Epiphone G-1275 SG Doubleneck

You know the features, 20 frets, 6&12 strings, etc. Mine is a little weird, as It is brand new from epiphone but is stamped a 2nd due to a small scratch in back of the neck. Hell, it shaved off almost $500 and still came with a full lifetime warrenty. How could you not go wrong? It seems like a Gibson body with Epi. necks as the necks are bolted and the strings don't extend far past the bridge like the Epi model does. The 6 string side has chrome pickup covers also, nothing seems to match the standard! However, for the price I can't bitch about anything quality wise on this guitar, cosmetically almost perfect, and sounds almost as good as a Gibson. (I'm not going to go into the Gibson vs Epiphone as we all have our own opinions about this subject and this site is loaded with all the pro's and cons.) Mine is a very handsome cherry with the black pickguard. Humbucker pickups with the new Alnico magnets. Even with the small scratch that is only about 1/4 inch in the back, I have to give this guitar a 10 as it is quite impressive to look at .

This guitar will sound like any Epipiphone or Gibson doubleneck.I have played both and can't see the $2,000 difference. Yeah, you could put better pickups in it and really beef it up and still save money than getting a real Gibson. I only put it into a practice Crate for now, but had it into my buddy's set of stacked Marshalls once, and the sound was there. It depends on your preference, but the standard electronics are pretty good. Blasting in Grover tuners and hotter pickups is the usual for Epi products and will give you a very good guitar for what you spend. My guitar came set up VERY well, intonation was almost perfect, action was a little high and didn't have to take her down much at all. The 6 string doesn't match that Les Paul sound, but it wasn't meant to. Almost no buzzing, and each neck really does have its own unique sound, very rich and crisp.I could play the 12 string portion all night.

I can't complain about too much here, even though its a factory second due to a cosmetic flaw. The price reduction for a small scratch was compensation 10 fold! The body on this guitar is nicer than my cherry dining room set, but what I can't stand is that they put those stupid stickers on the chrome covers of the pickups, and its a pain in the ass to remove the glue residue off them. The neck color differs ever so slightly were it is minimal. I have had problems in the past with Epi's selector switches, so far these seem quiet and functional, time will tell.Tuners are typical Epiphone,cheap and ugly looking, but they seem to stay in tune for a long time, I was surprised.

I treat my Guns and Guitars as if they were the Holy Grail! I could not ever imagine anything I own with a scratch caused by me,but stuff happens. This seems to be a tank, strap buttons are very secure, and I don't forsee anything fragile about it. The only limitation about this axe is the strings and strap you put on it. This Guitar is not meant to be played alone as I will explain in the next section, so a backup catagory does not apply here. If you play live with this, everybody will be looking at you and not your bandmates, so dont pick your nose or scratch your nuts while you jam on this, it is quite the axe to the average person.

Never dealt with them for work, but they answered my Email in 24 hrs, so I can't complain. (See if Gibson will do that!) You can safely guess by now that I am not satisfied with Gibson Products for what they charge!

OK ,here is a little negativity about this guitar. Some of the other reviews below me are quite accurate. This axe is meant for a few chosen tunes, not for an entire set. (Unless your father is a chiropractor!)I still can't find a way to play this standing up comfortably, but it will happen over time. It is extremely difficult to get used to, and as someone else said, the necks will actually fall to the floor once you strap it on, you really have to hold it up as you are playing. Get yourself a very wide strap for this, it will take away much of the difficulty. Have fun reaching anything above the 15th fret on ANY neck, the design sucks that bad. One thing I was surprised not to hear about on other reviews is the neck selector switch right near the bridges. It gets in your way BIG TIME if you play the 6 string portion, but that is also on the Gibson version.If anyone would like to ask me a question, or if you have any useful advice about these guitars, contact me at ggski@adelphia.net and I'll be glad to help or learn. If you are considering buying one, look on Ebay for a particular company who sells seconds, they are only very minor cosmetic flaws and have a full lifetime warranty. I am by no means sorry I bought this, and once you play this baby and then pick up a normal guitar, a standard 6 string seems like a piece of cake. It made me better in that sense. Anyone who plays guitar should have one of these babys in his bag, be it a Gibson or Epi, they are good sounding, attention getters, and really cool to play and look at. Good luck to you!

