I've played guitar for 50 years and have owned many. I just received this guitar from Sweetwater, buying it on a whim because it looks cool. And was cheap. I am extremely pleased with this instrument. The pickups sound beautiful, the neck is great, the tuners are just fine...not high dollar tuners but fully functional, and the paint job is flawless. This guitar is a bargain.
I want to buy it but fear the tuners. the whole nine yards. all the ravers say to "buy Harley Benton" for a cheap but good guitar" I'm all acoustic but want an electric now (i'm 63) and play (well, practice!) primarily blues. would these pickups be enough to cool my interest in a p90? Thanks!
@@b.j.thomas3264 I'm not an authority on all the cool guitar pickups in the world, but if you have a decent amp, I really don 't think it matters that much unless you're a purist. I have a Carvin AG100D amp and this Epiphone sounds beautiful through it. for the price...you can't go wrong on this guitar. It tunes up just fine and is really easy to play.
When you adjust the bridge post, drape a rag over the screw head so that it is in between the screwdriver and the posts. You won't mess up the slots on the posts that way. (Luthier's tip #536784)
@@lukki7ster I just started a RUclips channel and need support, maybe the tip was worth a sub? My channel is overdrive guitar channel, bright green logo, if it's not too much trouble
That's why beginners should go to a music store, and not buy online. Any decent music store should do an initial setup for free, and will be more than happy to offer advice if you ask for it. If they aren't willing to do those things, you are not in a good music store.
Most music shops here don't have what I am looking for so I have to order online. The Guitar Center pulls a bait and switch every time. I called them and asked if they had the surf green Squire Bullets. Dude said they had 3 of them. So I jump in my car and head down and they didn't even have them. So the guy says, "We have these nice Hagstroms". He lied only to get me down there so he could try conning me into buying something I didn't want. I bitched to the manager and threatened to go online and say something about this and notify corporate. They gave me a white Bullet, Strap, Dan Electro Honeytone amp, cable, picks and new strings for 95$. No tax. The guy doesn't work there anymore. I guess he pulled his shit on a few other customers too. But the Squire plays better than an expensive Fender.
@@DXPunx74 lol why would a minimum wage guitar center employee give a shit what you buy? They're not on commission. Someone was probably just being lazy. You sound like an absolute nightmare
Just recently purchased one of these guitars and I love mine. The reason I bought mine is I had an original 1959 Les Paul Melody Maker which this instrument is a reproduction of. A tip for set-up on these wrap around bridges. First loosen the string tension (not sloppy loose but loosened) and set your string height before setting your harmonics. A US penny is the perfect tool to adjust the height screws. Be warned! If you turn the height screws at full string tension, it WILL BEND the harmonic set screws and cause them to bind in the bridge and the allen heads will likely strip! Once you have the string height where you want it, retune, check the intonation to see where it needs to go. Then loosen the strings again and adjust the intonation as needed. Then retune and check your harmonics. Repeat if necessary. If you don't know what your doing, better to leave it alone and find someone who does and that will teach you.
You are exactly right and I am that guy, I have a very small budget for a guitar to play. Personally, I am not going to gig with it, other than making some noise and getting lost in some tunes, however it is still a fun guitar and I am glad I have it. If you are a Pro, this Guitar is not your Bro, it is as simple as that. Part of the fun for me personally, is having a cool looking guitar that I can make into my own and learn about pick up's, bridges, string changing act, so I love using this guitar as learning other stuff too. I had to buy mine online, due to the cover pandemic so I did not have the luxury of going into the guitar store and having them get her dialed in for me. Anyway, still a cool guitar, Im stoked on it and your revue of it was honest and great!
I am all about cheap guitars .... not a shredder so cheap is good .... as long as they stay in tune ...good vid .. I may get one ... its all about having fun ...
Yup! If a guitar stays in tune and has a good playability it's a good pickup. And if someone is an hardcore user of pedals and fx, the pickups should be just good enough. With whatever kind of mega-awesome-expensive pickups you will Always destroy their original sound, so they are a waste of money if there's the need to use a lot of pedals or digitale effects.
Brian Donnelly lol you may end up losing more with a cheap guitar, you'll likely get less interested in practicing with the shoddy fretwork and microphonic pickups.... Stop being a cheapskate... This thing is a waste of money. Buy some quality guitars. The quality of your instrument definitely affects your progress. LTD makes good cheap guitars
Ken T it's not a waste of money. Its a fun little guitar that you can take with you and don't have to worry about it breaking or getting damaged. And you can make almost any guitar decent with a couple hundred bucks and a bit of setup knowledge
I am a rhythm guitarist, I was never interrested in shred or sweet picking. If the guitar plays good and I am able tu run my Getaway Driver and Big Muff with her, I don't care about the sound :D This guitar seems great for the price.
I've owned Gibsons that had soft metal posts that dented on first touch with a screwdriver. I've also owned Gibsons that had tuner issues like you describe.
This is my first time doing bring your channel and I really like your guitar playing,you don't seem to be playing to impress or to shred or anything, you're playing you and you're playing it beautifully
I bought a strat model, costing AUS$ 110 including gig bag, tuner, strings, picks. Apart from fitting a brass nut, and a bit of action adjusting, it's just great. So I guess this one costs $99 because it's branded Epiphone. It should cost $54.99 at the supermarket, LOL
I got a Japanese Strat for 100 bucks in the UK that is to die for. It's like a 500 quid guitar. They got the quality control right on that one, but the delivery wrong I think. Aria Pro II if you're interested.
Thanks for the heads up. they sell that here in Australia as well. I checked them and they are fine. I'm playing mine now while i check RUclips. I still can't believe how much guitar I've got for Aus$110. stays in tune after days. I wanted to upgrade the pickups, but on second thought, no need. they sound great. It came shielded, with quality pots. How they do that, I can't tell. Check Haze guitars of eBay
Those tuners actually force you to tune the guitar the way it's supposed to be tuned. If you haven't figured it out yet, no matter how good or bad the tuners are - you will always get better results if you tune up to the note. If I tune up too far and over shoot the pitch, I ALWAYS take the pitch back down and slide up into the note until I get it perfect.
