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Epiphone Gothic G-400

Summary
Price New Epiphone Gothic G-400 @ Musician's Friend
Manufacturer URL http://www.epiphone.com/
Features 8.3 (16 responses)
Sound 8.6 (17 responses)
Action, Fit, & Finish 8.2 (17 responses)
Reliability/Durability 7.7 (17 responses)
Customer Support 6.0 (2 responses)
Overall Rating 8.7 (17 responses)
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Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 05/12/2009 at 03:52pm by the nameless one

Features : 7
Mine was made in China, no idea what year. Standard features for this guitar - 22 frets, 2 humbuckers with independent volume/tone knobs for both. Pretty standard stuff here; nothing important is lacking but then again there are no extra features either.

Sound : 9
I love the rather 'full' tone this thing gives, makes my bro's Squier sound really weak in comparison. I mostly play hard rock and metal, stuff like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Black Sabbath etc. - suits that kind of music just perfectly. This thing's pretty versatile too, while it excels at a heavily distorted sound, the clean tone isn't too bad either!

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
I didn't notice any flaws with this thing out of the box and I haven't had to change or fix anything after a year of intensive shredding ;D

I just absolutely love how the finish looks on this thing, the matte black is totally sweet.

Reliability/Durability : 10
So far mine doesn't have much wear on it after a year, a few scratches here and there and I think it'll last pretty well, this thing feels really solid and well built.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Haven't had to.

Overall Rating : 9
Been playing for about a year now, this is my only guitar. I do occasionally play my bro's Squire, but his doesn't really cut it compared to this thing.

If this was stolen I'd probably get another one - they're affordable yet really well built, quality guitars.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 09/13/2008 at 04:49pm by J.S.

Features : 8
2002, made in China (I supose) 22 jumbo fret neck, flat rosewood fretboard on a maple neck (no maghony as claimed by Wikipedia, at least no on mine) Maghony body with a more modren (read smaller carve then on Vintage SG's). I bought mine used as a project guitar. Eerything was there, exept for the pick ups, pots, knobs and jack. No pickguard either.
Black 'matte' finish and hardware. I changed all the hardware on mine as I didn't like the "all black" aproach. But I have put the stock tuners (Grover, rotomatics) and stock bridge (no brand) on another guitar and they have proven to be of good quality.
Mine made a perfect starting point for my "SG Jr." project

Sound : 8
I "rebuilt" mine to SG Jr specs. Put in al Alnico humbucker sized P-90 from Artec in the bridge position and cut a new custom pick guard to cover the neck pu cavety. I also installed chrome Grover mini rotomatics (as they looked nicer then the stock ones) and a Korean "Ill-Sung" TOM, which is of better quality than the stock bridge and stoptail. It also has some (large) MIJ 500k pots now and a high quality (US) jack now.
Sounds great! A real "rawk-machine"!!! Beyond my exeptations.
I use it with a vintage Fender Tremoluxe a various Fuzz-boxes (Big Muff/Ultra Fuzz), Phasers, Tube Reverb and even cheap Behringer stomp boxes and all sound good.
The only thing I'm not that happy about is the flat radius. I'm more in favor of slighyly curved boards.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
I did the set-up myself, so I cant comment on rhe factory set-up.
But the instrument is decently made. Nice clean routings, The neck is glued in at the correct angle and the pocket fits nice.
Bridge holes are also drilled at correct angle. There were no fitting problems with any of the aftermarket parts I used for my conversion build to SG Jr. specs. So, everything in favor of Epiphone!
I also noticed that the "matte" finisch is actally sprayed ove a gloss black finish and can be buffed out, which is exactly what I did as I did not like the mat paint.

Reliability/Durability : 8
The previous owner used it quiet intensivly and still the wear was minimal (for a 6 year old instrument, that is) The black hardware showed some wear after this period the black paint of the saddles was worn through and the stop tail showed some wear sigs as well (all from sweaty hand palms I presume) so normal wear. Tuners showed no wear at all.
Strap buttoms showed wear as well, but nothing that affects their solidness.
This guitar has already proved it's solid and can whitstand live playing.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Got it used and repaired it myself

Overall Rating : 10
Been playing for quiet a while now and own a lot of other guitars. I bought this one because it was not expensive and incomplete.
Epi's are a good bang for buck, even the hardware is nice. I played other G-400's in the past and perhaps their pu's are not the best, but they can be easily upgraded. For me the flat fretboard radius is a bit of a problem, so time will tell if I get used to it. Other then that it's a great guitar. I do like the fact that the neck is a bit slimmer then on the real thing and that construction is simelar.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: Canadian Dollars 140 USED
Submitted 03/05/2007 at 04:14pm by Matt

Features : No Opinion
Satin Black Finish - Looks amazing, but scratches easily
Set neck - Very nice sustain (the cows can come home and then still wait out their death while ringing)
Tuners - Grover :)
Neck - Mahogany with Ebony fretboard, 22 frets, 24.75" scale, and 1 inlay on the 12th fret (XII). Looks good, and feels good.
I got mine with a gigbag.
It was made in Korea in 2000.
2 Passive Humbucking pickups, 3 way selector switch, V/T/V/T (independant for each pickup).
And the body is mahogony as well

Its a guitar, not a computer trying to disguise as one

Sound : No Opinion
I play stuff like metallica, tool, and led zeppelin, and it handles it fine. I run it through 16 pedals though (5 of them distortions), so each of my guitars loose their originality. It feeds into a Fender 2x12 FM212R.
The pots are a little scratchy, but its been lying around in someones basement for a couple years. Easily fixable.

