Gibson SG

[deepntwangy]

Hi guys,

I currently play an Epiphone Dot which I really like for the money and it suits my style.

Recently thinking about adding a Gibson SG standard.

Opinions?

[voxwerx]

I have a 1978 SG. It is very surprising the things you can do with the guitar- but people will always wonder why you showed up with Angus Young's axe and expect you to play "Back in Black." Not that that is a bad thing...

I love mine- it is one of my "comfort" guitars. The neck pickup is so very warm- I can't tell you about the stock bridge PU- mine was changed out for a DiMarzio SD back in '81. I used to play a little of everything- and one of the biggest surprises I got was when I played in the pit for a local production of "The Tafettas" (Lots of '50s stuff). I had a guy seek me out after the production to see what I was playing, and he went on and on about how good it sounded. That was in the usual contrast to the bar patrons I was used to dealing with!

You will love how light it is- I haven't liked any of the new ones I've played recently- sharp fret edges, weird fit and finish...

[mangotango]

I have, (though to be fair, I'm currently doing up contemplating selling), a 1967 SG/Melody Maker. The previous owner installed a P90 (a la SG Junior) and a brass nut, and took off/lost the Vibrola & original bridge and changed the tuners. I have tried to replace these with original parts where possible, modern versions where not.

And it's a nice little guitar, if you like a chunky neck. I bought it for slide (did I mention that he also installed a brass nut?? ) and it sounds full and throaty, a nice little roar for blues/rock. Now that I'm tidying it up and have a sensible action on there, it's a really cool little rock'n'roll guitar, so much so that I'm thinking twice about selling it.........

And this from a man who always hated the SG shape. It must be a good guitar for me to buy it in the first place, even more so for me to think about keeping it!!

[deepntwangy]

Thanks guys, to be fair I was looking at a new Standard or Standard Limited - both same price (not too sure what the difference is) is the finish on new guitars that bad then?

[PTChristopher]

The SG has such an "iconic" (to be kind) shape that we sort of overlook the light weight, all-mahogany sound of the guitar. It can be remarkably resonant and woody with at least somewhat heavier strings on there.

EDIT: When I first tried a Gibson Johnny A, all I could think of was an SG with .011's on there - despite the different structure of the guitars.

"Heavy Blues" can mean quite a variety of sounds in my opinion. But if someone wanted a blues axe with some wood in the sound, I would definitely suggest trying an SG with DR Pure Blues "Heavy" (.011 to .050) strings. The strings are not really heavy, but do get the job done on an SG, in my opinion.

>>> is the finish on new guitars that bad then?

With so many ways to buy and try an SG, I think you can decide for yourself and let us know what you think of the modern Gibson finish. Many love their new Gibson guitars. (Which I suppose is a classic logical fallacy, "appeal to popularity".)

Chris

[deepntwangy]

Thanks Chris have always had a thing about the SG shape - used to own an EB0 many years ago but never got round to playing one so it's a voyage of discovery for me. Plan to try a few in the near future so will post back
Cheers
Martin

[mangotango]

SG would work well for heavier blues - The Groundhogs anybody? Their main man Tony McPhee used a SG most of the time. Every so often he swapped the SG for a Strat, but the cherry red SG was what he became known for.

[Doc Music]

My SG 1961 reissue with 57 PUs is 85% of the sound of my 137 Custom but much better upper fret access.

[pingu]

You can do a nice bend/chorus thing with the neck on those

[deepntwangy]

Due to current financial squeeze and also looking at value for money am considering an Epiphone SG standard which is around 1/4 the price. also the Epi looks more like the original SG with the smaller scratch plate which I like. Does anybody have experience of this model? somebody loaned me an Epi SG special which is real cheap - bolt on neck but hey I think it's quite cool
Marty

[boatheelmusic]

Check this out:

Sounds pretty good to me - and the guitar does too!

[stevedenver]

just imagine how that would sound with a different amp
i like sgs-little neck heavy but easy to get around on

[sdr]

I almost bought a really nice used 3 pickup white/cream colored SG for $350. Before he rang it up I asked the sales guy if he could move on the price. He brought the owner over. Turns out the 3 was supposed to be an 8. Oh well.

[Clamps]

I've got an SG special from 1987. It's a three knobber with a maple neck. It's nice with some chromes strung on it. I actually stripped the finish off the body and left the exposed mahogany, it sounds awesome !

[morroben]

I put some goldfoils in my Mira semihollow (so good!) and that left me wanting something else with humbuckers aside from my H-535. I'm not the biggest Gibson fan and haven't owned one in 15-20 years, but I've always loved Pelham blue and some of my favorite music has been played on an SG.

More importantly, my wife liked the color and recognized it as the Derek Trucks guitar since we've gone to several TTB shows together. So she encouraged me to get it. Didn't have to sell her on it at all.

This things a lot of fun! It has 57's which sound good. I like them better in this than I have in other guitars in the past. I have a set of Seth Lovers that I might try out, but these sound nice for now. Both my slide licks sound good on it.

I'm a die-hard tele guy. It's strange that even with the odd shape, different scale length, and bound neck...it doesn't feel worlds apart from my teles.




edit: no matter what direction I save my original photo, it shows up like this when I post it. Weird...

Also, I did not do the drywall you're looking at.

[Stringswinger]

Beautiful Axe! I would think that if you replaced the Grovers with Klusons she might balance better.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Congrats, Ben. I'm an SG guy myself, and yes, they are about as versatile as a Tele. Handsome guit, play it in health and happiness.

[citizenk74]

That's a mighty sweet lookin' axe! The mahogany body and neck withe a rosewood board is a recipe for tonal deliciousness. Congratulations, and play it in good health!

[John A.]

Nice color, Ben. SG's are great guitars.

[rolijen]

Happy NSGD!

When you use an iPhone or iPad, sometimes you have to view the pic, tap “Edit” then crop it a tiny bit. Then tap “Done” to teach iOS the orientation you want the pic to have.

Here’s your cool new SG:



Enjoy! It looks great!

[morroben]

Beautiful Axe! I would think that if you replaced the Grovers with Klusons she might balance better.

No balance issues, surprisingly enough!

[skykomishone]

Wow! The SG Standard is one guitar that I wish I had never lost. It was taken from me by a group of opportunists late one evening after they encountered me unlocking my car to get in and leave a very crazy scene at the 1970 Cincinnati Summer Rock Festival. The first thing I noticed was the knife, and the three of them. The just wanted to borrow my car, with me as the chauffeur and tour guide. It's a long story, but I managed to loose my guitar and camera with my highschool graduation photos on it out of the trunk. That really sucked. I tried to negotiate using my blues harps as leverage, but it didn't work. I did come out alive, and somewhat shaken, but wiser from the experience. It was a great guitar, and sure sounded great through my '60's Twin Reverb with JBL's.

Stevie Winwood played 'Dear Mister Fantasy', and the music was incredible. He really could play an SG!

Congratulations. Enjoy it!

[neatomic]

nice guitar!..congrats & enjoy...i'm usually not a fan of blue guitars...(i skipped that book)...but the gibby pelham blues are quite nice

kudos to your wife for the derek trucks connection!!..masterful player

cheers

ps- hope mr. b sees this thread..he's deliberating on acquiring an sg

[Thumpalumpacus]

No balance issues, surprisingly enough!

Neck-heavy is an individual thing with SGs. I've had one with it, two without, and they all sounded great.

[morroben]

This one's a little over 7 lbs, so not the lightest SG, but not uncomfortably heavy.

Even without balance issues, I may get some Klusons, as per Stringswinger's suggestion. These locking tuners just look a little weird.