Epiphone SG Special Satin E1 Vintage Worn, Heritage Cherry

As advertised very playable. I think it is a perfect guitar for me.

I wish I had something like this when I started out in the early 80s. It's a phenomenal beginners guitar, but it's also just a really good no-frills guitar. Maybe I just got a good one, but I'm glad my family snagged this for my birthday. Plays great, looks great, stays in tune, sounds great.

Let me start by saying: I am not a professional guitarist, though I have been playing for the better part of 40 years. I primarily play at home for my own enjoyment, frequently jam with friends, and occasionally play live gigs locally. I've owned, sold, and traded hundreds of guitars. Of all those, I've held on to 25. I'm not sure yet if this one will be #26, but I've got to say, this one plays like a keeper. It came ready to go out of the box. Perfect setup, we'll dressed frets, and even some decent strings. Intonation was spot on. Really nothing for me to do but stretch the strings, let it climatize, and wait to play it. If I have to complain about something, it will be the electronics. This guitar wants to be a banger. Tone controls don't offer a lot of range towards the more clear, clean tones of a strat. That said, I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I personally associate the SG look with metal, so, in this case, what you see is what you get!I've read negative reviews which seem to focus on QA issues. My particular experience had no such issues, so I guess it's luck of the draw. With Amazon's return policy, it's a no brainer.If you're on the fence, take the dive. Worst case is you return it. If you get one like mine, the only question will be how high in the rotation you place it! Good luck!

I've been playing & recording for >40 years & have >30 electric guitars, including several vintage, high-end, and boutique guitars from PRS, Fender, Gretsch, & Jackson. After getting this SG for my spouse whom just started playing a few years ago, I'm definitely buying one for myself.Am pleasantly surprised by the tone & playability. It takes effects better than many in my collection and rhythm with high gain never sounded so good.It felt ok out of the box, but I did the setup & now it feels & sounds excellent. Changed strings, tightened tuning pegs, did a minor neck adjustment, cleaned & oiled fingerboard, polished the frets (there are NO fret sprouts!), adjusted pickup heights (output was uneven), lowered the action slightly, corrected bridge angle, and adjusted intonation, the latter of which was pretty bad to start with. The wound (low D, A, & E) strings still would not intonate to my liking (the saddles are maxed out & still slightly flat @ 12th fret), but few guitars' intonation is 100%. It's still totally usable. I'd say the "rosewood" fretboard has to be a really thin rosewood veneer, as it sounds like plastic when you tap on it, but it still plays well.Don't know about this guitar's durability, but time will tell & all components are replaceable and/or upgradeable any way. However I wouldn't recommend it for a gigging player, as road wear could take its toll. Ours will stay at home for personal use so I suspect they will last several years b4 components need replacement.Never liked the SG body style but the natural satin spoke to us. The satin neck feels great.Very light weight. It does do the classic SG "neck dive" as headstock & neck are heavier than the body, but there are ways to address that if necessary. The whole thing is so light, the hands-free neck dive isn't an issue for me.BTW, bridge & tailpiece are stamped underneath with Epiphone branding. Has smaller pots but so far, clean & smooth with decent output & quiet switching. Shielded cover. Quiet humbuckers.Overall, once I tweaked it, it doesn't feel or sound like a $200 guitar. I'd have guessed a $450 to $500 price point, at minimum.Like I said, buying a second one.Guitar also came well packed & protected. Kudos & thank you to seller.

I have way more expensive guitars. This is loud and raw hooked up to a 100 amp vintage Marshall stack. A one off surprise for the money. Thing cranks!!!

Got this guitar and laid it away for several weeks. Got it out tonight and tuned it. That is when I discovered that it would only play with the switch in the upper position. Other two positions are stone cold dead. I guess I should have known better than to buy a cheap ass Chinese guitar and Epiphone and Gibson should be ashamed.

Well set up. Low action with no buzz. Great guitar

I really wanted to like this guitar! I loved the feel (light), the tone (SG!), and the look (SG!), but it just would not stay in tune even after new strings, and tweaking, etc. It would come out of tune fast after only a little playing. It became too much trouble to deal with. I sadly had to return it.