’s item
I will keep mine as a long term investment, thank you for the advice! Ahh, another thing, could you please give me the numbers of megamillions and powerball from 2023 to 2071? thank you.
Duuude.. you should move!
I have the same thing in black and I love it. Sure it’s a cheap guitar but it’s fun as hell to play , sounds and feels great in the hands. I really like the simplicity of it.
Previous version of this was my first electric, years ago and was a great platform to learn on. Great guitar that looks inviting enough to want to pick up and play daily and sounds pretty good with affordable amps to boot. Checks all the boxes for a good early guitar to me!
Your quality is getting better and better!
Hi Landon, I enjoyed you show this evening. That must be a Sweetwater exclusive, looks like a nice guitar.
A slightly older version of this was my first electric - gloss black finish and a kill switch. I swapped out the tuners for klusson style and put new pickups in. Mine has a rosewood board. Great modding platform and a cool guitar...
I love it. The satin finish is so beautiful. I might even try to learn some Soundgarden with a beauty like that
You're killing it lately homie. Cheers. Fantastic guitar for the price. Good on Epiphone.
I believe this is the same guitar I bought about a year ago. At the time it was branded as Epiphone SG Special Vintage Edition. It was my first guitar, and having played some others since then my only criticism would be the pickups. The neck is smooth and easy to play, stays in tune and sounds great through my Boss Katana 50.
I think it goes by both names
Hey! Thanks for the great videos!!! I just grabbed one using your link!
Awesome! Thank you!
It truly is a gorgeous guitar. No one can change my mind.
I like your style of presentation, to the point and no over hyping . You jokes are a good side step reminder as to not take things too seriously. Btw. I’m an old guitar player from the sixties( first guitar was Gibson sg and a fender bandmaster amp) then was told I was going to play Hammond b3 by my record producer. Did that for over 50 years ,now it’s time to go back to a sg, also looking at a finder 3/4 size due to my small arthritic hands. Again thanks and nice video. I subscribed too!
hey cheers!
Your puns and word play are hilarious! You always enlighten and entertain. Also did I hear What's the Frequency, Kenneth? Class move! That's a rad tune from a lifetime ago it seems.
you heard right!
I watched your summary after buying one! Saw a Gator hard case in a thrift shop for £50 and it had one of these (walnut) inside. Even as a bassist, it was a no brained. And… as much as I love my old Precision, this thing really encourages you to play. Great technical and humorous review btw.
I've got one and i love it it made me fall back in love with guitar playing.Took the pick guard off and changed the control knobs. Cool guitar man.
👍🎸
I enjoy your sense of humor !
This thing is my go to grab for those nights when ill be riffing for a few hours with the boys. Its light and plays quite nicely.
I have one, and love it ......Long and Mcquade will deal with the fret ends for you at no charge if you bought it
from them ......mine were perfect new .......and I definitely agree with you regarding the neck......for me a superb
shape / feel of the neck.....one of my favourites .
I've had several of the Epi Special Les Pauls. They really vary in quality. Some are good, some not so good. The Special SGs really used to look weird without the pickguard. These look really nice though. Saw they were 199-299 new. Definitely worth 199. But any more than that, you can likely get a used Epi SG Standard.
Paid $100 for mine. I get nice tones out of it. It's light and it's decently setup out the box. I lowered the action a little and this guitar slays.
I have this same guitar but it’s in a gloss cherry finish. It’s a great guitar that I’ve had modded. I had aftermarket p90s installed, changed the knobs and painted the fretboard black.
I dont know why but im in Love with this guitar i can watch it for hours
Hi enjoy your channel i am 76 and just learning my friend is a luthier advised me to try this so will arrive next week. Also have taylor gs mini. Mitchell, and vangora accoustic..just want to be able to play in church and around the firepit..again thank you for great advice
Awesome review as always . Got one with wrap around bridge . Regular finish. Had a Tusq nut installed. I love it and I think the pickups are fine for playing clean . Love the Michael Bolton cameo. I think maybe if you were to superimpose bolts on his neck ( ala Frankestein ) it would enhance the whole experience. Just a suggestion.
Your definitely walking the medium line with this one, Mr Bailey! Branch out young grasshopper! Still waiting for some Angus!
