Gibson Adventures with NGD Content

[LucSulla]

All of this Corrosion of Conformity talk on the thread a couple of weeks back made me take another shot at an SG. I need a dedicated guitar for tuning to D standard. Found a pretty good deal on a 2016 SG HP someone had thoughtfully improve, i.e., removing the G-Force tuner. 

I thought the titanium nut and the sculpted heel were cool ideas. I like the thought of easily being able to raise and lower the nut, particularly for something I am going to set up for DOOM. What I was not prepared for was the "soloist" neck. Gibson wasn't joking around by calling it a "soloist" neck because it feels exactly like my 98 Jackson Soloist. You may like or hate that depending on preference, but I think it is pretty cool. Maybe I will actually keep an SG for once. 

I also have swapped some pups on a tobacco burst LP traditional and threw in some Gravelin pups he made for me awhile back. I sold the guitar they were in, but kept the pickups. Proof positive that modern LPs have a more pronounce arch than the Norlin era LPC they came out of. The treble pickup ring cracked IMMEDIATELY. Should have thought of that before I thought of that!

[LucSulla]

Before (seller's pic):



After:

 

[RobB]

Cool X2, Jason. Nice you landed on a reasonable SG. I’ve tried them a few times and always flipped them. They feel so flimsy (and I have a light fretting hand…), like I’d snap it in two with a power chord. 

The s/b LP looks great with the black rings. 

Edited April 29 by RobB

[LucSulla]

40 minutes ago, RobB said:

Cool X2, Jason. Nice you landed on a reasonable SG. I’ve tried them a few times and always flipped them. They feel so flimsy (and I have a light fretting hand…), like I’d snap it in two with a power chord. 

The s/b LP looks great with the black rings. 

Thanks!

This will be my third one. I imagine it will mostly see the house because it isn't like anyone around Oxford is playing Down or COC covers. Good news is that I could absolutely murder someone with this aluminum case though. 

Edited April 29 by LucSulla

[tbonesullivan]

Ahh, a black SG. I used to have one. I'm sure I've posted pics about it. definitely one I should have not moved on, but I sold it to a friend, who later passed away. Now I really kinda wonder what his sister did with all his stuff, as his mom passed away not long before he did.

I have two SGs now.. somewhere in the pile.

[cmatthes]

A Gibson SG was always in my “One of These Days” column…

Likely to stay that way, since I’m not really buying anything  “these days”!

I ordered a white EDS-1275 back in the early ‘90s, but that’s the closest I’ve gotten.

[diablo175]

I have had 5 or 6 SGs over the years and sold all but the 2 (3, if you count the really capable Epi SG) I have.

Somewhere on here is the sordid tale of the 50th Anniv. Lim. Ed. Diablo w/ factory Floyd and 24 frets, that I sold and then spent years trying to replace. Found a nice one in the UK.  Not long after, I realized that I really needed a fixed bridge version for AC/DC, Sabbath and other fixed bridge-type material. So I found the 50th Anniv. in the hard tail version (also w/ 24 frets  ) and have been alternating between that and my blocked and locked CS LP Axcess at rehearsals, gigs & appearances. 

 

[LucSulla]

I didn't need to know that Gibson was capable of making a neck like this. It's definitely very non-traditional of them, but damn, does it work for metal.  

[mrjamiam]

4 hours ago, LucSulla said:

I didn't need to know that Gibson was capable of making a neck like this. It's definitely very non-traditional of them, but damn, does it work for metal.  

So.... thank you, Henry?

[LucSulla]

3 hours ago, mrjamiam said:

So.... thank you, Henry?

I never hated on Gibson nearly as much as some. I thought they made some goofy shit, but being 100% honest, I've owned quite a few Henry-era Gibsons with 0 issues. I think I'm on my third SG, and I've owned six LPs from that era, two Explorers, one Flying V Pro, one 335 Studio, and one Firebird. One of the LPs kinda sucked, but all the rest were good guitars aside from the occasional garbage nut. A lot of them, I wish I still had (well, I do have four of them still), and those that I don't have anymore are really more a question of taste than there being a problem with them. 

And as cringe as the Firebird X was and similar guitars, I can't say that's really any worse than the "Play Authentic" crap and hammering smaller builders like Dean.

[Brooks]

I've told this before, here it comes again;

Growing up a huge Sabs fan, I played 2 SGs thru high school & Jr college. 1st was a strange 1972 model w/ bigsby, LP type raised pickguard, and semi circle top mounted controls. 2nd was a 70s white SG that I spraypainted, added a Kahler & DiMarzios. Played that one until the head stock snapped off (didn't realize that it could be fixed, junked it). About 20 years ago I briefly had an Epi Tony Iommi SG that I couldn't bond with (you can't go home again). SGs and LPs are so damn iconic and cool, but I'm not a fan of their feel.

 

Edited Friday at 03:23 PM by Brooks

[velorush]

I had a similar early 70's SG (no pictures) with the same short neck joint but with rear-mounted controls and a Bigsby. 

Also had your choice of distortion:

...though, at the time I didn't understand the difference between distortion and overdrive. The distortion, with the short delay added in sounded absolutely huge. The overdrive side sounded anemic by comparison. I never really got it figured out and just used the distortion side for everything.

[Disturber]

That SG looks cool. Congrats.

I had a 1991 SG (good wood era) that sounded pretty good. But it felt flimsy, as described above. I sold it. Kinda regret it now. But I seldom played it as I had my Hamer Sunburst's that are so much better guitars than any SG I ever played.

Best SG I had was a 1970's Ibanez with a bolt on neck and the old Ibanez logo. Someone had installed a third humbucker in it and painted it white. But that SG was very stable. Stable neck, not flimsy. And the guitar felt way more solid than the Gibson's I've played. 

[Brooks]

On 5/1/2026 at 12:11 PM, velorush said:

 

Also had your choice of distortion:

...though, at the time I didn't understand the difference between distortion and overdrive. The distortion, with the short delay added in sounded absolutely huge. The overdrive side sounded anemic by comparison. I never really got it figured out and just used the distortion side for everything.

I never got a good tone out of that thing! 

[ARM OF HAMER]

On 5/1/2026 at 9:49 AM, Brooks said:

I've told this before, here it comes again;

Growing up a huge Sabs fan, I played 2 SGs thru high school & Jr college. 1st was a strange 1972 model w/ bigsby, LP type raised pickguard, and semi circle top mounted controls. 2nd was a 70s white SG that I spraypainted, added a Kahler & DiMarzios. Played that one until the head stock snapped off (didn't realize that it could be fixed, junked it). About 20 years ago I briefly had an Epi Tony Iommi SG that I couldn't bond with (you can't go home again). SGs and LPs are so damn iconic and cool, but I'm not a fan of their feel.

                                                     I always liked those embossed "GIBSON" pickup covers, they were only used for a short time. I don't believe they were ever reissued on any Gibson guitar after that.