Yes, we can have nice things!-post your non gaming finds

[aaron]

Thanks! It's an Epiphone. I've thought about "upgrading" to a Gibson, but they're not all that great in my opinion. Besides, I got this SG for about $200-250 some years ago, came with the Duncan 59 in the neck. Now with this $50 EMG upgrade, this guitar has been one hell of a deal!

In this pic, you can see my DSL head: http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g295/Ziggy587/IMG_5809.jpg

An older pick of my SG with the pickups I just took out, you can also see my first half stack: http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g295/Ziggy587/5-12-06006.jpg

seriously, upgrade to the gibson. the difference is phenomenal. you will never go back. you're already playing a decent half stack (though i'm not a fan of the modern marshall sound myself), so an axe upgrade would definitely work out well in your favor.

[dsheinem]

This is obviously game-related and not really a "find" in the traditional sense, but I couldn't think of a better place to post these and thought that people might want to see them....

I bought a bunch of retro magazines from a fellow forum member who cut me an insanely nice bundle deal on all of this, and so now I want to show them off

All of these Sega Visions magazines were issues that I had received as a kid and lost long, long ago - so there's a TREMENDOUS surge of nostalgia in looking through them.




I've long considered Retro Gamer magazine to be the premiere mag for our hobby (no surprise there), but I haven't wanted to spend the coin on a US subscription and previously have only looked through them in digital form. Getting these magazines for less than $1 each was too good to pass up, and it is extra awesome that the magazine shipped with some fantastic collections of homebrew games, emulators, and classic PC games... and very cool that I was able to get copies of them as well.




Finally - Dreamcast magazine was something that I never got into, but I have several of the other demo discs and found them to be a fun romp, so I was psyched to get the early run of the magazine and a half dozen more demo CDs in the lot. I'm looking forward to reading though these and to trying out some of the discs.



All of this came courtesy ofextrarice's BST thread, and he still has a lot more there (magazines and otherwise), so you should check it out. There's also about 100 issues of Nintendo Power over there that i am debating splurging on (shipping would be weighty and pricey on those, so I am not yet sure), but anyone who is looking for a nice collection of magazines in pristine condition should consider hitting him up

[Ziggy587]

seriously, upgrade to the gibson. the difference is phenomenal. you will never go back. you're already playing a decent half stack (though i'm not a fan of the modern marshall sound myself), so an axe upgrade would definitely work out well in your favor.

Well it's not like that's my only guitar.

I really don't think the difference is phenomenal. More like nominal. Explain to me why a Gibson would be better? Better pickups? Yes, but I just put EMGs in the Epiphone. Better soldering of the electronics? Well all of my guitars end up being rewired by myself. Better hardware? The tuners on the Epi work perfectly fine. I would argue that the bridge they use on the Epi is made from cheaper metals than one that would be on a Gibson, but the bridge and posts are EASILY changeable to something with better quality. So really, what's left? The Epi has a mahogany body, it's not like it's plywood.

The only difference at this point is that the was made in another country. And you can't tell me that THAT makes for a superior guitar, it's not like only people in the USA know how to cut wood. It's not like in Korea they don't measure right or something. I'm sure most of it is computer assisted. It's not like they drill the holes for the bridge off so there's intonation problems or something like that. My point is, if you take an Epiphone and a Gibson SG and you take every thing off of them so you just have wood and frets, the only difference I see is a set neck and a neck through body. And yeah, an inflation in price for the name brand and American labor.

All that said, I've played the Gibson SG before, wasn't impressed. For one thing, it has a neck through body. This is usually an advantage. But the set neck on the Epi model has much more comfortable upper fret access than the neck through Gibson.

So... why should I ditch my Epiphone for a Gibson? I'm not trying to be an asshole here, I really wonder if there's something I over looked.

PS: My Epiphone SG has a sweet spot on the neck. The 11th fret on the G string will instantly ring out. So if you play a minor pentatonic in E, this is awesome.

[fvgazi]

Well it's not like that's my only guitar.