This is a Korean made Epiphone G-1275 SG Doubleneck. It has 22 frets. The body seems to be solid Mahogany. I have a Hagstrom Swede so it seems to match that quite well so I'm pretty damn sure about the wood. Also I know the neck is definately mahogany and the body matches that. All the pickups are the Chrome covered ones. No Case came with this one. In seeing the other posts here I was quite perplexed. Seems like maybe these things are being made differently all the time but with the same basic hardware but with maybe some pickup variation. Perhaps due to availability of different woods and finishes they are made a little bit diferently. Mine has the Translucent red finish. There were two identicle ones here at my local music store. In some ways this description sounds very different from some of these guitars mentioned thus far. I counted the frets several times. I swear. Its a mystery. The stickers on the back say made in Korea and inspected/setup in the US. And the Mahogany body, thats great for me I know but it sure is a quandry. So far I think the guitar is great.

Like everyone else I love the sound. How could I not. I origionaly had a Les Paul Custom shop on layaway here at my local music store but ended up having to use the money on a POD as I couldnt afford the Les Paul and was taking a bit too long to pay for it. ( Im kinda known as the Layaway kid there, allways working on paying something off. Help mmma, I'm an equipment addict!) So I was a little depressed till I got the doubleneck. God what a great sounding guitar this one was. Sustain out the Wazoo..............and heavy by god and most peoples standards..... but I'm a big man and "he aint heavy he's my bother". Anyway, not too bad.............my Hagstrom Swede weighs in pretty close but its like 1 1/2 times as thick too. So far I've only used it through the POD and in my setup at home so I havn't really cranked the volume yet so I dont know if it squeels. So far she sounds too good to be true.

Well, in this catagory she left a little to be desired but has been nothing I couldnt work on............the bridge pickup on the six string was just a tad bit out of position (about a 1/32 or 1/16th" low) but that was easy to fix once I did a wee bit of sanding on the middle guard and broke out my dremel tool to reposition the holes on the pickup cover. Nothing you could see. Im satisfied for the time being with the setup but am definately going to take her to the repair god soon and get his opinion and get him to set her up. We have several great private repair persons around here. I think the fit and finish on my guitar was quite nice. For a mass manufactured guitar it seems most of the people building her cared about what they were doing. Seems like most Korean guitars these days are pretty good. (they used to suck. I guess like they say Korea is the Japan of the 00s) I have a Hammer Salamander series Strat copy that is beautifuly built for instance. (come to think about it that guitar has some differences form other guitars made at the same time as wel. adding further conviction to my assumption mentioned bellow) Anyway short of the pickup problem and the fact that she was set up just a tad bit high I'm well satisfied. (Mine did not have sloppy glue joints anywhere not even at the nut)

No clue yet as I havn't had her for very long at all. Just had to put my two cents in worth cuz Im excited about my find. (Is it really Mahogany? Does it really have 22 frets?) I am a bit concerned about the tunning machines. they stay in tune now but to me they look a bit shoddy but so do the ones on the Gibson now that I think on it.

We will see. I'm going to contact them on Monday about the anomalies with my guitar and my suspicions about their (the Korean manufacturers) use of woods and see what kind of response I get. I have an old car from 1959 (a 1959 Plymouth Belvedere for those of you in the know: "Christine"s sister) and know alot of other folk with the same car. Different manufacturers of the same car and even the same factory durring different times of the year used different finishes on the same vehicle according to what they were shipped or could aquire. Sometimes the basis of product usage was availability and price. I may be wrong but I think this may be the case with woods and finishes and maybe even the case with the neck on my guitar and their use in various Korean factories. Again there were two identicle Epiphone G-1275 SG Doublenecks at my music store. Perhaps they were given a lot of slightly off necks by Gibson.......................but then again they used Maple on the Gibson didnt they? Its a quandry!!!

