Epiphone SG Special

this guitar was made in 2004. it was made in china. has 22 frets, shiney black, tone, volume, and and three way switch (rythym, treble, both). H/H pickup config standard. plywood body and maple neck. sg body, stop tail piece, non-locking tuners.

it sounded good when i got it but as i used it more the tone quality decreased. i use a 20 watt trynor amp. the treble switch has stopped working and i have to fiddle with the patch cord to get it to work somtimes. it has got a low hum when left without a palm over the pickups and its a little to full sounding for my liking.

the finish is shiney black it was not badly done. the action is perfect for me. the guitar has had some problems with the bridge i recenly got it fixed because it fell out of the guitar. the pickups buzz, the tuners are loose and come undone quickly it was finished well it just doesnt stand up to the dialy wear and tear

i have owned this guitar for a year and have been using it recently anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours daily and it has started to fall apart. the bridge has fallen out, the tuners untune quickly, the pickups are buzzing and wiring is coming apart, the rythym is the only setting that works and the fret board is not taking my playing very well.

this is a good guitar if you are seeing if you would like to take up the intstrument. it wont last long if you play it daily. i would not replace this guitar because it is now a heap of junk. i am going to buy a godin freeway classic as my next guitar and once youve been playing junk for a while a good guitar feels really nice. once agian its a good first guitar but if your going to get into it like i did you'll need somthing more durable because it wont last long.

I am looking at it right now. And one sticker says, "Made in China". 2nd sticker says, "Inspected by Gabor, China". 3rd says, "100% inspected and set up in the USA by E (Epiphone)". So, who's to say? 22 frets, rosewood frtbd. Mahogany neck. Mahogany body. Wine Red. Open Coil Zebra pickups. Wht/Blk. Humbuckers. Gold Hardware; bridge and stoppiece. Gold tuners. Covered, or sealed, tuners. This is the area where I'd pick at. To me, my taste, I'd keep everything, but replace those tuners w/ either Gold Schallers, Grovers, or if I'm really feeling like it's deserving, Gold Sperzels. Those Sperzels tuning pegs, man, I've seen on a buddy's Fender Strat. He swears by them. They really help a guitar hold it's tune. This isn't an endorsement for Sperzels, btw. Passive pickups. One Volume and one tone knob. Want to eventually convert it to 2 volume knobs. Tone knobs on a guitar are somewhat useless, IMO. Like what Eddie VH stated, why he never had one on his guitars. The Neck/Fretboard feels nice and wide. Frets are semi jumbo, kind of in between. Came with a 10' cable and Allen wrenches.

I like how this guitar resonates unplugged. Sounds great, almost has an acoustic quality to it. Amplified, wow. These pickups are pretty decent. For stock ones. I can get some beefy rock sounds, set up my amp EQ for some country twanging, or use the Rhythm Pickup for Bluesy type sounds. Have to configure guitar AND amp. My style of music? Rock, for lack of a better description. Old and New. Everything. From 50's rock to the 21st Century NU rock. And other styles, country, jazz, blues, R/B, etc...

I bought this from Musicians Friend, April of 2005. Paid $119.99. I like this neck for the simple reason that it came shipped pretty straight; I uncovered the truss rod plastic plate, tweaked the truss rod a little to give it somewhat of "bow", not much, changed the factory issued strings (whatever they were) to Dean Markley's. 09-46. Now, gives more growl and bite. I raised the pickups slightly, just my preference. Bridge is fine. Saddles I adjusted slightly; no real fixing required. Nut is fine. Bone Ivory. Works fine. Really like this Wine Red Finish. With the Gold hardware, is really a looker.

I've played live with this one; and it was fine. Would like to replace those tuners b/c they really don't hold tune very well, and for around $100.00 or so, could get some Sperzels on there. Or for $60.00, Grovers. Hardware: over time, could replace with Gibson parts. Etc...Finish is fine. We'll see if it lasts over time. Strap buttons? Hope they hold up. I don't do the 80's Metal "toss the axe around" thing. Dependable. Have NEVER gigged without a backup, period. Won't start now.