Action, Fit, & Finish : No Opinion
The action from the factory was perfect. I dont like tune-o-matics that much since they tend to have really high action, but this one was set up to play easily.
The pickups are in a good position, and i wasnt getting any hum from them.
The strings are really old, and havent been played in a couple years, so ill put on some new D'addarios and it should be fine.
The pickup selector was a little noisy, but my rig is extreamly high gain, and can pick up any vibrations.

Reliability/Durability : No Opinion
I havent used this guitar in the live situation, but i dont see anything against that. The gothic design looks amazing, and will be an audience pleaser.
The hardware looks like it will last a long time. As Ive said before, it has been sitting in a basement for years, and everythings been rusted, but it's still working like new (and adds some extra gothic look)
The finish scratches real easy since its only a thin layer, but each mark tells a story.
The strap buttons are solid, but i like playing with my guitar while i play, so I always put in some strap locks instead (which ill do one day to this one).
Im a luthier, so i can tell apart from good and poor building, and overall id say its solid.
I would never gig without a backup, and this guitar makes no exception.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Ive never had to deal with customer support

Overall Rating : No Opinion
Ive been playing for a couple years, own 6 guitars (4 with me), and right now its the one im playing the most. I like fender a lot more than gibson, but right now my strat is taking the back seat.
Im a boss user/collector, and use pedals for my tone instead of amp (transistor on clean), so its hard to tell my guitars apart, but there is slight differences i notice. Mostly, its just ease of play or the feel/look that I choose which to play.
My other guitars are: 2 Fender Strats, Ibanez DT-200 Destroyer, My handbuilt one, and some acustic I leave in europe which i never use (dont even know what model/manufactor). And of course the Epiphone G-400 SG.
If it was lost or stolen, I dont think I would buy it again since I barely have space for all my guitars and gear.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 12/19/2006 at 01:22pm by Jasper

Features : No Opinion

Sound : 8
For the first time i played this thing i was a little confused that a guitar like that could have that tone it suits with a thousand of music styles you can play many things with this guitar !
but its a gothic so you can play metal very well :)

Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
Everthing was good when it arrived i was real happy the pickups were good and the finish is a lot better than the earlier models

Reliability/Durability : 7
Whit this guitar you can play a gig (without tuning :))
i would not go without a backup because i never go without a backup
the Satin Black finish is a thin finish so be careful (the gibson has the same)

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never dealed with them

Overall Rating : 8
i play 7 years now i play a lots of stiles i own
Gibson Goldtop Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul Sunburst
Gibson SG Cherry
Gibson Xplorer
Epiphone Les Paul

its a great guitar for the money !


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 06/01/2006 at 01:28pm by Nick

Features : 8
I bought the epiphone g-400 in 2005. Made in Korea i believe. It has 2 volume and 2 tone controls and a 3 way selector switch. The neck is mahogony. It has decent features nothing astounding.

Sound : 9
This is what I wanted to get to. First, let me say that I play hard rock/metal like Metallica, AC/DC, and Chevelle(whatever genre they are) and the stuff I write myself is a litle heaviar then some of the differeant bands that I like. This guitar suites all the music I play perfectly. The sound is crunchy and versitile and perfect. This in my mind is what sold the guitar for me besides the price. If you are a hard rock/metal player this is perfect for you. One slight con the sixth string buzzes a little but when i replaced the strings with some Ernie Ball's it stopped.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 6
It came out of the box ready to play no flaws everything was arranged the pickups were fine no construction flws.ith the satin black but it scratches easy! This is a VERY anowing problem one mis-stroke and your pick rips right through the finish, now i'll admit it's not extremely noticeable,if your up on stage no one see it but you no it's there. now i might have exaggerated slightly the pick doesn't "rip" through the finish but it does scratch it up and leave marks. Also, this guitar is light but as many people before me have stated "top heavy" and they are right but a little exaggerated. It does not go "straight to the floor" but you do have to keep an eye on it.

Reliability/Durability : 8
This guitar is very reliable if i ever got a seriouse band together i would gig without a backup wich doesn't say much because it's my only guitar at the moment i sold my last guitar to buy my amp, epiphone triggerman 60 watt. I would definatly depend on this guitar the strap buttons are solid the hardware is all quality alltogether reliable and dependable exept of course for the finish like i've stated earliar.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Don't know never had to deal with them heard they're easy to work with hopefully i'll never have to "knock on wood".