Ive been playing music for about 25 years. All kinds of instruments. I considered myself primarily a bass player/Keyboard programer till about 3 years ago when I bought My Hagstrom Swede. I am definately now and probobly have been for much longer than I thought a guitar player. 3 years very serious now. (I actually am begening to understand theory and the like if that says anything.) Perhaps that is why my bass playing was considered much too Les 'Claypool like. (Just another frustrated bass player who wants to play guitar methinks. LOLOf course the first electric instrument I just happened to ever see in my hand just happened to be a bass. "Dad can I get it?") I think if this guitar were lost or stollen I'd either get another one or graduate to a Gibson. Of course it would get the mandatory switches fixed onto her. I love the price on this guitar............and I play alot of accoustic 12 string so this is right up my alley. What I love about this guitar is I can experiment with using an electric 12 that doesnt have that sissy Rickenbacher 12 string sound about it. Yes, I love the sound as well but am still considering adding better pickups in the 6 string area. If I could add any features it would be in and out of phase switches for each pickup, this I am planning on doing since the guitar was so cheap and I dont have to worry so much about its collectability. I'm considering adding them so if anyone has allready done this please contact me and let me know if you felt the improvement was significant. Also as long as I'm wishing, a better nut and perhps a better setup would have been nice but then again for the money it was pretty good. Perhaps jumbo frets? Anyway.............peace out.

Read all others below.

Sound is good. Read all else below for a great description.

Had to set this guitar up personally. Good thing I knew how to. Asked the factory to but was denied.

Still a go here, I'd depend on it. Watch out for the cheap screws on the hardware...they really are. In regard to the strap lock systems out there.

Nope, but filled it out anyway. Saw my old bass player from my LA days on the actual Epiphone brochure...who'd a thunk it? I thought he was going to Nashville to become a star!.

Good to go. contact me for the real info.....read those before me, they know the deal.

This is a Korean made copy of the 1960's EDS-1275 that Jimmy Page played. Set mahogany necks, 20 frets on a 24.75" scale. Basically, in terms of features, just look at a picture of Jimmy Page's. It differs from modern EDS-1275's by the extended 12 string headstock and the string anchors being further back. The humbuckers on the 12 string neck have chrome covers, for no other reason than that Jimmy's is set up that way. The body is alder, with a AAA grade flame maple veneer top. It is finished in a standard Gibson translucent cherry red. One crucial difference between the Gibson and the Epiphone is the addition of independent pickup switches for each neck, a major oversight for the Gibson. Oh, and the Epiphone inlays on the headstocks are of some kind of real abalone(exactly what type I can't say), a lot nicer than just a printed 'Gibson' logo. The recent introduction of abalam has definitely been good, as now beautiful inlays can now be had on mass production models. May be all computer routed, but it still looks pretty. Due to the inherent nature of the design, the E, A, and D strings on the six string neck as well as the B and E pairs on the twelve string neck are a massive headache when changing strings, for not only can you not use a string winder, its really awkward to get your fingers in there for some major twisting. Normal tuning is just fine however.

The sound is wonderful. Due to the mass of the doubleneck body, sustain is had in droves, equal to that of a Gibson Les Paul Standard, and far better than any SG. The twelve string neck in particular is impressive, with a rich shimmering resonance that I still can't get over. It isn't a Rickenbacker, but it still cuts through like mad on the bridge pickup, and is far more versatile in sound, not to mention way more playable with the Gibson width neck. The six string neck is anemic unless you run heavy gauge strings(I currently use .012's), in which case it has a warm sound that is all about sustain, and with the right amp setup it sings quite like a violin. The pickups are dead silent;you'll only do better with EMG's. They sound like Gibson's pretty much, and in a side by side comparison with a $1500 SG in the shop, far cleaner in sound. I never expected the two necks to differ so much in sonic character, but they do. Quite a plus. I may upgrade the pickups on the six string neck to high output Gibsons(500T's), but it sounds just fine now, I may never get around to forking out $200 for the privilege. Oh, the chrome pickups on the twelve string neck are microphonic at high gain(they squeal). I use a noise gate to deal with that issue.

