Gibson SG suggestions/help.

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miroslav

miroslav

Cosmic Cowboy
I’ve been considering adding a Gibson SG to my guitar line...probably a used one. I always liked the SG, even more than the LP, though I haven’t played one in a looooong time, and I haven’t really kept up with all the different SG variations/versions since the mid-70s. The main thing I remember about SGs is how much I liked their fat, woodsy tone.

I hit eBay the other day just to see what is out there…and man, between the vintage stuff, the reissues, the various SG models, not to mention the fake knockoffs…I honestly have NO CLUE what to look at.

I’m NOT in the market for the very expensive vintage pieces from the late 60s…and I don’t know how good the most current reissues are and I’m seeing prices all over the place. WAY TOO MANY CHOICES/VARIATIONS!
Everyone that is selling one is making a point of stating the year it was made, and some make it seem like certain years were much better than others...which I can understand...but I just haven't kept up with the evolution of the Gibson SG.

Sooooo…I was wondering if any of you SG fanatics can point me in the right direction AFA what is considered good and what to stay away from. I’m willing to drop up to $1200…maybe even a little more for something in really good shape…but I see some *Gibson* SGs going for $500 and some going for $1500…all about the same era and all looking very much like they are made of the same quality/components…so I can’t tell what’s what with them???

My preferences would be more toward the "typical" looking SG...
...two HB pickups, (whammy is not necessary, but would be considered), NOT any of the ones that had real fat necks...and probably the common cherry color, though I would consider others.
 
miroslav said:
I’ve been considering adding a Gibson SG to my guitar line...probably a used one. I always liked the SG, even more than the LP, though I haven’t played one in a looooong time, and I haven’t really kept up with all the different SG variations/versions since the mid-70s. The main thing I remember about SGs is how much I liked their fat, woodsy tone.

I hit eBay the other day just to see what is out there…and man, between the vintage stuff, the reissues, the various SG models, not to mention the fake knockoffs…I honestly have NO CLUE what to look at.

I’m NOT in the market for the very expensive vintage pieces from the late 60s…and I don’t know how good the most current reissues are and I’m seeing prices all over the place. WAY TOO MANY CHOICES/VARIATIONS!
Everyone that is selling one is making a point of stating the year it was made, and some make it seem like certain years were much better than others...which I can understand...but I just haven't kept up with the evolution of the Gibson SG.

Sooooo…I was wondering if any of you SG fanatics can point me in the right direction AFA what is considered good and what to stay away from. I’m willing to drop up to $1200…maybe even a little more for something in really good shape…but I see some *Gibson* SGs going for $500 and some going for $1500…all about the same era and all looking very much like they are made of the same quality/components…so I can’t tell what’s what with them???

My preferences would be more toward the "typical" looking SG...
...two HB pickups, (whammy is not necessary, but would be considered), NOT any of the ones that had real fat necks...and probably the common cherry color, though I would consider others.
Click to expand...

Well, you should be able to find a used SG in the $400 range. Probably will be late 80's to mid '90's. A standard ...customs are higher priced. The faded cherry SG's are cheaper that all the other SG's. There has to be a reason for that...you may want to investigate a bit before buying the cheapest one you can find.

I know that the vintage mahogany Les Pauls are probably the best bargin on a new Gibson Les Paul...maybe Gibson has a vintage mahogany SG...I don’t know. If so, that would be what I would be looking for.

I don't care for SG's because of their tendency to tilt forward...the balance issue because they are so neck heavy (the neck drops towards the floor if you're not holding it), and their surf board length necks hit every mic stand and amp on stage with the headstock all night long at every gig.

I sold a '96 SG for $250 a couple of years ago because of these issues...it sounded killer and played like butter...but it never grew on me.
 
jimistone said:
...it sounded killer and played like butter...
Click to expand...


This is really the whole point for me wanting the SG, though I also think it's a badass looking guitar, alsways have. :cool:
Not sure why I never owned one....???

Hey, I got semi-hollow guitars that tilt 'cuz the strap button has to be on the back...and I have some other guitars that are neck heavy....and it's a PITA...
... but if the tone kills...I'll live with the rest.

I also love that loooooong ass looking neck... :)
 
jimistone said:
...you may want to investigate a bit before buying the cheapest one you can find.
Click to expand...

Yeah...I'm looking for something that isn't a real vintage guitar, as I don't plan on spending that kind of money...but I also don't want something that looks like it's one of millions that rolled of an assembly line, which is what the cheaper, current "faded" models look like.

I wanted something that had some vintage vibe, maybe a bit older, but I see some current models that are reissues of certain years...though again, the prices are all over the place...I just can't get a handle on what is reasonable and what is inflated...???
 