Epiphone seems decent. Registered my guitar with them. And Musicians Friend has always been good. Limited lifetime warranty from Epiphone. I take care of my stuff, but it's good to know there is a warranty.

Been playing a LONG TIME. I just wanted this b/c I'd always thought to buy an SG at some point. And for around $120, what the heck? Not a Gibson, but pretty well made, except for the tuners. I'd buy this over the other Epiphone SG Specials, if I had to do it again. Have played them at Guitar Center, and wasn't impressed. These particular guitars, btw, may no longer be availible at M.F. as of 12/05. I got the one with Gold Hardware; then, std. silver hardware models were issued. Wine Red. And now, when I go to the Website, no longer see them. Just the plain ol' SG Specials. Hmm...look on E-Bay. I'd recommend it; like mine quite a bit.

2005 Epiphone Sg Special. Has simple volume and tone knobs. Decent open-coil pickups. Has a nice fat neck(good for bare chords). Has great grover tuners.

Great sound for what I paid for it. It sounds pretty good through my Roland Cube 60 from 1983. Has a nice,fat Gibson sound to it.

Nothing was wrong with this guitar when i bought it and there is nothing wrong with it now

I have'nt played on stage with it yet but come on, im only 13.

Havent had to deal with the company.

Being a novice at guitar, i'd say this is a great guitar for beginers. I dont plan to use this guitar too much longer but for what i paid it's a great deal!

Made somewhere.
I don't know tech stuff
It has pickups, strings, knobs, switches, tuner things.

Sounds great after I raised the pickups alittle and changed the strings to super slinky 9's. Nice tone, sounds better distorted than clean.

Action was fine, mine was little bowed , and still is, but not horrid.
Finish was nice, cherry red

Played it live a few times, I like the feel of it, Dependable, and hey for $129, what can I complain about.

I sold an old gibson SG a while back and wanted to get one just for nostalgia. For $129 It was a steal.

I love finding cheap guitars....

You don't have much to choose from with the 2 knob and 3 way selector they don't change the tone very much at all. The Tuners are terrible the guitar gets out of tune after 30 min. of playing. Although the finish is fairly nice. It looks better than it is.

The pickups are very generic and have a decent range. It can be very noisy on the treble setting but dull on all the others. Handles distortion pretty well. Good for begginers who don't have much musical preferance

Only had one flaw when recieved the jack nut was loose and when trying to tighten it a wire broke a little sodder fixed it easily though. Has a pretty nice finish

I wouldn't use it live but it probably would survive. But would never use it without a backup. For practice it is dependable. The finish does seem to scratch fairly easily from heavy playing.

Very Helpfull Customer Service they were informative and helped me out a lot.

All In all it is a nice starting axe for the price but is not the best choice.

Just all the basic features, and nothing fancy. You know the stuff.
ALL the parts, from screws to knobs, tuners, tune-o-matic bridge, "humbucker pickups", 3-way pickup selector, output jack and cable and strings that came with it, all are just rubbish! Screws are like tin, everything feels like coming apart after few months using it. Strap buttons seems strong tho. Ye and it's rose finish. Nice color btw.

I've been playing now for 6-7 seven months, first played couple of months with a cheap-o thomann Harley Benton strato copy. I have a Behringer GM110 practice amp, which gives real nice sounds. Im not quite sure if my "SG" sounds like it's supposed to, but with some heavy metal stuff it's ok. Blues I can't quite get out of it. Not much hum, unlike with the Strato-copy. Although, the bit cheaper strato copy sounds better to my ears than the "SG". Variety? Well, some. Tone knob is nice, and has an "in-between" unlike some others.. One thing is for sure, the pickups suck ass! You can get decently nice'n' warm heavy sound from it, but don't expect too much.

