On receiving the Epiphone G400 (Worn Brown) the day after ordering it from Andertons, I was immediately impressed by the look (the body is "industrial mahogany" but with a lovely African mahogany veneer which has been flawlessly applied) and the neck profile (big and chunky, like a vintage Gibson, but fast and comfortable at the same time) all with a thinly applied satin finish which feels so much nicer than thick gloss, in my opinion. The neck was very straight when it arrived which was causing slight buzzing on frets 1 - 5, so I simply loosened the truss rod 1/8th of a turn, adjusted the action to my preference and that did the trick.
Everything, including the nickel plated hardware, is well-aligned, the stop-bar tail piece is closer to the bridge than on my Gibbo LP Standard, but as it's a flat-top unlike the LP, the strings clear the back of the bridge even with the tail piece screwed right down to the body. As per Epiphone spec, the bridge also has a wire saddle-screw retainer which is prone to sympathetic rattling when certain notes are played on certain strings. The black plastic nut appears 1mm too narrow for the neck...though string spacing and distance from edge of fretboard seem to be correct. The tuners are licensed by Grover, not quite as high quality as the real thing but better than adequate with a nice feel and positive action to the buttons. The fretboard is, much to my surprise, actually bound in rosewood (!) which is a nice touch and while it did feel dry, a few drops of lemon oil soon sorts that.
Plugging into my Laney Cub 10, the bridge pickup had me doing "Hells Bells" in seconds with a big smile on my face...this guitar does exactly what it says on the tin! The neck pickup initially sounded muddy to my ears, but after messing with the height and treble/bass balance, it improved immensely...too far back (from the neck) for jazz but rounded enough to compliment the bite of the hotter bridge unit nicely.
The guitar is noticeably neck-heavy when worn on a strap, but this is easily overcome by choosing a leather or fabric strap rather than a cheap nylon one.
Overall, the Epiphone Vintage G400 SG is a superb guitar! Great looks, tone and playability, any niggles really are minor and I have seen far worse on guitars costing several times more than the £199 (including Stagg gig bag and next day delivery) that Andertons are offering them for at the moment.
For cool on a shoestring, look no further!
