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So, I bought an SG - Updated NGD


LucSulla

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If you can put it in your hand first then go right ahead and buy one. I've played ones with loose necks, steep neck angles and some that just feel all wrong. But when they are right they are right. I'll end up with a 61 Reissue down the line, I like the neck profiles and the neck angle is pretty flat compared to some. 

 

 

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13 minutes ago, crunchee said:

They're light, but I'm not a fan of the thin body or the neck joint.  I wish they still made the bodies out of one piece of mahogany as a rule.

You're wrong. Just as wrong as I was about the "neck joint." Purchased a 2005 '61RI and it is totally solid, with a one-piece body.

I was a hater, now I'm prestidigitator.

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I've actually been on the hunt for a bargain SG/Melody maker from the 60's.  You can find them in custom colors and as far as I know the body is virtually identical - they just didn't glue the "wings" onto the headstock.  I imagine you might have to upgrade the pickups to a hotter single coil to keep up with other guitars (or use a katana or something outboard).  Agreed with the others on the 61 reissue, that's probably the best recent model.  

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1966-Gibson-SG-Melody-Maker-Pelham-Blue-with-OSSC-Original-Soft-Case-/272421194911?hash=item3f6d918c9f%3Ag%3AFNsAAOSwXAJYVvoB&nma=true&si=Fz8iIoPkqUn8YCrharRbTv8GTUg%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

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I should have said that I don't include Custom Shop models and/or the '61 RI.  They're out of my price range, new OR used.  So are R8s and R9s, for that matter.  And at those prices, they'd better have one piece bodies.  <_<

A few years ago, I did get a couple of beat up and stripped mid-late '60's SG/MM husks (no original hardware, just the wood part) with the thoughts of making them into usuable guitars again.  I didn't have the facilities or money to really do anything substantial that was worth the effort though, so I got rid of them.  I wasn't a fan of the narrow necks of '60's Gibsons either (I wonder if that's where the idea of the early '80's narrow Hamer necks came from?), so it wasn't a hard decision to make.

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Had a Gibson 1991 SG. Good guitar, but could never touch my Hamer Sunbursts and Vanguard/Artist. It became a closet queen, so I sold it.

 

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6 hours ago, Thundersteel said:

I'm loving' my SG Supreme!

DSCF0044_zpsi9igzwuz.jpg

VERY nice!!!

I had a '00 exactly like that one that I picked up about 2 yrs. at a pawnshop in almost mint condition for $625,

I snagged it for the price of the crazy low price I got it for.

I kept it about a year, and had to let it go as the neck was a little too big for my hand, and it had a very bad neck dive.

I was part of the 4 guitar sale to pick up my '63 Gibson ES-330.

I sorta regretted it, but a year after selling my supreme,I found a '71 SG Deluxe in a pawnshop, so it all worked out.

Here's pics of both:

15606402093_5d68291925_c.jpg20557538689_a36a456831_c.jpg

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6 hours ago, RobB said:

You're wrong. Just as wrong as I was about the "neck joint." Purchased a 2005 '61RI and it is totally solid, with a one-piece body.

I was a hater, now I'm prestidigitator.

Hey, it's level 1, but at least you're a magic-user now. ;)

 

 

Regarding SGs, I love Frank Zappa's work, but I've never found an SG that I really got along with.

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You have "Good" Sg's and "Bad" Sg's, so you just need to get one in yours hand before buying on. The SG JR that I bought a while back was a feather with a nice medium neck and a strong neck joint. Acousticly Loud and rang true with no dead spots. Go for it and good luck! 

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3 hours ago, Disturber said:

Had a Gibson 1991 SG. Good guitar, but could never touch my Hamer Sunbursts and Vanguard/Artist. It became a closet queen, so I sold it.

 

Same here.  I've owned two SGs.  Both were very good guitars, but neither could hold a candle to a Hamer so both were sold.  

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My first 'real' guitar was--and is--still have it, a '70 SG I bought new about a year after

I started playing.  The Woodstock movie made a huge impression on my nascent

musical journey, and it seemed just about everyone in that flick had one, so natch, I had to

have one too.  Then again, Townshend and Santana weren't bad guys to copy, and I

knew that Clapton used them in the Cream days.  That being said, I'd take a LP over an SG anyday...

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SG-2016-Full.JPG

If you're looking for a basic SG Std that won't break the bank, then the 2016 Standard Ts can't be beat if you like a larger neck on your guitars (Mine is 1.06" at the 12th fret). The new 2017 SG is different with the smaller pickguard and the Slim Taper neck. SGs are also great platforms for modding. I like the stock 490r/498t pickups well enough, but I put in a set of Dimarzio PAF Pros that I got from Bubs and it changed it from a rock monster to a do anything monster. I also changed out the circuit board pots for a set of 500ks when I swapped the pickups and changed the bridge to an ABR-1 with conversion posts. I swapped the bridge mainly because I like the look of the ABR-1 bridge over the Nashville, and not for any major tonal change. In fact, I moved the 2016's Nashville to my SG Classic because how stable it was.

SG-Classic-Full.jpg

Speaking of that SG Classic, If you're looking used, then the SG Classic is about the best value in SGs there is. You can usually find them $650-750 all day long. I've added a Bigsby B7 with a Towner Bar and a Vibramate Spoiler. It had a set of Mojotone P90s in it when I bought it, but I would have been just as happy with the stock Gibsons. I can cover just about any style of music with this guitar.

If you're looking at an older SG, keep in mind that from early-mid 1965 to the early eighties, the nut-width was a minuscule 1 9/16". Some of the late sixties SG are exceptional values on the used market, but if you're like me you won't like that neck.

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As an OFR kinda guy, the SG is the one guitar sans trem I have bought time and time again.  As Bubs said, when they're right, they're right! I figure once I get over my obsession for Floyds and long scale, I'll be getting another SG.

 

 

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22 minutes ago, LucSulla said:

Will this be before or after aerially adept pigs are reigning over an icy Hell? :D

:lol:  Yeah, I wouldn't set any time pieces for this event. But I've made peace with my Lester Axcess and I got along splendidly with a Floyded SG (before I foolishly sold it). Weening off the wiggle stick is all that's left between me and complete acceptance of short scale, non trem-ed, 22 fretted axes. :rolleyes:

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Lol, you and Kerry King.  

 

4 hours ago, mrjamiam said:

I also bought a mid-60's Melody Maker husk for fairly cheap, and got murkat to build it out.  It's now a beast.

You could also think about a PRS Mira to cover much of the same ground with more consistent quality.


My interest here is more just buying up solid Gibsons of various models that aren't outrageously expensive.  I believe I am possibly starting a blue collar collection of sorts.  I also don't get on much with PRSi.  To me it's like choosing between a Lexus and an Alfa Romeo.  The Lexus is a better car by every objective engineering metric, but I'd still take a good Alfa Romeo over one all day long. 

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Personally, I'm an SG fan. I like the thin, beveled body and easy access to the upper frets.

I have two: a walnut-finish Standard-B (the B is for Bigsby), bought new in 1975 and a white '79 Standard bought used in 1981. Maybe it's something to do with the 70s-era deeper-set neck, but I've never had any problems with neck dive or neck-related tuning problems.

SG_40th_01.jpg

 

DSC_0089.jpg

 

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