Epiphone 1961 Les Paul SG Standard
14
GUITARIST APRIL 2022
EPIPHONE 1961 LES PAUL SG STANDARD
EPIPHONE 1961
LES PAUL SG
STANDARD
PRICE: £749 (inc case)
ORIGIN: China
TYPE: Double-cutaway,
solidbody electric
BODY: Solid mahogany (two-piece)
NECK: Mahogany, ‘medium C’
profile, glued-in
SCALE LENGTH: 628mm (24.75”)
NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech
Tusq/43mm
FINGERBOARD: Bound Indian
laurel, pearloid trapezoid inlays,
305mm (12”) radius
FRETS: 22, medium jumbo
HARDWARE: Epiphone LockTone
tune-o-matic bridge and stud
tailpiece, Kluson-style vintage
tuners – nickel plated
STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 52mm
ELECTRICS: Gibson Burstbucker 2
(neck) and Burstbucker 3 (bridge),
3-way toggle pickup selector,
2x volumes, 2x tones (CTS pots/
Mallory capacitors)
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.61/6.75
OPTIONS: No
LEFT-HANDERS: No
FINISH: Aged Sixties Cherry
(as reviewed), Aged Classic White
– Aged Gloss
Epiphone
www.epiphone.com
Perfectly fretted with medium jumbo wire,
it’s a completely freeing experience. If
you’ve never played an SG, you might find
it slightly daunting at first since the 15th
fret seems to be where the 12th used to be.
But give it a few minutes and its open and
unrestricting nature will have you playing
dusty-end licks you’d long since consigned
to posterity.
Fortunately, we had two great guitars on
hand as sonic comparators: a Tom Murphy
aged ’57 Les Paul and a Custom Shop ’63
reissue ES-335. Preconceptions tell us that
the SG should sit somewhere between the
two, and with our Blues Junior warmed up
there’s never been a better time to test the
well-worn theory.
Well, without another two pages available
to go into specifics, the Epiphone acquits
itself remarkably well. It’s a little louder
and more mid-focused than the ES-335
but not as poised and balanced as the Les
Paul, although it does share similarities.
Neither has much of the ‘honk’ that some
humbucking guitars exhibit, but both offer
rich, clear sounds on any pickup setting
– the SG a little more ‘quacky’ with both
Burstbuckers on. While none of the guitars
is flabby in the neck position, the Epiphone
perhaps comes out as the softest. Whether
such comparisons have any merit at all, who
knows? All we can say with some certainty
is that it would take a vampire bat or a barn
owl (the two animals with the best hearing
according to Dr Google) to separate them in
a recording or stage mix. That said, things
we don’t spot at review volume can, of
course, materialise when playing at stage
levels. Overall, though, Epiphone’s latest
solidbody is unlikely to disappoint.
Verdict
At the risk of sounding like the record’s
stuck, Epiphone has nailed it again. No, it’s
not a nitro finish; yes, we’re bemused at
those visually awkward pickup surrounds;
and, of course, it exhibits the playing
compromises and advantages of any
other SG. But it represents phenomenal
value, plays extremely well and stands up
sonically to a pair of Gibsons that together
outrank it a dozen-fold, price-wise.
There’s little more to say apart from, if the
idea of an SG has tickled your fancy in the
past but you’ve resisted for one reason or
another, make an appointment with your
local Epiphone dealer and audition one.
Do it in a demo room, make sure you try it
on a strap, and if the shop has a full-length
posing mirror, check yourself out – that will
probably tick the final box!
PROS Looks, nish, playability,
value and Gibson SG attitude;
another budget guitar from
Epiphone that gives Custom Shop
Gibsons a run for their money
CONS Some might struggle
with balance and the o set neck
position; the pickup rings seem
slightly oversized
Quality hardware and electrics:
Gibson Burstbuckers and Epi’s
LockTone bridge and tailpiece
9
Epiphone has nailed
it again: phenomenal
value and it plays
extremely well
GIT483.rev_epi.indd 14GIT483.rev_epi.indd 14 17/02/2022 18:5517/02/2022 18:55