Epiphone SG G400 Pro

CeeJay

Having decided to give the guitar another go, I bought one of these in early December. I've always loved the SG shape, and not wanting to spend a huge amount, and having read all the specs and watched the demo's a thousand times, it looked like a great buy. Now don't get me wrong, It's a thing of beauty (to me anyway), sounds great, and I love playing it. But.......(There's always a but). I can't play the thing standing up due to it being neck heavy. It wants to dive down to the floor if I don't consciously hold the neck up. 
Is this an SG thing, or just an Epiphone thing. Do the Gibsons do the same? I appreciate the body is a small piece of wood when compared to a Les Paul or similar, so is never going to be as well balanced. 

Here's a quote from Epiphone.

The Epiphone G-400 Pro is inspired by the late ‘60s era SG models, and utilises the same dimensions as that Kalamazoo factory legend, making it lightweight, yet incredibly robust. This helps to produce a well-balanced guitar,

McToot

It's a common thing, though not all SGs are made equal. I've only had a Gibson one and it was JUST ok, but to be safe I used to use my leather strap that had a grippy 'raw' side, which prevented any tendency to neck dive. 

SimpleSimon

My Gibson SG classic isnt neck heavy. A wide suede type strap might help in your case. Having owned countless SG's over the years it tends to be the cheaper ones that are neck heavy. Also i wouldnt say the Epis are exact replicas of the SG variant. The body dims between Gibson variants ie standard, '61RI, Custom shop, are all slightly different in terms of neck joint, body thickness, point carve, neck carve etc. That said the Epi is a great cheap way into SG's.

p90fool

It's definitely more an Epiphone issue than a Gibson issue. I've owned an Epiphone SG, a Firebird and now an Explorer and all three were neck heavy, mainly because whatever wood it says on the spec sheet, they're all made from nicely veneered or painted reconstituted Pringles. 

My Explorer was borderline to be fair and moving the strap button has totally cured it, but my G400 would've needed one halfway down the neck. 

There are cures you can Google, from lead weights in the electrics cavity or on the strap, helium balloons on the headstock to wearing it Sister Rosetta Tharpe style.

They're good guitars on the whole, but balance is definitely a known issue. 

CeeJay

p90fool said:

It's definitely more an Epiphone issue than a Gibson issue. I've owned an Epiphone SG, a Firebird and now an Explorer and all three were neck heavy, mainly because whatever wood it says on the spec sheet, they're all made from nicely veneered or painted reconstituted Pringles. 

My Explorer was borderline to be fair and moving the strap button has totally cured it, but my G400 would've needed one halfway down the neck. 

There are cures you can Google, from lead weights in the electrics cavity or on the strap, helium balloons on the headstock to wearing it Sister Rosetta Tharpe style.

They're good guitars on the whole, but balance is definitely a known issue. 

That gave me a chuckle. .
Looks like she has a bit of bother with balance too
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjWr-iz6OjfAhUN1hoKHUIFBQAQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEdPND07fW4&psig=AOvVaw0D5JZWYrD7fH-dzmtlyOxs&ust=1547402150236269

martinw

Yep, it's an Epi thing

I've had many Gibson SGs (7 maybe?) and none were neck heavy.

I think I've had 3 Epi's, and they all were.

It's not price either; I've had an £80 Harley Benton that had good balance.

I'd guess it's down to the choice of neck wood.

Doug

That horrible Fat abortion/out of proportion headstock may have something to do with it, spoils a decent guitar, Fender/Squier seem to do ok with their shape.

Funkfingers

McToot said:

not all SGs are made equal.

Indeed.

Wide, grippy straps can help. The alternative solution is to introduce a lump of metal between the bridge and the lower bout strap button - right where the Vibrola tailpiece was designed to be.