Epiphone Elite 61 SG

I got this guitar recently, Music123, 2002 model (Japan), 22 jumbo frets-slim taper, bound neck with trapeziod pearl (real) inlays, 2 volume & tone controls with 3-way switch, Gibson USA humbuckers and electronics. Let me take you back to when I literly found an original '63 LES PAUL JR. in a Pawn shop in 1986, Baton Rouge, LA, in very close to MINT CONDITION, no case/rusty strings, you got the picture !! The guy wanted $125 cash/no Tax: put the money on the counter and get it out of here, YES,SIR !! I am glad to see they have not forgotten how to make a great guitar. It's every thing the '63 should have been, just a single soapbar, I changed to a Duncan Jazz and added the Grovers, we seem to think alike ,huh. Just wish it had that 5-didgit serial number like my '63 Jr. does.

I mostly play hard rock, southern boogie rock, solo psychedelic sounding stuff and great power guitar sound. I use a Marshall 1987 vintage head with a Carvin 4x12 Vintage 30's cab, cranked to overdrive with fresh tubes: the sound you can't beat with a big stick. I do a solo like J/Hendrix on it, but I do "DIXIE", kinda opens some Folks eyes. I might try switching to PAFs, what do you think ?

I have gotten use to D'adario's 20/80s 10 guage on the '63 and they fell good on this one to, so let it fly. Everything seems to hold togeather just fine, even with the good shaking I give it. This one looks like what I wanted all the time, THANKS GUYS.

This is an Epiphone, but its better than a new gibson. Grover tuners are reliable that's why I put them on the '63. This is an Epiphone, constructed by people with as much skill as those who work for Gibson proper. Very solid guitar and stays in tune pretty well, even through tempetature changes. Finish seems very durable. No problems with the pots or switch, just like the '63, I left the original pots on when I changed to the Duncan Jazz humbucker and have never failed, EVEN AFTER FOURTY YEARS, OH MY.

Lifetime warranty, void if modified in any way, would you think I would worry about something like that. I changed the '63 to a Duncan Jazz and added the Grovers,it only got better, much better.
I would take this guitar over any gibson sg's currently being made.
Epiphone is strong and have really gotten better at making guitars over the past 10 years. I should know I have a J-45 copy from '86
that I just put a Baggs DOUBLE BARREL pick-up system in and a friend
offered me, his first-born male child for that Epiphone & hardshell case, just a professional joke, Ladies, don't get upset and call the FBI !!!

I've been playing for about 35 years, started about '67-'68, and if someone stole this guitar, tell them to "give their soul to the Lord, because their D _ _ N A_S is MINE" !!! Just try to explain it to some idiot that says "Hey man, you got a crappy Epiphone, get a real guitar" that it's NOT a regular Epiphone and I've got a ORIGINAL '63 LES PAUL JR. / SG back down on the farm. I like this guitar better than any Gibson that has come out in the last 40 years. That leaves
room for my '63 Jr. to fit in just fine.

Made in Japan in 2003 at the same factory that Gretsch guitars are made. Bookmatched African mahogony body with set mahogany neck: 24 1/4" scale rosewood fingerboard with pearloid inlays and 22 low-wide oval frets, 1 1/4" wide bone nut, nickle hardwear with grover tuners, two USA made humbucking pickups[50sr & 60st], two volume and two tone controls, and three way pickup selector. Available in ebony or cherry, hard shell case included. List price is $1,229.00 U.S.