One obviously asks the question when considering this instrument as to the differences between this and the Gibson. Well, here it is. There are a couple of minor finish flaws, although overall it is equal to the finish on my '76 reissue Gibson Explorer(no longer own). The finish itself is durable as hell, as I don't treat the thing like it is some kind of religious artifact. It gets kicked around, and there are no chips at all(the aforementioned Explorer's finished chipped in a couple places). The nuts must have been installed first thing Monday morning with some giant corporate manufacturing deadline looming because the install sucks, period. One can see the slop surrounding it, although playability was only affected on the six string neck. The fret installation is as good as can be expected from a machine - the thing could benefit from some time on a neck jig and a professional crowning. I'll probably get jumbo frets retrofitted at some point. But for now, the action could be wicked low, but it's slightly higher than it could be due to the fret buzz. The action is still commendably low and quite playable. The necks are shaped perfectly - I've always been a fan of Gibson necks, and in the shaping of the wood is where the beauty of factory CNC machines becomes apparent. They're all identical. And the wood used seems(so far at least) to be quality stuff, as the necks haven't been doing anything psychotic. To sum up, I had to really work on the full setup on the thing, intonation, bridge adjustment, filing string slots on the six string neck's nut, the whole nine yards. But if you think I minded, refer back to the price I paid, and compare with the $3500 average street price for a bonafide EDS-1275. The twenty fret necks have turned out to be less of a handicap than I suspected, although its song by song really. Fortunately, there's quite a few out there written for this particular guitar(Hotel California, Love Song, a couple Cinderella tunes and of course, Stairway). The primary problem is that the lower cutaway interferes with proper hand position, so if you need to play scale patterns above the 14th fret, its way awkward. To reiterate, it ends up being song by song. I can fire off "always with me, always with you", but certain sections of "cliffs of dover" just don't happen, particularly in the intro and finale runs.

I treat this thing as a working instrument. It is my primary practice guitar, and the thing is solid. I would not hesitate to play it out live, as everything about it exudes solidness like a tank. Nothing fragile about this baby. The finish, as mentioned before, has survived some pretty hard whacks with barely a scratch. No chipping. I would play this without a backup, but then again, it has its own backup built in. Of note: this is the first electric I've owned than I've never snapped a string on(I broke a D octave while restringing once, but that doesn't really count). I usually snap the high E string while bending, but with all kinds of different brands and gauges, that's yet to happen. Tuning(due to the long headstocks) is a headache, as the D and G strings in particular are sticky. I've used graphite lubricants to some avail, but my current solution is to blast the nuts with finger ease before tuning. I will be replacing the nuts soon anyways.

Never had to deal with them. It has a lifetime warranty, reassuring to know and...has anyone noticed how no one really does lifetime warranties anymore?

I have been playing for ten years, most of which has been on acoustic and classical guitar. I have had a smattering of electrics, yet this one's the best so far. It is equal in playability to any Gibson I've owned or even played, and the sound is top notch. I love the thing to death(it stands 1 foot away from my bed), and gets far more attention than any of my other guitars. It is aesthetically superior to the Gibson EDS-1275(I've always dug the extended headstocks as well as the string stops being set far back) with its abalone headstock inlays and flame maple top(even if it is only a veneer). It wasn't set up very well, but for the money, I am very satisfied. In fact, I'd say the way to go for the ultimate would not be to buy a Gibson, but to get one of these and spend whatever it takes for a killer setup(fretjob, the works). You'll have a better looking instrument and one cannot forget the second pickup selector, very important. True, you could add one to the Gibson, but try and find someone who'll rout anything on a $3500 guitar. My rating here reflects my overall experience with the instrument(I've had in four months now), and there may be finer guitars out there, but I have to give it a ten, even notwithstanding price. If I had paid $2000, I would be torqued over the setup issue but I'd still be just as satisfied. The thing's a beauty, and I honestly couldn't be happier. In fact, the only other instrument I've ever had the same degree of satisfaction with is a Model L Steinway grand piano(and for $35,000 it damn well better have been sweet!)

