My new (old!) El Degas SG

[fuzzy]

Hi all!

I've recently purchased a El Degas SG copy. The gentlemen I bought it off of, a retired music teacher, said it was a mid 70's model that was completely stock, the only thing being changed to his knowledge was, of course, the strings. He bought the guitar in 1990 in an antique music shop in Ottawa, ON, and brought it with him as he traveled and taught music students across Canada.

I bought the guitar the first time I went and looked at it. For $200 bucks, it played well, had a good action, albeit a slight amount of low E fret buzz, and the intonation was out ever so slightly, not even audibly noticeable. Previous owner said last time it was set up was when he bought it in Ottawa. Couldn't help but think, for a guitar that's likely been handled by hundreds of students, its in good shape. A few nicks and scratches, no major dents or dings. The electronics sounds pretty good too, nice clean lows, mids and highs. On par with sound as my 90's Strat.

Just thought I'd add it to the collection shown here, see if anybody's got any more info, and share it's story.

I plan to properly clean it, (sorry, its still dirty in the pics), set it up with new strings, and put some better hardware on it, maybe a new pickguard. Any tips or pointers? I understand I can only use Epiphone standardized hardware, something to do with imperial vs metric. I guess that this guitar is metric, since its Japanese?

Sorry, basement pics at 3AM, tried my best to make them look good. Sorry Charles! Haha.

[charles]

This is a MIK model. I have the same model, and it's actually one of my favorites of all the El Degas guitars I own. Enjoy it!

Sorry, basement pics at 3AM, tried my best to make them look good. Sorry Charles! Haha.

Hey, no apologies needed. Have you seen my pics?! I'm also a 3am basement photo guy

[Raisinbrain]

Hi,

Congrats on your purchase. A MIK SG is one of the items on my wish list.

I currently have a MIK El Degas Les Paul, but oddly mine has the lawsuit "moustache" headstock. I'm guessing yours must then be newer than mine? Does yours have the tell-tale plywood body ripples along the outside edge of the body?

Coincidentally, my LP had terrible Low E, A and even D fret buzz when I bought it. Loosening off the truss rod almost completely and adding a set of D'Addario 11's has the problem 99% fixed. I love the tone from fat strings so I'm quite pleased.

And you're right about the Epiphone metric hardware. My El Degas LP has an Epiphone bridge and tailpiece. Charles helped me a lot with that one. You may want to think twice before replacing the tuners. I'm a big fan of replacement grovers, but my MIK LP stays in tune so well I just could not justify messing with it.

I have to ask though, is the headstock logo an inlay or a decal?

[charles]

I poo poo some of the MIK models (I personally think most of the 80's MIK Strats are total crap), but the set neck '61 SG is a gem. Despite a kind-of iffy neck joint and likely having a plywood body, I still love it. It's all subjective.

[fuzzy]

Thanks for the replies, folks!

Start off by saying, the more I play it, the more I like it. Thinking it might be a keeper. I wheel and deal old, odd, knockoff and rare guitars all the time, and only keep the ones I really like. I regret selling a few, like that '71 Gemtone, however...

Anyways, Raisinbrain, can't seem to see any evidence of a plywood body, any ripples, mind you I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for. Edges and sides are smooth and flow into each other. Does that confirm that mine may be newer?

I still have a bit of buzz, hoping that loosening the truss rod and changing the strings will help. Might try those D'Addraios, heard good things about them.

Good to know about the hardware. Now the trick is finding some. Gonna ask my father's buddy who owns a music store in my city, sure he'll be able to help me find some. If not, eBay! Just plan on the bridge and tailpiece. I'm not set on changing the tuners, at least not yet. The G string likes to go in and out of tune at will, depending on how hard I play the G string (pardon the pun!). Not ruling out if its the tuner or not until I change strings and maybe the bridge and tailpiece.

The headstock logo is an inlay for sure.

And charles, it certainly is subjective. Despite the fact it's a (mostly) cheaply built knock off, this guitar has certainly survived the stand of time, and I hope it continues to. Question though; were the Made in Japans (MIJ, I presume) better than the MIKs in general? Or were just some models worse off?

[charles]

The MIJs are certainly sought after a lot more than the MIKs. Many people have the notion that the MIJs, especially later into the lifespan when the manufacturers had a lot more experience, are generally better. I sometimes tend to agree - however, I think that some of the MIK models (especially the set necks) are pretty darn good.

When I look at the body edges of my SG I cannot tell for sure if it's plywood or not, but the finish looks to be applied very thick which makes me wonder it that's a sign of them covering the tell-tale edges. I have not popped off the control cover on the back to find out for sure.