TL;DR: how the heck do I start getting one guitar's tone to sound more like another's?
Or, if it's easier to share, how did you go about finding your favorite tone?
I've been learning on an LTD viper-400 for the past few months, and then bought an epiphone SG g-400 recently because 1) I really, really, really wanted this look since forever; and 2) one finally popped up locally at a price point I've been waiting for.
Just talking about the difference when unplugged:
The epiphone sounds exactly how I've heard it in videos, but I didn't realize guitars could sound this different. I just like my viper's sound so much better, and... I'm ignorant enough to not know how to describe why. The SG just sounds... Airier? Lighter? The strings are definitely different. The sg has some smooth feeling to it, maybe because they're new strings, according to the seller. Do I just start with trying to figure my viper's string gauges or something and buy those for the SG? Though they both have almost the same low action, the strings on my viper feel more taught; might be just because of the jumbo frets, but is tighter-feeling strings a thing?
And when plugged in, I like each of their clean sounds, but favor the viper's a little more. I'm even less sure how to describe why or what the difference really is. Is there a process to fiddle with knobs? At what point do I start considering switching pickups? I can't tell what pickups the SG has, other than they're probably the originals. The viper's should be original too, seymour Duncan custom-5 (bridge) and jazz (neck) pickups.
Even though, generally, I've fallen in love with the viper, there isn't enough room in my home for two guitars at this time. That's a c/relationshipadvice issue, lmao. I'm keeping the ~~Homewrecker~~ iconic SG and selling ~~Sexy~~ my viper once I figure this out, and that's that. But yeah, tone. How does it work
I mean if you really want to go all out, yes, you need to match string gauge, type, brand, put same pickups/electronics in both, etc.
But in my experience, I usually need a year to figure out a new piece of gear thoroughly enough to make any decisions. Take a photo of all your current settings with your current guitar and make some recordings . Then play with your new guitar and just keep trying to dial in the sound you want in all your gear for the next year .
After a year try comparing recordings or go back to your old guitar with settings from the photo and see if you still like it better. It's very likely that you will come up with a new sound that you like even better or arrive at roughly the same place you were before.
If not, you can swap out your pickups/electronics and strings and have it set up identically, etc. Just make sure the pickups are in exactly the same positions on both instruments because that will change the sound too. Wood type makes a difference but a very small one, and neck more than body.
A big part of getting new gear is rolling the dice and seeing what comes out of it. Not going through that process and just trying to force it to sound like something else is doing yourself a disservice. If nothing else, you will learn more about your gear and what you do/don't like in this process . But there's a very good chance you will come up with something new that you like.