Electric Guitars

Epiphone has become a household name in the home of guitarists throughout the world. This company was founded in the year 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. You might have found that there are lot of similarities between the Epiphone guitars and that of the Gibson models; think no more as the Epiphone company was bought by the Chicago music company who also owned the Gibson guitar corporation in 1957.

In the following review, we will see about one of the most famous models of Epiphone, the SG G-310 Electric Guitar. This guitar is based on the 1967 Gibson SG and it has all the SG styles and features that you would ever want, but at the affordability of a bolt-neck.

Design:

Black is a finishing that can never be a failure and the Epiphone G-310 SG style Electric Guitar is a black beauty too. Made out of alder with chrome hardware, the guitar is also available in Ebony (EB), Red (RD) and also Vintage White (VW). For the delight of the left handed guitarists, Epiphone also offers the guitar in left handed ebony. The body of the guitar is incredibly thin and very comfortable to sit down and play with.  Its SG style body has a Tune-O-Matic bridge, rosewood fingerboard and Mahogany neck. It has a bolt-on neck and the strap buttons are not of the superior kind. The electric guitar has rosewood dot fingerboard inlay and stop bar tailpiece which allows to have more sustain and string change.

Special care given:

Unlike some of the cheaply designed models, all the Epiphones G-310  feature a 14 degree headstock that offers more pressure at the nut which allows you to get more sustain with less tuning hang-ups caused by the “string-tree” gadgets. With Epiphone’s exclusive double vacuum waxing process, you are ensured with optimal performance. The pickup is first placed in the specialized wax vacuuming system before the cover is put in place to ensure that the wax fully penetrates to the very center of the pickup and solidifies all parts. After the cover is placed on, it is again given a second vacuum wax bath until the unit is completely saturated with wax.

Reliability and Durability:

Durability and reliability can be never a question with an Epiphone Electric Guitar as they are simply solid. To increase reliability and ensure consistent performance, Epiphone’s proprietary output jacks feature an improved contact shape and heavy-duty spring steel. All Epiphones feature our all-metal, USA designed switches for reliable contact and longer life. For unparallelled reliability as well as ease of service, Epiphone wiring harnesses feature quick-connectors.

Features:

Epiphone G-310 SG Style Electric Guitar comes with a full pick guard and two hot open-coil humbucker controls. The G-310 also sports full volume and tone controls that includes a three way selector switch, two volume and two tone knobs. The SG G-310 has scale length of 24.75” and nut width of 1.68”. The neck will suite the standards of most of the heights.

Sound:

Epiphone G-310 SG seems to suit most of the styles well, and it will be a special treat for players of Hard Rock, Blues, Metal and Mordern Vibes. Try any AC/DC and some other classic rock, you will realise how responsive the guitar is. The G-310 guitar does great with low and mid range distortion; but if you decide to crank the distortion up all way, you might end up with a little unwanted noise. The guitar works better even with not distortion at all. This guitar uses factory standard passive pickups, which are of pretty good quality. The bridge pickup produce killer sounds for heavy riffs, and the neck pickup is great for solos. We do not recommend to change pickups unless you really really want to because we think you are better off buying a guitar with the pickups you want. The sound is pretty decent considering its price tag. The squeals are nice and solos seem to be pretty clean. Overall, the sound is rich with a very good blend of bass, mid range and the highs.

Action:

The action on the Epiphone G310 is lovely. The solos on this are better than what you would get out of its competitors like the ESPs and Jacksons.

Package:

The Epiphone G-310 SG guitar package also includes a six feet cable and tool for tightening the neck. It fits inside any of the universal coffin cases as well.

Warranty:

The non-locking tuners of the guitar come with a one year manufacturer’s warranty. However, the Epiphone G-310 SG electric guitar gets limited lifetime warranty.

Verdict:

The Epiphone G-310 SG electric guitar is great for beginners and pros alike. This will be your ultimate pick if you are just into basically any rock and do not have lots of dough. The only thing we were left wishing for is a tremolo on it; but alas, this is probably the best you will be able to find that this budget. The guitar carries all the style of a venerable SG at a down to earth price. A great first instrument!



Epiphone G-310 SG Guitar - Technical Specification Table

The Fender Stratocaster, which is often referred to as the “Strat” is a model of the electric guitar that was designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares in the year 1954. Since then, they have been continuously manufactured by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. This electric guitar is basically a double cut-away model, with an extended top horn for balance while standing. In the early 1980s Fender initiated to manufacture lower end guitars that are aimed at people who wanted to see to Stratocasters in budget costs than what one would pay for a standard Fender Mexican Standard Stratocaster. The Squier Strats which were originally made in Mexico, were then moved to Japan.

