What's your opinion of the Gibson SG ??

1poorplayer

1poorplayer

Power User
Since the recent death of Malcolm Young , ACDC's history and music has been on mind.

The sound of the Young brother's guitars have certainly made an impression on the world.

I am a long-time Gibson Les Paul player , but I could never bond with the SG. For one , the way it hangs , putting the neck further away , was always a distraction for me.

So my question is , does anyone here - regularly play an SG ? ...and
What do YOU think of the guitar in general ?
 
The last SG I had was a 1965 SG. Always loved the tone, and the shape. The neck was the "fretless wonder" so the frets felt small and flat. I prefer super jumbos. All in all, it is one of the few guitars I regret selling.
 
Try as I might, I was never able to bond with an SG. Most felt a little neck heavy. The ones I spent some time with rarely stayed in tune, and while I never experienced it directly, I have heard a number of horror stories regarding the neck joint. A buddy of mine once described them as being like Ford's in that every once in a while you can find a good one... which sadly applies to most recent Gibson product these days.

Having said that, I love what Derek Trucks does with his... Angus goes without saying.

Only my opinion and experience of course...Clearly good ones do exist.
 
It just seems like I never hear of someone saying they are an exclusive SG player. LPs , strats , tele , EB , PRS , etc , but hardly ever hear about SG - love.

I'm guessing it was Gibson's attempt at an answer to Fender's thin , lightweight , more economical guitar. I believe I read that Les Paul didn't like it , and requested his name be taken off from it , at it's start. (?)
 
I had a 61 Reissue SG that I played and gigged for a while. Cool guitar and in the end it was just too different from anything else own for all the reasons stated above. I also don't really want to collect guitars. If I did I'd probably keep it as just an iconic rock machine but decided to move it on and get myself another PRS instead :)
 
The only Gibson I've bonded with is the Explorer, as I was a huge U2 fan. But the SG looks nice also, and very heavy metal thanks to my other guitar hero, Tony Iommi. To me it looks and sounds like the SG is a lighter better playable version of the Les Paul. Which I dislike. Had one, never liked it.
 
When I was in school a few years back most of the "guitarists" around were big SG Fans that either played one or wanted one.
Like most youngsters they played copies like Epiphones but some had Gibsons too. The interesting part is that nearly all the SG guys stopped playing guitar entirely after some time.
This is probably a coincidence but it looked to me as the SG gathers the most attention of players that are not that interested in the hobby. So they quit after a while.

A Gibson SG hater could say the SG made them stop. But that's probably bullshit;)
 
Most high school guitar players ultimately give up guitar playing. You go to different schools, drift apart, find different hobbies, get a job that consumes most of your life, get a wife, maybe kids, those consume the remaining parts of your life.

Maybe the real question to ask is not why so many quit the hobby, but why so many are crazy enough to continue?
 
I have three and they vary widely ...my first is a 78 warhorse that travelled with me through my busiest gigging years in the 80s and 90s...weighs 5 1/2 lbs, survived a couple headstock breaks at the infamous neck joint...also a Custom Shop
SG/Les Paul that won’t stay in tune, and the Zappa Roxy SG, a very limited release based on Franks heavily modded SG that he used through the 70s.....awesome guitar, but almost Impossible to find
 
Have several electrics incl SG standard (2008). I play the SG 90% of the time despite my SG's short comings (does not stay in tune very long, strings tend to bind at nut, scratchy pots (gotta fix those)).

What I love about it is:
- nice round tone.
- I like 2vol / 2tone configs.
- comfortable fit of the thin body.
- light weight.
- feels easy to play maybe due to short scale length
- I like the small (thin) frets.
- love the look (Fyi - I'm a lefty Sabbath fan).
- has that special mojo that some guitars seem to have, or at least perceived to have by their owners.

All this means I'll have my sg for life, and need to protect it with my life since, for lefties, there's a much slimmer chance of finding that special guitar that speaks to you.
 
My very first electric guitar (in 6th grade) was a Sears SG copy. After two years, my dad bought me a used genuine 1974 Gibson SG (for $320).

I loved that guitar. I loved the thin neck, the thin body, the double cutaways with total fret access, the PAF pickups, the Grover machines, the 'harmonica' bridge with wide saddle travel, the location of the controls, the light weight, the mahogany body and neck, the unbound ebony fingerboard, the cherry walnut finish, everything.

I didn't realize how much I liked it until years after I sold it. I looked on eBay to consider getting another, and was shocked at how much they cost now. I'll always have a soft spot for this guitar.
 
Always loved the look/shape, but the balance is off. The top strap button is too low and too far back to keep the neck up. A thicker body would help a bit with the balance. They do have great fret access though.
 
I never had a balance problem. The neck on my 74 was super-thin and narrow. I've seen later models that were huge by comparison. I also used a wide leather strap, so that may have helped.
 
mr_fender said:
Always loved the look/shape, but the balance is off. The top strap button is too low and too far back to keep the neck up. A thicker body would help a bit with the balance. They do have great fret access though.
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Your post echoes my opinion of an SG; love the look, shape, fret access, overall weight, tones, but every one I've played was neck heavy and unbalanced. I can't deal with that so I've never thought of acquiring one.
 
MesaGuitarGuy said:
you'd think Gibson would have figured that out by now.
Every Gibby I've had, had the G string issue
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Yep common issue, particularly on D and G strings. It's the pull angle across the nut and fairly extreme headstock back angle. Puts extra down and side pressure on the nut slots and they can bind from the excess friction. Other traditional/wide 3x3 headstocks can have the same issue, like on many acoustic guitars. The hockey stick headstock on the Explorer can have the same problem on the high strings.
 
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