Epiphone channels Yungblud heroes Angus Young and Billie Joe Armstrong for his signature SG Special
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Epiphone has teamed up with Yungblud for the English multi-instrumentalist’s first ever signature guitar, with his new artist series SG Junior a single-pickup rock machine in Classic White that references two of his biggest heroes – and the 1964 Gibson SG Junior you will have seen him on stage with
Yungblud, aka Dominic Harrison, has long favoured the SG Junior for a couple of reasons – AC/DC and Green Day.
Just look at it. This Epiphone guitar or the Gibson that inspired it is pretty much a composite of two of his biggest guitar heroes’ favourite instruments, the SG played by AC/DC’s Angus Young, and the Les Paul Junior played by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. Secondly, we
Remarkably, Yungblud is living testimony to the maxim “start them young” – he has been playing the guitar since the age of two, starting writing at 10.
“Guitars and rock music have always been a fundamental part of my life,” says Yungblud. “Literally my education, I grew up on the counter of a guitar shop and I’ve been dusting them since I was three years old. The reason why I play a White ‘64 SG Junior is because growing up musicians that were important in my life were Angus Young and Billie Joe Armstrong.
“I was lucky because I found a guitar that represented both parts of my inspiration, and yet has been famously played by no one but me. This SG Junior is entirely my own and it already looks f***ing iconic.”
Yungblud’s Epiphone signature model offers the same single-pickup platform and finish as the latter, with doublecut solid mahogany body of the former. But despite this straightforward design, this will be a deceptively versatile electric guitar, capable of blues, rock, punk, indie – even jazz.
There might not be a neck pickup but just roll back some of the tone on that Dogear Epiphone P-90 Pro and it’ll even out that top end and give you the warmth you need.
The reason why I play a White ‘64 SG Junior is because growing up musicians that were important in my life were Angus Young and Billie Joe Armstrong
The CTS volume and tone controls make it a cinch to dial in a done. The minimalism of the design speaks to the intent behind the instrument; this is one you can turn up loud and play hard. There is a compensated Lightning Bar wraparound bridge.
Epiphone Deluxe vintage tuners with white oval buttons match the finish and add to the “student model” look. Which, come to think of it, might be a good stage to note just how affordable this model is. With a launch price of ￡549, this is firmly in the mid-priced electric category.
That said, if you like the looks of this – and you don’t need to be a Yungblud fan to see the appeal in a white SG Junior with hardly a signature detail on it – you had best act fast. Epiphone is only making 600 of them. There’s a hardshell guitar case lined with pink fur to sweeten the deal further.
Other specs include a glued in mahogany neck, fashioned into a SlimTaper profile. The fingerboard is Indian laurel, with dot inlays and a 12” radius. It seats 22 medium jumbo frets. We have a Graph Tech Tusq nut, a three-ply black pickguard, and black ‘top hat’ control knobs with nickel reflector inserts.
The Yungblud SG Junior is out now. See Epiphone for more details.