The Fender Squier Strats electric guitars were built with the lower end pickups, single-ply pickguards, lower end machine heads with not very striking paints and finishes. In the following review, let us have a close look at the Fender Squier Fat Stratocaster.

Design:

The Fender Squier Fat Stratocaster electric guitar has earned itself a distinguished look being a slender profiled mahogany body instrument. This deluxe series guitar has a walnut satin finishing. It has a scale length of 25.5”  and 1.68” width at nut. Some of the other significant design features of the guitar includes the large 60s style headstock, black plastic parts, engraved neckplate and the pearloid dot position inlays. The stylish gold and black Squier logo is a real standout.

Features:

The guitar sports a C-shaped maple neck, 9.5” radius rosewood fingerboard and 22 medium jumbo frets. The one Duncan designed humbucking pickup and the two Alnico magnet single coil pickups are designed to perfection. The other features of the guitars include synchronous twin-pivot Tremolo Bridge and chrome plated with satin saddles. The controls available in the Squier strat are a master volume, two tone controls and a five position blade pickup switching. While this electric guitar possesses chrome hardware, it has no pick guard.

Reliability:

As far as the reliability and durability of the guitar is concerned, it is a very sturdy one and hard to chip. The bottom strap buttons have been secured well. You can definitely trust the guitar on stage. The bottom line is, if you take good care of the guitar, it will last years for you.

Sound and Action:

The high output humbucker in the bridge position for extra crunch plus scorching lead and rhythm tones. The two paraffin soaked single coils resist feedback squeals and the neck has a real fast action. The tuners are lubricated, die-cast and sealed; the 22 frets allows enhanced playability. This guitar seems to be perfect for anything from death metal to blues to indie rock. We feel that the dual humbuckers gives it a mean and meaty sound even without effects.

The guitar is almost completely flawless when it is new. The action seemed to be nice and low for the easy hammer-ons and the pickups have been set perfect. The tremolo and tuners were perfect too; the strings were perfectly in-tune. The only flaws we experienced were a small blemish on the neck and back of the body.

Warranty:

Squier offers its Fat Stratocaster Electric Guitar one year limited warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

The Fender Squier Fat Stratocaster is an awesome guitar for a budget electric guitar. It suites anybody’s style as it handles travelling well and sounds great. Cannot afford the Fender model? The Squier Strats are Fender authorised and affordable alternative. This might exactly be the one that you are looking for. Highly recommended beginner guitar!

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Fender Squier Fat Stratocaster - Technical Specification Table

The JHS SBE34OFT SpongeBob 3/4 size electric guitar has a single conductive coil pick up, and sports its own in built amplifier, along with the onboard speaker. All this is powered by a 9 Volt battery which is also decked on the guitar body. There is an output jack socket or connecting the instrument to an external amplifier and also flaunts a unique mini jack input socket. This means, that a user can play the JHS SBE34OFT SpongeBob ¾ electric guitar after connecting it to an external amplifier or they can also privately connect it to the headphones, using the mini jack input located on the guitar body. Overall, with the chick look, the bright and colourful body, the on deck features and excellent finishing, this member of the John Hornby Skewes’ SpongeBob ¾ size electric guitar range, scores quite high in the outlook and stylization factor.

Performance Factors:

The Bridge problem:
The overall build of the JHS SBE34OFT electric guitar is quite appreciable, though it has one very prominent flaw, which is quite a disappointment, if users are looking forward to play some real tunes with this guitar. The screws that are used in the bridge are quite longer than required and so, due to the inappropriate size they tend to foul the strings. This is a huge problem, as tuning the guitar with the presence of these extra long screws can be quite a hectic job. It is advisable for the users, that if they get hold of this instrument, they should replace the longer screws in the bridge, with comparatively shorter ones. This would really be manageable and would help the users with the tuning problem.

The Faulty Factory Strings:
The default strings, attached from the factory are another problematic issue, which might trouble the users soon after they buy the JHS SBE34OFT SpongeBob electric guitar. The strings provided from the factory are light gauged, and the lower E, that is the first string, has a very low tension. This is again a factor which is highly responsible for the tuning of a guitar. Thus with these light weight strings, users might have a problem to tune the guitar in E. It is more convenient if the users replace these factory strings with a set of heavy gauge strings soon after getting hold of this instrument. This will keep a high tension in the strings, and will also make it easier and more convenient for the users to tune the instrument. If at all, the factory provided default strings are used, it is advisable, that the guitar is tuned in F# scale. This is bound to make quite an improvement, as the tenacity is increased to some extent, which would help the instrument to hold the tune for long, without getting de-tuned very easily.

