Members Beck Posted May 12, 2015 Members Share Posted May 12, 2015 I'm hoping someone here maybe able to help me with something. I have an Epiphone Prophecy SG that I'm looking to get an aftermarket half-face (Angel Wing) pickguard for. The Prophecy Series did not come with pickguards (Nice guitar by the way... it's become a fav. My other guitars are feeling negleted). So anyway, from what I can tell there seems to be three slightly different types of half-face pickguards for the Epiphone G-400, yet they look nearly identical. There's one for earlier G-400, another for more recent models, and yet another one for the G-400 Goth. My hunch is one or any of these would fit on my Prophecy if the only difference is the screw hole placement. I would have to drill holes anyway. I will also have to move a knob (no big deal). But I'm not 100% sure. I was a bit disappointed that Gibson/Epiphone support could not tell me if a G-400 pickguard would fit on the Prophecy. I tried that route first. Spoke to a nice fellow, but they have no documentation of dimensions, or at least the phone customer support reps are not privy to it. Can anyone tell me if there are any significant size differences between these three scratchplates? What I know so far is there may be differences for the space between the bridge and tail pickups and the size of the pickups themselves where the top of the pickguard fits against them. If someone has any model of Epiphone G-400 with the half-face guard I would be forever grateful for some measurements in millimeters. The most important would be the overall length from tip to tip and the width of the upper part that fits between the pickups. I've also read that the Gibson SG half-face pickguard will not fit the Epi SG. and again I don't know if that is screw hole placement or some length/width differences. They all look the same to me online. Unfortunately I don't have a local store nearby anymore where I could do this myself. Pic attached for reference. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 If it's of any use to you, I can provide you with the dimensions / measurements for a 2013 Gibson SG Standard's pickguard, but I don't know if the Epi versions use different overall dimensions or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Luke17 Posted May 12, 2015 Members Share Posted May 12, 2015 Tim, I would go to www.forum.gibson.com then hit the Epiphone Electric or Epiphone forums... pretty sure you could get the help you need there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted May 13, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 13, 2015 If it's of any use to you' date=' I can provide you with the dimensions / measurements for a 2013 Gibson SG Standard's pickguard, but I don't know if the Epi versions use different overall dimensions or not.[/quote'] I would appreciate that, Phil. Very kind of you. It would help even to know that something might not fit and narrow down the reason why it does not. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted May 13, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 13, 2015 Tim' date=' I would go to www.forum.gibson.com then hit the Epiphone Electric or Epiphone forums... pretty sure you could get the help you need there. Thanks for the info, Luke. I'll give that a shot as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 There are a bunch of different SG models that have been released over the years. As you know, there are two main styles of pickguard, but I suspect there may be variations in dimensions over the years and various models. The image below is an SG pickguard img file I found online, and it is a bit wonky in look - it looks strangely angled and not symmetrical enough to be accurate, but close enough to mark the measurements down on. I checked my 2013 SG Standard's pickguard dimensions with the guard and strings still on the guitar, so the measurements may be a tiny bit off here or there, but I used digital calipers, so they should be fairly close. I can't guarantee your SG will have the same dimensions, or that Gibson's replacement pickguards will be identical to what came stock on my guitar. Caveat emptor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted May 14, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 14, 2015 Thanks Phil! Very much appreciated. Intereststing. On my Prophecy I get 45ish to 46 mm between the pickups and where the top of the pickguard runs along each pickup, so this should fit my SG Prophecy. I think we may be on to something... that this is more about screw hole placement than anything else. However, I suppose it is possible the pickguard on a Gibson could run into the knobs on a G-400 Epi if the knobs are closer to the bridge on an Epi. The Prophecy is a lot different. There are only two knobs and a 3-way switch between them. But it's different than the 2-knob arraignment on the SG Special. I'm hoping all I have to move is the knob closest to the the pickups and the 3-way switch will become the control closest to the edge of the pickguard. There's plenty of room in the Prophecy to drill a new hole and move the volume control to the far side of the treble control knob. And if all goes well the pickguard will cover the hole the volume pot is removed from. I'm optimistic. Attached is a stock pic of the exact model I have. You can see what I mean about how close the volume knob is to the bridge pickup as it comes from the factory. I'll report back once I get all together. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Beck, I think it actually would probably cover the volume control hole... but what I'm worried about, having looked at your most recent picture, is the front edge of the body and pickguard, closest to the cutaway. Here's a picture of my 2013 SG. Notice that the neck appears to be set differently (you have a two octave neck), and that mine has a neck joint tenon cover between the neck and neck pickup. But there's a way we can find out if this will work for sure or not. PM me your address, and I'll remove my pickguard, do a outline tracing of it on a sheet of paper (including the screw hole locations) and mail it to you. That way, you can cut it out and place it up against your guitar and see whether or not it will fit. If it does, you should be able to just order a replacement pickguard for my SG model an you should be all set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted May 16, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 16, 2015 Thanks so much for the offer, Phil, but I wouldn't want to put you to all that trouble. You've already gone above and beyond. Very helpful... very nice of you! I think we're ok. It's harder to see on the black finish in the photo, but looking at it in person there seems to be the same distance from the corner of the neck pickup and where the body ends. Correct, it is a two octave neck, but the extra fretbord appears to be acting as a tenon cover. I can see light between the extra section of fretboard and the body of the guitar. These critical measurements between the pups and along the neck pup (attached photo) are about the same, within one or two mm. I don't have a caliper handy, but I'm using a good quality Bates metal ruler. The Prophecy also has that gradual slope down in the cutouts like I see on yours, but it's difficult to see in photos on guitars with the black finish. I notice the standard Epi G-400 also has the tenon cover like yours. Some attached to the pickguard and some not. So my hunch is still that the incompatibilities I see people talk about involve screw placement on those guitars that already have pickguards from the factory, as well as issues with knobs and switches being in the way. I've attached another pic I photoshopped of the two guitars together. Not exactly to scale, but I think close enough for comparison. Thanks again for the help! . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 You're very welcome. Let me know if you change your mind - it's really no trouble at all. And if you do order one, please let me know how it works out for you. I'd like to see some pics after you get all the mods done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted May 19, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 19, 2015 I certainly will. I ended up ordering one from a lady in Germany who custom makes scratch plates from aluminum and she has some half-face types for the Epiphone SG. She has three different types she calls G400 Version 1, G400 Version 2 and G400 Goth. I picked her Version 2, which had measurements closest to mine. I'll follow up in this thread once I get it in a few weeks. I read elsewhere that her template measurements aren't spot on, so I may have to do some fine finishing, but it looks like it's going to work. I also found this link for reference in case anyone runs across this thread while googling. The layout on the Gibson SGJ looks a lot like the Prophecy. At any rate there seems to be no definitive info out there about the Prophecy when it comes to pickguards, so ours may end up being the only thread with some answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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