You asked "who is this guitar for?". I think I've figured it out...this is a PERFECT throwaway guitar for bands that want to smash their equipment at the end of a gig, e.g. The Who, Hendrix, Nirvana, etc.
Judging by this and other videos, this is a potentially characterful guitar that has been compromised by the need to hit an unreasonably low price point. By the time the purchaser has dealt with the obvious issues - tuners, bridge, strings, setup - he or she has spent enough to have bought a $150 guitar, which I regard as a more reasonable starting point for a new instrument. This is an unusually detailed and honest review. The reviewer has gone the extra mile to be fair to the manufacturer. Perhaps Epiphone should take his advice and issue an upgraded version to sell around $150. (And perhaps customers should accept that you just can't have a brand new electric guitar for $100 that is more than a toy.)
You mangled the screw heads because you tried to adjust while at full string tension. You stripped the Allen because you adjusted while under full string tension. Loosen the strings up a little !
A proper string up with new strings, lubricate the nut, adjust the pickup heights and adjust the bridge height is all you need for these guitars. Only $$ you need to spend is on strings if you have the know-how.
I've been playing since I was 14 years old and now 44. I have this exact guitar, the red one ( I don't remember the color name) I find for just myself to play here at home is totally fine, I have no issues with it. I quite actually like it.
While the bridge, etc. are probably made of cheap materials the damage to the bridge screw heads looks, to me, like the wrong size of screwdriver was used. Just an observation, not a condemnation. Love the podcast and the videos.
....and, that is why it isn't really a good idea to adjust intonation with the strings under tension. If you don't mess up the head of the screw, you with probably strip the threads. Like you said, just an observation. I enjoyed the video.
ya, i hear what you are saying about the tuners, i did a setup on mine, when i changed the strings, i took my drill and put the tuner knob insert in it and spun the tuners on low speed for a minute back and forth to wear them in, and it worked great, there is nothing wrong with these pickups, then again for a hundred bucks what do you want, cousin figel
The tone reminds me of an old Columbus Les Paul copy I had from the 70s. It had a bolt on neck and single coils hidden in humbucker covers. I like; very scrappy.
Me, too, pretty much all the way around. I pre-ordered mine after seeing Bohlinger's First Look on the Premier Guitar site. It sounded great through his little living room amp and he said it was completely playable right out of the box. Well, somebody tweaked his before they shipped it probably, like the ones at the NAMM booth. Mine had unplayable strings also that felt like they had congealed industrial waste on them or something. Had to change those before I could even try it. The action was way high and the intonation was way sharp on mine. I found that I had to loosen all of the strings and push the bridge away from the posts before I could turn the intonation screws, tedious but doable. There was far too much relief in the neck to begin with, but was adjustable. In addition, my nut slots were way too high. Pushing the 2nd, 3rd or 4th string down to the first fret would raise its pitch about 20 cents more than the semitone you were expecting, making a cowboy A chord at the second fret completely out of tune. But I fixed that, too. The tuners are indeed crap and I'm wondering how a top loading Wilkinson Tele half-bridge would sound (with perhaps some reverse neck shimming). I know---let's replace everything! My conclusion is exactly the same: This will be fun for me to fool with and see if I can't find a guitar underneath this pile of parts somewhere, but don't you DARE buy this for some kid unless you have $50-100 to spend on a pro setup before you turn them loose on it.
I had the exact same issues with an Epi LP Speciall II that I bought a few years ago. Luckily I got mine intonated before the screws stripped. So exactly what I expected. I'll be picking one up for no other reason than I dig the Torquoise, and painted neck.
I play the bass but after trying to also learn the guitar as a second instrument I'd not done too well trying with a Schecter Metal guitar. Probably because I don't like humbuckets on a guitar. As a last ditch effort I tried for something cheap. It made a big difference. Short scale and single coil pickups. I've had it for almost two years now. The only thing is I only play the bridge pickup so my upgrade will be a Squire Esquire.
My first electric guitar was an Epiphone, and it did need a full setup out of the box too. Fortunately I was interested in learning how to set it up just as much as learning how to play it, but it was still a bit rough. Mine came with proper Grover tuners, but the bridge and tailpiece are indeed made of cheap metals and have aged quite badly. It's still perfectly functional mind you, but the chrome plating on the bridge has worn off after only a year or two and the underlying metal (which is some kind of brass) is now badly discoloured.
Epiphone released a Melody Maker for like $150 as a China exclusive. Single pickup, but intonated fine, stayed in tune and the one pickup it had sounded amazing for what it was. I had those a couple of years back.
Squires are actually really good guitars for the money!!! They still always impress me for how good they arecompared to such a low price. I started on one and still own one. I think it's the way to to go for price
You can never expect a guitar to be perfectly set up straight out of the box. Changes in temperature and humidity can affect the tuning, intonation, neck, fret ends, string height etc. quite drastically. You should always either set the guitar up yourself or take it to a shop to be set up. Just because the Squier happened to come in a better shape out of the box doesn't make it a better instrument. You just got lucky with it. Of course at NAMM they had the guitar set-up and probably changed the strings, too. They are trying to sell the guitar, of course they set it up to be the best instrument it can. Just like at a music shop the guitars are expected to be at least decently set up - if they were hung up on the walls straight out of the box, they all would play like shit and never get sold.
I must have been lucky- mine played amazingly out of the box, and I've bought guitars for 10 times the price that needed more setup. My tuners - well they're servicable- after playing it in they got better. The only thing I want to change is the bridge pup. So if anyone has any recommendations...... I was thinking of throwing in a gfs goldfoil. But as it is- I love the neck pickup. Luck of the drawer I guess.
