NGD 2020 SG Classic

[vancouverois]

Worn finish in cherry red SG Classic with P90.

Received it a couple of days ago, I like P90 pickups ;-)
I had a 2011 SG Special a while ago, really enjoyed it though it had neck and bridge issues.
The classic has a TOM and a stopbar which I prefer, so why not.
The neck binding is a good asset too.

I did a whole setup, action was way too high and the neck needed a truss rod tune up.
The positive thing is that the frets are not uneven, many Epi I had in the past got some issues with frets.
According to the specs, the fretboard is made of Indian Laurel.
The body and neck are made of some mahogany species.
Some extra attention was brought to the bevels in comparison with my SG Custom.

The original strings were just pure junk, doing a set up with these is a loss of time.
I restrung the guitar with Ernie Ball regular slinky and then I could properly set up the action and neck relief.

The worn finish lets the wood grain show up, not bad at all.
Under the sunlight the wood grain seems really nice.
The tone of the P90 is very nice, well done Epiphone!
The neck is slim and lacks a bit of shoulder, especially when being used to a fatter neck but after some playing it seems OK but still a bit thinner than a Gibby Slim taper.

Anyway, in this price range the Classic is really well built and worth it!

 

[vancouverois]

The beauties side by side.

 

[plankton]

A nice edition to your collection.

I recently got a new Pelham Blue Epi SG Special and it's a great guitar. Gotta love P90s!

 

[DrBGood]

They do look really nice. Too bad for the thin neck part for me, but I'm satisfied with five P90 guitars already, so ...

Suggestion: lower that neck as low as it can go and adjust from there to get that sweet almost acoustic tone of middle position. To lower a P90, don't rely on the screws to pull it down, these are slim screws. You better press on it as you screw down.

Enjoy !

 

[dub-setter]

..noice..

 

[jpn]

@vancouverois @plankton the few actual photos I've come across so far indicate that these Indian laurel fretboards are much closer to rosewood in looks than some stock photos suggest. How would you guys say it looks in the flesh?

Here's an example I have in mind (posted on thomann.de):

Somehow looks too pale here...

 

[DrBGood]

@vancouverois @plankton the few actual photos I've come across so far indicate that these Indian laurel fretboards are much closer to rosewood in looks than some stock photos suggest. How would you guys say it looks in the flesh?

Here's an example I have in mind (posted on thomann.de):

Somehow looks too pale here...

Here, let me fix that for you :)

​

 

[dub-setter]

maybe
a bit of lemon oil will do the trick..

(i realised that most of the fretboards in the stores are dry as f....
dont know how indian laurel appears at a closer look up (no photo)

 

[plankton]

Mine is darker than the photo you posted. Looks like this,

 

[vancouverois]

the few actual photos I've come across so far indicate that these Indian laurel fretboards are much closer to rosewood in looks than some stock photos suggest. How would you guys say it looks in the flesh?

I have oiled the fretboard but after a while the wood seems to become dry again hence the "wet" effect or darker color due to the oil dissapears.
Indian laurel doesn't have the feel of rosewood at all, very light and porous.
For me it doesn't seem like a quality material for a fretboard.

The headstock of my classic snapped off like glass after falling on the floor.
I take care of my guitars but it can unfortunately happen, I remember some friend's guitars that didn't break like that after a similar fall.

So I ckecked a bit the broken parts and I won't ever buy again these inspired by gibson Epis line.
You can guess it's mass production stuff with cutting corners build tricks.
Too expensive for the poor build and wood quality.
Same stuff as harley benton but at three times the price.

 

[JH1968]

Ouch. I agree with you about Indian laurel. The guitars I’ve played that had a laurel fretboard didn’t feel good to me, it felt cheap and way too porous.

 

[dub-setter]

.. good to know...

 

[DrBGood]

The headstock of my classic snapped off like glass after falling on the floor.
I take care of my guitars but it can unfortunately happen, I remember some friend's guitars that didn't break like that after a similar fall.

