Does anybody here play an SG?

[Stokesdead]

I have been GASing for like a while for an SG. I know hamers are better than Gibbo's but Hamer don't make no SG. So do any of you guys play an SG? Any recomendations?

~CS

[serial]

Hamer doesn't make an SG, but there IS a "Hamer/SG" out there. I know someone who put a Blitz neck from a trashed Blitz. Pretty cool looking if ya ask me. I'm sure someone could post pics at some point.

[Punkavenger]

I was thinking about picking up another SG after seeing that Link Wray video

I had a 68 SG special that I sold to Fung. It looked really cool, sounded good too ... but it was hard for me to play, the fretboard was too skinny and i couldn't fit my fingers on there (Great for barre chords!)

I guess it's like buying a Les Paul ... the old ones are great but expensive and the new ones aren't that good unless you get a custom shop and still you really gotta check em

All kinds of neck shapes and build/sound quality

I guess you just have to play about 20 of 'em and bring a good amount of cash!

Thats what I plan on doing ... cool looking and playing guitars if you find the right one

[Hackubus]

I've got a 67 SG Special with a tiny neck that I'm not really a fan of, and a 62 LP Junior (SG Body) and it's neck is kind of Ibanez wide 'n thin.

I rocked the 62 at practice last night, and that guitar is very fat sounding for no more than what it is.

Personally, I'd avoid the 70s/80s models with the small block inlays & the Schaller harmonica bridges & look for a nice used 00s RI model.

[BCR Greg]

Hamer doesn't make an SG, but there IS a "Hamer/SG" out there. I know someone who put a Blitz neck from a trashed Blitz. Pretty cool looking if ya ask me. I'm sure someone could post pics at some point.

Who would DO such a thing?

[kizanski]

Hamer doesn't make an SG, but there IS a "Hamer/SG" out there. I know someone who put a Blitz neck from a trashed Blitz. Pretty cool looking if ya ask me. I'm sure someone could post pics at some point.

A guitar like that with a Sustain Block would be KILLER!

[ac15]

My first "real" guitar when I was a teenager was an SG. I eventually sold it after I got a Tele because the neck was too skinny (which I initially liked) and I could never keep the guitar in tune. I felt like I couldn't really pick or strum hard or it would go out of tune. Lately though, I've sort of regained an interest in SG's.

[alpep]

zappa

i have owned several many were basket cases. thin fast necks

don't lean them against an amp and knock into them.

[BCR Greg]

A guitar like that with a Sustain Block would be KILLER!

Oh, HELL, YEAH!

[Craig S]

Like this? 92' Standard with a big chunky neck. I had a few early 90's that have been well built and good playing guitars. This one has the biggest neck I've run across. I generally prefer SG's to most guitars with the exception of Tele's this one's a keeper.

[DaveH]

Chris, if you're serious about an SG and aren't hung up on getting an old one, then spring for a later model '61 Reissue. I have a 1996 '61 RI that kills, and the ones that I've compared to the (later model) Standards and Specials are higher quality wood and construction. The RI's are worth the extra money imo.

[Punkavenger]

There was a Angus Young custom shop model out a few years back that was super high quality for around $2500 new (guitar store price... list higher), really nice ... this is different than the regular Angus Young model that is of a lesser quality and still kind of expensive

if you could get a good deal on one of those on ebay for, that would be awesome ... you just have to make sure you're getting the right one!

The 61 reissue sounds great too ... and they look really vintage!

Edited to add ...

Just found a "Gibson custom shop SG Standard historic reissue electric guitar w/maestro"

with genuine "acrylic trapezoid inlays" list price $4,656.00 your price only $2,999.99

fuck Gibson ... buy a Hamer

[Ethan]

My main guitar for quite awhile now has been a 99 SG Special with an ebony fretboard....I only paid about $650 for it but it's just one of those guitars that speaks to you and does everything that you want it to do the first time you play it--I would look around at some and try a bunch out, like any Gibson. If I were to buy a new one from the store I'd get one of the SG Classics with the nice fat neck and the P90 pickups.