While we are all still waiting for these to arrive... I just played my 80 bucks Strat copy today and it still enthralls me. Love it pieces. Will never part with it. It plays like a dream, sounds like a strat, and even the dodgy paint work isn't so bad (you can see the seams where they stuck the body wings on the central piece). What a guitar. So that is 20 bucks cheaper than this! I just wanted to see if I could buy a bad guitar. I look for the cheapest guitar in the store and make a b-line for it. This one failed to disappoint so I took her home. I don't even like Les Pauls that much compared to Strats and Teles anyway. But still, I think this will be a good guitar. I might do a review when I get mine to promote my new channel on DTube. It's gonna take a lot for it to beat my no name (Herald) strat from China for 80 bucks. Hell, I'll even do a comparison shootout with that as well if I can be bothered. If I'm feeling fruity, I'll chuck in my Aria Pro II strats. If I really want to take the piss, I'll compare it to my Gibson Les Paul! I'm getting bored now anyway. If I don't get it in the next couple of weeks, I'm gonna do a charge back.
in my opinion out of the box this is the closest soundwise and playabilitywise guitar on the market i have bought for the money to a real les paul. out of the box it may not be perfect to start with but it has an excellent neck = excellent pickups = and unbelievably simple adjustments to set it up for intonation and effortless play. my experience with this guitar and i have one i paid 85 bucks for is you get the sound = playability = and unbelievabley it also stays in tune. even though it has crap machine heads.==== you got money buy something better. but this guitar is dirt cheap and delivers way beyond expectations . probably the best starter guitar ever to be placed on the market. plus the one i have i would be happy to play in front of any audience
$150 is a more reasonable price for an electric guitar like that Squire in the background. My first guitar was indeed a $99 guitar but it was a Fender Starcaster Classical Acoustic Guitar. $99 for a beginner acoustic guitar is pretty good in my books. That guitar took a beating and I still have it to this day 7 years later (I am 16 years old).
Just bought one! Had been wanting one for kind of a while now. Pretty much ever since I heard about them. The floor model I was playing at Sam Ash felt really light weight and didn’t play the greatest. Sounded a lot better than I expected it to honestly. When they brought me the boxed one from the back I picked it up and it had a lot more weight to it and played better. The neck is complete garbage but I’m going to have it re fretted by my dad and put some new tuners on it and hope for the best!
Wow. File the nut properly to stop it binding especially with 11's why people use pence lead I have no idea. Two tighten up the tuners with the tension screws. Three don't adjust the bridge height or intonation screws with full strung tension in the components. I've done a full setup on mine and it plays great difference is I did all of the above..experience is key here. I have videos of this guitar on my channel and you can hear it sounds decent and is very playable with zero buzz, zero fretting out etc. I can tune it easily do a lot of playing and a step and a half bends and it holds tune spot on.
I got a Epiphone Les Paul Special as one of my first guitars when I was 10 and it sucked. I’m 25 and have a Mexican made Tele and I couldn’t be happier.
Very useful review. I bought it for the looks and the lightness, it's perfect to jump around. But as you said the original strings were terrible, the wounded ones wouldn't sound for their life and in fact I killed them all
I also don't understand why Epiphone puts these crap tuners on their budget starter guitars. I won an Epi Les Paul Special II at a guitar show and the first thing I did was switch out the tuners. I actually used a set of Grover copies from China that cost about $12. A vast improvement. They work fine. Squier puts decent tuners on their starters. No offense but did you loosen the strings prior to setting the intonation? the reason I ask is the stripped screw issue.
Is there a higher price/quality version of these? I'm looking into getting a single coil guitar, and I absolutely love the way these look. I'm debating if it's worth it to pick up one of these and upgrade the bad hardware to have a better one of these and learn some stuff in the process, if they don't have a better version of this model. I just love them so much visually! I have a really old starter Epiphone SG that my brother started on, and yeah the tuners are *awful.* The knobs aren't even metal, they're chrome-painted plastic that feel like they could break from turning them. Cheap Epiphones seem like the _absolute_ bottom of the barrel when it comes to hardware.
When I buy cheap guitars, I like to upgrade the tail piece and bridge to better quality parts. I buy all my parts from Philadelphia Luthier supply, they sell non branded American made parts for cheap, but are high quality.
What are your thoughts on the Yamaha Pacifica 012 as a starter guitar? When I started out 14 years ago it was with a Pacifica 112 which was about the same price as the present-day 012. The 112 was a great starting point, decent sounds and the quality was one of the best in it's price range, so I'd love to know what you think about today's 012.
With cheap tuners, if i overshoot the tuning, I back up further than I have to and bring it back up into tune. I find it will keep tune better. I don't play much and cheap guitars a good enough for me.
What guage strings ship with these? I broke a few and want the same thank . Thos is a great guitar , Ive been playng 45 years . light on my back ,plays well
I'm looking for a backup to my Gretsch. I like to play and fast punk, and the main reason to get a backup, other than adding to my guitar collection, is because I like to tune down to Eb often. Is this a good guitar for that style of music and does it sound good when tuned down? How much does it weigh?
I'm kinda new to your page, but I absolutely love it. I heard you say you use 11's...have you seen rick beato's video on strings yet? I used to use 11s and made the full switch to 9s after seeing it, and haven't gone back! I was curious to see if you saw it and what your impression is?
Good review. It sounded pretty good when you played. With regard to the tuners, I was told by the guy in the shop I bought it from that they are genuine Gotohs. I've no reason to believe he was lying. But I've got bad tuners on guitars costing a lot more. I agree though, for 100 bucks you can get a guitar with perfectly fine tuners. We shall see. For me, I like this guitar because it is small. Because I can set it up good. Because I don't care about pickups because I can make any guitar sound good going through my computer software. Never mind the strings. The action, frets, nut can all be dealt with. Sprouting frets can always be smoothed out. Sometimes lowering/highering pups can give a whole new tone. I think you are nuts however if you spend good money on new pups or whatever. Not a guitar you put a Bigsby on is it? This is going to be an interesting one. I just wanted to be part of the party. Whooohaooohh!
123ubuntu666 keep in mind that most companies license their name so an overseas company will slap a brand name on on an inferior quality part. Bridges, tuners and pickups usually fall into this category. It is a way to keep cost down while giving the perception you are getting a genuine brand name.