The G-1275 I've owned for a few months is one of the recent versions, with the covered humbuckers on the 12-string neck and open ones on the 6-string neck. I adjusted the pickups a bit on the six-string neck, to get a bit hotter sound. I have the Alpine White model, and the only modification I made was to change the pots to black Strat-style, which I find easier to read. I am glad that this model has a pickup selector on each neck, unlike the Gibson's single master selector. One of the features I like most is the extra 3 inches of strings past the bridge, which is a groovy source for extra sounds. I think this axe's best feature is the ability to open both necks, so you can have drones and such - like having 2 1/2 guitars!
The only deceptive thing is that the Epiphone "set-up by..." sticker on the back of the 12-string headstock covered up a "made in Korea" sticker.

My style is primary "soundscape", so I do a lot of loops, ala Frippertronics. I can't think of a better guitar for that style, as it has so many possibities. Like I mentioned above, I like the extra string length past the bridge, which sound great with distortion when they resonate with the main strings. And the inter-neck resonation is the main reason I got this guitar. I do play traditional guitar as well, and it sound just great to me. I love the bright tone of the 12-string neck, especially with both pickups open. The 6-string is good for leads and the neck is pretty responsive

The finish is excellent. Of course, who knows what the wood is or what it looks like under those coats of white paint. But generally, I found everything set-up nicely except the 6-string pickup's were a bit low.I d

I don't play guitar live (I play Chapman Stick & bass), so I can't rate it there. But it has held up well, and stays in tune.

Haven't had to deal with Epiphone yet.

I've been playing guitar for 20 years and have always wanted a double-neck, and the price was right so I grabbed the Epiphone. If I lost it I would surely replace it, as I've become very fond of it. I do feel a bit odd about double-necks in general, since they have an aura of overkill and egomania, but those feelings have gone since I've had the G-1275. It's my only guitar, and I don't think i'll need another axe. I'd recommend it to anyone who's willing to have versitility and is willing to put up with the cumbersomeness of it!

I would just like to point out that it has not been mentioned that the Epiphone G-1275 is made out of an alder body with a flame-type maple veneer top as opposed to the pure mahogony body of the Gibson. This is why most Epiphone Doublenecks have a flamed top. Also, the neck on the Epiphone is made of mahogony as opposed to the Gibson neck which is made of maple suprisingly enough!

This is a newer Custom model with set necks, upgraded pickups and upgraded machine heads (tuners). It is Alpine white. 12 string on top 6 string below. It is SG styled and a copy of the original Gibson EDS 1275. It is a solid body with low frets. It has 2 volume controls and 2 tone controls. One set for each neck. Each neck has a 3 way pickup selector. There is another 3 way switch to select either or both necks. Each neck has 2 humbucking pickups. It has one mono output. Finish is high gloss and very high quailty. It came with a HSC ($100 extra) which is quite plush. Only accessories included are..an allan wrench for the truss rods.

This instrument should suit almost any musical style. I use it with a Marshall JCM 900 amp. It is very quiet at all volumes. The output is about double that of a Stratocaster. I compared the sound with a friends 70's Gibson Les Paul Custom with a Hot pickup in the bridge postion. We both agreed that the Doubleneck sounded better and had more punch and clarity on the clean channel. Hi gain only distorts when gain is up on the amp. I jammed with it the day I got it. It was a little awkward at first but I grew into it easly. It is top heavy so a little hard to hold while standing. I am planning on using a strap that connects to the headstock to equally distribute the weight. It weighs about the same as a Les Paul...give or take a little. By the end of the night my fingers were hamburger. I have been playing an older strat with very low action.