This guitar has a creamy, velvet like tone in the neck position with a mostly dark character, very smokey. When both pickups are combined the sound is a nice blend of power and punch with much in the way of a great power pop guitar sound. The bridge position has good jangle, not like a rickenbacker or tele but something all it's own. I've run this guitar through a veriety of amps including a mesa dual rectifier through a Marshall 1960 vintage 4x12 cab, Marshall JCM 2000 super lead through a Marshall 1960 vintage 4x12 cab, and a Peavey 5150II through a mesa 4x12 cab. It sounds fantastic through all with a great presence and sustain. Each amp maintained the character of this guitar which says alot about this sg. You know that your guitar is not up to snuff when the amps tone overshadows your guitar. This was a near perfect balance of both. I've played vintage sg's, prs's, and new gibsons and this is my favorite, and by far the least expensive. I had hoped for a little more variety when it came to the tone controls, they are a little limitting but we are dealing with humbuckers here. I was unable to get a ton of twang from the bridge position for flatpicking but that is to be expected. The neck is very dark, almost muddy, but awsome for playing classic rock a'la Cream. This guitar is designed to generate tone, plain and simple. Play little slide, pick a little with your fingers, and rock a couple of full blown power chords and you'll know what I mean.

This guitar came well adjusted and with a quick tune I was off. The action is nice and low with no buzzing anywhere. The pickups were adjusted high in the bridge, and a bit lower in the neck just as they should be. The wood on this guitar has nice grain and the neck's rosewood fretboard felt good if a little sticky, I'm sure it will play in nicely. The inlays were flawless. The bridge and stop tailpeice are quality with a true bone nut up top. That is a great show of detail. Grover tuners are much more reliable that klusons, I know, I've seen many broken over my touring career. All the important electronics are essentially Gibson's. The only flaw that I noticed in mine was a small nick in the polyurathane finnish. This is a trate of this type of paint but it also has a beautiful luster that just shows enough grain. Nitrocellulose finishes tend to fade faster so if you like to keep that new guitar glow poly works better. The nick in the finish I believe was because of the open box situation I bought this in, so I can't fault epi. Not to mention this guitar is dead silent when not being played, but LOUD AS HELL when driven hard.

Absolutely a tank. I've seen every sg that my bandmates have had get broken and the neck joint. This one seems to be built with the road in mind. Like I said earlier, Grovers not Klusons, just a good choice. Also I will reiterate that poly is more brittle than nitro but does maintain it's luster better. The strap buttons are quality although on sg's the top button is located right behind the neck joint wich some find cumbersome. This is a guitar with a little tenderness will last you a long long time.

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I'm a drummer first and foremost but I have an absolute obsession with tone. This guitar provides plenty of that and more. Don't hesitate to purchase it just because it is an Epiphone, if the Beatles can play them so can you. This guitar will last and will make you a better player. For it's outstanding tone and playability, cost effectiveness, and great appearance you should definitley give this guitar a try. Run it through a Matchless or Dr.Z and weep openly.

got it brand new--same features as everybody else's---got a damned nice elite hard case with mine--

sound is super great-----it sounds as good as any sg i ever heard---play some CREAM through a good amp---man alive..!!
electronics are good too--pots etc. no need to UPGRADE none of this stuff--its tops--just play it and quit whining about how your gear is holding you back..!!! name me one famous blues guy who changed the knobs or pickups on his guitar because it didnt look cool enough..?we white guys--we're so lame sometimes--so feebly given to bending before the 'hip' crowd--fuk the hip crowd--play an epiphone and smoke the gibson guy--play so good that you make the PRS guy eat your doodoo--be proud--dont be a 'vintage guitar' magazine super dork-

frets are top notch--smooth all the way--way better than gibson produces nowadays---neck is a tad more flat than i anticipated but i got used to it--its very wide --its very easy to play--its great for slide and its easy to make weird chords on it--mine came brand new and was quite nicely set up----i tweaked the neck up tighter , by a hair...lovely action--really low with no fretting out--i hate the color of mine--its cherry--with lots of goofy looking stripes in the wood--its not like old mahogany..its probably walmart mahogany---sounds good though--its way light weight--thats one reason i got it----if i had it do to over--i would buy it in ebony---one tip-----this guitar seems to function best with 11 guage strings---i use electro harmonix 11's-48--that's the ticket--regular 10's are too light for any kind of hard rhythm playing--11's still bend quite well--and they give it a way fatter sound too---i love this guitar--go with me on this issue---electro harmonix--how queer is that to use their strings?>--i like them a lot--and they are cheap--11 14 18 28 38 48 gauge--guitar has rare herringbone nut--i had no idea herring got that big--

