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tjon901 « Super stripped down SG »
Published on 08/11/11 at 13:09Before Epiphone was established as what it is now as a budget line of Gibson guitars. Gibson would just put out simpler versions of their normal guitars and sell them for cheaper. These guitars usually came with P90 pickups which were less desirable at the time. People at the time notice because of their simple design and P90 pickups that these guitars still sounded great. This guitar has a mahogany SG body with a set mahogany neck. The necks on these junior models are usually the fatter profile than the higher end SG's because they were easier to make. The fretboard is rosewood with 22 vintage style frets. There is no binding to be found on this guitar. The pickup is a single P90 and the controls are a master volume and master tone control.
UTILIZATION
These guitars are not shred guitars and when you play one you will know. These guitars are the rawest of the raw in the Gibson line. These guitars have a pretty vintage feel. The neck radius on this guitar is pretty round and the frets are pretty small as well. The fret level jobs on Gibson guitars are pretty good so the guitar is playable but you wont be able to play this guitar like an Ibanez or something. The neck is pretty big as well even compared to other SG guitars so you will have to get use to the feel of this guitar. It does feel like a period guitar.
SOUNDS
These guitars were pretty popular even with professional players who could afford high end models. They were popular because the P90 pickup worked well with the contemporary rock tone that people wanted then. A lot of the heaviest records at the time were done with P90 SG's. The Who uses them and so did Black Sabbath. The P90 has great overdriven tones. Being a single coil it has great top end clarity and sparkle but with its design it still has good low end and warmth that keeps it from becoming harsh with an overdriven sound like a strat would get. The top end keeps the tone clear and hot while the low end keeps it from getting harsh. These are good qualitys you want when you are planning on playing with a bit of gain. With only one pickup there is not much versatility with this guitar but it is made for straight rocking out.
OVERALL OPINION
This is a lovely reissue of a classic old SG. Some iconic records were made with P90 SG and you can still get a rocking tone out of them today. I do find it strange that these guitars sell for over a thousand dollars now when back then they were bottom of the barrel guitars that usually didnt cost more than 100 dollars. I hope in 50 years we arent reissuing todays Epiphones and charging 5000 dollars for them. This is probably the closest you can get to one of those old Juniors without buying an original one.
UTILIZATION
These guitars are not shred guitars and when you play one you will know. These guitars are the rawest of the raw in the Gibson line. These guitars have a pretty vintage feel. The neck radius on this guitar is pretty round and the frets are pretty small as well. The fret level jobs on Gibson guitars are pretty good so the guitar is playable but you wont be able to play this guitar like an Ibanez or something. The neck is pretty big as well even compared to other SG guitars so you will have to get use to the feel of this guitar. It does feel like a period guitar.
SOUNDS
These guitars were pretty popular even with professional players who could afford high end models. They were popular because the P90 pickup worked well with the contemporary rock tone that people wanted then. A lot of the heaviest records at the time were done with P90 SG's. The Who uses them and so did Black Sabbath. The P90 has great overdriven tones. Being a single coil it has great top end clarity and sparkle but with its design it still has good low end and warmth that keeps it from becoming harsh with an overdriven sound like a strat would get. The top end keeps the tone clear and hot while the low end keeps it from getting harsh. These are good qualitys you want when you are planning on playing with a bit of gain. With only one pickup there is not much versatility with this guitar but it is made for straight rocking out.
OVERALL OPINION
This is a lovely reissue of a classic old SG. Some iconic records were made with P90 SG and you can still get a rocking tone out of them today. I do find it strange that these guitars sell for over a thousand dollars now when back then they were bottom of the barrel guitars that usually didnt cost more than 100 dollars. I hope in 50 years we arent reissuing todays Epiphones and charging 5000 dollars for them. This is probably the closest you can get to one of those old Juniors without buying an original one.