+Richard Guider - yeah I suppose so. I know that goes on all the time with ghost building. I've researched it quite a bit. It didn't occur to me that it happens with parts as well. Common sense I suppose. Maybe that is what is happening here. Not too many people overly impressed with the tuners from the few reviews surfacing at the moment. I can live with semi-ok tuners. Two of my favourite guitars built by Revelation have pretty mediocre tuners on them. I've got 120 bucks gits that put them to shame. But it's ok. Even on a 300 bucks git. I'm not so cheap I wouldn't find a bit of cash to put on some nice locking heads or just a better quality set. Once the gits are tuned though, they stay in tune, so that is nice. They just drift a bit when trying to get them in range. This is my Revelation gits I'm talking about. My Aria Pro II gits are pretty flawless - excellent tuners. Excellent stability. But they are Fender copies (Teles/Strats) - so that helps. But yeah, good call on the 'ghost building' of parts. I'll have to look in to that more.
Not trying to be a ass but what do you expect for $99 I have got one coming this week the only thing I'm going to do set the action new Strings and I bet it will rock
Well I paid 99 GBP for mine (so that's more than 99 bucks), and for that, you can expect a lot. You can expect a high-end Squier/Fender level of quality. If you get lucky.
How can you produce intonation on the wraparound bridge without individual string saddles? That is a mystery to me. That means you never get the guitar tuned very well?
yeah the first thing is definately a string change ... only set up mine needed was a neck tweak to get rid of low e string buzz other than that i thought i had gotten my $99 worth ... what you want ? ... i just need something to practice on that doesn't destroy my shoulder / back ... the light weight is big deal for me ....
So this model kind of intrigues me, how are the factory pickups in comparison to a squire bullet strat?, also how is the finish on the neck? Is it glossy or a more flat finish?
Does anyone know what the neck pocket dimensions are? I was considering buying this and swapping out neck/pickups/hardware. I've looked around but can't find info on what the neck pocket is like.
I would almost buy this for a modding platform to ram some P90 pickups in and make a Les Paul Special-esque guitar (routing from a humbucker guitar leaves gaps). With the price of reasonable wrap-around bridges, and having to route through the plastic though, I think I'll pass.
I have always stood by Epiphone, and three of my twelve guitars are Epiphone. The Epiphones I have are Korean and they do some things I like better than my Gibsons, even. Now, seeing and trying out the Chinese Epiphones - I find it hard to recommend them and I don't like having to differentiate between the eras that I think Epiphone made a decent guitar and when they need to be avoided. Epiphone is doing a huge disservice to itself and it's legacy.
I agree with the string thing! I hate going to the local small guitar shops, which is all we have. They always have nasty strings on the floor guitars most times!¡!¡!
The tuners on this you can order direct from China for $4 and some change, shipping is free. In all honesty, they arent worth that much. Put a new screw in the tail stop. Problem solved. Good tuners can be had for around $15. I just like the looks of this guitar. It would make a cool project.
I just picked one up and the only issue that i have is the tuners. So i picked up some old les paul machine heads which should take care of that problem as soon as I get off my lazy ass and install them, lol!
Personally I love budget guitars. Gives me something to play with. These look nice but I have not been able to find anything in a lefty. Epi seems to refuse to answer my requests for info on them.
Personally I think if you're only gonna spend 99$ on a guitar go to a pawn shop and find a slightly used one. I found a washburn shadow series sunburst strat clone for 99$ and I love it
Hello my friend! I like these little bastards but what I am really interested in: What's the SG on the wall to your left? (Left in the vid that is ;-).) I am a great SG fan and never saw one in that beautiful light green metallic tone? Which make, model and year is that? Can you please let me know?! Thanks a lot!
It started out as a Faded SG, the previous owner refinished it to that metalic greenish blue. He claimed it was a refin kit he got from reranch, but i haven't been able to find anything from them that matches that look. I put the white pickguard and pickups on it.
I've played guitar for 50 years and have owned many. I just received this guitar from Sweetwater, buying it on a whim because it looks cool. And was cheap. I am extremely pleased with this instrument. The pickups sound beautiful, the neck is great, the tuners are just fine...not high dollar tuners but fully functional, and the paint job is flawless. This guitar is a bargain.
I want to buy it but fear the tuners. the whole nine yards. all the ravers say to "buy Harley Benton" for a cheap but good guitar" I'm all acoustic but want an electric now (i'm 63) and play (well, practice!) primarily blues. would these pickups be enough to cool my interest in a p90? Thanks!
@@b.j.thomas3264 I'm not an authority on all the cool guitar pickups in the world, but if you have a decent amp, I really don 't think it matters that much unless you're a purist. I have a Carvin AG100D amp and this Epiphone sounds beautiful through it. for the price...you can't go wrong on this guitar. It tunes up just fine and is really easy to play.
This was my first guitar and I absolutely loved it
When you adjust the bridge post, drape a rag over the screw head so that it is in between the screwdriver and the posts. You won't mess up the slots on the posts that way. (Luthier's tip #536784)
You angel
This is exactly what one should do
@@lukki7ster I just started a RUclips channel and need support, maybe the tip was worth a sub? My channel is overdrive guitar channel, bright green logo, if it's not too much trouble
Use a screwdriver with a blade as wide as the slot and they won't get beat up. Also pad the driver with a little masking tape for extra insurance.
@@jimistheman9732 too late :(
That's why beginners should go to a music store, and not buy online. Any decent music store should do an initial setup for free, and will be more than happy to offer advice if you ask for it. If they aren't willing to do those things, you are not in a good music store.
Most music shops here don't have what I am looking for so I have to order online. The Guitar Center pulls a bait and switch every time. I called them and asked if they had the surf green Squire Bullets. Dude said they had 3 of them. So I jump in my car and head down and they didn't even have them. So the guy says, "We have these nice Hagstroms". He lied only to get me down there so he could try conning me into buying something I didn't want. I bitched to the manager and threatened to go online and say something about this and notify corporate.
They gave me a white Bullet, Strap, Dan Electro Honeytone amp, cable, picks and new strings for 95$. No tax. The guy doesn't work there anymore. I guess he pulled his shit on a few other customers too. But the Squire plays better than an expensive Fender.