So I ckecked a bit the broken parts and I won't ever buy again these inspired by gibson Epis line.
You can guess it's mass production stuff with cutting corners build tricks.
Too expensive for the poor build and wood quality.
View attachment 44295

That is a real bummer, I feel for you. But ANY guitar with some angle to the headstock will snap off like glass if dropped properly. Like any car will crumple like a leaf if it hits a phone pole properly. You were unlucky. Doesn't have anything to do with Epiphone's built quality.

Are you going to get it fixed ? If you liked it before the accident, I think you should. It'll then be much more solid in that area.

 

[plankton]

Indian laurel doesn't have the feel of rosewood at all, very light and porous.
For me it doesn't seem like a quality material for a fretboard.

The headstock of my classic snapped off like glass after falling on the floor. So I ckecked a bit the broken parts and I won't ever buy again these inspired by gibson Epis line.
You can guess it's mass production stuff with cutting corners build tricks.
Too expensive for the poor build and wood quality.

I'd never noticed a difference in feel between the guitar pictured above and any of mine with rosewood. After reading your comments I had a closer look/feel. The Indian laurel is slightly more porous, but not enough that I noticed any difference when playing.

I'm curious as to what issues you found with these new Epis. You vaguely mention tricks and poor quality, did you have any specific examples?

I compared the headstock/neck joint on my 2020 SG Special with my 2013 G400 Pro and on the newer guitar it's much thinner, so probably more prone to breakage, but I don't see this as an issue with the wood or cutting corners, it's simply thinner.

 

[ksaderfos]

I have oiled the fretboard but after a while the wood seems to become dry again hence the "wet" effect or darker color due to the oil dissapears.
Indian laurel doesn't have the feel of rosewood at all, very light and porous.
For me it doesn't seem like a quality material for a fretboard.

The headstock of my classic snapped off like glass after falling on the floor.
I take care of my guitars but it can unfortunately happen, I remember some friend's guitars that didn't break like that after a similar fall.

So I ckecked a bit the broken parts and I won't ever buy again these inspired by gibson Epis line.
You can guess it's mass production stuff with cutting corners build tricks.
Too expensive for the poor build and wood quality.
Same stuff as harley benton but at three times the price.

View attachment 44295

ouch!ouch!ouch! so sorry, man... i feel for you...

 

[PermissionToLand]

That is a real bummer, I feel for you. But ANY guitar with some angle to the headstock will snap off like glass if dropped properly. Like any car will crumple like a leaf if it hits a phone pole properly. You were unlucky. Doesn't have anything to do with Epiphone's built quality.

Are you going to get it fixed ? If you liked it before the accident, I think you should. It'll then be much more solid in that area.

Bingo. It's funny to me when people say "that car saved my life!" when there are a million different variables at play that could affect your survival in a crash. Same with a guitar. Was the main contact point with the floor the back of the headstock or the corner of it? That could very well be the difference between a broken headstock and staying intact. What type of floor did it land on? And so on.

Also, guitars are designed to be instruments, not to withstand impacts. Cars are designed to be crashed because your life depends on it. Would you knock a lamp off your table and blame the lamp manufacturer when it breaks?

 

[PermissionToLand]

Indian laurel doesn't have the feel of rosewood at all, very light and porous.
For me it doesn't seem like a quality material for a fretboard.

Indian Laurel has the SAME average density as Indian Rosewood: around 850 kg/m^3

I gotta say it's pretty funny to watch the person who broke their own guitar trying to shift responsibility around to Epiphone somehow.

 

[DrBGood]

Bingo. It's funny to me when people say ...

I gotta say it's pretty funny to watch ...

You seem to have a good day

 

[PermissionToLand]

You seem to have a good day

Haha, it just so happened to coincide with borrowing a friend's 2020 Epiphone LP Special which has really impressed we with what a quality guitar it is for such a low price. If anything, I'm struck by how substantial it feels and not like a toy, as many cheap guitars do. Even with the lightning bar bridge, intonation is spot on. Action can get nice and low with only two spots fretting out, which I will address today. Really tempting to grab my own.

 

[DrBGood]

... with only two spots fretting out, which I will address today.

Try just tapping them down. That's what fixed it on mine.