SeriesVintage Icon

Features — 7 Purchased used from a musician. Still own it. One-piece Mahogany neck with classic "soft C" profile which plays great, set into the body. Twin master volume and tone controls with three-way pickup selector switch. 22 Medium Jumbo profile frets, with trapezoid inlays. Classic SG shape. It feels and sounds great. The guitar feels heavier than a typical Gibson SG, but that depends on the model. It's not a significant difference. The tuners are Wilkinson I believe, and for some reason weren't holding tuning great on mine so I swapped them for Grovers. Sound — 8 Suited my blues and classic rock style well, the sound could go from fat and full, to clean and smooth. Classic PAF vibes. Although the pickups did not handle crisp tones well, and sounded muddy at times. Played it through a Marshall combo. I didn't use any effects with it and just cranked up the gain a little when playing AC/DC, Hendrix, etc. It's not a noisy guitar. You can get a wide variety of sounds, although I wouldn't play Metal or anything too heavy, go for a Jackson or ESP in that case. It's perfect for that classic rock or blues sound. Action, Fit & Finish — 7 The guitar was well set up by the previous owner. I did need to adjust the truss rod several times over the years, but nothing dramatic. Wiring and finish were all fine, good quality there and no complaints. One rough fret, nothing that couldn't be fixed. The pickups needed a little raising. The Wilkinson hardware is a strong point and seems to be holding well. Overall the finish was good, not perfect. I had never owned a JHS / Vintage guitar before and didn't expect much. It feels professional and solid. Reliability & Durability — 7 I would use this as a second live guitar, or rehearsals and home practice. Reason being the pickup quality could be better but it's good at this price point. Durability is fine. It's dependable and looks quite cool. I have fun using it and it has never let me down. It's a great feeling and sounding guitar, I would easily recommend it to anyone looking for an alternative to Epiphone or Squier. I would swap out the pickups for Epiphone Probuckers or Gibsons with clearer tones. I like the overall reliable feeling you get when playing this guitar. Overall Impression — 8 The Vintage VS6 is a great alternative to the Epiphone G-400 and has that classic SG sound. It’s affordable and has good fretting and finishing. The pickups are clearer than the Epiphone’s and sound a little more authentic, although they’re still not as good as a Gibson’s. It build quality is on par with most Epiphone standard models and makes you feel like you are playing a fully-featured, professional instrument. The solid Wilkinson hardware is a huge factor. Only thing is that the tuning keys aren’t the most consistent so you might want to upgrade them.

I paid £180 (english pounds) for this beauty. As you already tell i like this axe! I bought from Dawsons as my first electric. The Guitar is Tobacco sunburst, although it looks more like Honey burst, which is a good thing. The gold hardware sets the piece off nicely. The finish is Deep wine red at the edges melting into a creamy gold centre (sounds like a chocolate bar, and is just a sweet), without bothering with a quilted effect. The selector switch is sturdy and faces the right way up, which is suprisingly hard to find on a guitar of this price. The frets are smooth and easy to slide with and inlayed with pearl trapezia. The whole unit is cream binded, which i like, and at the end of it's fixed neck the headstock has an abalone gold brand name, set off nicely with gold tulip tuners (beware i have been warned the gold fades on the tuners, though i have noticed none). The guitar is a heavy mofo, adds to the quality, you get used to the weight. The strap buttons are solid, as if they were carved from the same peice of wood as the guitar. The sound, the guitar can produce beefy sounds, harmonics and raw riffs, the whole shabang. Sounds great, quite clear and bright. The only disslikes so far? Maybe the neck is too "50's", too chunky. Dont get me wrong this can be a bonus for rhythm guitarists, but i prefer to solo and lick about with my axe, so i prefer a slim 60's neck. And the the Lovely finish is marred slightly by the wood underneath, the grain is very fine, almost invisable, i like a visable grain to the wood. This is in no way a knock on the unit, just one of those things you have to deal with, doesnt effect the performance, and you have to look closley to notice but nobody does that. One last thing, the tone pot (positioned underneath the bridge pick up)catches slightly on the surface of the guitar. This wont effect all models though just an unlucky pick. It doesnt catch enough to tear paint off, just over turning may result in scratches on its beautiful finish. Thats it. The likes outway the dislikes. As i said, the quality is fine for the price. Solid, heavy and hard-wearing. Nothing really to add. This is a great guitar. The quality is superb, it sounds brilliant and the niggles are minor. The best guitar for under £200, anywhere. Great for beginners, even better for intermediate, but a pro may finds more dislikes. I'd give it 4.75 but seems as i can't its 5 all the way. It rocks, it looks good, it damn cheap, no wait it's inexpensive not cheap. But don't expect perfection, just like everything. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com