SG equivalent?

pintspiller

Wilshire/Coronet?

Nitefly

Surprised nobody has mentioned the thin-bodied Gordon Smith guitars yet?

fastonebaz

Don't waste money on a gordon Smith

thegummy

Bigsby said:

dindude said:

PRS S2 singlecut or maybe a Reverend Sensei 

I'd also recommend trying out a couple of Reverend Sensei models - I've owned 5 Gibson SGs, and no two sounded quite the same to me, so I'm not even sure exactly what an SG sounds like....   But of all the other guitars I've ever owned, the one that came closest to an SGs was a Sensei. They're available with P90, Reverend humbuckers, or Railhammer pickups (with the latter my personal favourite), so plenty to choose from sound-wise.

The photo below is one I used to own, with an unusual pickup combination - a shame it's not in their regular lineup. You can see the strat-like body contour, making it very comfortable to play, and the bound body is more substantial than an SG, but it's almost as light, being made of Korina. Looks-wise, IMHO, it's better looking when being played than when hanging on a wall; something about the offset body shape just seems to work better when it's in use.



I was impressed enough by this one, I immediately ordered a Spacehawk, which is currently one of my favourites. And since selling the Sensei, I've bough a Manta Ray, so I certainly can recommend Reverends - of course, YMMV.

That's a very intriguing looking pickup at the bridge.

Is that blades for half the strings and poles for the other?

If so, wouldn't it make more sense to have the blades on the higher strings since those will more likely be bent?

Maybe I'm making silly assumptions lol

Bigsby

fastonebaz said:

Don't waste money on a gordon Smith

Depends what you mean by wasting money. An SG junior costs more than a Gordon Smith, and may come complete with any number of QC issues often found on Gibson's mass produced USA models. Whereas the Gordon Smith can be made to your personal specification - if you don't mind the wait - and that includes your own preference for pickups, if you wish.

The Gordon Smith I bought last year equals the best Gibson I've bought in recent years, and surpasses the quality of the other four Gibsons. 

Bigsby

thegummy said:

Bigsby said:

dindude said:

PRS S2 singlecut or maybe a Reverend Sensei 

I'd also recommend trying out a couple of Reverend Sensei models - I've owned 5 Gibson SGs, and no two sounded quite the same to me, so I'm not even sure exactly what an SG sounds like....   But of all the other guitars I've ever owned, the one that came closest to an SGs was a Sensei. They're available with P90, Reverend humbuckers, or Railhammer pickups (with the latter my personal favourite), so plenty to choose from sound-wise.

The photo below is one I used to own, with an unusual pickup combination - a shame it's not in their regular lineup. You can see the strat-like body contour, making it very comfortable to play, and the bound body is more substantial than an SG, but it's almost as light, being made of Korina. Looks-wise, IMHO, it's better looking when being played than when hanging on a wall; something about the offset body shape just seems to work better when it's in use.



I was impressed enough by this one, I immediately ordered a Spacehawk, which is currently one of my favourites. And since selling the Sensei, I've bough a Manta Ray, so I certainly can recommend Reverends - of course, YMMV.

That's a very intriguing looking pickup at the bridge.

Is that blades for half the strings and poles for the other?

If so, wouldn't it make more sense to have the blades on the higher strings since those will more likely be bent?

Maybe I'm making silly assumptions lol

It's a Railhammer - a design Joe Naylor is well known for. They describe the logic of the combination as: Rails under the wound strings for tight clear lows, poles under the plain strings for fat singing highs. The poles have a wide diameter. More info here.

crunchman

fastonebaz said:

Don't waste money on a gordon Smith

Since Auden have bought the company, the QC issues of the last years of the original owner seem to have been resolved.

I'm not sure I like the brass nut, and historically they always seemed to have quite shallow neck profiles that I don't like.

Would definitely be something to try before buying.

Phil_aka_Pip said:

IMO if you want a guitar that sounds like an SG, get an SG!