I really don't think the difference is phenomenal. More like nominal. Explain to me why a Gibson would be better? Better pickups? Yes, but I just put EMGs in the Epiphone. Better soldering of the electronics? Well all of my guitars end up being rewired by myself. Better hardware? The tuners on the Epi work perfectly fine. I would argue that the bridge they use on the Epi is made from cheaper metals than one that would be on a Gibson, but the bridge and posts are EASILY changeable to something with better quality. So really, what's left? The Epi has a mahogany body, it's not like it's plywood.

The only difference at this point is that the was made in another country. And you can't tell me that THAT makes for a superior guitar, it's not like only people in the USA know how to cut wood. It's not like in Korea they don't measure right or something. I'm sure most of it is computer assisted. It's not like they drill the holes for the bridge off so there's intonation problems or something like that. My point is, if you take an Epiphone and a Gibson SG and you take every thing off of them so you just have wood and frets, the only difference I see is a set neck and a neck through body. And yeah, an inflation in price for the name brand and American labor.

All that said, I've played the Gibson SG before, wasn't impressed. For one thing, it has a neck through body. This is usually an advantage. But the set neck on the Epi model has much more comfortable upper fret access than the neck through Gibson.

So... why should I ditch my Epiphone for a Gibson? I'm not trying to be an asshole here, I really wonder if there's something I over looked.

PS: My Epiphone SG has a sweet spot on the neck. The 11th fret on the G string will instantly ring out. So if you play a minor pentatonic in E, this is awesome.

I agree. The SG I posted a few pages back was less than half the price of the IDENTICAL Tommi Iommi version. Most of the things that cause it to be expensive can be changed DIY for a fraction of the cost. I've never seen an Epiphone SG in white, though. That's why I got mine.


Oh... I don't get the appeal of Active pickups. What is so much better about them?

[AppleQueso]

Oh... I don't get the appeal of Active pickups. What is so much better about them?

Don't they have hotter output or something? I don't really remember exactly what's supposedly better about actives.

The appeal for stuff like EMGs to me has nothing to do with the fact that they're active. I just like the sound.

[Ziggy587]

The appeal for stuff like EMGs to me has nothing to do with the fact that they're active. I just like the sound.

Yeah, same here. Some people don't like them because they sound "sterile" or "dead" but I think that's why I like them. In my LTD MH 100, I have two 81's and they sound fantastic. The high gain/output is really nice, too.

There's nothing "better" about the pickup being active. The only reason they're active is because they have an internal preamp, the preamp needs voltage from the battery to operate.

I'm not sure how I like the 81/85 set. I was just comparing it to the 81/81 set in my MH, both have an 81 in the bridge, for the first time with my amp at a decent volume. I think the SG is just a little bassier than the MH. The 85 does really sound nice when you're playing frets 12~15, but it's a little too muddy for my tastes when your playing power chords on the top 3 strings at the lower frets. When playing chords over 5 or 6 strings, you can hardly hear the bottom strings over everything.

Anyway, if any one ever comes across another EMG for super cheap and wants to trade it to me for the 85, I think I'd be down for that. I really wanted to try a 60, or possibly an H, but I think I would even prefer another 81 over this 85. I might start hunting eBay for another sick deal, at which point I'd have this 85 up for grabs. IDK, I'll have to see what happens.

I read about some people reversing the 81 and 85 (81 in neck and 85 in bridge). I might try that out and see how it sounds. The two that I got have the quick connect thing, so it'll be easy enough to swap them around.

I've never seen an Epiphone SG in white, though.

Years ago, I remember seeing this one all the time. I like how it has the block inlays instead of the trapezoid you normally find on the SG.

I think there IS a model Epi SG that you can get it white right now, but it's a lower model with a bolt on neck. Fuck that. Defeats the main purpose of the design lol.

PS, I don't like those "hat" knobs (or whatever they're called) that come on the SG's. I like the speed knobs so much better.

[sabrage]

I think my tastes differ a bit from you guys.

Found this yesterday:

[Ziggy587]

Hahaha, awesome!

[s1mplehumar]

@ Killer mag haul

You cleaned up! I love my DC mags. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have. My "Visions" collection is spotty at best. Looks like a nice assortment.

[CRTGAMER]

I think my tastes differ a bit from you guys.

Found this yesterday:

I don't know what to say except I want one!