[JohnnyB]

My experience is limited, but seems to match the concensus here. Not long after I'd bought an ES-335 Studio, I stopped into a shop that had a used '61 Reissue for about $700-750 (it was about 8 yrs ago). That thing played and sounded great. If I hadn't just sunk my money into the 335 Studio, I would have snatched it up in a heartbeat. It had a nice substantial neck, really nice fretboard, and an open, airy, dimensional sound.

OTOH, when I was getting ready to get an Anniversary in about August '99, for a sanity check I tried a new std. issue Gib SG hanging on the wall. I figured it ought to be a fair comparison between two dual cutaway all-mahogany dual humbucker guitars. The Anniversary made that SG sound like a bad, expensive joke. Thin, ordinary, sort of a brick. The Anniversary had tone and dimensionality galore that that SG would never see.

[m chops]

At risk of showing my ignorance, why wouldn't a Special be the equivalent of an SG ? Both are double cut, mahogany, 24.75 scale, hum or P-90s.

[Stokesdead]

At risk of showing my ignorance, why wouldn't a Special be the equivalent of an SG ? Both are double cut, mahogany, 24.75 scale, hum or P-90s.

B/C Duane Allman never played a special! Duh!

No seriously you are right I have an all mahogany special and I am sure it does everything an SG can. BUT I cant help but be vain the damn things look bad as hell.

~Chris Stokes

[DavidE]

Like this? 92' Standard with a big chunky neck. I had a few early 90's that have been well built and good playing guitars. This one has the biggest neck I've run across. I generally prefer SG's to most guitars with the exception of Tele's this one's a keeper.

Craig knows that I had the Candy Apple Red version of this one. I've also owned a number of SG's over the years. My first was an early 70's with the 1/2 moon pickguard with the controls on it (modded with a stop tailpiece). I've had a mid 70's standard, a 90's cherry Custom and a 2000's standard. I absolutely LOVE the way they look and love the way they weigh. I've liked the necks on many of them. But for some reason, I never seem to keep them. I have some difficulty keeping some of them in tune because the neck is so flexible at the neck joint. I've pretty much given up on owning one again.

[kizanski]

I had one (very) briefly, but it didn't jazz me.

After playing a few of them over the years, my personal opinion is that they look cool, but I hate playing them.

[edgar_allan_poe]

Best guitar I ever owned was a 63 or 64 SG. It was stolen from me at a gig while I was getting a piece of ass in the parking lot. It was a fantastic guitar.

[greggorypeccary]

I had an 87 SG Custom until I traded it for a Monaco! Best move I ever made, gearwise!

[mudshark]

I had an old batwing single p-90 sg of early '60s vintage, trem removed and badass wraparound bridge in its place. couldn't keep the damn thing in tune. It sounded great but I just couldn't seem to keep it in tune...........also tried a couple of others, but had tuning problems with all of them. Is that common with sg's or something?

[Brewmaster]

I picked up an new SG Classic in March. I replaced the stock P-90's with a set of Lollars and have been playing the piss out of it ever since. It is a much better guitar than my first SG, a Standard with a Bigsby I bought in 73.

[Guest pirateflynn]

I love the idea of a SG but I have no experiance with one.

[Steve Haynie]

At risk of showing my ignorance, why wouldn't a Special be the equivalent of an SG ? Both are double cut, mahogany, 24.75 scale, hum or P-90s.

The body thickness is different. An SG body is not much thicker than the neck heel itself. It is not just the bevels.

SG's are the most inconsistent guitars in the Gibson line. Some play great and sound killer. Some play like crap and never really sing.

[straightblues]

My first guitar was a 70's SG Special with P90's. It was a really great guitar but had tuning issues that I could just never resolve. I bought a new SG Special in mid 2004. I went and played at least 50 of them before I bought one. The quality control on SG's are horrendous. I wouldn't even consider buying on unplayed.

I think the magic in the SG line is the lower end Specials. They have the flimsy neck joint and I think it adds significantly to the SG tone. The higher end SG's sound too Les Paulish to my ears.

Anyway, I eventually found a nice Special and I replace the pickups with Duncan Antiquites and had it sounding good. I was very happy with it unitl I bougth a Hamer Artist. The Artist got most of the same tones and was just a much much better guitar. I sold my SG about a year or so ago and have never looked back.

BTW, there is a really good SG forum called Everything SG. http://everythingsg.com/forum/index.php?action=forum