@@DXPunx74 lol why would a minimum wage guitar center employee give a shit what you buy? They're not on commission. Someone was probably just being lazy. You sound like an absolute nightmare
@@ryank5761 GC employees 100% get commission bonuses and do not make minimum wage.
I dont because we doont have a guitae store
Igone I’m sorry to read that. At least you have the internet, so you can learn to do your own work. Best of luck to you!
Just recently purchased one of these guitars and I love mine. The reason I bought mine is I had an original 1959 Les Paul Melody Maker which this instrument is a reproduction of. A tip for set-up on these wrap around bridges. First loosen the string tension (not sloppy loose but loosened) and set your string height before setting your harmonics. A US penny is the perfect tool to adjust the height screws. Be warned! If you turn the height screws at full string tension, it WILL BEND the harmonic set screws and cause them to bind in the bridge and the allen heads will likely strip! Once you have the string height where you want it, retune, check the intonation to see where it needs to go. Then loosen the strings again and adjust the intonation as needed. Then retune and check your harmonics. Repeat if necessary. If you don't know what your doing, better to leave it alone and find someone who does and that will teach you.
You are exactly right and I am that guy, I have a very small budget for a guitar to play. Personally, I am not going to gig with it, other than making some noise and getting lost in some tunes, however it is still a fun guitar and I am glad I have it. If you are a Pro, this Guitar is not your Bro, it is as simple as that. Part of the fun for me personally, is having a cool looking guitar that I can make into my own and learn about pick up's, bridges, string changing act, so I love using this guitar as learning other stuff too. I had to buy mine online, due to the cover pandemic so I did not have the luxury of going into the guitar store and having them get her dialed in for me. Anyway, still a cool guitar, Im stoked on it and your revue of it was honest and great!
I am all about cheap guitars .... not a shredder so cheap is good .... as long as they stay in tune ...good vid .. I may get one ... its all about having fun ...
Yup! If a guitar stays in tune and has a good playability it's a good pickup. And if someone is an hardcore user of pedals and fx, the pickups should be just good enough. With whatever kind of mega-awesome-expensive pickups you will Always destroy their original sound, so they are a waste of money if there's the need to use a lot of pedals or digitale effects.
Brian Donnelly lol you may end up losing more with a cheap guitar, you'll likely get less interested in practicing with the shoddy fretwork and microphonic pickups.... Stop being a cheapskate... This thing is a waste of money. Buy some quality guitars. The quality of your instrument definitely affects your progress. LTD makes good cheap guitars
Ken T it's not a waste of money. Its a fun little guitar that you can take with you and don't have to worry about it breaking or getting damaged. And you can make almost any guitar decent with a couple hundred bucks and a bit of setup knowledge
Please don't XD
I have a 99$ Washburn shadow series sunburst strat clone I got at a pawn shop and I love it
I am a rhythm guitarist, I was never interrested in shred or sweet picking. If the guitar plays good and I am able tu run my Getaway Driver and Big Muff with her, I don't care about the sound :D This guitar seems great for the price.
Also a rhythm guitarist, not interested in shredding or fancy solos. Having said that, I like my guitars to have a good action height and a nice neck
I've owned Gibsons that had soft metal posts that dented on first touch with a screwdriver. I've also owned Gibsons that had tuner issues like you describe.
This is my first time doing bring your channel and I really like your guitar playing,you don't seem to be playing to impress or to shred or anything, you're playing you and you're playing it beautifully
I bought a strat model, costing AUS$ 110 including gig bag, tuner, strings, picks.
Apart from fitting a brass nut, and a bit of action adjusting, it's just great.
So I guess this one costs $99 because it's branded Epiphone. It should cost $54.99 at the supermarket, LOL
lol
I got a Japanese Strat for 100 bucks in the UK that is to die for. It's like a 500 quid guitar. They got the quality control right on that one, but the delivery wrong I think. Aria Pro II if you're interested.
Thanks for the heads up. they sell that here in Australia as well. I checked them and they are fine. I'm playing mine now while i check RUclips. I still can't believe how much guitar I've got for Aus$110. stays in tune after days. I wanted to upgrade the pickups, but on second thought, no need. they sound great. It came shielded, with quality pots.
How they do that, I can't tell. Check Haze guitars of eBay
This is exactly what I needed to know. Thanks again good sir - you've earned yourself a loyal follower! I respectfully nod in your direction.
Those tuners actually force you to tune the guitar the way it's supposed to be tuned. If you haven't figured it out yet, no matter how good or bad the tuners are - you will always get better results if you tune up to the note. If I tune up too far and over shoot the pitch, I ALWAYS take the pitch back down and slide up into the note until I get it perfect.
You asked "who is this guitar for?". I think I've figured it out...this is a PERFECT throwaway guitar for bands that want to smash their equipment at the end of a gig, e.g. The Who, Hendrix, Nirvana, etc.
Judging by this and other videos, this is a potentially characterful guitar that has been compromised by the need to hit an unreasonably low price point. By the time the purchaser has dealt with the obvious issues - tuners, bridge, strings, setup - he or she has spent enough to have bought a $150 guitar, which I regard as a more reasonable starting point for a new instrument.
This is an unusually detailed and honest review. The reviewer has gone the extra mile to be fair to the manufacturer. Perhaps Epiphone should take his advice and issue an upgraded version to sell around $150. (And perhaps customers should accept that you just can't have a brand new electric guitar for $100 that is more than a toy.)
You mangled the screw heads because you tried to adjust while at full string tension. You stripped the Allen because you adjusted while under full string tension. Loosen the strings up a little !
New tuners, bridge posts and a compensated bridge are must haves for these guitars
A proper string up with new strings, lubricate the nut, adjust the pickup heights and adjust the bridge height is all you need for these guitars. Only $$ you need to spend is on strings if you have the know-how.
I've been playing since I was 14 years old and now 44. I have this exact guitar, the red one ( I don't remember the color name) I find for just myself to play here at home is totally fine, I have no issues with it. I quite actually like it.
Thank you for an EXCELLENT review!
sounds really nice with the string upgrade and the minor tweaks you made to the setup.