It was set up just fine. Action was, and is pretty perfect. Dunno about pickup adjust.. they seem so crappy it doesn't matter how they're set. Tried to screw the bridge pickup upper, but the screw went round immediately.
There was couple of flaws in the fretboard, but nothing major. Paint is fine, mostly cuz it's so damn thick you can't see the wood under it. In the depression where the neck joins the body, there's a little crack in the paint. Haven't wanted to mess it up by removing the neck and to see if the wood is cracked.. guess it's just paint. After a while, the tone knob started having this annoying rattle whenever adjust it with volume in amp. More faults in next part..

I would certainly not use it live. Atleast not with any backup. All seemed fine when I got it, but not long till everything started coming loose. Like I meantioned earlier, all the screws are like tin. The tune-o-matic bridge's screws came immediately so loose they seem to move by themselves. Output jack came loose some time ago, and will probably fall off in a while. The pickup selector seems so schitty i try not to touch it that much. I don't trust the tuners. The plywood plate that covers the top of the body is so thin from where the electronics are, that a little knock would make a massive hole in it. The holes for the knobs, selector and jack are drilled so badly the <plywood> plate has taken serious damage in it, and in the thinnest part it's only couple of millimeters thick. Guess the thick paint is keeping it all together!
Now the nicest part; just some weeks ago I noticed the fretwires had worn all bumpy at frets 3-9, under the treble strings. I'm not an expert, but somehow I feel those wires shouldn't be so soft they'd wore out from bending! This far I was moderate happy with this guitar, but now I just wanna get my money back and get something decent. Every f**king thing in it is made from the cheapest god damn parts one can find!!! No good, wouldn't last for a two years in playable shape. May seem like a tank, but only by replacing everythin replacable you can make it last.

No idea yet, but soon I'll know.
One year warranty. Although the Dealer warranty is 2

I've been playing for 6-7 months, first coupla' months with my friends strato-copy. I only own my behringer amp and this "SG-p-o-s". I'm far from pro, but I can tell you this guitar isn't worth the money if you're somewhat serious about playing. If it would be stolen, or lost, I would only buy similar IF I only had 150? to waste and no chance of getting more in a year or so, and if the dealer would promise me it won't break down after another six months. Hell, I'll get it fixed or replaced, (as there's no chance getting my money back anymore) and then sell it to some beginning fool. 2x the price and you'll get Epi's G-400. I'll look for that. Tho dunno if it's Epiphone that sucks..or jst this model. =)
When first got it, sure it's nice thing, easy to play and sounds somewhat decent, looks cool and is in SG shape. If you're beginning player, and are looking to buy this, consider, *how serious you are with learning to play, *are you absolutely sure you can't wait and save some money to get something better. If you want guitar you'll be playing for years, Sg Special..NO. if you got too much money in your hands and just wanna see if you could learn to play something, SG Special..YES

This is one I bought 04/05, from Musicians Friend. It was a clearance item; had to get it. I guess I suffer from G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), 'cause this one was too good to pass up. For $119, got me a Wine Red SG. Body is Mahogany. 2 "Zebra" Humbucker pickups; 1 blk and 1 wht coil. Gold plated hardware: tuners, bridge, tailpiece. 1 volume and 1 tone knob/control. Pickup selector switch in between the knobs. Input jack on the front of gtr. For this price, I can indulge in my Angus Young imitation, heh!! Rosewood fretboard and neck. Good cut ivory nut. Frets are medium to semi jumbo, fretbd semi wide. Action was good coming out of the box. The tuners, for being non sealed, hold their tune suprisingly well.

Has a nice unplugged sound and resonance one doesn't hear in alot of gtrs. Plugged in, even better. Bright sounds, but I've been able to get some cool tones suited for blues and jazz out of this one. Good so far.