i played it live the week i got it--it worked great---hey--its a new guitar---it oughta work for 40 years---whats all this 'backup' crap..? chuck berry flew to all his gigs carying a gibson 335 on a plane----he didnt have a backup--have you ever heard of chuck berry-?--i've never heard of you---the finish might melt off if you entered the earths atmosphere from outer space while holding this guitar--otherwise---what would you freeking care if there was a tiny bubble in the finish..can you hear a bubble when you play?---shut up--!

epiphone schmepiphone----what would i ask them---"hey--does this guitar come with a backup?"...just trust my opinion--..............its better than a new gibson---i got mine way cheap-lots cheaper than on musicians friend--lots less-----i would use this anyday over a pencil neck 60's or 70's gibson sg---the neck joint on this new epiphone is strong---not like a diving board 60's sg--dont waste your money on over priced vintgae crap---get real--its a new world . fellows---john cipollina is dead----if you cant stand in front of a crowd and wail on this guitar, just because the headstock says 'epiphone' instead of 'gibson', then you're too lame to even own a guitar..you oughta go to work for microsoft...giving corporate backrubs in the employee break room to thin, reedy looking guys with neatly trimmed beards..

if someone stole this guitar--i would file the proper police report---i love--the weight of the guitar--you can hold it all night---no back aches--it sounds killer--it plays like melted butter--it has grover tuners--whcih is a good thing--i would take this guitar over any gibson sg's currently being made---the new faded sg's have a nice fat neck but they have shitty fretwork---this epiphone dont need nothing done to it--its ridiculous to buy a new guitar and it be set up like a medieval torture device---this is unacceptable and gibson should at least hire a quality control person who can play guitar or have feeling in his fingers----epiphone elite qualiy control is damned good---i've been playing a long long time---i still dont know what i'm doing---but i sound great sometimes--

2003 Elitist '61 SG. 22 fret, two piece bookmatched African mahogany body, one piece African Mahogany neck, East Indian rosewood fretboard with large flared mother of pearl inlays, two Epiphone USA made humbucker pickups (passive, of course), volume and tone for each pickup, cherry red tinted gloss polyurethane finish, old style tune-o-matic (no studs, bridge height adjustment poles screw stright into body), stop-stud tailpiece, large Grover Roto-Matic non-locking tuners, 24.75" scale, 1.68" nut, thin C-profiled neck, nice wide frets, hardshell case is included with Elitist models at no additional charge.

The main problem I have with the Elitist line is that there is a such small selection of them from which to choose. Colors are also pretty limited. If I had my druthers, this guitar would be white with P-90s and gold hardware. Other than these things, and the poly finish, I like this guitar better than any Gibson that has come out in the last 35 years.

Can't really rate on features with a number.

Great for everything that SGs are good at. Rythym/lead mixing (a-la Keith Richards, Steve Cropper), fast soloing, psychedelic sounding stuff, and old style electric country flat picking and pentatonic major solos. Not to strong as a strummer unless you have a wall of Ampeg stacks behind you, but hey, there's the Elitist Les Paul if you want a better rhythym guitar.

The guitar is not noisy on any of the settings. I do wish that the tone contols covered a wider range of tones, though.

