Epiphone Les Paul Custom Blackback - "The Tuxedo"

Quick snapshots of the guitar before I start to change parts . . .

I found it quite difficult to aquire a Les Paul in antique ivory until this one came around.

Epiphone SG "Les Paul Custom" - Gibson Burstbuckers

I found the time to work on my old SG.

Here it is before:

Not much of a change looks wise but the Gibson pickups make it sound a lot better in my opinion.

I always enjoyed three humbucker guitars.
The option to blend in the middle pickup offers interesting tonal variations.

Neck to bridge - Gibson Burstbucker 1, 2 and 3.

Guitar and Gear update

I think I will have to do individual posts for all the stuff to remember settings and combinations but at the moment I'm just happy about finishing another pedal board and of course the final conclusion of the neverending "Pelham Blue SG project".

Epiphone SG G-310 - A Dozen Skulls

You can count them yourself...

  

Epiphone Robb Flynn Love / Death Baritone - Machine Flying Head!

I had to undergo surgery recently and while I always hope for the best I still like to be prepared for the worst...
So one more guitar before I go (to the hospital).

"Love and Death" - that sums it all up quite neatly I reckoned, so I jumped at the chance to aquire the Robb Flynn signature baritone.

Either way it would work out - I might have something to look forward to after surgery or my beloved ones would have to do the unpacking if I couldn't do it myself anymore.

The Love / Death guitar - epitaph or welcome home gift? Boy, am I glad it was the latter!

Scale length is 750 mm (29.5 inches).

Tuning is open C : C G C g c e

Epiphone ZV Custom - Zakk Wylde Signature SG

Concerning guitar construction I have one favourite design and that's the SG shape.

My very first electric guitar was a Les Paul - type (still have that one) but in terms of playability I immediately fell in love with my second guitar, which was of course an Epiphone SG.

The number of SG-type guitars I own has grown quite a bit over the years and I have to say that I think of the Zakk Wylde Signature as the final keystone of my collection - at least for now...

And what a misshappen keystone it is!
First of all the instrument is huge and since I lack the impressive physique of Zakk Wylde, I almost disappear behind it.

The split tail design seems to make some people feel sick - like staring at a M.C. Escher drawing for too long - is it a Flying V or an SG? Just so malformed it looks outright wrong.

Still - I love that monster.

The controls are way off but at least the output jack is positioned quite conveniently.

The toggle switch has gone where no man has gone before - placed on the upper wing, one has to reach far back to change pickups.

It comes with EMG Hz pickups, an important fact to keep in mind when looking at the back of the guitar:

Lovely neck by the way but a closeup of the body shows my biggest personal gripe with the instrument:

The control cavity is extremely small and narrow. It's fine for the passive EMG Hz pickups but there is no way to fit the controls of active EMG's in there.
Which is funny because Mr. Wylde and EMG actually have a signature pickup set on offer that would go with his guitar quite nicely, I think.
Since I am unwilling to rout out a bigger hole I will have to look into the problem further, maybe i could manage to cram the old soldered system into it...

Now - after all those hard facts I feel inclined to offer my personal OPINION as well:

As it is, the instrument plays well and sounds great.
Some design choices make it impractical to use, at least for me, others might be happy to have all controls positioned far away from the strings so they won't interfere while playing.

One might find the shape of the guitar appalling - I think it looks superb, even though I look ridiculous when strapped on to it.

The only remaining question is - do I tinker with the pickups and control setup or should I keep it in stock condition?

Building a basic pedalboard with affordable effects

A little compressor first, then the nice Digitech Bad Monkey into the Nobels ODR-1 and finally a little bit of "Analog Delay". Oh, and a Korg tuner of course.

This serves my needs a a simple practice setup, nothing special but a few tonal options.
I sometimes add a volume pedal and a wah when I'm in the mood.

Trying to keep it as compact as possible.
These are all inexpensive tools to provide some options while jamming and I don't have to worry about breaking something boutique or unique.

Epiphone G-400 '65 Reissue w/Maestro Vibrola - An Update

I got this a while ago, a Gibson Angus Young signature pickup had already been installed.
I found a nice Gibson Classic 57 Plus pickup for the neck position - I quite like that combination now.

Korean - made, back in the year 2005.

Tuning is standard but a half step down with quite thin strings for the short scale length.

Epiphone G-310

I had three old Fenix pickups and no place to put them into...

Then I found this Epiphone SG in Antique Ivory for close to no money.

Not a remarkable instrument in any way but it looks nice and plays well enough.

Epiphone G-400 Tony Iommi Signature

Since Black Sabbath are on their farewell tour apparently and Epiphone came out with a new Iommi signature model in 2015, I take this as an opportune moment to talk about my G-400.

I got it a few years back by sheer luck and I have been quite happy with it ever since.

I must confess I did not try the new model yet, so I can't provide a comparison.

The most important argument for me has always been Gibson's Tony Iommi signature pickups and both models have those built in, so for once I don't have to tinker with the guitar and swap stuff out.

Would I get the new model too? Probably, if the deal is right.
Do I feel the need to replace the old model with the new one?
As I said - pickups are the same so I see no need to do that.

Will the guitar provide automatic Iommi tone?
Does the guitar turn every player into an instant Doom Metal God?
Unsurprisingly no, Witchcraft is not included, it's still just a plank of wood with the benefit of two nice sounding Gibson pickups readily installed.

Epiphone 1966 G-400 PRO - The Pelham Blue Buccaneer

All Skulls and Crossbones on this one.
The finish is called "Pelham Blue" and it is very sparkling.
It instantly evoked ideas of glittering ocean waves so I was inspired to try an appropriate theme with it.

Now I can wave my guitar like a pirate flag and board the drum kit like an enemy vessel.

It is set up for slide playing, giving you that special "Caribbean mood".

I was lucky enough to find some hilarious pirate knobs which look great on the blue body.

Epiphone S 800 : An Update

Power - strat by Epiphone, the headstock shape indicates 1986 or 1987 but there's no serial number to be found.

Alder body with maple neck and rosewood fingerboard.
Locking nut with epiphone tremolo, sadly I haven't got the original arm, so i fixed the bridge.

Three on / off switches for the pickups, one volume and one tone.

I installed three awsome Häussel pickups:

CTK-A Rail Humbucker Neck

Single Coil Blues Middle

Vin-B Alnico 2 Humbucker Bridge

Tuning is a half step below standard, with D'Addario Super Light Plus strings.

Here's a pic from the original post:

Epiphone SG G-310 - Black and Metal

Built 1999 by Samick in Korea, this is quite a Homecoming for me.
Thanks to Uncle Rege for giving me the opportunity to meet her again.

Lots of history behind this one and very fond memories.

I did a complete overhaul and now she's got new life injected into her.

Two Dean Michael Amott "Tyrant" Signature pickups make her scream and moan.

Lovely.