“Great neck shape, playability and setup – and it’s gig-ready, something we don’t always say about Epiphone, or indeed Gibson”: Epiphone Fatoumata Diawara SG review

What is it?

At the start of this year, Grammy-nominated Afrofuturist guitarist, singer-songwriter, and actress Fatoumata Diawara made history by becoming the first woman of color to receive an Epiphone signature guitar – a jaw-dropping SG with a standout body artwork that honors her heritage.

Irrespective of the artist and the admittedly hard-to-miss graphic finish, Epiphone has typically packed a lot into this guitar, not least that it comes with a pretty robust hard case.

The company posts that Fatoumata’s “passion for the Epiphone Muse SG led to this collaboration”, and that discontinued model certainly informs the new signature guitar with its same ‘Custom C’ neck profile and expanded electronics, the latter only offered on the current SG Modern Figured.

While the Ember Red gloss covers all the wood with the exception of the mid-brown rosewood fingerboard, the spec sheet tells us it’s all mahogany. That muted red hue also colours the humbucking mounting rings and the rather classy speed knobs; even the switch tip is colour co-ordinated.

The LockTone bridge and tailpiece also feature on other lower-ticket Epiphone models like the SG Standard, of course, but here we also get rear-lock tuners – a bit of a luxury for a hardtail guitar – while every bit of visible metal is gold-plated.

To be honest, many would have stopped there, but this release keeps punching with not only Alnico Classic Pro humbuckers but also pull-switch control functions. Each volume features a proper coil-split, and the neck pickup tone’s pull-switch adds out-of-phase when both pickups are selected.

Specs

• PRICE: $699 | £599 | €699 (inc case)
• ORIGIN: China
• TYPE: Double-cutaway, solidbody electric
• BODY: Mahogany
• neck: Mahogany, Custom ‘C’ profile, glued-in
• SCALE LENGTH: 629mm (24.75”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech/41.4mm
• FINGERBOARD: Cream bound rosewood, pearloid trapezoid inlays, 305mm (12”) radius
• FRETS: 22, medium
• HARDWARE: LockTone tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece, Epiphone locking tuners– gold plated
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51mm
• ELECTRICS: 2x Epiphone Alnico Classic Pro humbuckers, 3-way toggle pickup selector switch, volume and tone for each pickup. Coil-split switches on each volume control; phase-switch on neck pickup tone control
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.23 /7.1
• OPTIONS: None
• RANGE OPTIONS: The only other Epiphone SG signature guitar is the Yungblud SG Junior (£549 w/ hard case). Standard models start with the bolt-on SG Tribute (£249); the set‑neck SG Standard is £439. The SG Modern Figured (£607) also features the coil-split/out‑of‑phase switching
• LEFT-HANDERS: Not this model
• FINISHES: Ember Red w/ Malian Graphic (as reviewed) – gloss 
• CONTACT: Epiphone

Playability and sounds

There’s some good craft on show, especially from the fingerboard, which has very cleanly installed medium gauge frets, mirror polished and of a good size: approximately 2.3mm by 1.19mm high. To be picky, there are a couple of slightly sharp fret ends, but you really don’t feel them in playing position.

The nut width measures a little narrow at 41.4mm (with 34mm string spacing) but doesn’t really feel it because the profile is quite a full-shouldered C, which tapers from 21.2mm at the 1st fret up to a 24.5mm deep, meaty handful by the 12th.

Structurally, that taper is good and there’s virtually no neck flex at all. Overall, tuning stability is solid; the setup is perfect.

Seated or strapped on, not least with its heel-placed strap button and seemingly extended neck, the SG has a different feel from a Les Paul. But we’ve found that the balance here strapped on is good, as is the weight, and there’s no lack of ring when unplugged.

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On this platform there’s plenty of bite from the bridge pickup, which is easily tamed by the tone control if you need, but it certainly produces that righteous sting played clean and loud that so many love about older-style Patent Applied For-style humbuckers. The neck pickup is nicely graduated in output, obviously adding depth but retaining that clear high-end response of the bridge.

It might drop you right into Muddy-era Chicago, but it ain’t muddy in the least. No, there’s considerable jangle, especially in the mixed pickup position, a really lively bouncy voice. This is helped by the slightly closer proximity of the pickups, and the treble bleed circuits on both volumes also assist in keeping things clear as you pull them back.

For many, the sound might be a little too thin and nasally, but just pull one volume control back and you can cover those slightly out-of-phase ‘Greeny’ tones.

The guitar’s bright edge is retained with grittier, light break-up, but again pulling the tones back a little and voicing the neck gets you right into creamier Mick Taylor and Carlos Santana. At volume, you do notice the neck pickup is slightly microphonic, but we can’t help thinking that actually adds to the liveliness of the voice.

The fun continues with the coil-splits, which select the inner slug coils of each pickup and obviously thins the sounds. But with a little gain or level boost, these splits make for some pretty rootsy rhythm tones and prove surprisingly useful, particularly with both pickups on where you can split one pickup and keep the other full power. Again, that mismatch works well with the out-of-phase option.

It’s up to you to add the playing styles, of course, but – so long as you’re happy to manipulate the controls – the range of tones available here is very impressive for the cost of this guitar.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★½

The celebration of an artist as accomplished as Fatoumata gets our endorsement, although we admit that we were expecting the instrument itself to be a bit of a token gesture. It’s great to be proved very wrong.

It’s a classy and affordable SG that’s smartly turned out and co-ordinated.

Guitar World verdict: The combination of the Alnico Classic Pro humbuckers and the expanded circuit really gives it a very broad and usable range of voices. Add in luxuries like those locking tuners and a decent case, plus a great neck shape, playability and setup – and it’s gig-ready, something we don’t always say about Epiphone, or indeed Gibson. Considerable thought and care has gone into this one, and it shows.

Hands-on videos

Epiphone

Introducing the Epiphone Fatoumata Diawara SG - YouTube

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