A great way to test how nice a guitar sounds is to play it without an amp first. This guitar sounds great not plugged in. Very loud and rich. I got a nice piece of wood with this one, nicer than some of the other ones I've tried. I use Ampeg tube amps. An early '70's V-4 half stack, a newer Diamond Blue series 50 watt halfstack, and a newer Diamond Blue Jet 12 watt 1X12 combo with reverb and tremolo. I have a Marshall 2X12 combo as well, but this guitar doesn't have enough bottom end to use through that amp. I don't use effects often, but I do own a DOD overdrive for when I want that tube breakup when volumes are limited (small clubs, etc.) I also have a Big Muff Pi fuzz box, which gives the guitar a sound similar to the guitar on "Satisfaction." This rarely comes in handy, but it's still cool to have and sounds great with this guitar. This guitar also sounds great through a Crybaby! Very Zappa-esque.

To get the best tone out of an SG, I recommend changing the strings to 10s (at least). You'll get much better body resonance. I use Ernie Ball skinny top/heavy bottoms (10 through 52). Once you put heavier strings on, you can also go lower with the acton without buzzing. 9s can be alot of fun, but are very limiting as far as versatility goes. I lowered my action about two turns on the treble side and one turn on the bass side, but it was set just fine right out of the factory.

The pickups sound good for Epiphone pickups. I have a new set of Gibson '57 Classic Plus humbuckers sitting right here and I have no desire to swap them into the SG. These pickups really shine when you turn up the volume and start breaking up the amp! Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!

Hard to believe that this is an Epiphone...I always considered them junk until this line came out. No cosmetic flaws whatsoever. Neck binding, inlay, and finish were excellent.

The neck pickup was a little low compared to bridge pickup, so it was significantly more quiet, but that was an easy fix. Polepiece screws were not adjusted to the string radius. No big deal, they aren't on Gisons either.

This guitar was constructed by people with as much skill as those who work for Gibson proper. The Japanese have really gotten better at making guitars over the past 10 years.

I would only use a second guitar for different songs, not for fear of this guitar failing. The finish is poly, so it chips if hit. I love poly on necks but I can't stand it on guitar bodies...just my preference. I hate the way it wears and the way it shows damage compared to lacquer. It is a well done finish, however. No problems with the pots or switches either, like with most Epiphones. I haven't done it yet with this guitar because I have procrastinated, but I would put strap locks on any guitar I use live.

N/A. 1 year warranty on defective parts with labor costs covered as well. Void if modified in any way, of course.

Been playing bass 10 years, guitar 2 years. Aside from it I own an Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Custom, Epiphone Elitist Sheraton, modified Fender '50's reissue strat, Epiphone Wildkat, G&L L-2000 fretless 4 string bass, mid-60's Hagstrom guitar, '78 Music Man fretless four string, Fender Bass VI reissue, early '80s P-Bass, '75 Music-Master short neck bass, '70's Thomas Norwood dreadnought acoustic, 1927 Martin 00-28K acoustic (all Koa), 1967 Gibson ES-345, '67 Gibson SG w/ vibrola tailpiece...PHEW! I bought the Elite SG so I wouldn't have to take my '67 SG with me all over the place. I've already had it stolen once and recovered it from a vintage dealer. The Elite has better sustain and stays in tune better because of the stop-stud tailpiece, and has a comparably fast neck, but doesn't sound quite as nasty or shred quite as fast as the '67.

I got this guitar recently from Musicians Friend, and am blown away by it. With it's Grover tuners, american electronics, excellent finish, and excellent Japanese craftsmanship, it's a true winner. I should mention that over the years I've probably owned 15 or so sgs, including two from in and around the '61 era. This is among the finest I've played. The features provide all one could expect from an sg. They're not by nature jacks of all trades.

The pickups have a character to them that truly responds to touch. They're creamy, yet well defined. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better humbucker, and rarely will you find one this good. My musical style is diversified, but let's just say it handles all my "humbucker" needs.

Although the pickups were carelessly adjusted, so that the front pickup was actually touching and muting the strings, and the body is decidedly not bookmatched (which is a good'sized part of their advertising campaign) the wood and grain are nice, the finish perfect, and with the slightest of tweeks, the action is perfect. Very sexy! Fretwork: perfect. This guitar's a real player.