Nice review and you're right, this is a guitar for those of us who like to modify not for beginners.
To each their own,but good grief! Watch the John Bolinger video.
It's just a cheap choice and I like it. You give 99 and you get a guitar to play.
While the bridge, etc. are probably made of cheap materials the damage to the bridge screw heads looks, to me, like the wrong size of screwdriver was used. Just an observation, not a condemnation. Love the podcast and the videos.
....and, that is why it isn't really a good idea to adjust intonation with the strings under tension. If you don't mess up the head of the screw, you with probably strip the threads. Like you said, just an observation. I enjoyed the video.
ya, i hear what you are saying about the tuners, i did a setup on mine, when i changed the strings, i took my drill and put the tuner knob insert in it and spun the tuners on low speed for a minute back and forth to wear them in, and it worked great, there is nothing wrong with these pickups, then again for a hundred bucks what do you want, cousin figel
The tone reminds me of an old Columbus Les Paul copy I had from the 70s. It had a bolt on neck and single coils hidden in humbucker covers. I like; very scrappy.
Recently subscribed to your channel. I love your unique, honest and to the point reviews. Very enjoyable to watch. Look forward to more...
My setup was spot on ! Intonation was perfect, less than 1/2 step down,string height nice and low,strings are always crap,10-46 NYXL's and voila !
Me, too, pretty much all the way around. I pre-ordered mine after seeing Bohlinger's First Look on the Premier Guitar site. It sounded great through his little living room amp and he said it was completely playable right out of the box. Well, somebody tweaked his before they shipped it probably, like the ones at the NAMM booth.
Mine had unplayable strings also that felt like they had congealed industrial waste on them or something. Had to change those before I could even try it. The action was way high and the intonation was way sharp on mine. I found that I had to loosen all of the strings and push the bridge away from the posts before I could turn the intonation screws, tedious but doable. There was far too much relief in the neck to begin with, but was adjustable.
In addition, my nut slots were way too high. Pushing the 2nd, 3rd or 4th string down to the first fret would raise its pitch about 20 cents more than the semitone you were expecting, making a cowboy A chord at the second fret completely out of tune. But I fixed that, too.
The tuners are indeed crap and I'm wondering how a top loading Wilkinson Tele half-bridge would sound (with perhaps some reverse neck shimming). I know---let's replace everything!
My conclusion is exactly the same: This will be fun for me to fool with and see if I can't find a guitar underneath this pile of parts somewhere, but don't you DARE buy this for some kid unless you have $50-100 to spend on a pro setup before you turn them loose on it.
Just ordered in this colour. What strings do people recommend restringing it with?
I would say, get a set of Ernie Ball Regular Slinky's.
Thank you very much. this video and previous one help me alot to decide
You just got another subscriber.
Are those Gear Supply Company strings? Never mind, you answered before I could post. They’re from my home state, so that’s cool.
I've been playing guitar for over 30 years...and for this price , well it looks so cool...thanks for this :)
I had the exact same issues with an Epi LP Speciall II that I bought a few years ago. Luckily I got mine intonated before the screws stripped. So exactly what I expected. I'll be picking one up for no other reason than I dig the Torquoise, and painted neck.
I play the bass but after trying to also learn the guitar as a second instrument I'd not done too well trying with a Schecter Metal guitar. Probably because I don't like humbuckets on a guitar. As a last ditch effort I tried for something cheap. It made a big difference. Short scale and single coil pickups. I've had it for almost two years now. The only thing is I only play the bridge pickup so my upgrade will be a Squire Esquire.
Wow, nice honest review, thanks!
I liked you very much in, The Cabin Boy, movie.
Tom Rudd lol, thanks.
My first electric guitar was an Epiphone, and it did need a full setup out of the box too. Fortunately I was interested in learning how to set it up just as much as learning how to play it, but it was still a bit rough. Mine came with proper Grover tuners, but the bridge and tailpiece are indeed made of cheap metals and have aged quite badly. It's still perfectly functional mind you, but the chrome plating on the bridge has worn off after only a year or two and the underlying metal (which is some kind of brass) is now badly discoloured.
This is cool. You've inspired me to actually mod mine as well!
Epiphone released a Melody Maker for like $150 as a China exclusive. Single pickup, but intonated fine, stayed in tune and the one pickup it had sounded amazing for what it was. I had those a couple of years back.
And that's how my wife left me.
Squires are actually really good guitars for the money!!! They still always impress me for how good they arecompared to such a low price. I started on one and still own one. I think it's the way to to go for price
You can never expect a guitar to be perfectly set up straight out of the box. Changes in temperature and humidity can affect the tuning, intonation, neck, fret ends, string height etc. quite drastically. You should always either set the guitar up yourself or take it to a shop to be set up. Just because the Squier happened to come in a better shape out of the box doesn't make it a better instrument. You just got lucky with it. Of course at NAMM they had the guitar set-up and probably changed the strings, too. They are trying to sell the guitar, of course they set it up to be the best instrument it can. Just like at a music shop the guitars are expected to be at least decently set up - if they were hung up on the walls straight out of the box, they all would play like shit and never get sold.
I must have been lucky- mine played amazingly out of the box, and I've bought guitars for 10 times the price that needed more setup.
My tuners - well they're servicable- after playing it in they got better.
The only thing I want to change is the bridge pup. So if anyone has any recommendations...... I was thinking of throwing in a gfs goldfoil.
But as it is- I love the neck pickup. Luck of the drawer I guess.
While we are all still waiting for these to arrive...
I just played my 80 bucks Strat copy today and it still enthralls me. Love it pieces. Will never part with it. It plays like a dream, sounds like a strat, and even the dodgy paint work isn't so bad (you can see the seams where they stuck the body wings on the central piece). What a guitar.
So that is 20 bucks cheaper than this! I just wanted to see if I could buy a bad guitar. I look for the cheapest guitar in the store and make a b-line for it. This one failed to disappoint so I took her home.
I don't even like Les Pauls that much compared to Strats and Teles anyway. But still, I think this will be a good guitar. I might do a review when I get mine to promote my new channel on DTube.