I'm from NW Indiana and a Epiphone SG Special Satin E1 are currently $199 through Guitar Center online. Right on & rock on! \m/
I have one of these in brown (probably something fancier officially). It makes a great travel guitar, partly because of its compact size and partly because of the price. I even took it to Afghanistan a few years ago.
I actually cracked the neck just below the headstock, so I got my first repair experience with it. Then I replaced the tuning machines because of exactly what you pointed out. I'm looking at replacing pickups and the pots, just to see what that does.
I think for someone who likes to tinker, this is a pretty good choice (again because of the price, but also the simple design).
Beautiful
Good show man. I got my mitts on one of them Epiphone Les Paul specials a few months back in red and added a third Epi pickup with a small red push botton. I've been wanting to get the SG version and make it match my little red sleeper. After some adjustments and obsessive strobing I'm put Epiphone necks and fret boards at the top of my affordable list.
In '95 I got a '92 Gibson SG Special, black with ebony fingerboard. It was my main for about 15 years and sold it because it's always been a love/hate relationship: the sound was amazing, those pickups were so high output! But I never really came to term with the fat neck. In 2001-2004 I used to gig with a VHT Pitbull and the combination was killer.
I bought this guitar played it for six months and have stepped up to the Epiphone standard SG it was $449 def worth the 200 extra my 13 yo is playing the special E1 now and it's a perfect guitar for him
Had one, good place to start learning and looking cool.
Very cool
YOOOO that was my first “good” guitar. I love the SG. I now have the SG pro and love it!
Old timer here. Let the haters hate but I prefer Epiphone over Gibson for many reasons. Now go play and have fun! 🎸
do what works
I played guitar from the ages of 12-21 (2003-2012) then for some reason I just lost my passion for it and one day set my guitar down and never picked it back up. I eventually admitted to myself I probably wasn’t ever going to play again and sold my amp, two electrics and acoustic.
Then in 2020 I started watching a lot of guitar CZcams for some reason and realized how much I missed playing and how much I regretted being a lapsed player. I decided after 8 years I wanted to play again. I always loved the look of SGs so I went with this and an Orange Crush 12 amp.
I adore this guitar! It feels so good to hold and play, especially since I’m a smaller guy. Maybe one day I’ll upgrade to a higher quality Epiphone SG or maybe even a Gibson, but for now it’s a perfect for just playing in my apartment. It’s reignited my passion for playing and I plan to play this thing hard until it’s worn down. Another benefit of it being so inexpensive is I’m finally learning about good guitar maintenance which I never used to do, but hey if I screw something up on this (like adjusting the truss rod) it’s no big deal at this price point.
P.S fellow Canadian here, I love Long and McQuade. Thanks for your great content!
I've got two of them. One black and one worn cherry. Fantastic guitars !
any mods or all stock?
@@landonbailey No both stock. I bought them both a year ago with the intention of installing a set of Railhammer pickups that I won. Long story on how I ended up with two of them, but anyway, I put the pups in the black one and HATED them. So they are both stock now.
Are they full size?
@@ruairimusic2747 Yes, of course.
$199 At GC. If you have any old gear laying around, pedals, amps, guitars…you can trade it is for a 10% discount and whatever they give you for the trade ins. Works on any price guitar too. I traded in 2 super cheap Amazon mini pedals and got it for $169 after tax. Wish it was an Indonesian copy instead of a the Chinese one, but frets and neck are pretty solid. Pretty awesome you can get a playable guitar, brand new for that price in 2024.
I’m looking in in this guitar in may black and I’m excited, it’s going to be my first guitar and start learning
have fun!
@@landonbailey thank you!
The difference between the neck and bridge pickup resistance is crazy! I have an older version of this from 2001. The bridge is about 15.5k ohms while the neck is 12.5k ohms. That's a lot closer. I guess with these cheap pickups they just stop the winds whenever they feel like it so you get crazy differences like this.
🎸👍
Thanks for covering this one. I was wondering if one of these and the Les Paul version would be good starter guitar gifts for my kids (my daughter really wants a semi-hollow instead, though, but the prices are friendly).
Guitar like that is just a dream for us
The Les Paul Special II I acquired was exactly the same. Those frets appear dull as well just like mine. The fretboard on the Les Paul was the same until it absorbed a gallon on F1 oil (Ok, not a gallon, but lots). The wood looks pretty good now that it's not so dry and the colour is much darker,. Frets also needed some spot crowning for buzz and polishing. Used Scotch-Brite fine on the fret ends and they feel fantastic now.
