The SOUND of the G400 Custom?

[shamu1]

I see this cream colored three-pickup G400 Custom for sale from time to time in the used market, and I consider it the most beautiful SG I've ever seen:

The problem is that I'm having a tough time figuring out what this thing sounds like - I don't have an opportunity to try one out in person, and all the videos I've watched on YouTube are poorly recorded. In all the videos I've seen, the guitar doesn't seem to have that great woody SG tone I've come to know. It seems to have a rather "flat", non-descript sound - not bad, but nothing special. Compare it to the videos I've watched of the standard or PRO models of the G400, which DO have that "SG sound", it's not all that impressive. I'm wondering if it's just a matter of the videos I've watched being badly recorded.

I hope that I'm completely off the mark with this, because I would love to buy one of these guitars one day, but only if it sounded like an SG as I know it. My god, photos of this axe are like guitar porn.

 

[Biddlin]

The G-400 Les Paul Custom is a very full sounding guitar . I have not played a "Pro" model, but the older models I have played were very good guitars . Some players report difficulty picking due to the crowding of the pickups . I personally like the three volume one tone arrangement of the controls, but have heard other players do not . I will say that they can sound more like a Les Paul Standard than most SGs, but with the controls, it is possible to get a traditional SG sound as well as a myriad of others .
Biddlin ;>)/

 

[shamu1]

The G-400 Les Paul Custom is a very full sounding guitar . I have not played a "Pro" model, but the older models I have played were very good guitars . Some players report difficulty picking due to the crowding of the pickups . I personally like the three volume one tone arrangement of the controls, but have heard other players do not . I will say that they can sound more like a Les Paul Standard than most SGs, but with the controls, it is possible to get a traditional SG sound as well as a myriad of others .
Biddlin ;>)/

Yeah, after I read your post I did another YouTube search for other videos on this guitar. I saw this one, where the dude has that wailing, high-sustain shredding sound that I hear mainly from Les Pauls:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCFYMc3oAVM"]Epiphone SG G400 Custom - Improviso parte 2 - YouTube[/ame]

The guy can certainly play, but this is not my style at all. I like a clean guitar sound, not this kind of thing.

 

[peskypesky]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-Jd2mv7-0Y]improvizacion Epiphone SG G400 custom y Marshall MG100 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[peskypesky]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJH6VKLV17Q]Epiphone SG Custom - Blues in Bm - YouTube[/ame]

 

[peskypesky]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avRbHbVGDvE]IMPROVISING!! Classic Rock AMP TEST w/ Epihpone G400 Les Paul- Custom USA LTD Amp - YouTube[/ame]

 

[weemac]

Part of the "glunky" sound of the g400 custom is due to having three volume pots in parallel which loads the output. Even when one is turned down. If you were to wire it like a traditional gibson harness (with interaction between neck and bridge volumes) and the middle pickup volume in parallel with that harness and change that pot to a 1meg linear taper pot it would not load the rest of the harness (much) and make the middle pickup a bit clearer when you use it...
I had a g400 custom and never really understood the loading aspect of the volume pots. I did however fit some Kent Armstrong hb sized p90s and it cleared up quite a lot. I should have just fiddled the harness instead..

It had an excellent neck and I would consider another one day (when that lottery ticket comes in..)

Eden.

 

[kiwi_rik]

I have a G400 Deluxe and a Les Paul Custom, and the Custom has a distinctly different sound with all 3 pick ups turned up. I love it. People say they really ring and I guess that's the best way to describe it.

 

[shamu1]

I bought a G400 Custom and it arrived yesterday (I will post pics). Holy cow, the pickups on this thing are blazing hot! I don't know what kind of pickups they are (I doubt they're Gibson) but they're definitely high output.

They don't have the clarity and purity of tone that the 57 Classics in my Les Paul Tribute Plus and SG Standard have (I just recently bought those two as well - pics to come), but they're more powerful. Personally, I prefer a clear, non-distorted tone, so I prefer my Tribute Plus and SG, but this axe would definitely be great for anyone who wants to play loud rock or blues. I had to really fiddle around with the volume and tone knobs on the guitar to get the clean jazz tone that I want.