I would certainly rely on this guitar for live gigs w/o a backup. Everything about it seems reliable, solid, and durable.

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I've been playing for about 35 years. Other guitars are too numerous to mention. If it was stolen or lost, I'd certainly replace it. It is practically a sexual experience to play this guitar. The only thing I would compare it to is other early 60's sgs,or the Gibson repros. Compares very favorably to the former, blows away the latter. My only complaint is that it was not in fact bookmatched, (in all fairness, niether were the originals), and the carelessness of the pickup height adjustment. Otherwise, it would have been an all around 10.

Made in Japan, probably in late 2002. Gibson USA humbuckers and electronics. 2 volume knobs, 2 tone knobs and a 3 way switch. Grover tuners. Tune-o-Matic bridge (Schaller I believe). Body is double cutaway African Mahogany. Set neck is 1 piece Mahogany with rosewood fretboard (22 frets, 24-3/4 scale) and real pearl trapezoid inlays. Bone nut. Mine has the gorgeous cherry finish, which I find so much better than Gibson's!! The only thing that sucks is that the store gave me a crappy hardshell case with it instead of the Epiphone one.

I mostly play hard rock, rock, alternative and blues. This guitar can do it all! It sounds great through my Peavey Classic 50 410. The pickups are quiet and very nice IMO.

Action is low, intonation is excellent, finish is flawless. When I bought it, mine's truss rod was a little overtightened wich caused some fret buzz on the lower frets, but this was fixed easily. Aside from that, everything was perfect when i picked it up.

Stays in tune pretty well. Very solid guitar, and the hardware and finish look they're quite durable. Set necks are a little more "delicate" than bolt ons, but hey, you don't use the guitar to play baseball, do you? But here's my advice anyway, replace the strap button with Schaller strap locks, just to be safe!

Never had to deal with them.

Been playing for about 10 years. I used to think that Epiphones were crap, but I must admit that these Elites are awesome. Before buying, I compared my guitar to a Gibson SG Special, and a Gibson SG Standard. The Special was pure crap, and the Standard was TOTALLY (and I do mean TOTALLY) blown away by my Epiphone Elite. The only downside to this guitar is that every once in a while, you'll have to explain to some idiot that says "Hey man, you own a crappy Epiphone, get a real guitar" that it's NOT a regular Epiphone.

If it were stolen, i'd track down the guy, set his face on fire and then take out the fire with a shovel.

2002 model (Japan), 22 jumbo frets-slim taper, bound neck with trapeziod pearl (real) inlays, 2 volume & tone controls with 3-way switch, 2 USA humbuckers, heritage cherry-double cutaway mahogany body and set neck. Nickel (chrome) tune-o-matic bridge, stop tailpiece and grover tuners. Epiphone hardshell case included.

I play 70s hard rock, southern boogie and heavy metal, this guitar can do it all. Used in studio through a digitech genesis 3 and marshall micro-stack. Micro-stack good for feedback, genesis makes up for what transistors lack. Low string action just like the original 61 gibson les paul/sg a friend owned. No dislikes.

Guitar did not have any flaws, good japanese workmanship. String action was low and no buzzing frets, intonation excellent. Book-matched mahogany body is excellent (nice wood grain) as was all hardware.

Although I don't gig now, back in the 80s when I did, this axe would have been used without a back-up. Stays in tune, even through tempetature changes. A very solid instrument. Finish seems very durable.

Never dealt with company. Lifetime warranty.

Been playing 25 years, have gigged as a bass player and guitarist. Focus has been metallurgy (engineering) for the last 15 years, just into home studio now. Also have a Jackson SL3 (japan) and have owned many korean (junk-poor workmanship-low quality hardware) guitars. Would not replace it with anything else if it were stolen. I played an original 61 gibson, les paul, sg and nothing gibson produces today comes close. If you understand this, try an Elite, nostalgia never sounded or played better.