Like I said, action was good outta the box. But I'll take it in for basic intonation work. Strobe tuning, etc...the paint looks uneven in some spots when one holds it up to the light, but that'd be considered nit picking for the $119 that was spent. Satisfied overall.

Will it stand live playing? We'll see!!! I'm using it for a gig next several weeks/months, so. Strap buttons are good. All other things: we'll see. I'm sure it'll be fine. I won't thrash on it like Angus does his!!!

Had a good Epiphone warranty. Should be fine; no worries.

Been playing a long time. Have mucho gear; sound system, etc. Like to buy cheap guitars and build them up with better pickups, bridges, tuners, etc. If the bodies are made well, with decent wood, then sure. I really like this gtr as of now. Never had a SG, so for the price, what the heck. Light weight, as SG's tend to be. Easy on the neck and shoulder. Straight forward rock guitar, rock solid. "For Those About To Rock, We Salute YOU!!!" I'm out....peace.

2002-03 mada in china with 21 frets i believe. Its got a ok painted red body with 1 volume and 1 tone control with a 3 way selector. The humbuckers are both made by epiphone. It had a tune-o-matic bridge and came with a gig bag.

I play lots of styles. I like the white stripes garage rock, then move into the heavy metal. This guitar handles the distortion OK, not great. It has a very tinny sound that hurts the ears when the volume is cranked. You can play pretty much anything on it but I would never use it in a real show etc.

It's set up well for the price. Don't expect much. There were quite a few flaws in the paint and the volume and selector switch needed to be re-soldered.

I liked learning how to play on this guitar but its not worthy of a live show. Or even jamming with some buddys, this thing doesnt work too well. Its durable but thats about it.

No idea, came with a 1 year warranty but I havent had a problem with it.

Well, if your beginning and want a solid guitar to play on then go with this one. Its better than the alternatives (yamaha, fender squier etc.) but if I was to do the guitar purchasing thing over again (which i will be soon) I would have coughed up a couple extra hundred bucks and got something better. I probably will never buy "Epiphone" again. But i do like GIBSON SG's! Im giving this guitar an overall rating of 6, but in its price range its worth a 9/10.

2003 epiphone sg special goth. 21 frets on rosewood board, 2 knobs, 3 way switch, two pickups. Black.

Guitar sounds quite good for 130 bucks. Awesome distortiony bluesy type tone, great for rock, and metal. The two pickups are decent but they aren't EMG's by any means. Clean, the sound is sharp, not much sustain to any of it but with a boss cs3 you can fix that right up. Not bad at all.

Ive played a lot of guitars, and the only guitar faster than this thing is a fender american. awesome playability, not to impressive on the paint but o well.

Durable... Not really, wire came loose once and the input jack came out numerous times which from what ive read, is a reoccuring problem with these thing. I finally just soddered it in...

1 year warranty...

Playing 2 years now.

My rig: Fender Texas Tele/Epi Sg Special > Dan Electro Chorus > Boss CS-3 Compressor > Fender Princeton DSP

I play the tele for clean channel, Epi SG for dirty, perfect match. If it were lost id be hurt, but lets all face it, fender products are better than Gibson... The truth hurts but even Page started on a tele. Pay the extra for a strat, I wish i did. However, still is a great beginner guitar. Awesome for the price. Wish it had better pickups, I'd recomend some EMG Hz's. all-in-all a 9

Ebony, 22 Frets, 2 Humbucker 3 way switch i don't know the year and where this one was made.

The sound is very good for waht i play(GRUNGE AND PUNK-ROCK).
The bridge pickup is a littler bit bass in clean but i love it when the distortion is on
I use a Kustom KGA-30, Boss Ds-2, Electro Harmonix Small Clone Chorus and a Wah pedal and the sound is very good.

The action is good well when i buy it everytime i press in a fret i have some buzz but that is easy to put righ just raising a little bit the Bridge the inton... was ok everything is good. No big prob.

Very good

Never Used

VERY GOOD guitar for begginers.