Overall Rating : 8
I've only been playing for 1 1/2 years and my setup is G-400-digitech grunge-epiphone triggerman. If it werestolen I would first go to prisin for murder and when i got out go buy it again or maybe the gothic les paul same price. I love the sound of it great crunchy bottom end and screaming beautiful high end great for leads(yes I do know how) i hate how scrathable the finish is alothough the black satin is beautiful i don't know hoe long it'll last. Never compared it to any other guitars bought from music123 without ever playing it just reading the reviews and I'm very pleased with my purchase.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: US $530
Submitted 02/09/2006 at 11:29pm by sparos

Features : 8
-530 us dollars (Turkey dealer price), but i bargained it down to 480 :)-2005 Korea made-22 frets-solid top-2 vol, 2tone, 3 way selector (rhythm,middle and treble)-2 open coil epipone usa designed alnico V humbuckers (passive type)-mahogany neck and body, rosewood fingerboard (roman 12 inlay at 12th fret, no dots or trapezoids except this)-black satin finish (perfectly handsome look at dim light, the best finish i've ever seen in that category finishes)-tone-o-matic bridge, stopbar tailpiece, set neck-jumbo frets, (for more info please check epiphone.com)no included accesories

Sound : 8
i prefer playing kind of 70's blues/rock (such as led zeppelin,rainbow,deep purple, black sabbath),psychedelic and progressive stuff(pink floyd, king crimson, uriah heep)mostly, in addition i'm studying eastern harmonics in order to adapt them to rock music (just remember the notes in "gates of babylon, stargazer or kashmir", thats the scale of music im in...i used to play epiphone les paul special but i was not satisfied with the sound and workmanship, so i started to search for a low price but adequate quality electric guitars, i ve played some fender mexican strats, ibanez series, washburns before i've seen that goth g-400 beauty, first i thought that it was not suitable for my style (seems suitable for hardcore/metal and other heavystyles at the first glance, but when i've seen the "alnico classic humbuckers" stamp on the guitar i tried it with a marshall 100 w amplifier i felt in love with that good looking and good sounding guitari have a 30 watt fender champion 300 dsp and boss gt-5 at home and im using g-400 with that, the guitar is versatile i can say...for distorted or overdrived effects; neck humbucker has a hoarse and fat sound that responds so so much better than my old les paul special, bridge hum. has a deep and very characteristic hard rock sound that is not much common in that price spec. sustain is better than i hope due to the set neck and rosewood fingerboard..does surprisingly well at clean tones which you can perform jazz and blues easily by the help of a good amplifier.absolutely not every guitar is able to adapt from jazz to metal :) (i first got demoralised about the crunchy tones of the neck humbucker but i realised my amp. is not powerfully designed for it, i used the g-400 on other mid quality fenders and marshalls and got satisfied)if you dream about the classical SG sound (for clean or overdrive tones), forget it, because this guitar produces unique tones of a wide range musical styles from jazz to thrash metal...i have played this guitar on so much amplifiers including marshall and fender reverbs, laneys line6's and some effect pedals and i have a fixed idea that this epiphone has to be exist at every rock guitarists' archive for i have experienced a lot of styles on that g-400 and rarely been disappointedi recommend laney or marshall tube-amplifiers for this joker guitar to gain the tony iommi sound (of course C# tuned strings and very little rised bridge humbucker)if you want to perform the sabbath.but of course i have some complaints about the sound;-rhythm and treble humbuckers doesnt perform too different tones from each other, i prefer a seymour duncan s-2 jazz humbucker to the neck position and a s-12 screamin' demon to the bridge, after that i can say im 0 satisfied...but in total; i am surprised that i found that sound character, sustain and quality from a 500 dollar guitar

Action, Fit, & Finish : 7
guitar was set-up fine but not perfect, i had to deal with intonation and bridge adjustment, but just a little bit (because of little fret buzz at 6th string) action was good, neck had been set really perfectly,frets were in good shape and height, knobs, switch, headstock etc was fine, no flaws at the finish...but honestly; you may have to adjust bridge for proper intonation, or just say a pro to handle it (but once you are done with it, there will be no problem then) ;)i really dont expect more from this price tag and can say that im satisfied but cant guarantee that every epiphone wiil be like that, i experienced that epiphone's guitar quality is not homogenic.

Reliability/Durability : 8
i think it will reliably withstand live playing, i'm sure because i am doin it for 3 months (2 days a week) with no backup guitar, this guitar is reliable because there is no string snap and stays in tune for long time, but i suggest not to sweat too much on the finish because in long term, i think it will lose its matte satin black finish (i havent seen any on my guitar but i do really too much care for maintenance)and please pay attention to those who say "use straplocks" because strap nobs are small and neck can drop down while using in down position(below your belly) if you dont use straplock, than try the strap crosswise for the one near the neck.but i depend on this guitar honestly...

Customer Support : No Opinion
never dealed with epiphone, i hope i wont...

Overall Rating : 8
ive been playing g-400 for a year and im too happy that i bought it, i would like a gibson type headstock i think it look cooler. i love this guitar and will save it ain my archive if i will buy another, because its light in weight but heavy in sound. if it was stolen i would buy it back from the thief because i love it so much...its reliable and in good quality in almost every aspect (wiring,wood,finish etc.)for its price...


