SC-550 II FTF : My 6th HB and best yet

Having felt I was missing an SC in my lineup I chose this model to add based on the decent hardware, meranti body and the beautiful flamed top.

In the hand this guitar feels amazing and looks even better. I was worried that the neck would be too fat but it is great and plays beautifully. It is slightly thinner than my Epiphone SG Standard. The curved neck heel is a great touch and makes reaching the upper frets a breeze.

Fret ends are all good without any sharp edges. All it needed was a little setup and it's playing super fast with a nice low action and minimal fret buzz.

The pickups are reasonably hot and you can get a great range of sounds out of them with good clarity and no muddiness.

My only two negatives are more of a personal preference - I don't like the glossy neck so I have sanded it to a satin finish and I am not a fan of the look of the 'vintage green' tuners although I can't fault them functionally.

My first mods will be to switch these with tuners with the Gotoh SD90-05M which I think are a drop-in replacement, as well as adding some coil tapping and phase switching. I don't think there's any need to upgrade the bridge or pickups.

Overall I am very happy with this guitar - it has quickly become my favourite and is very difficult to put down!