Seems to me that they are common issues on pretty much all the value Epiphones. My Les Paul Special II (Slash AFD) was over $400 (Cosmo Music, Richmond Hill or Northern Toronto area for those not local) CDN and same crap with the neck on mine at almost twice the price. The devil is in the fret rocker, made a lot more work for me than I wanted.
its still 200 for me, gonna order it soon!
Man o man ur churning out them gitar reviews ding ding dang!
doing what I can
I got this guitar as a beginner guitar and I have upgraded all of the electronics by now, I wanted to see what a pro would say about it and I’m happy with my purchase
That 'Mini Alpha' line genuinely had me laughing out loud just now... 😂
Great review. Just found your channel - I like your humor.
Glad you did this. I’m looking for something for my 8 y/o son who won’t put my guitar down. He needs one of his own. Loves Angus.
Did this stay in tune for you? I saw another review and the guy said he couldn’t get more than a few chords w/o having to re-tune.
I actually like the head stock and think epiphone' s are great for the money. With a full set up and pickup change they are great.
And tuners probably
So... if you spend extra money on them they're great?? What about straight outta the box?
@@alicegrant3731 Why not get the sound closer to a proper SG, your paying under £200 for this thing so you will mostly have some budget left over for modification
@@whyisyes3957 true. Depends what you can live with sound wise
@@alicegrant3731 I use mine mostly stock with upgraded strings and well taken care of tuners. I can get amazing Sabbath like tones on it and I found it great for most punk and some metal
I wish I could have an sg appear on my table like that
one day it will happen
Mine is made in Indonesia. Swap out those ceramic pickups for a set of Vanson 57 alnico 2's and it's awesome.
Man, you're so much fun to watch. You can do stand up comedy. 😄😄😄
Thanks! 😃
i got mine at a pawn shop 8 yrs back for 75$ i love her
Great video again. In Australia they're about $350. I've never had an sg and it makes me want to try it. The dirty tone was more my frequency.! See what I did there Landon
Kenneth approved 😁
I remember seeing pink bisquit and CoRn at Headstock 99, it was wild
😝👍🙃
My first electric was a no name bolt-on 'LesPaul Junior' in the style of a Black Beauty 🤔
With faked humbuckers no less🙄....
I shaved the neck and laminated a mahogany top onto the headstock, bought some Grovers, a new old stock Bigsby, some Seymour Duncan 59's and built a new body from aged mahogany I managed to pursued an old furniture guy to sell me.
Bob Marley meets Neil Young.....
Still have it 35 years on.
Neck's pretty flexy but sounds great.....
I just bought a used one. Really like it, I feel like I am playing faster! I’ve always been a Strat guy… but this was lighter… like really light! My daughter was like, “AC DC!”
I have that exact guitar bro nice
I love the SG body shape. Cherry anything is fine by me. I would instal the P90 with blade pups. For the money it is an excellent instrument.
p90s are great
Had mine for a year now, it's all worn looking and needs to be set up again. But other than that it's a great start and it sounds alright on a little practice amp.
Edit: tbh I like the worn look, and also want to mention how light it is, feels great.
Thanks for sharing
been thinking about getting an epiphone special to modify but wasnt super digging the feel of them, went with a bc rich warbeast1 been enjoying it so much gonna leave it stock for a bit and look into epiphone again
I’ve been playing one for about a month now.
I like it so much I’m seriously thinking about the new 61 Standard they go for around $500 in the U.S. A lot of fun for sure. Cheers….
that would be a nice upgrade
thx for taking the pickguard off. lol, thx for sharing, alpha over.
4:29 for an inexpensive guitar at least the solder joints are clean and shiny. Sometimes you'll see dull and dirty joints and wires where the conductor strands are partially cut through during the stripping process.
it was clean for sure
Love that they shield the cover but nothing else.
that seems pretty common with humbucker loaded guitars
Love this guitar! Just wanted to know whether it has NECK DIVE or not.
Also, I NEEDED some ADVICE.
I'm looking for a good, budget electric guitar (my first electric) and I'm down to three choices - Yamaha Pacifica 012/112J, Epiphone SG Special (this one) and Ibanez GRGR221PA-AQB. I like Pop, Rock (and Pop-Rock). Which one would be nice? Any help will be greatly appreciated!