The Sound Factor:
With a built in amplifier and an on board speaker, charged by a decked battery of 9 Volts, it is expected that this plaything would produce quite a loud sound. The JHS SBE34OFT Metallic Finish Guitar does not really disappoint us on the volume factor. It is truly quite loud enough coming from a rather cut away sized instrument manufactured basically for children. The sound output quality from the on deck speaker is average. The audio quality is rather a bit distorted, which is quite natural, and negligible considering the make and target of the instrument. Though, with increase in volume, the audio quality deteriorates, as the distortion along with static sounds tend to increase. The volume controller knob might also work weird. At volume level Zero ( 0 ), the sound is off, whereas at volume level One ( 1 ), the volume suddenly shoots up. But then, with increase in volume values, the power of the sound output is not equally proportional and at around volume level Seven ( 7 ) or Eight ( 8 ), the sound tends to cut off at times.
Although with these submissive problems, the basic sound output quality through the amplifier or through the headphones is much better and clear. The basic problem with the volume pot is, in all probabilities, the linear pot module, which renders the progression of the volume pot. This problem can also be fixed, if the linear pot is replaced, and in its place, a log pot is used. Concluding it, the sonority, the audio quality and the power is moderate and is about average. But then, in a instrument, which is basically designed for beginners and children, one would not obviously expect high class technical features. Thus, the Sound factor is good enough and suitable for the JHS SBE34OFT SpongeBob ¾ size electric guitar outfit, though with slight changes and modifications, users can evolve this instrument for a better feel and sound quality.

In the Box:

Other than the JHS SBE34OFT electric guitar, the other box accessories included are:

• A guitar cover or guitar carry bag.
• Pick or Plectrum.
• A Strap – The strap provided by the manufacturer is not of a very high quality and the longevity is not much. The usage of cheap materials might be responsible for this, and the strap tends to wear off pretty soon, within a few days of usage.
• A tutorial DVD for beginners. Users can watch the DVD to learn to pickup tunes on the instrument, or can also gather knowledge about the theoretical basics.

Warranty:

The Manufacturer provides a 1 year base warranty for the John Hornby Skewes’ JHS SBE34OF SpongeBob ¾ size Electric Guitar Outfit.

Verdict:

The JHS SBE34OFT SpongeBob ¾ size Electric Guitar outfit is a really good and impressive starter set and is quite apt for beginners. The outlook and the customization is quite appreciable, with a modern day funky look. The guitar is well built, and the sound quality is also appreciable considering the make of this guitar. There are a few flaws, to start with, the faulty and extra long screws used in the bridge and the low tenacity light weight strings provided by the manager are a drawback, which also makes it difficult for the user to tune the guitar. The on board speaker is quite up to the mark, even though it is commendable that the linear volume pot be replaced by a log volume pot. The distortion from the speaker is not much of a distraction, and to balance that, the audio output quality through the headphones or amplifiers is quite clear and loud.

Though, there are faults with this instrument, all of them can be modified or corrected very easily, and anyway, a guitar designed basically as a starter set for beginners and children has quite outdone the expectations and is almost like a real big thing. Thus, concluding it all, with reasonable price range, chick cosmetics, well inhibited features and with the minor faults in the outlay which can be amended very easily, this John Hornby Skewes ¾ size electric guitar, in the SpongeBob outfit line up, is a very good buy for the users. And for children and beginners, this is probably one of the better instruments available in the market which is very close to the real big thing.

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JHS SBE34OFT Electric Guitar Outfit - Technical Specification Details

Epiphone Les Paul Black Beauty Three is a super hit electric guitar. As its name indicates, the LP Black Beauty is the pinnacle in elegance in look and tone. With the help of the third Humbucker pickup, this custom guitar is equipped with features that offer amazing delivery of sound and expression.

The black beauty:

The Epiphone Les Paul Black Beauty Three electric guitar is really a beauty. Gold hard ware on the black body! We cannot think of a better combo with the mother of pearl inlays. It features 3 Alnico Classic Humbucker pickups in order to extend to your tonal range, a set of slim-taper mahogany neck, a solid mahogany body, 22 fret rosewood fingerboard, cream body, fingerboard, headstock binding and block inlays. The LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece of the Black Beauty offers more sustain and makes the process of string changing very easy.