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: US $530
Submitted 02/09/2006 at 07:58am by sparos

Features : 8
-530 us dollars (Turkey dealer price), but i bargained it down to 480 :)
-2005 Korea made
-22 frets
-solid top
-2 vol, 2tone, 3 way selector (rhythm,middle and treble)
-2 open coil epipone usa designed alnico V humbuckers (passive type)
-mahogany neck and body, rosewood fingerboard (roman 12 inlay at 12th fret, no dots or trapezoids except this)
-black satin finish (perfectly handsome look at dim light, the best finish i've ever seen in that category finishes)
-tone-o-matic bridge, stopbar tailpiece, set neck
-jumbo frets, (for more info please check epiphone.com)
no included accesories

Sound : 8
i prefer playing kind of 70's blues/rock (such as led zeppelin,rainbow,deep purple, black sabbath),psychedelic and progressive stuff(pink floyd, king crimson, uriah heep)mostly, in addition i'm studying eastern harmonics in order to adapt them to rock music (just remember the notes in "gates of babylon, stargazer or kashmir", thats the scale of music im in...i used to play epiphone les paul special but i was not satisfied with the sound and workmanship, so i started to search for a low price but adequate quality electric guitars, i ve played some fender mexican strats, ibanez series, washburns before i've seen that goth g-400 beauty, first i thought that it was not suitable for my style (seems suitable for hardcore/metal and other heavystyles at the first glance, but when i've seen the "alnico classic humbuckers" stamp on the guitar i tried it with a marshall 100 w amplifier i felt in love with that good looking and good sounding guitar

i have a 30 watt fender champion 300 dsp and boss gt-5 at home and im using g-400 with that, the guitar is versatile i can say...for distorted or overdrived effects; neck humbucker has a hoarse and fat sound that responds so so much better than my old les paul special, bridge hum. has a deep and very characteristic hard rock sound that is not much common in that price spec. sustain is better than i hope due to the set neck and rosewood fingerboard..does surprisingly well at clean tones which you can perform jazz and blues easily by the help of a good amplifier.absolutely not every guitar is able to adapt from jazz to metal :) (i first got demoralised about the crunchy tones of the neck humbucker but i realised my amp. is not powerfully designed for it, i used the g-400 on other mid quality fenders and marshalls and got satisfied)

if you dream about the classical SG sound (for clean or overdrive tones), forget it, because this guitar produces unique tones of a wide range musical styles from jazz to thrash metal...i have played this guitar on so much amplifiers including marshall and fender reverbs, laneys line6's and some effect pedals and i have a fixed idea that this epiphone has to be exist at every rock guitarists' archive for i have experienced a lot of styles on that g-400 and rarely been disappointed

i recommend laney or marshall tube-amplifiers for this joker guitar to gain the tony iommi sound (of course C# tuned strings and very little rised bridge humbucker)if you want to perform the sabbath.

but of course i have some complaints about the sound;
-rhythm and treble humbuckers doesnt perform too different tones from each other, i prefer a seymour duncan s-2 jazz humbucker to the neck position and a s-12 screamin' demon to the bridge, after that i can say im %100 satisfied...but in total; i am surprised that i found that sound character, sustain and quality from a 500 dollar guitar


Action, Fit, & Finish : 7
guitar was set-up fine but not perfect, i had to deal with intonation and bridge adjustment, but just a little bit (because of little fret buzz at 6th string) action was good, neck had been set really perfectly,frets were in good shape and height, knobs, switch, headstock etc was fine, no flaws at the finish...but honestly; you may have to adjust bridge for proper intonation, or just say a pro to handle it (but once you are done with it, there will be no problem then) ;)i really dont expect more from this price tag and can say that im satisfied but cant guarantee that every epiphone wiil be like that, i experienced that epiphone's guitar quality is not homogenic.

Reliability/Durability : 8
i think it will reliably withstand live playing, i'm sure because i am doin it for 3 months (2 days a week) with no backup guitar, this guitar is reliable because there is no string snap and stays in tune for long time, but i suggest not to sweat too much on the finish because in long term, i think it will lose its matte satin black finish (i havent seen any on my guitar but i do really too much care for maintenance)

and please pay attention to those who say "use straplocks" because strap nobs are small and neck can drop down while using in down position(below your belly) if you dont use straplock, than try the strap crosswise for the one near the neck.

but i depend on this guitar honestly...

Customer Support : No Opinion
never dealed with epiphone, i hope i wont...

Overall Rating : 8
ive been playing g-400 for a year and im too happy that i bought it, i would like a gibson type headstock i think it look cooler. i love this guitar and will save it ain my archive if i will buy another, because its light in weight but heavy in sound. if it was stolen i would buy it back from the thief because i love it so much...its reliable and in good quality in almost every aspect (wiring,wood,finish etc.)for its price...


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: 245 (English Pounds)
Submitted 10/28/2004 at 11:03am by Anonymous

Features : 8
Well its a guitar..... everything that I would want is on there, only thing i can think of that it doesn't have is a tremelo arm but I never use them anyway. 22 frets, 3-way selector etc. same as everyone else on this page.

