Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

[Animal]

For my next guitar I'm hoping to get something along the lines SG design. A left-handed Gibson SG seems wayyyyy out of my price range atm and I was pretty disappointed when I tried out the regular lefty Epiphone G-400 in the guitar shop a few weeks back.

I'm very curious about the Epiphone Iommi SG since it always seems to get positive reviews, available left handed, affordable, looks cool, simple and the fact it comes it with Toni Iommi Gibson pickups (I think).

I'm currently tired of my floyd rose HSH setup and I want a guitar that will have a deeper tone and sustain.

Last Month, me and friends bought an Epiphone Flying Gothic V for a mates 21st birthday and I was the one who bought it home before we gave it to him. I compared the sound and playability of it to my Jackson PS4L and I was almost weeping because the V was so much better even though it's price was several hundred dollars less and had only it's stock pickups, as opposed to my Jackson which has aftermarket seymour duncans and a dimarzio. If I can get a guitar that sounds similar to a Epi Flying V Gothic without it acutally being a Flying V Gothic, I would be very satisfied.

Anyone have any experiences with these axes?

 

[some_dude]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

Yes, it comes with Iommi pickups. I've been tempted to buy one myself as it's a relatively cheap SG with good pickups already in it.

 

[ksmith63]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

i had a friend with an epiphone sg that he put iommi's in and it sounded killer(think it was a 400 too). It had a surprisingly thick palm muted tone while single notes still sounded clear. i'd say go for the epiphone sig. cause it already has the pickups in it.

 

[Animal]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

good pickups already in it.

Yeh it seems like pretty good darn value considering the pickups are worth a lot by themselves. A new Gibson Iommi pickup alone goes for around $300+ in Australia (ridiculous I know). I can get an Epi Toni Iommi for $699 new from a shop.

For some reason, I'm getting 'seems to good to true' vibes. I have a feeling the pickups may be copy versions of the real deal Gibson Iommi pickups (as duncan designed is to real seymour duncans etc.). I just wanna make sure though.

 

[Destroying Angel]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

The other guitarist in my band got one of the Epi Iommi sg's a couple months ago. Im not sure if the pickups are actually Gibson made, but they sound really good. Chunky and thick with real good note definition. The only thing i didn't like about the overall tone was it seemed to have alot of highend bite. Not really a bad thing, i just prefer a smoother top end. Overall i'd say it's a real nice guitar, his came set up perfectly and he only paid around $450 for too.

 

[Jimbojsr]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

Let's face it, the majority of "serious" players get an Epi fully aware that the pups are gonna get changed at some point anyway, so if you buy a reasonably-priced Iommi SG, you can try it out. If you don't like the pups, you can spend a bit extra and change them, I suppose.....

 

[guitarsrock5]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

http://epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=154&CollectionID=3 it says that they are usa gibson iomi pups. check out the link. get the guitar good price and good deal!

 

[Animal]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

Let's face it, the majority of "serious" players get an Epi fully aware that the pups are gonna get changed at some point anyway, so if you buy a reasonably-priced Iommi SG, you can try it out. If you don't like the pups, you can spend a bit extra and change them, I suppose.....

The thing is that I've always wanted to try out the Toni Iommi pickup because of the good reviews it gets however I could never justify spending hundreds of dollars on a pickup. The pickups that included on Toni's Gibson signature guitar are apparently the same as the ones on the Epiphone model so they'd have to be serious pickups.

Even if I don't like the Iommi pickups, I could take them out, put some duncans in and sell the Iommi's while getting a decent return.

I'll try and check out this guitar within the next couple of weeks. Thanks for your input people.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

Now if they're putting those Gibson pickups in the Epi Iommi model, why not put the EMG ACTIVE's in the Epi ZW models? Is it because the Iommi sig pickups are Gibsons?

 

[Animal]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

Now if they're putting those Gibson pickups in the Epi Iommi model, why not put the EMG ACTIVE's in the Epi ZW models? Is it because the Iommi sig pickups are Gibsons?