Well, the main thing you have to have when looking for a killer guitar at a bargin basement price is patience (not one of my virtues unfortunately). Patience and diligence are what is required. Be relentless in looking at classifieds and asking people if they know where one is for sale...but wait until the right one comes up before pulling the trigger on it.
That's very hard to do because the more pics of SG's you see the more you're going to want one...and every time you see one that has a half decent price you're going to feel like if you don't buy it you will have missed out.

It's been my experience that when you are not looking to buy the deals are everywhere every day. When you have the cash there are never any good deals it seems.

Just remember that there are tens of thousands of SG's out there for sale and several thousand are in you price range and just what you're looking for...

All you have to do is run across one of them
 
Definitely my favorite style of guitar, although I didn't get one until like 2005 (wanted one for 20 years before that).

The first one I got was off ebay - SG Supreme in blue - $1100 I think. It broke in shipping and the insurance paid for most of it. I got the headstock glued back on and it works pretty well. Freakin' awesome guitar, but has a maple body cap and so sounds a little more to me like a les paul.

The guitar I play the most is a clone - also from ebay - like $220 including shipping. I had to replace just about everything on it, and get the neck repaired (after my son tripped/stepped on it), but now it plays and sounds really good:

ozredgtr.jpg


Those clones are worth checking out ( antoniotsai ), if you're willing to get them set up and replace the pickups and some of the hardware. I got one other one that's alright, too. With the necessary changes, you're looking at about $500-550 all in, but the inlays are really cool.

My son recently got a Gibson SG Special that's a couple of years old at a local guitar store for $500 I think. The neck's a little fat, and we put new pickups in it - Gibson Dirty Fingers for the bridge. He loves it (that's my nephew with the red guitar above, btw)

I think that with the ones with the 498T and 490R pickups, you might want to replace at least the bridge pickup with something else. The 57 classics in the SG Supreme are really nice.

Stay away from jumbo frets unless you're sure you're into that sort of thing. I had a LP with those and could barely play it.
 
I love them! I would suggest either the 60's models, skip the 70's, the 80's were a good decade for them, the early 90's were OK but anything beyond that I never cared for imo. WATCH THE NECKS! they are prone to break easily if dropped. they came with at least a couple of different neck styles, fat and wide as well as skinny. The 60's models were skinny and wide, the 70's models were very skinny and had a volute at the headstock, the 80's models had fat necks. but other than these features they were pretty much 2 humbuckers, 4 knobs and a pickup selector.
 
leaningpine said:
I love them! I would suggest either the 60's models, skip the 70's, the 80's were a good decade for them, the early 90's were OK but anything beyond that I never cared for imo. WATCH THE NECKS! they are prone to break easily if dropped. they came with at least a couple of different neck styles, fat and wide as well as skinny. The 60's models were skinny and wide, the 70's models were very skinny and had a volute at the headstock, the 80's models had fat necks. but other than these features they were pretty much 2 humbuckers, 4 knobs and a pickup selector.
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Thanks for the info.

This is one I was considering:

SG1.jpg


SG2.jpg


He says it's a 1986 model...with a slim, taper neck - 1 11/16" nut width.

What do you think?
This one is unusual with the gold hardware...most times I wouldn't go for gold hardware, but for some reason it looks pretty darn good on this SG.

I've been playing Hagstrom guitars for many years...and they have a thinner (flatter in the back), but not narrow neck. But I
I remember picking many an LP and thinking the neck felt like a 2"x4" :D ...and I know that some years the SGs also had real fat necks.
I don't need very narrow/thin neck...I just don't want the 2"x4" since I have wide hands, with thicker but shorter fingers...and the real fat necks just feel a tad uncomfortable.
 
That's a 62 re-issue. That's the most popular SG. There's no SG's that have necks like 2x4's so no worries there. That's a good choice
 
I just missed out on the one above... :( ...it sold for about $1150.

What about these "limited run, carved top" SGs with the flamed maple tops?

CarvedTopSG.jpg


They look stunning...I'm just not sure if they are considered collector’s items...or an aberration to ingnore? :D
 
That picture is unflattering but they are very nice to look at, I've always wanted the blue one. It seems you may be limited because of there only being one volume and one tone control.
 
I bought a Special Faded a couple of years to install a Bigsby on (now done) and it's a great guitar -- so much so that I stopped playing my Les Paul and eventually sold it to finance a Mesa/Boogie bass amp. Love the sound, the neck, the upper fret access, the light weight....

I bought a TKL hard case for it and now I'm very satisfied: between it and my 335 I can cover all the ground I need to.
 
Would you consider an SG classic?
Basically the standard body with p90s, i got one for about $500 used, and it is a great guitar. You could even drop in the fralin HBs that are p90 sized if you wanted, I have heard (not with my ears though) that they sound great. I've seen them on ebay for around 650-750, mine was a craiglist deal.

Daav
 
OMG, I'm in love with this guitar!!! Fantastic design and bombastic sound. Gibson's guitar always be the BEST :drunk:
 
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