Sound : 7
WOW...........seriously WOW. This is probably the best guitar I have ever played for my style (Metal, Punk etc.) I needed a really nice distortion sound and oh my god this one is gorgeous. So I was sitting pretty pleased with myself and my nice distortion sound so I thought I'd check out the clean sound.............ahhh well nothing is perfect. It's not that bad but i would prefer a more twangy sound. It's quite bassy and i think it might be something to do with my amp im sure i could fix it with a better one. (I'm using a Marshall 30DFX). My friend seems to think the clean sound is like a trumpet but its not actually that bad. His strat has a much nicer clean sound but mine beats him in distortion. So depending on which you prefer then choose for your self.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 7
It's nicely set up, nothing falls off at first but it does need some maintainance where the lead goes in. It just needs tightening up once in a while, I do it with my fingers so no big deal. The thing that holds the strap at the bottom comes loose after a while before the wood inside gets worn away. This happened to my friends Epiphone Les Paul as well so I think it must be quite a common thing. Easily fixed, just put some wood filler in. Nice matt paint job but can wear off and go shiny if you sweat on it. Still it looks great though. Everything else is pretty nice can't complain.

Reliability/Durability : 7
I would most definatly use at a gig without a backup because it is very reliable. Its nicely put togather inside from what i can see so i dont think it would fail me on stage. The only thing i can think it the strings might snap but i dont think there is a guitar in the world that can stop that. I've had it for a while and its still good.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 9
I really really love it, I think it relies on a good amp for a decent clean sound but as long as you have that then your sorted, pretty much any sound I want sounds great from it and I love the way it looks. If it were stolen I would probably find the guy that took it and take enough of his money to get a new one, I wouldnt give this up for a different guitar its perfect for me. Its really light which is pretty cool and definatly worth the money. Everyone that has seen it has made a fuss over how nice it looks. If you wanna be the envy of you're friends, get this guitar. Unless they have a strat then they embarass you with their nice clean sound.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: 310 (GBP)
Submitted 10/23/2004 at 05:41am by Joe Passby
Email: JPassby<at>ntlworld dot com

Features : 7
Probably Korean Made, Matt Finish, Gibson Endorsed Humbuckers, 1 Tone and 1 Volume control per pickup, 3 Way Switch, No Fretmarkers apart from XII at 12th Fret, Stop Tailpiece Bridge, Grover Tuners, Mahogony Set Neck, Mahogony Body. As you probably know this is a licensed copy of the famous Gibson SG body style.

Sound : 8
This guitar is definitely capable of all your rock needs and I even use mine for some Metal. My main styles are Thrash Metal and Classic Rock and the guitar handles both superbly in conjuction with a Boss CE-5 for cleans, A Boss OS-2 for overdrive and a Dulop Crybaby. With rich, full distorted sounds this guitar can rock out but I found the cleans lacking, though this could be due to my poor amp (Marshall MG30DFX)

Action, Fit, & Finish : 8
Set up pretty well but I have since lowered the action and the pickup selector is pretty noisy when changing.

Reliability/Durability : 1
This is where the guitar fails like no other. I bought this guitar on the 24th December 2003 hoping for a solid rock guitar. I have since returned it 7 times on counts of wiring faults (It was twice sent back to gibson the other five the shop attempted a repair), This guitar is obviously inadequate and poorly made. Upon the 7th return aparently all the wiring in the jack got messed up because i twist it but the general idea is it doesn't move so I don't see how that theory works. The finish is also poor.

Customer Support : 2
They fobbed me off with excuses, did a poor modification and said they never want to see the guitar again. Incredibely poor. I'm reffering to Rosetti.

Overall Rating : 5
A good guitar when it works and probably good all around but I got a real turkey and the wiring is so poor. I'll never buy an epiphone again and will seriously hesitate before purchasing a gibson too.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: US $600
Submitted 05/20/2004 at 10:06am by Anonymous

Features : 10
made 2004 in korea
solid top
3 way selector, 2 vol. 2 tone, HH config. dunno abt pickups, but they are passive
finish is matte black, very cool
sg body shape
tuno-matic bridge stopbae
grover tuners

Sound : 10
it suits all music styles, seriously. pickups are great for me and this is my third guitar. i was gonna buy a gibson but really is not worth the diff. may change PUs in the future, no big deal. im using a 100watt marshall no pedals. variety is great, can get jazz to heavy metal death metal.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
finish was great, pickups and action perfect height for me, action so low i couldnt believe there was no buzzing. everything seemed in tiptop condition

Reliability/Durability : 10
i would only add straplocks and i would do that to any guitar regardless, live playing is fine, a bit heavy but still reliable. finish is good, thick all round and even. i would use it without a backup at a gig.

Customer Support : 10
ive emailed gibson and epiphone countless times and get an answer very soon with good information. their service centers and dealers are very polite and effiicient.

