Epiphone SG G-400 Guitar

Overview

The Epiphone G-400 SG seems to be a great guitar that covers a lot of middle ground as far as tone goes. By that I mean that it is not super-bright like a Strat or Tele, but at the same time it is not really dark like a Les Paul or a hollow body guitar. I think that this is a great guitar for pretty much everything except for country and jazz styles of music. Of course that is open to debate.

In this gear review we will take a look at the features, pros and cons of the Epiphone G-400 so that you can make an educated buying decision. Some of the things presented here are of course my personal opinion, but most of them are just simple facts about the guitar.

Price - 8.5/10

You can expect to pay about $300-$350 for a G-400 depending on the finish that you choose. The vintage, or worn, G-400 is only $300 because it has a matte finish. If you want the cherry or ebony finish the price tag gets bumped up to $350. The G-400 is competitively priced when compared to similar guitars. I think this is a pretty good price in general, especially for a guitar with a set neck.

Sound Quality - 7/10

The thing that I liked most about the G-400 was that the tone was very even. It wasn’t too dark and it wasn’t too bright. Like I said earlier, it has a nice middle of the road tone. This is due to the fact that the G-400 has a thinner mahogany body. Mahogany is typically a darker sounding wood, but the thinner body of the SG kind of evens out the tone.

I found the tone of the pickups on the G-400 to be a bit generic sounding. That can be a good or bad thing depending on what kind of sound you want. If you want a classic humbucker sound, this might be the guitar for you. If you want a super-unique sounding guitar or the glassy sparkle of single coil pickups, this guitar might not be for you.

Build Quality - 7.5/10

I was pleasantly surprised at the overall build quality and setup of the G-400. I did find some of the electronics to be a bit cheap feeling. The pickup selector switch and the pots were a little shaky feeling, but that is not surprising on a guitar that only cost $300. The frets felt pretty smooth and the matte finish felt nice. It was great to see that the G-400 comes stock with Grover tuners instead of the generic tuners that come on some Epiphone guitars.

Features - 8.5/10

• Solid Mahogany Body

• Set Mahogany Neck

• Slim-Tapered Neck Profile

• 24 ¾ Scale Length

• Rosewood Fretboard

• 1.68” Nut Width

• 22 Jumbo Frets

• 2 Alnico V Humbucking Pickups

• 2 Volume and 2 Volume Knobs

• 3-Way Pickup Selector Switch

• Pearloid Trapezoid Inlays

• Grover Tuners

• Tune-O-Matic Bridge

• Chrome Hardware

Ease of Use - 8/10

What can I say… you plug the guitar in, select which pickup you want, dial in your tone with the volume and tone knobs and go! Super easy to use, no problems. One thing that you might want to keep in mind is that the jack on most SG style guitars is on the front of the guitar. With that in mind, you might want to get a guitar cable with a ninety-degree angle. They just lay flush against the guitar instead of sticking out like a regular straight guitar cable would

Pros

• Set neck

• Even tone

• Grover Tuners

Cons

• Some of the electronics feel a bit cheap

• Pickups have a bit of a generic tone

Overall Rating - 7.9/10

The Epiphone G-400 is a great guitar if you want to cover a lot of stylistic ground without getting too bright or too dark of a tone. The only real criticisms that I have about this guitar are the lower level electronics, such as the pickup selector switch and posts, and the generic sounding pickups. The sound of the pickups is very subjective though. You might love the way they sound!

If you are looking to spend about $300-$350, and you really dig the sound of humbuckers, the Epiphone G-400 might be the right guitar for you. The body design of SG guitars feels quite a bit different than most guitars out there. Just make sure to sit down with one for a while if you can before buying. Great guitars!