Might make the guitar too expensive for the average Epiphone customer perhaps?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

Now if they're putting those Gibson pickups in the Epi Iommi model, why not put the EMG ACTIVE's in the Epi ZW models? Is it because the Iommi sig pickups are Gibsons?

Gibson and Epiphone are the same company theref or Iommi pickups are very cheep for them, they still have to buy EMG's if they want them.

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

The Total Guitar review over here stated that the pickups were the same as the USA Gibsons. I think they gave it a "Best Buy" award. If you want an SG on a budget, thats the 1 to go for.

 

[D-EJ915]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

Reason to get Iommi = 24 frets, they finally realized that there was just plastic in the way of the additional frets...same thing with the SG Supreme

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

The Epi's DO have the same pups as the Gibson (the MIA Gobson Iommi signatures) and I will tell you...I have a set. THESE PICKUPS KICK ASS!

 

[SoCalSteve]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

For my next guitar I'm hoping to get something along the lines SG design. A left-handed Gibson SG seems wayyyyy out of my price range atm and I was pretty disappointed when I tried out the regular lefty Epiphone G-400 in the guitar shop a few weeks back.

I'm very curious about the Epiphone Iommi SG since it always seems to get positive reviews, available left handed, affordable, looks cool, simple and the fact it comes it with Toni Iommi Gibson pickups (I think).

I'm currently tired of my floyd rose HSH setup and I want a guitar that will have a deeper tone and sustain.

Last Month, me and friends bought an Epiphone Flying Gothic V for a mates 21st birthday and I was the one who bought it home before we gave it to him. I compared the sound and playability of it to my Jackson PS4L and I was almost weeping because the V was so much better even though it's price was several hundred dollars less and had only it's stock pickups, as opposed to my Jackson which has aftermarket seymour duncans and a dimarzio. If I can get a guitar that sounds similar to a Epi Flying V Gothic without it acutally being a Flying V Gothic, I would be very satisfied.

Anyone have any experiences with these axes?

I wanted to wait 'til I had the guitar (Epi Iommi) a few days before I posted. This is a really great bang for the buck guitar. It's great right out of the box-no need to change anything. The Grover tuners are solid and the pickups are fantastic. The Iommi p/ups are the quietest, clearest humbuckers that I personally have played on. The 24 fret neck makes upper access a breeze. It is slightly neck heavy but not as much as others I've tried-the strap button being on the horn as opposed to the heel of the neck gives it better balance. The neck is chunkier than a Fender but feels great in my hands. Bridge is solid for great palm mutes. It's a keeper! By the way, music123 priced the not factory sealed ones wrong and I picked it up for $449. It should have been $549. Brand new firsts.

Steve

 

[TattooedCarrot]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

I was pretty disappointed when I tried out the regular lefty Epiphone G-400 in the guitar shop a few weeks back.

I'm very curious about the Epiphone Iommi SG

They're basically the same guitar with a few changes such as 24 frets, Iommi pups (they are black though, not chrome like the Gibson version), Grover (import) tuners instead of Klusen style, and while it claims an ebony board, I wouldn't be surprised if it was something else dyed black. All-in-all, neither is a bad guitar and I think the iommi is cooler with the cross inlays and Iommi pups. But if there was something about the G-400 you didn't like as a whole, you might have the same problem with the Iommi version of it.

 

[callous_frigid_chill]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

it says in the review that it is rosewood.

 

[Animal]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

They're basically the same guitar with a few changes such as 24 frets, Iommi pups (they are black though, not chrome like the Gibson version)

Doesn't really make much tone difference though does it?

 

[ex-250]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

Doesn't really make much tone difference though does it?

gibson iommi pickups vs. epi stock pickups seems like a big difference to me

 

[TattooedCarrot]

Re: Toni Iommi Epiphone G-400 SG

Doesn't really make much tone difference though does it?

If you're talking about the color, of course not. If you're talking about the difference between the Epi 57's and the Iommi's the Iommi is going to be a better pup (although I dont think it's the smoking gun people make it out to be). Moving the neck pup back to make room for the extra 2 frets will change the tone of the neck pup slightly.