Overall Rating : 10
simply amazing. been playing 7 years, have an epi Sg special, thats shit but also a fender fat strat and this is mles better. if it were stolen i would buy it back from the theif if i had to! i love the neck, perfect for me, dont hate anything.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: 200 (#)
Submitted 02/08/2004 at 06:18am by alex vitagliano

Features : 10
My gothic g400 was made in korea with 22 frets, 2 open humbuckers, 4 controls (tone and volume for each pickup), a 3 way selector switch, a tuneo matic bridge (i think), grover tuners and most of it is mahogany

Sound : 10
i use the guitar with everything full, when you get the guitar u have to sort the bridge out a bit so its easier to play the guitar stays in tune and sounds great. at the moment i am useind a set of danelectro pedals with an an ibenez tubesceamer and its sounds great in all styles , i know the name might put off players who dont use distortion but you can use the guitar for any thing

Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
the guitar needed to be set up when i got it but it was still playable, all of the other parts were fine though

Reliability/Durability : 10
this guitar can stand a good old beating i hit accidentally hit really hard against a pole and not even a little dent was left there., the stap buttons are good but put in a bad place so i cot some locking buttons cos the guitar kept falling down

Customer Support : No Opinion
never had to deal with them

Overall Rating : 10
i have been playing just over a year and own a danelectro molten metal set an ibenez ts7 tube screamer a fender frontman amp, squire affinity strat, epiphone sg gothic, kay 520 acoustic and a cheap inter music acoustic guitar. i would definatly buy another if were stolen. the thing i love about this is the bridge, its so easy to adjust and the headstock looks really cool with the cross.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: US $240
Submitted 01/25/2004 at 11:20am by cody

Features : 9
This guitar has wholeacious features. A set neck (need i say more) this is better than any fender because the sustain is incredibly longer and it stays in tune forever. The tuners are grovers and the ratio is reall nice. the neck and body are mohagony too. I also love the bridge its better than any crappy fender whammy that will go out of tune in 2 seconds. The neck is adream to play.

Sound : 9
I love the sound. The pickups have a lot of mids to them. Wich is cool for most stuff. But i play deftones inspired nu-metal and I want something deeper. So I am thinkiing of some EMGs wich would look incredible on this guitar..

Action, Fit, & Finish : 7
I didnt like the intonation when i got itt. I bought it used so it mite have been tampered with. I had it proffesionaly set up and its pretty nice now.

Reliability/Durability : 7
THis guitar is very reliable. I like to customize my guitars a lot. My pickup selector switch did crap out on me though. So i got a new one and when i replaced it I was astounded be the quality sodder job that those korean kids can do. I also moved the strap pegs and improved the balance a lot.

Customer Support : No Opinion
na

Overall Rating : 10
Ive been playing for 3 years with my band FPR. We are in Seattle. This guitar did really well on our gig we played last week. It also made me look really good on stage. I have black DR strings and they make the guitar look really good. like there isnt even strings on it.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: US $350
Submitted 01/02/2004 at 09:42am by mike

Features : 8
this g-tar was probably made in 2000. sg shape, sg stuff. satin black finish. two hums. two volume. two tone. 3 way. tune-o-matic bridge, all the standard g-400 stuff.

Sound : 10
i play some diffent types of metal and thrashcore, and it fits well. sounds heavey and defined(at the bridge), the neck pickup is a bit more neck-pickupy, it sounds a lot smoother and compliments a decent amp's clean channel extremely well.,, back to the bridge pickup. good and beefy and all that metal crap. the body is mahogany, and thus sounds like mahogany, kinda dark but not muddy, plenty of bite and clarity. blah blah blah, it sounds great.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 8
was set up fine, not perfect, i had to intonate it myself (epiphone, big surprise) the action was acceptable. the finish was a beautiful satin black. otherwise, pretty good. some home set up is to be expected.

Reliability/Durability : 8
this guitar has and i suspect will do very well on stage. good rock n roll.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 9
it is good.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: 245 (english pounds)
Submitted 10/28/2003 at 02:03pm by John O'Malley

Features : 8
Koren made slab of sheer genius.
21 frets.
2 alcino humbucker pick-ups.
2 volume, 2 tone knobs.
Flat black finish.
SG body.
Grover tuners.

Sound : 8
This suits me down to the ground, im into new punk/metal and this is great for everything i wanna play. I'd definatly say this is more of a rock guitar than a bluesy or Jazz. If you wanna play that go with sumthing more old-fashioned. Im using it through a Marshall MG30DFX which is pretty small but packs a punch, sounds great through it, you get a nice full crunchy sound through the pridge pickup and a damper, fuller sound through the neck pickup. One flaw is that if you play it without an amp just to learn a new song or something, then the sound can be quite tinny. This doesn't have anything to do with the guitar its just the way the strings are positioned on the guitar. It shouldn't prove a problem for anyone.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 7
When i first bought it, it was exactly how I wanted it to be, pickups were exactly the right height, everything was screwed in properly, I dont think anything is ever gonna fall out or come loose, its a well put togather guitar. One problem is that it feels like you may snap a string if you play it too hard at first, but you get used to it after a couple of days of playing.

Reliability/Durability : 8
Playing this guitar live is an absolute pleasure. The way you can move you hand up and down the neck is soooo nice, its so smooth and easy, it basicly plays itself. One thing i did notice whist playing this live tho, is that if you don't hold on to the kneck, it drops right down and hits the floor because the neck actually weighs more than the body. It's not much of a problem tho when your playing , nut between songs if you wanna rest then you gotta keep hold of it. The finish is nice and thick and i dont see it chipping off or anything. You can bash it about as much as you like but this thing is staying in one piece, and i think it will always look as good as it does.