I own an older one (2011 model) and I love it. I bought mine used on purpose because I wanted one with the "Made in Indonesia" sticker instead of the "Made in China" sticker. It makes a WORLD of difference. I'm not saying all Chinese guitars are bad, but the quality difference between the two countries when it comes to this model (and the Les Paul Special) is night and day.
When I was younger, I lover slender necks. Can’t hack them now, especially that thin, flat-back D profile that’s on the new worn Casinos, and evidently, this SG. Oh, well. Sounds good for the price. Different strokes for different folks…
Seems like a good guitar for the money it's kinda cool
I had the Les Paul version once. Was a good guitar.
My friend has one and I gotta say for such a cheap thing it plays and sounds just fine !
Red flags up and down it. BUT it sounds all right! What a surprise, to me anyway. Glad you mentioned the balance. Cool review.👍
But...But...I was AT Headstock in August of '69! There was No Weigh that Jimi, Pete, Carlos, etc. were concerned about the heaviness of their guitars! No Weigh!!! I saw it ...you can't get outta THIS one, Landon! No Weigh!!! P.S. The only bad puns uttered at Woodstock were by yours truly. I was lucky to aweigh alive! Whew...clothes call!
So my new guitar is the sg special E1 but it’s all black and I love it
I love the woodstock on that.
1969 or 1999?
I dig your subtle humor dude !! 😆 Rock on 🤘 I just recently purchased one of the restocked
Epiphone SG specials in Cherry , it has the kill switch also on the tone knob which I really love.
I can get some cool effects off utilizing that, sort of the beefed up toggle switch effect 😃
Any ways yeah I have playing the hell out of it , ACDC , Zep, Sabbath Old Soundgarden , etc.
Needed to do my own set up as from the factory was like WTF on the inspection , bridge set way high , action a mile away from
the fretboard , but luckily I know how to do that crap , and at least fretwork was proper so thats good.
thanks for watching!
I just bought this guitar recently, and I want to make it my project guitar, I think it has a lot of potential! Just wondering if anyone would be able to point me in the right direction as to the best nut upgrade, tuner upgrade, etc. Thank you in advance!
That Cherry makes me want a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
Good reviews
cheers!
i was impressed that they put in a good quaility switch but lacked out on the tuners and the jack well they are junk the pots are not to bad
in local Indonesian online stores, the price offered is around $193
My local L&M(summerside) is fantastic. Really great company to work with and their financing options are amazing, recently picked myself up a used epi sg g400 for a sweet deal.
Great to hear! I've been to Summerside a couple times
About two years ago I think it was, I bought a Epiphone SG Special VE, and I still play it all the time. This guitar is almost the same exact guitar, no frills and all but a working guitar that sounds pretty good.. I got mine for like 130 ish USD and it wasn't on sale.. I would never pay any more than that for this guitar, any company that charges more than that is gouging you period.
So, I have owned my Epiphone SG Special VE for about three or so years now, and I figure it would be cool If I replied to my own comment from a year ago..
I didn't include much information about the guitar its self, outside of the fact that it worked and sounded good, so I figure I can give some details now.
First was the truss rod issue, the first one I got sent by the online outlet I bought it from, had a truss rod issue. By that I mean, when I did my setup on it, It worked, but when I tried to pull the tool out, the truss rod followed.... So, I got it replaced, and my second one was fine. The fret ends on both guitars needed a little love, as they were kind of sharp and they needed a quick shine up as well lol. The tuners worked on both guitars, and the tuners on the guitar I still have work fine. It's possible they are crap, but the guitar doesn't go out of tune very fast, generally I can tune it once a week and I am fine with it. Even then, its just little adjustments that is needed, so its fine. The neck did get glossy pretty quickly, but I bought some of those green Scotch Brite Heavy Duty scour pads and they worked perfectly for fixing that issue.. I hate glossy necks with a passion, as they seem to get sticky real fast and no matter what I use I can't get them to stop while they are still glossy, which the Scotch Brite pads work to fix pretty well.