It's gonna take a lot for it to beat my no name (Herald) strat from China for 80 bucks. Hell, I'll even do a comparison shootout with that as well if I can be bothered. If I'm feeling fruity, I'll chuck in my Aria Pro II strats. If I really want to take the piss, I'll compare it to my Gibson Les Paul!
I'm getting bored now anyway. If I don't get it in the next couple of weeks, I'm gonna do a charge back.
in my opinion out of the box this is the closest soundwise and playabilitywise guitar on the market i have bought for the money to a real les paul. out of the box it may not be perfect to start with but it has an excellent neck = excellent pickups = and unbelievably simple adjustments to set it up for intonation and effortless play. my experience with this guitar and i have one i paid 85 bucks for is you get the sound = playability = and unbelievabley it also stays in tune. even though it has crap machine heads.==== you got money buy something better. but this guitar is dirt cheap and delivers way beyond expectations . probably the best starter guitar ever to be placed on the market. plus the one i have i would be happy to play in front of any audience
$150 is a more reasonable price for an electric guitar like that Squire in the background. My first guitar was indeed a $99 guitar but it was a Fender Starcaster Classical Acoustic Guitar. $99 for a beginner acoustic guitar is pretty good in my books. That guitar took a beating and I still have it to this day 7 years later (I am 16 years old).
Just bought one! Had been wanting one for kind of a while now. Pretty much ever since I heard about them. The floor model I was playing at Sam Ash felt really light weight and didn’t play the greatest. Sounded a lot better than I expected it to honestly. When they brought me the boxed one from the back I picked it up and it had a lot more weight to it and played better. The neck is complete garbage but I’m going to have it re fretted by my dad and put some new tuners on it and hope for the best!
Wow. File the nut properly to stop it binding especially with 11's why people use pence lead I have no idea. Two tighten up the tuners with the tension screws. Three don't adjust the bridge height or intonation screws with full strung tension in the components. I've done a full setup on mine and it plays great difference is I did all of the above..experience is key here. I have videos of this guitar on my channel and you can hear it sounds decent and is very playable with zero buzz, zero fretting out etc. I can tune it easily do a lot of playing and a step and a half bends and it holds tune spot on.
I always drop down and bring it up to key when I tune. Never knew that was a tuner issue, but my guitars are all pretty old.
I got a Epiphone Les Paul Special as one of my first guitars when I was 10 and it sucked. I’m 25 and have a Mexican made Tele and I couldn’t be happier.
Very useful review. I bought it for the looks and the lightness, it's perfect to jump around. But as you said the original strings were terrible, the wounded ones wouldn't sound for their life and in fact I killed them all
planning to buy a couple of these to experiment with different tunings a la sonic youth
Well, this one had the purple mattress protector ad with the Bigfoot family. The ad gets 6.5/10 . Perfect score.
Joshua Fraser Every one knows that 5/7 is a perfect score. Sheesh.
Chris Rennolds scoreflation
How funny I wanted to get one of those and now I know what to look forward to when I get it
These guitars remind me so much like the Epiphone specials.
I have the one with the P90's same problems like these.
It's an ok guitar that's about it.
I also don't understand why Epiphone puts these crap tuners on their budget starter guitars. I won an Epi Les Paul Special II at a guitar show and the first thing I did was switch out the tuners. I actually used a set of Grover copies from China that cost about $12. A vast improvement. They work fine. Squier puts decent tuners on their starters. No offense but did you loosen the strings prior to setting the intonation? the reason I ask is the stripped screw issue.
I've played this guitar the frets feel too in the way and bumpy
I know right
Is there a higher price/quality version of these? I'm looking into getting a single coil guitar, and I absolutely love the way these look. I'm debating if it's worth it to pick up one of these and upgrade the bad hardware to have a better one of these and learn some stuff in the process, if they don't have a better version of this model. I just love them so much visually!
I have a really old starter Epiphone SG that my brother started on, and yeah the tuners are *awful.* The knobs aren't even metal, they're chrome-painted plastic that feel like they could break from turning them. Cheap Epiphones seem like the _absolute_ bottom of the barrel when it comes to hardware.
What's the solo you played in the beginning?
Curious what this would sound like with lipstick pickups on it
i did videos on that
When I buy cheap guitars, I like to upgrade the tail piece and bridge to better quality parts. I buy all my parts from Philadelphia Luthier supply, they sell non branded American made parts for cheap, but are high quality.
Love your shirt!
I like your style of playing!
What are your thoughts on the Yamaha Pacifica 012 as a starter guitar? When I started out 14 years ago it was with a Pacifica 112 which was about the same price as the present-day 012. The 112 was a great starting point, decent sounds and the quality was one of the best in it's price range, so I'd love to know what you think about today's 012.
With cheap tuners, if i overshoot the tuning, I back up further than I have to and bring it back up into tune. I find it will keep tune better. I don't play much and cheap guitars a good enough for me.
What guage strings ship with these? I broke a few and want the same thank . Thos is a great guitar , Ive been playng 45 years . light on my back ,plays well
I'm looking for a backup to my Gretsch. I like to play and fast punk, and the main reason to get a backup, other than adding to my guitar collection, is because I like to tune down to Eb often.
Is this a good guitar for that style of music and does it sound good when tuned down? How much does it weigh?
I'm kinda new to your page, but I absolutely love it. I heard you say you use 11's...have you seen rick beato's video on strings yet? I used to use 11s and made the full switch to 9s after seeing it, and haven't gone back! I was curious to see if you saw it and what your impression is?
Very new to guitar here (2 days) now what do you mean by "Gear Supply 11's" assuming Gear Supply is the company but is 11 the gauge size?
yeah. 11s on gibsons feel like 10s on fenders
jay zano so I see .11 light and .11 medium...what's the difference between the two.
It probably depends on the brand naming convention more than anything - Steve
For $110 it’s good 👍👍
Good review. It sounded pretty good when you played.
With regard to the tuners, I was told by the guy in the shop I bought it from that they are genuine Gotohs. I've no reason to believe he was lying. But I've got bad tuners on guitars costing a lot more. I agree though, for 100 bucks you can get a guitar with perfectly fine tuners. We shall see.