Reliability and durability:

The durability of the Epiphone guitar is unquestionable and the finish is lasting. This electric guitar is dependable and is good for the gigs. However, we found that the factory strings seem to break off quite easily when played heavily; so we would advise you to change the strings as soon as you get it. Overall, it is a reliable guitar.

Sound and Action:

The sound is meaty, round and clean, not like a Start Type. It can basically play any style like metal, rock, jazz and blues. It is an extremely versatile baby aided by its middle hummer. The rhythm pickup possesses a great full and clean tone, whereas the treble gives a more raw sound; however, the guitar can sound great if used properly. The guitar has a pretty good variety of sound with some good sustain. We have the tone on 10 for more power. You will not be able to get a twangy sound, like in the intro of the “Smells like teen spirit”; but the tone is really phat sounding because of the thick 9 and heavy mahogany body. The action on the guitar is good and is also lovely to be played on.

Warranty:

Epiphone graces its Les Paul Black Beauty 3 with limited lifetime warranty.

Verdict:

The Epiphone Les Paul Black Beauty 3 Electric Guitar is the one for those who looking for a superior Les Paul that delivers that extra. It looks great and sounds amazing too. We would recommend this guitar for a first electric guitar as it sets you up nicely for the real deal.

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Epiphone Les Paul Black Beauty 3 - Technical Specification Table

Yamaha guitars lie in a class of their own with their perfect combination of traditional craftsmanship and leading edge technology. The Gigmaker series of Yamaha has the ultimate package that packs in everything that is required to play the Electric Guitar live. Here we will review the Yamaha Gigmaker ERG121C Electric Guitar Pro Pack.

Striking black and gold finish:

Yamaha Gigmaker ERG121C guitar comes in an electrifying black finish. There cannot be one person in the world who does not own a black gadget; with or without choice. With a contoured solid Basswood body, it has closed gold plated machine heads. The string and strap buttons are given a matching gold coloured finishing. We suspect if Yamaha has employed a fashion designer with the guitar blazing in its black and gold combo. Overall, the looks and the feel of the guitar are awesome.

The basic specs and controls:

On the part of specifications, the selection is very neat and has been chosen to meet the needs of all styles of guitarists. The Bridge is of Vintage Tremolo kind and the aesthetic half of Yamaha pops up here again by offering the guitar with a matching tremolo arm. It sports the standard maple neck and rosewood fingerboard and the frets are lapped. On the part of pickups, the Gigmaker ERG121C Black Electric Guitar has two humbucker pickups and a single coil pickup. What is the great deal of an electric guitar if you are not able to control it? And Yamaha has made no mistakes on its part by including a five way pickup selector switch along with master volume and tone controls. With the help of the multiple pick-up switching, the guitar can be tuned to suite any style.

A setting for you:

If you are one of those who play the eighty’s metal like us, you will be able to get an excellent sound with this amp. And the setting that can get the best out of this guitar is, bass about 2 – 3, the treble 5 – 6 and the volume at 3 – 4.

The package and its quality:

The Yamaha Gigmaker ERG121C Pro Guitar Package includes the electric guitar itself, a 15W amp with distortion (GA15), a set of spare strings, Plectrums, strap, electronic tuner YT100, a carry bag and an Instant Guitar tutor DVD. As you can see the list contains possibly everything that is required for a beginner to start playing the instrument. Even if you do not know how to play the kit, the instant guitar tutor DVD will give you the basic idea. The guitar amplifier provided has drive and clean channels with three band equalizers including treble, middle and bass, the tuner YT100 sports bright indicator LEDs and the gig bag offered cannot get more stylish. Though the amp is small, it works well and is lots of fun when switched on to the drive mode. We are not happy with the working of the tuner though, we would recommend you to get one separately.

Warranty:

Yamaha offers its Gigmaker ERG121C Electric Guitar one year limited warranty.

Verdict:

The Yamaha Gigmaker ERG121C Electric Guitar Pro Pack is never short when it comes to the style factor. This well specified guitar is suitable for any style of guitarist and beginners will have nothing to worry about after getting hold of one of these. Yamaha is a very trusted brand when it comes to musical instruments and hence durability and reliability will never be an issue. We would strongly recommend this guitar for the beginners.

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Yamaha Gigmaker ERG121C Pack - Technical Specification Details