Lets see, it still sounds good, the pickups are fine and the electronics have held up, though its only been like three or so years so..... We will see how long they last until they need replaced.. The guitar gets played at least 4 to 15 times a week for at least 30 minuets at a time, so it gets plenty of usage. I clean it up every time I change strings, which tends to be about once a month or so, so it still looks pretty good. It is a different color, its Heritage Cherry Burst or something like that, and I like it. Its one of the top three guitars that I play, its on the list with a Ibanez JivaJr and my Fender CP-60s acoustic guitar... I am almost constantly picking it up or one of those other two lol. I would recommend this guitar to not just a new player, but any player and at any level, as its fun to play...
Oh and that fret board is a strange one, though I use Music Nomad stuff on it, and once I did it got a bit darker.. Its a cheap priced wood and all, but it works just fine for the purpose, and it is different than what you generally see on other guitars... I fell in love with these guitars, because for some reason, to me, these felt better than the more expensive Gibson SG's I tried... Could be the satin finish on the neck that I like more than anything else, but its still a guitar that I like a lot more than the other SG's that Gibson produces....
If I remember this, Ill come back in another year or so, and give a update.. Though I doubt I will remember, who knows.. this video popped up in my feed for a second time, so maybe it will happen again lol. I wonder if he kept his, or if he got rid of it...
My first decent guitar was a 90's Epiphone SG in Cherry
Great sounding guitar but the string height looks crazy high! Awesome deep dive!
the action is pretty high
I'm into the 2021 Epiphone Customs Moderns and prophecy Models
Just got mine new at GC for $200 before taxes 🎉. Love it sounds incredible I played on an old cheap Washburn Lyon signed by Brian bell, that I scrapped off as a child and now deeply regret and for breaking it and throwing it away, however that guitar gave me the best and greatest load ups for palm muting and releasing and just ROARED when done right at the right time. This guitar does the same thing and it brought me back to being 18 and feeling bullet flipping proof again, I’m only 27, and reinvigorated my passion to continue growing in guitar playing even though I have “better” guitars and more expensive ones, I’m about 95% sure this will be my go too unless I wanna feel like ripping heads and pulling out the ex50 and walking in hetfields’ footsteps. However this guitar really does rip and sing any clean or dirty Metallica riff along with any other band you can think 🤔
Oh and EXTREMELY light. My ltd explorer shape is heavy af and suuuper neck heavy, kind of a bitt to play when standing but this thing is like butter. I won’t ever stop saying it more is less and less is more if it’s done right, feels right, and sounds right to the player!
I purchased one this week for about 199,- euro's. I love this guittar!
have funn!
Overall I did enjoy the Sg special and it got me back into playing guitar
The dad jokes are on point this video!
0:16 Nice transition :0
actual vfx footage!
Great video as always Mr Bailey !
I'm sceptical about the graph tech nubone nut, it looks more like plastic...
There's one like that on my area, walnut version, second hand, mint condition, bought but not used during the COVID confinement.. 120€
I'm wondering if it's a good idea to buy it or not...
Always wanted one of these to tinker around with, but the neck shape is wrong for me. Do you know if it can and how hard it would be to get a thicker (50's style) neck on there?
I saw a Pelham blue one a while back at guitar center had a wraparound bridge so maybe the tune a matic is a upgrade. Also I think the speed knobs are too. Sounded alright and good job on what's the frequency kenneth.
cheers!
The Pelham Blue is the upgraded Special! It’s got P-90 pickups.
SG are a good Metal and Rock guitar!!
Ciao Landon, sono un musicista ma anche collezionista di chitarre, posseggo 32 chitarre e abito a Napoli-Italia. Ho anche io una epiphone sg, nel mio paese costa nuova 190 euro, io l'ho comperata usata per 100 euro. Mi diverto a modificare le chitarre, ho schermato il vano elettrico con carta adesiva d'orata, sostituito i potenziometri con dei 500k, ho cambiato la nut di plastica con un capotasto di osso, ho eliminato gli humbuker e li ho sostituiti con due p90 ed infine ho montato delle meccaniche autobloccanti. Naturalmente ho regolato il trussroad e le ottave. La chitarra è totalmente cambiata, ora è una vera bomba. Le modifiche le ho fatte personalmente e i pezzi che ho sostituito mi sono costati 80 euro circa, alcuni sono nuovi ed altri smontati da vecchie chitarre. Sei molto in gamba. Complimenti.
grazie mille per la visione! Ho letto il tuo messaggio in Google Translate, quindi spero che questa risposta abbia senso! Saluti