NGD Epiphone G400 "Tiger"

[ZMAN]

Today I finally got around to checking out a guitar I saw on a local buy and sell. Kijijji. I had to drive a while but theyoung fellow said it was Pristine, and I took a chance. He was asking 300 with a Gig Bag. I offered him 200 sight unseen and he said yes.
When I first looked at it I thought the pickgaurd and the rear cover were all scratched up, then I realized the plastic was still on them. It is a 2007 and has a really pronounced stripe in the mahogany. It shows up way more on camera, but it looks really cool in person.
I will be taking it in for a set up this week and it will be taking to my vacation home and will stay there. It will save me taking a guitar and amp acrosss the border.
Of course I have pics!

[Spudman***]

Cool. Neat looking guitar.

[Blaze]

Looks Cool Z ,nice one to leave south of the border in combination with that Champ XD ..
How s the action ?
Are you thiking about a PUs upgrade ..

[Tig***]

Wow! I've never seen an Epi like that before. I like!

[progrmr]

Yea that looks real nice - HNGD!

[ZMAN]

Thanks guys the stripes are really not that pronouced. I guess the flash brings out the darker stripe. You can barely see it though the finish but it is there.
The action is a little high right now but that seems to be just a bridge adjustment. The strings are awful and I will put some D'Addarios on it.
I measured the pickups and they are 8.10 neck and 12.90 bridge. I will probably leave them in. The pickup height is way off as well.
Is is in VERY good condition for a 3 year old guitar. The kid who had it said he really only played it maybe 10 times and I believe him.
Blaze: I guess you missed my post on the Vibro Champ XD. I picked one up for 125 a couple of weeks ago. I liked the Super Champ XD so much I will keep that at home and I am taking the Vibro to Maine. Although the vibro sounds killer with the 5 watts and the 8 inch speaker. I took the plastic off the Pickguard and in the picture of the back you can see it is still on the back cover. I took that off after the picture. For 200 bucks it is quite an amazing guitar. After I take it to the Maestro who does my set ups it will be really sweet.
Not a mark on it and it came with a pretty decent gig bag. I picked up a Gibson USA bag the other day for it, it was brand new, for 30 bucks. The guy brought home a guitar from the shop and bought a hardshell case the next day. I have been getting some killer deals lately on Kijijji.
I haven't had time to compare it to my orginal 68 but the neck is pretty chunky on the 400 similar to the 68 but a little thinner. That is a good thing.
So far so good.

[Jimi75]

Very cool guitar with great looks, too! ZMAN, you got a good hand in finding neat guitars.

[ZMAN]

I took the guitar to my tech to get it set up and he had the identical guitar hanging on the wall. Apparently that is the way the new G400 with the translucent fishish look now. Mine is a 2007. He said he can get a pretty low action on it and the whole guitar looked really good.
While I was there he showed me the new Fender Mustang II 40 watt SS amp and he hooked it up to his lap top and used the free Fender Fuse software. Man that is just amazing. You choose from a long list and select an amp you want to emulate and it gives you a picture of the faceplate of the actual amp with all the controls.
You can build a pedal board and adjust all the knobs. You plug your guitar into the amp and the computer to the amp with a USB cable and the tones from the computerized amp play through the actual Mustang amp. You can then save the whole configuration and play it as a preset later.
And the tone was incredible. Oh yea the price 219 Can. I was able to "get" the whole thing and how to use it in 5 minutes. It opens up a whole new world to a guitar player for about the price of a decent pedal.

[ZMAN]

Well I got the guitar back and of course it needs a fret level. I should have known when I saw the high action. The last 7 or 8 frets are higher than the rest and It buzzes like crazy with the action down low like I want it.
I raised it a bit and it seems to be not bad. The tech said a fret level would make it good. I didn't realize this was so neck heavy. My gibson SG is pretty well balanced. The tone on the bridge pickup is pretty good but the neck is so so.
It looks like it will be back to the drawing boards. I guess I am being spoiled by my Gibbies.
I guess I can't expect much from a 200 dollar guitar.

[markb]

The stripyness is characteristic of sapele or African mahogany (not related to mahogany at all really). It's possible they used to veneer the older G400s to look more like the real Sth. American deal. Sapele is a very common substitution these days but, hey! if it's good enough for Martin...

[ZMAN]

The stripyness is characteristic of sapele or African mahogany (not related to mahogany at all really). It's possible they used to veneer the older G400s to look more like the real Sth. American deal. Sapele is a very common substitution these days but, hey! if it's good enough for Martin...

Mark: I am not familiar with the construction of the g400s are they a softer wood with a veneer. The body is very light making them fairly neck heavy. Not at all like my original 68 Gibby SG.
At this point I am not sure whether to sell it and buy something else.
The thing needs a fret level and that will be 100. Of course I had the same issue with an Asian LP by Vintage guitars and after the fret level it was one of the best playing guitars I own. The guitar is playable now but I like a really low action. Now I am at about 4/32 and the norm is 1.5 to 2/32 for Gibson guitars on the treble side. Most of my gibbies are 2/32 or less.
Some might like it but I don't. I am using 10 D'Addarios.
Over all this is the only issue.