For me, I like this guitar because it is small. Because I can set it up good. Because I don't care about pickups because I can make any guitar sound good going through my computer software. Never mind the strings. The action, frets, nut can all be dealt with. Sprouting frets can always be smoothed out. Sometimes lowering/highering pups can give a whole new tone.
I think you are nuts however if you spend good money on new pups or whatever. Not a guitar you put a Bigsby on is it? This is going to be an interesting one. I just wanted to be part of the party.
Whooohaooohh!
123ubuntu666 keep in mind that most companies license their name so an overseas company will slap a brand name on on an inferior quality part. Bridges, tuners and pickups usually fall into this category. It is a way to keep cost down while giving the perception you are getting a genuine brand name.
+Richard Guider - yeah I suppose so. I know that goes on all the time with ghost building. I've researched it quite a bit. It didn't occur to me that it happens with parts as well. Common sense I suppose. Maybe that is what is happening here. Not too many people overly impressed with the tuners from the few reviews surfacing at the moment.
I can live with semi-ok tuners. Two of my favourite guitars built by Revelation have pretty mediocre tuners on them. I've got 120 bucks gits that put them to shame. But it's ok. Even on a 300 bucks git. I'm not so cheap I wouldn't find a bit of cash to put on some nice locking heads or just a better quality set.
Once the gits are tuned though, they stay in tune, so that is nice. They just drift a bit when trying to get them in range. This is my Revelation gits I'm talking about.
My Aria Pro II gits are pretty flawless - excellent tuners. Excellent stability. But they are Fender copies (Teles/Strats) - so that helps.
But yeah, good call on the 'ghost building' of parts. I'll have to look in to that more.
Exactly what I wanted to know!
There are one piece Bridge/ Stopbar Tailpieces with Tunamatic type saddles on top! Cost about $35. Gets yur intonation Correct!
Not trying to be a ass but what do you expect for $99 I have got one coming this week the only thing I'm going to do set the action new Strings and I bet it will rock
Well I paid 99 GBP for mine (so that's more than 99 bucks), and for that, you can expect a lot. You can expect a high-end Squier/Fender level of quality. If you get lucky.
123ubuntu666 It's all good. Great Demo.
You make a good point. I wonder how it will be if he put some Grover tuners on it a Graph Tech TUSQ nut, update the pickups and bridge.
What's your point, mate ? He's detailling what you get and don't get for 100$.
The point is can you take a 99 dollar guitar and make it a great one by upgrading it yourself.
How can you produce intonation on the wraparound bridge without individual string saddles? That is a mystery to me. That means you never get the guitar tuned very well?
What is that turquoise guitar behind you , beside that squire stang ?
yeah the first thing is definately a string change ... only set up mine needed was a neck tweak to get rid of low e string buzz
other than that i thought i had gotten my $99 worth ... what you want ? ... i just need something to practice on that doesn't destroy my shoulder / back ... the light weight is big deal for me ....
So this model kind of intrigues me, how are the factory pickups in comparison to a squire bullet strat?, also how is the finish on the neck? Is it glossy or a more flat finish?
the neck is glossy, im editing my pickup shoot out video now lol.
What does SL stand for
Does anyone know what the neck pocket dimensions are? I was considering buying this and swapping out neck/pickups/hardware. I've looked around but can't find info on what the neck pocket is like.
Dude it cost 99 dollars what do you expect? Bolinger loved it.
I would almost buy this for a modding platform to ram some P90 pickups in and make a Les Paul Special-esque guitar (routing from a humbucker guitar leaves gaps). With the price of reasonable wrap-around bridges, and having to route through the plastic though, I think I'll pass.
This Guitar have a High actiin or down action?
There's also one in more traditional finish/colours.
I have always stood by Epiphone, and three of my twelve guitars are Epiphone. The Epiphones I have are Korean and they do some things I like better than my Gibsons, even. Now, seeing and trying out the Chinese Epiphones - I find it hard to recommend them and I don't like having to differentiate between the eras that I think Epiphone made a decent guitar and when they need to be avoided. Epiphone is doing a huge disservice to itself and it's legacy.
When does it go over the bridge? Wondering why
I agree with the string thing! I hate going to the local small guitar shops, which is all we have. They always have nasty strings on the floor guitars most times!¡!¡!
I’d buy that off you for $60 plus shipping. It needs tons of upgrades.
How to adjust the string height on bridge?
Bridge bolts
The tuners on this you can order direct from China for $4 and some change, shipping is free. In all honesty, they arent worth that much. Put a new screw in the tail stop. Problem solved. Good tuners can be had for around $15. I just like the looks of this guitar. It would make a cool project.
That guitar looks nice enough. It might be worth the upgrades.
The size appears small scale?
I just picked one up and the only issue that i have is the tuners. So i picked up some old les paul machine heads which should take care of that problem as soon as I get off my lazy ass and install them, lol!
Personally I love budget guitars. Gives me something to play with. These look nice but I have not been able to find anything in a lefty. Epi seems to refuse to answer my requests for info on them.
Personally I think if you're only gonna spend 99$ on a guitar go to a pawn shop and find a slightly used one. I found a washburn shadow series sunburst strat clone for 99$ and I love it
How do I put back the tail part? Mine won’t go back on and keeps falling
the strings hold it on.
@@60CycleHumcast okay I ended taking it to a music shop because the strings kept hitting the neck of the guitar causing it to not play any sound
@@60CycleHumcast hopefully they can fix it
Good Demo!
How much is it for that string service every month?
Hello my friend! I like these little bastards but what I am really interested in: What's the SG on the wall to your left? (Left in the vid that is ;-).) I am a great SG fan and never saw one in that beautiful light green metallic tone? Which make, model and year is that? Can you please let me know?! Thanks a lot!
It started out as a Faded SG, the previous owner refinished it to that metalic greenish blue. He claimed it was a refin kit he got from reranch, but i haven't been able to find anything from them that matches that look. I put the white pickguard and pickups on it.