Customer Support : No Opinion
N/A

Overall Rating : 9
Ive been playing for about 2-3 years and this is only my second guitar. I know that when i get my next one, ill still play this one i love it too much to let it go. It it was stolen i would definatly buy another one the same. I'm literally obsessed with the neck, i love the way it feels when you move up and down, I love the little 'XII' inlay on the twelfth fret. I wish the lead went in at a different place, because it goes directly into the front and it sticks out too much which can get in the way. My advice is buy a lead that has a right-angle just after the part that goes into the guitar. I dont mind the way the strap fits, but if it wasn't on the back of the guitar just below the neck in the middle, then the neck wouldn't fall down as much when you dont hold on to it. That doesn't really bother me though at all. All in all, i strongly recommend this guitar, Its good for beginners to experts and you can always get the sound you really want.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: 370 (euro)
Submitted 09/03/2003 at 02:55pm by Anonymous

Features : 9
So this is basically an SG by Epiphone. The difference to the G-400 is that this is all black and has no inlays, except for the roman number "12" at the 12th fret. Made in Korea.
It features 22 frets, 2 Epiphone alnico humbuckers (separate tones and volumes for each), black satin finish, grover tuners. Neck material is mahogany, the epiphone site says the same of the body also, but the place where I bought this from says it's Alder/Mahogany. Go figure.

Sound : 8
To describe the sound with one word: Versatile. Sounds really good unplugged. I was also surprised by the quality of the stock pick-ups, and am not in a hurry to replace them. Lots, lots, lots of middles, which suits my style perfectly: Hardcore punk and grindcore. Naturally this can also do rock and maybe some metal too. I say eight with these pick-ups, after replacing them probably 10.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
The guitar was set up perfectly for my style of playing.
I did raise the bridge pick-up a little though, as I prefer as much output as possible.
Haven't noticed any flaws.

Reliability/Durability : 8
This guitar will withstand. It's so light it doesn't even take damage easily if you drop it. However, due to the lightness of the body, the neck drops like HELL. Immediately you release the neck it dives 5'o clock. I don't know if this is a problem with all SGs.
The finish seems good. Strap buttons are solid too, but their location...well, this is an SG.
I would use this without a back-up and already did. I never use back-ups anyway, we're not THAT famous...

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never had too deal with them and hopefully this won't change.

Overall Rating : 9
I've been playing for 9 years and I bought this as I was looking for a guitar for my hardcore/grindcore bands. I couldn't have made a better choice.
If it was stolen, I'd buy it again. Or maybe the cherry red one for change.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: 525 (Canadian)
Submitted 05/13/2003 at 11:50am by Anonymous

Features : 8
The details are all available on the web and other reviews... I don't have much to add. One note is that people refer to how fragile they think the finish will be. I have worn some paint off the bridge - nothing significant and it only adds character IMHO. I did however bang the head against a melamine edge. I was sure I would flake off much of the head's finish, but the divot was completely contained. there is a knife-edged dent, but no peripheral damage. The finish is soft and adherent.

I did have to repot the pickups, but we do play pretty stupid-loud.

I give an 8 for features... this is a capable guitar at a reasonable price.

Sound : 8
Good sound. The mahogany is mellow and warm. Sustain is good. Oddly, it makes for a nice blues guitar. REALLY high gain makes for some unwanted noise. I am looking at putting in some tapped EMG actives for the noise, single coil flexibility and extra gain.

8 for being what it should be.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 8
The neck is good. I can't own a guitar without screwing around with the setup, and I don't remember how it was originally. There was some noise from the pickup selector, but this was taken care of with a bit of conductive lube. There is a slight flaw in the fretboard finish on the side. Looks like a bad tape job, although not particularly visible.

Reliability/Durability : 8
This guitar will handle some abuse, although I wouldn't push it too far. The mahogany neck gives a bit more than I would like, but is very sound and well set. I use strap locks, but if you move around at all you should.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never dealt with Epi, local shop is always good - they know a cash cow when they see one.

Overall Rating : 8
This is not an extra-ordinary guitar - I have a soft spot for SGs for historical reasons, and I can't justify the bucks for a Gibson. While not extra-ordinary, it is a good guitar at a reasonable price. I feel I got value for the money.

Alone, I tend toward clean finger picking. I have an older washburn HB35-V with split coil picups for this. When I started up with a bunch of high gain metal-heads for fun, I needed a solid body and am naturally inclined toward an SG.

If lost, I might branch out and consider a PRS Tremoni SE - I do like black, but I certainly wouldn't avoid an Epi SG with a firmer neck.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: US $359.99
Submitted 04/10/2003 at 06:39pm by travis

Features : 8
basicly everything stated before me.

Sound : 9
at first it sounded weird, but then i adjusted the bridge a tad, and then made adjustments on my amp and pedal now it sounds awesome!

Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
everything seemed good when i got it. i was so happy.

