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I have a lot of clients who play Epiphones, mostly hobbyists and young people but also some who are local and touring giggers who don't want to worry about expensive guitars falling off stands, getting doused with booze, walking away after being briefly unattended, etc. With both types of players, we're constantly doing little things to hop up their performance - pickup replacement or two, re-nutting 'em with bone, re-harnessing them with nice pots and caps, sometimes minor fret work. 

I've been wanting to get a cool Epi for the shop, to which I could do all of the above and have it handy for those Epi owners to get a five-senses experience of what I'm talking about upgrade-wise. Fast forward to a week ago, a new client brings me his half dozen or so Epis for some of the above plus assorted TLC/spa day treatment. This one caught my attention immediately - I only thought Epi offered a couple rather run-of-the-mill standard SG clones. It's from 2006. Made in China.

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I was even more tickled when I played it - very lively acoustically, very resonant and a slick liquid player under the hands. HUGE neck with clean fretwork. When its owner came to pick up his Epis, I told him it was my favorite of his litter, probably my favorite Epi to ever cross my bench and to let me know if he ever chose to part with it for a sweet price. He retorted it was his least favorite and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. So I did(n't). MINE!

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I re-nutted it with bone as part of its inaugural shop visit. Next up is nice CTS pots and a .022 Orange Drop for the master tone control. The stock pickups are surprisingly good sounding, they meter where you'd want PAFs to register and they are pretty feedback resistant. If you've never played a 3H, that blendable middle pickup is more than a visual gimmick. Great secret weapon for clean tones.

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I've been eyeing these.  The g-400 pro has been particularly well received.  They seem like the way to go for a great beater guitar that punches well above its weight class.  I haven't pounced because I'm just so cheap I want to snag one for less than 2 bills.  Out of curiosity, does it have a custom shop limited edition label on the back of the headstock?

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Nope, no fancy badging on this one, just a couple removable stickers (at least I removed 'em) promoting its being "inspected" in the U.S. haha. I assume it's just a run-of-the-mill G-400 Custom. They're listed as "out of production" on Epi's website. Here's that site's official glamour shot.

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I figured the TP6 wasn't stock. The guitar's previous owner told me the TP6 was on it when he got it, used. And if you look closely on mine, I already took care of a pet peeve and swapped the OEM pickup mounting screws, pickguard mounting screws and truss rod cover screws with smaller, better looking and less cheap looking screws. Compare the photos and you'll see why - those oversized cheap gold MIC screws make my spine curl.

Everything else on mine appears to be either stock or nothing incredibly special in its place. For now at least :)

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