Crayon Sky Music

Gibson SG standard vs Epiphone Les Paul custom w/ upgraded pickups?

Well Gibson SG in this instance, however….. There’s an old mantra which is “What makes a good guitar? The wood, the wood, the wood.” I have the Epiphone SG400 and the only thing I’ve tinkered with is the machine heads. I’ve swapped the standard ones for a decent set of lockable ones. Mine is a 1997 Korean model which at the time they were manufactured were reckoned to be almost as good as the US Gibsons of the same vintage and I love the sound, it’s as close to the Gibson model as you are likely to get. There are a number of sites where you can tell where and when Epiphones were made by entering the serial number. Korean ones were reckoned to be top draw whereas the later Chinese ones were a bit “iffy”. Of course for the Gibby you are going to pay twice as much but if the Les Paul is not Chinese then sticking in a set of, say, EMG active pickups would give you a nice axe and change left over to buy some pedals. Whichever you go for then I’d recommend fitting Gibson VR strings, they really do make a difference.

Gibson SG Standard Mod pt 1 Motor City Pickups