Epiphone EGGNMSGH3 Genesis Deluxe Pro Solid-Body Electric Guitar, Midnight Sapphire

I did not get this through Amazon. I got it through an online musical instrument retailer. I have had it for about 2 weeks now, and I will share my observations with you. As far as my background, I have been a musician for over 40 years. I have played 60's and 70's handmade Gibson, Fender, Guild, and Martin guitars, along with quite a few Asian knock-offs. So, my opinion is based on many years of experience with a wide variation of guitars and basses.First of all, the pictures here do not do this guitar justice. The finish is Midnight Sapphire, it is much darker than the pictures here represent. But the interesting thing about the finish, is the brightness varies with angles of light. In normal room light, the back and neck look almost black. Under sunlight or other bright light, you can see the Sapphire blue colors and the wood grain shine through. This was a pleasant surprise for me.Next, the weight of this guitar is very nice. It is lighter than a Les Paul. Mine weighs in at 6.8 pounds. My Epiphone Les Paul Custom weighs in at 9.8 pounds. Also, the guitar is balanced. No neck diving when played standing up with a strap. It is also comfortable to play sitting down.The guitar is very well made. Even though it is made in China, it does come from the Custom Shop, meaning attention was paid to detail during assembly. As hard as I tried, I could not find any flaws in the finish or binding.The tuners are excellent quality. Like most guitars I buy, I put a new set of strings on it after verifying physical and electrical functionality. The guitar holds tune exceptionally well.The playability of this guitar is very nice. It does not have the slimmest neck, Epiphone calls it a Slim Taper D. It feels like a early 70's SG type neck. Not too slim, and not too thick. The frets are well dressed with no dead spots and are nicely polished. The action from the dealer was nice, and intonation was almost perfect - only two strings needed minor adjustments.Finally, the sound. It has amazing sound! The Probuckers combined with the individual pickup coil tapping provides a wide range of tones. From rock, to blues, this guitar can sound at home in almost any style.Don't miss out on this limited run. The Epiphone Genesis is a guitar any player would love to have in his stable!

This is a great guitar. It looks great and plays very well, after neck adjustment, intonation, and a light fret buffing. The inlays are not very well done, but who cares? The pickups are outstanding, with a nice, distinctive, strong, full humbucker sound, although different from a Les Paul, probably brighter. The body produces very good sustain. They were produced in a limited run, and that may explain why the price has gone up on the ones remaining. For that current price, you can almost get a Gibson LP studio... your choice. But I love the Genesis, and would not trade it for anything. The neck stays superbly straight, action could be set low, guitar is well-balanced around your neck, lighter than a LP, controls work very well, pickup combinations with split-coil are fun to explore (you will NOT get a strat sound, for that you need... a strat, but just listen to the sounds you can produce with this one - there are a couple videos on YouTube - very useful for blues). I understand that some reviewers had a more negative experience, but if you get a dud just return it. If you get a good one, my bet is that it will be with you for some time... Also, one of the few truly original Epiphone models, not a cheaper copy of a Gibson.

This guitar is a fantastic instrument in this price range. The Probucker pickups are great hardware to have as an upgrade to any beginner guitar. You get both single and dual-coil electronics in one pickup - selectable on the volume knobs. It's also a great blend of Stratocaster-scale with a Les Paul hard tail. The only downside I find is that the head/fretboard overbalance the strap positions on the body. I can see where it will get annoying, though I am also learning to just handle it accordingly to compensate.