[Blaze]

How about this one Z..

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=517260

[ZMAN]

How about this one Z..

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=517260

Yes Blaze I would probably like one of those. I have been keeping my eye out for a worn brown. The only problem is that I will be leaving this guitar at my daughters. Oh and I can get one brand new at my local ma and pa for 799. The only this is the friggin (replaced the real word) 13% tax.
I tweaked it a little today and it is starting to grow on me. I had forgotten how nice these double cuts are to play. When soloing the higher frets are right there and no crab handed playing like on an LP.
A good friend of mine has the older model faded SG with the 490/498 open coil set up and I really like that guitar. I am trying to get it from him as we speak.
I measured it again at the 12th fret after tweeks and I have 2/32 now and that is just a 64th or so off of the best case, so I will probably not spend the 100 on a fret level. So for 235 I am pretty happy with it after all.
I have a 68 Gibson SG Special with p90s and I took it out the other day to play.
It is probably the lowest action I have even seen on a guitar and it plays like a dream. It has the true "baseball bat neck" but it hasn't moved in 40 years.
It also has a compensated bridge and a vibrolo tail piece. So much for adjustable bridges.
I was hoping that the Epi would be even half as good. The funny thing about the 68 is that it is perfectly balanced, no neck diving with that one.
I can't explain it but the Epi has gotten better over night. I don't know if the neck had too little relief after a set up, but it seems to play pretty good now and I haven't touched the neck. The tech did take out a lot of relief out of it because it had way too much relief when I got it.
We shall see.

[markb]

Mark: I am not familiar with the construction of the g400s are they a softer wood with a veneer. The body is very light making them fairly neck heavy. Not at all like my original 68 Gibby SG.
At this point I am not sure whether to sell it and buy something else.
The thing needs a fret level and that will be 100. Of course I had the same issue with an Asian LP by Vintage guitars and after the fret level it was one of the best playing guitars I own. The guitar is playable now but I like a really low action. Now I am at about 4/32 and the norm is 1.5 to 2/32 for Gibson guitars on the treble side. Most of my gibbies are 2/32 or less.
Some might like it but I don't. I am using 10 D'Addarios.
Over all this is the only issue.

Z, I never got my "Vintage" G400 to play right. I got the action down to where I liked it (i.e. very low) by adding a little relief but it always felt a bit "tight" for a Gibson however much I raised the tailpiece and it didn't have the sustain I was expecting (e.g. Santana @ Woodstock). On the plus side, I didn't feel any need to change the pickups and the overall fit and finish was very good.

I'm sure there are nice G400s around but I haven't found one that speaks to me yet. Neck heavy is a given with that huge headstock on an ultralight body. I suspect a lot of these are alder (or similar) with a "mahogany" veneer but they'd be just as light if they were solid mahogany.

[ZMAN]

That is funny you mentioned tight. I am feeling that as well with mine. The strings are 10s but they feel like 13s. I am still trying to like this guitar but I am not having a lot of success. We shall see.

[bcdon***]

Well I got the guitar back and of course it needs a fret level. I should have known when I saw the high action. The last 7 or 8 frets are higher than the rest and It buzzes like crazy with the action down low like I want it.

Do all Epiphones require fret leveling? The reason I ask is that both my Epiphones need it. One I got leveled (my Zakk Wylde which now plays like a dream) and the other I just keep with higher action.

Anyway, nice looking guitar!

[ZMAN]

I am now totally convinced that you get what you pay for.
I have been told that the quality has come up on them lately by my tech who is the manager of a guitar store. Mine is a 2007.
This is the first of about 5 Epis that needed a fret level. LP, Sheratons were the others. Of course they were mostly Korean and Japanese Epis.

[ZMAN]

Well I thought I would update my progress with the G400. I took it back for a fret level. My tech was going to do another set up after it came back from the Luthier that they send this type of work to. He does an excellent job.
When I picked it up Darren had replace the nut as well as a great set up included in the price.
It now plays perfectly and no buzzes. When I first got it I noticed it was a little noisey and had some hum.
I took a closer look and found that the ground wire for the jack was not connected. It should have been soldered to the coax. I popped over to the store and my tech fixed it in about 2 mins.
Now the guitar is excellent. It plays and sounds really good. Great low action and I am very happy with it.
I know now I will have trouble leaving it in Maine. But that is why i bought it.
A little tweaking is all it took.

[MAXIFUNK]

I recently have had the pleasure of being loaned 2 SG's both copies one an Epiphone with 57 classic pups and the other a vineyard with 57 classic plus pickups.

The quality of the guitars both were very good I gave the vineyard a slight edge but very slight. But one thing I noticed was playing both of them made my shoulder hurt maybe I'll need to stretch or something 1st. But my shoulder was in pain after about 30 minutes or so playing either axe.

Makes want a double cutaway just not an SG.
BTW both sets of pickups are great man-o-man Gibson sure know how to make great pickups.