Reliability/Durability : 7
ughh, im a little fustrated right now. the finish seemed nice at first. then as i look closer right above the bridge theres some sort of mark that you can see if you look at it at the right angle. i maybe didnt realize it at first or something might be something from my hands. then i think my friend put some little tiny stratches on the top part of my guitar, he has a "punk" stud bracelet so, no more of that! and then theres a little 'bubble' thing on here, might be because of humidity or something i dont know. otherwise i think this is pretty durible. recommend a strap lock or something.

Customer Support : No Opinion
no, not yet.

Overall Rating : 8
ive been playing over a year, self taught. im in a band im pretty good i suppose say my friends. i own a marshall G30RCD amp...digitech rp200 pedal...and then a squier affinty stratocaster. I DEFINATLY NEEDED A NEW GUITAR!! i love this guitar. considering i dont have a job i would have to wait to buy a new one, but whoever stole it would be singing saprano before playing it. i love everything about this guitar except the whole finsih problems ive had. i like the XII inlay, its unique compared to the boring 2 dots. i compare to my squier, far much better in everything. squier sucks, im sorry. i chose to compare it to that cause its the only other guitar im really familer with since ive only been playing for a little time. sweet guitar.


Product: Epiphone Gothic G-400
Price Paid: $469 + tax ($CDN ($USD/2))
Submitted 07/10/2002 at 11:13am by Wolf J. Wikeley
Email: msf2<at>telusplanet dot net

Features : 8
2002 Model, made in Korea
22 frets
solid body
3-way R/T toggle; 2 V; 2 T
Exposed coil HH pickup configuration
Gibson-designed Korean pickups with proper neck and bridge pole spacing
Body and neck mahogany; fingerboard rosewood
no inlays excelt "XII" at 12th fret -- note this is different from Epi's web photo
Satin black finish
Body is '62 Gibson SG style
tune-o-matic type bridge and stop tail piece
gloss black Grover branded tuners
fat wide neck -- 24 3/4" scale, jumbo frets
no accessories

Sound : 9
My musical style ranges from light, jazz-bluesy Gospel lead, to scorching Gothpel rhythm and lead. This guitar, being a dual-humbucking mahogany axe, is well suited to the jazzier former, and to either role in the latter. I use the Toneworks PX-4 exclusively. The pickups do buzz more than covered ones (e.g., the EMG-designed PUs on the Santana SE, or Duncan-Ds). The middle pos. buzzes less. This guitar is throaty and deep, and also pulls off great false harmonics with the bridge PU. Like: versatility, throat, and squeal. Dislike: unavailability of tapping, relative weakness of bridge PU. Still, I like these stock PUs as much as the ones on the Santana SE, and as much as any Duncan-Ds I've tried, though not as much as my Seymour USA Invader and JB.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
Factory set-up was virtually perfect. Action was low, but NO fret buzz whatsoever. I raised the treble end of the bridge slightly in order to make string-bending a little easier. The pickups were about the right height. There were no finish flaws, and more importantly no SANDING flaws. I could just as easily have bought the US gothic, or the US LP Studio for that matter, but the sanding was really poor on those, and the shop guy agreed, despite the fact that he'd love to sell a more expensive axe to this regular customer and collector. The Korean plant just displayed better cosmetic workmanship. The fretboard is absolutely flawless.

Reliability/Durability : 8
The satin finish doesn't seem thick, and I fear it might crack like an eggshell. The hardware on the other hand is top-notch, especially the Grover branded machine heads. The strap buttons could be larger and countersunk. The amp-style skirted knobs were hideous and fragile. HIDEOUS. But I swapped them for black speed-knobs like on the LP Goth, and it's much more solid now. I would depend on it sonically. I gig weekly without a backup, and would have no fear of doing such with this guitar, because to be perfectly honest, in a church gig I'm not particularly demanding of the axe's physical constitution!

Customer Support : No Opinion
NA

Overall Rating : 10
I have been playing guitar for 10 years. Other gear: PRS Santana SE, Danelectro U2, Innuendo, 59DC, BC Rich Import Warlock 7, Mockingbird, Kramer Baretta FR404s/d, Cort G100 with Seymour USA APH-1n & SH-8b, Ibanez EX1500 with Seymour USA SH-2n & SH-4b, Hamer Import Echotone, Steinberger Spirit GT-Pro, Fender-Mex Std. Telecaster, Series A HSS with Gibson Dual & Quad Rails, Epiphone 56 Gold Top LP... Wish I knew whether headstock was scarfed to neck or all one piece. If this guitar was stolen, I would buy another ASAP. I love the finish and the sound. Also, I love the almost inlay-less neck, like a Pawar but cheaper. The XII inlay makes me think of the 12 apostles of Christ, which is perfect for my playing because Jesus is the reason I play. I compared it A/B with the Squier double-fat Tele and far, far preferred the Goth G-400 for sound and feel. The neck is un-beatable! I wish it had coil tap. 3 coils would be nice. Black pole pieces would be even nicer.
Any guitar, playing any style of music, can be used to glorify God instead of money, drugs, sex, or Ed Roman:)

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