The quality is far better than I expected. It was set up at the USA Gibson factory to Gibson doubleneck specs. Intonation was perfect but I did not like the action or the pickup heights.
I spent several hours readjusting set-up. Only complaints are that the bridge pickup would not adjust down. After removing it I found that some glue was holding it back. After removing it it was ok. At the bridge on the 12 string side I got the action as low as my strat with no buzzing but the nut at the top of the neck is keeping it too high foe me so I will bring it to a professional to either have it cut or replaced. I can't see how a Gibson can be much better than this. Maybe time will tell. Most of the parts are US made Gibson.

The guitar is Rock solid and if cared for should last a lifetime or two. The finish is beautiful and seems to wear well but again time will tell. I replaced the strap buttons with straplocks. I don't want to drop this baby. I cannot see why it would not be dependable. I don't know yet if I will use it as my main guitar. It certainly is a conversation piece. Led Zep uses one.

I bought it used so I do not have the lifetime guarantee. I also set it up to my specs rather than the factory specs. It doesn't need any repair and I don't expect it to need any. It is built well.

I have been playing for over 30 years and have owned every guitar from the worst to the best. I now have a 1972 Strat, 1972 Jazz bass, 1966 Rickenbacker 370, 1965 Fender Malibu acoustic and the doubleneck. The quality of this Korean made guitar is equal to my American instruments. I was in the market for a 6 string guitar with humbuckings and an electric, solid body 12 string. Gibson and other major manufacturers were considerably over priced. A friend has an Epi Sheraton II which I found to be a nice guitar. A close equal to the Gibson with the exception of the pickups and thin gold plating. I felt that Epi's had the best quality of foreign made guitars. I did consider an Ibanez Artist doubleneck but I liked the SG style better. I once had a 1962 Gibson Les Paul Custon which I liked very much (SG style). I find this to be a close equal in quality. I may have to replace some parts eventually but for now everything seems very good and I did take this guitar completely apart with the exception of removing the set necks. IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN ANY INFO ABOUT THESE GUITARS. FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME.

- It is made in Korea - it has 20 frets (which was a bit of a dissappointment) - it is traditinoal cherry red, but this one had a flamed top - the tuners are those plastic LP jobs. Probably won't hold up for ever - it was $925(Cnd) without a case. The case is great. The guitar fits in there like a glove. I was impressed.

- the sound is great - the 6-string neck has great sustain, and the pickups are true to that Gibson sound - there is a (very tiny) bit of noise from the 6-string pickups, and absolutly none from the PAF's. - all in all, I was very impressed with the sound quality of this guitar. The great sound was one of the reasons I bought it.

- The guitar was set up pretty well from the factory. The action on both the 6-string and 12-string neck was very high when I got it, but since it has a tune-a-matic bridge, it was easy to fix. I assume that the height was just a standard thing. - The pickups were adjusted very well - The top was bookmatched, and it had a visible flame-top. I've never seen this before on a G-1275, and the originals aren't as far as I know. This one might have been a freak of nature. - No real flaws, but if I nit-pick it, there was a (tiny) bit of finish/glue/whatever that was painted over where the neck meets the body at the 17 fret. This was extremely minimal, but I wouldn't expect to see this on a Les Paul Standard...

- I would use this live and I plan to. Having a backup is unneccessagy, and out of the question as far as $$ is concerned. - The hardware and finish are done very well, in the tradition of Gibson/Epiphone. - Very confident in it's ability to withstand live performances.

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

- I'd buy this guitar again. - the sound quality is great - I only have two major complaints against it:
1) being a double-neck, the neck and is heavier than the other end, and thus when you strap it on, the necks point downwards. i.e. you pratically have to hold the necks up while playing, unlike a normal guitar which will balance in a position parallel to the ground
2) there are only 20 fret on either neck, and even though it is a double cut-away, it is pretty hard to have access to anything above the 16-17th fret.