I'm pretty sure that the OP says he doesn't get on with the geometry of an SG.  I sold mine for the same reason. I remember using it for a long practice (around 5 hours) and had a really sore wrist by the end of it.  I used my Strat the next week and I was fine.  In theory, the Strat should have been harder to play with vintage style frets and a longer scale, but on an SG the far end of the neck is a long way away due to the position of the neck join.  Combine that with the back angle on the neck, and it doesn't put your left in a good playing position. 

ChuckManual

Pretty sure Jon could make you a twin humbucker version if you asked.

http://www.caseguitars.co.uk

dindude

fastonebaz said:

Don't waste money on a gordon Smith

Insightful. Thanks.

daveyh

crunchman said:

fastonebaz said:

Don't waste money on a gordon Smith

Since Auden have bought the company, the QC issues of the last years of the original owner seem to have been resolved.

I'm not sure I like the brass nut, and historically they always seemed to have quite shallow neck profiles that I don't like.

Would definitely be something to try before buying.

Phil_aka_Pip said:

IMO if you want a guitar that sounds like an SG, get an SG!

I'm pretty sure that the OP says he doesn't get on with the geometry of an SG.  I sold mine for the same reason. I remember using it for a long practice (around 5 hours) and had a really sore wrist by the end of it.  I used my Strat the next week and I was fine.  In theory, the Strat should have been harder to play with vintage style frets and a longer scale, but on an SG the far end of the neck is a long way away due to the position of the neck join.  Combine that with the back angle on the neck, and it doesn't put your left in a good playing position. 

It’s the physical shape of the body. It’s not the top of the neck joining a5 the body, had PRS and Firebirds that do that and no problems. It’s literally that the body is too small, it feels insubstantial. The firebird studio I had was basically a firebird shaped SG but didn’t get on with the headstock being upside down from a normal firebird so that went. That’s why the Sensei’s and Revstars are interesting, SGs with bigger bodies

pintspiller

ChuckManual said:

Pretty sure Jon could make you a twin humbucker version if you asked.

http://www.caseguitars.co.uk

Given me the horn that has.

Funkfingers

dindude said:

fastonebaz said:

Don't waste money on a gordon Smith

Insightful. Thanks.

Having owned one and worked on a couple, I found some aspects of Gordon-Smith electric guitars excellent whilst other aspects were inexplicably naff. Small, niggly things like the pots and jack socket being squeezed up unnecessarily close together. I have my doubts about the height-adjustable brass nut. I have never heard a G-S in-house pickup that I liked.

This is just my opinion. If you are content to rotate control knobs with chopsticks or forceps, be my guest. 

fastonebaz

fastonebaz said:

Don't waste money on a gordon Smith

Take a read here

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/2097978/

Bigsby

Funkfingers said:

Having owned one and worked on a couple, I found some aspects of Gordon-Smith electric guitars excellent whilst other aspects were inexplicably naff. Small, niggly things like the pots and jack socket being squeezed up unnecessarily close together. I have my doubts about the height-adjustable brass nut. I have never heard a G-S in-house pickup that I liked.

This is just my opinion. If you are content to rotate control knobs with chopsticks or forceps, be my guest. 

Well, if you must buy one of those flashy, complex guitars with too many pickups and knobs....

Seriously, the controls on the four knob models do look uncomfortably close - though I've not played one. In fact, for my taste, they're a bit too crammed together on an SG. Especially when you've also got fiddly push/pulls on the volume. I used to think a four knob layout was the 'right' way to do it, and anything less was inconvenient - but these days I just work with whatever is there, and if anything my preferred layout is the Reverend set up; volume in reach of the pinky, with bass and treble controls.

And I can't stand front mounted jacks (apart from Strats), which most SGs have too. A big plus for me on the GS1000 model was having a side mounted jack. I think Gibson should've retained the side mounted jack from the 80s SGs - but I guess most of the market they're selling into wants everything to be traditional.

bluenile

How about a vintage Yamaha Superflighter? Intended to mimic the sounds of an SG and shouldn't break the bank if you can find a reasonable seller

HAL9000

Yamaha Revstar RS820CR?