Tell me about the SG

alanohagan

So it appears I’ve developed an SG itch that may need scratching soon.
what would you suggest are the best ones to look out for

Kittyfrisk

Heritage cherry or White.

alanohagan

Kittyfrisk said:

Heritage cherry or White.

LoL

pintspiller

I prefer them to Les Pauls. They sound better with P90s. More model variations than most of Gibson's other guitars.

Danielsguitars

I don't like the way they feel to play but like the idea 

Kittyfrisk

Mine has the 490/ 498 pickups & I really like them.

Philtre

SG Standard in Heritage Cherry with a cloth strap.

jonnyburgo

I love love love them and have owned probably 10 of various pedigrees, Had posters of Angus on my wall as a starry eyed 8yr old.

The day I had to admit they just aren't for me was a very sad one. I'll probably get another one though at some point, you know just to try again like.

brucegill

You won’t need a Trem! 

Jota

I was a tele guy for years until I got the SG in my profile pic.
Had some trouble with the original bridge but wraparound bridges are more problematic. 
Other than that, I love the sound, the weight... 
I wish I could afford a Standard with humbuckers. 

merlin

I have a Classic from 2009 with P90s. It's great. It has a PCB but I can live with that as the pots work really well. No neck dive, great neck and excellent sounding and playing. What's not to like?

TTBZ

Once you figure out how to position them properly on a strap (hang it more to the right on your hip, neck pointing up) they're very comfortable. I struggle with most other guitars now because an SG just disappears thanks to the thin body, contours and upper fret access. Makes a strat feel bulky and awkward to me.

The downside is I think they're mostly pretty ugly and I hate the "Angus" connotations they bring up. Cherry red SG is up there in the boring stereotypical guitar looks with sunburst/red strat and butterscotch Tele for me. Also I find mine to sound a bit mid-focused and one dimensional/flat compared to something like a LP so it's not as inspiring to play. This is improved with P90s to some degree. I think these days I'd rather have a PRS Mira which is the same sort of thing but not as typical. 

rze99

Listen to live at Leeds. More powerful than any words. 

stickyfiddle

Gibson’s best solidbody imo.

Personally a Standard with PAFs is the best option. P90 ones are great rock rock but not so sweet for other styles.  You can’t do this on a P90 one...

The really great clean stuff starts at  3:50 but the noisy stuff at the beginning is great too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwNM62TZ78I&t=230s

DrJazzTap

I've had mine twenty years, id never think about parting with it. They are incredibly versatile, I've played jazz, funk, rock, dub and blues on mine. 
Never had an issue with supposed neck dive. I bought a suede strap which probably helps. Mine is a 98 standard, I really like the sound of the 490 and 498 pickups, I know they get a lot of flack. To me the guitar just made more sense than a les paul, better upper fret access, lighter and lets be honest not as old man looking

PonchoGreg

I had one for a pretty long time and I always thought it more versatile than an LP given its less thick tone and slightly brighter neck pickup. A combination of a PAF style neck pickup and something slightly hotter for the bridge works wonders in running the gamut from jazz/blues to pop to rock to metal. An SG with two P90s is also a thing of beauty.

It's also super light, incredible upper fret access (obvs).

Definitely has its quirks though, from neck dive (on some but not all) to cramped control placement, to a propensity for dead spots, to iffy tuning stability. So it's something that needs to be tried first, for sure.

But if you find something you like, you can get a great US-made instrument with a lot of character for about £700-800 (used), which is pretty damn good value for money if you ask me.

impmann

The most versatile Gibson imho.

I love mine 

Emiel

PonchoGreg said:

I had one for a pretty long time and I always thought it more versatile than an LP given its less thick tone and slightly brighter neck pickup. A combination of a PAF style neck pickup and something slightly hotter for the bridge works wonders in running the gamut from jazz/blues to pop to rock to metal. An SG with two P90s is also a thing of beauty.

It's also super light, incredible upper fret access (obvs).

Definitely has its quirks though, from neck dive (on some but not all) to cramped control placement, to a propensity for dead spots, to iffy tuning stability. So it's something that needs to be tried first, for sure.

But if you find something you like, you can get a great US-made instrument with a lot of character for about £700-800 (used), which is pretty damn good value for money if you ask me.

+1. This. Try a couple to see which neck is up to your liking. There is quite some variety. I couldn't bond for instance with the pretty thick, wide neck on a SG Classic, while others might be loving it.

TeleMaster

They look very cool but they can suffer from neck dive and like most Gibsons they can have tuning stability issues. You’ll have to play a good fee to find the right one. 

Voxman

I came to SGs quite late. I picked mine up used. It's a 2006, 2 HB pickup SG Standard in Heritage Cherry which, for me, is the classic finish. 

Playability is superb, with a very comfortable chunky but not overly thick neck, and tone is really nice with a more open rounded and less aggressive sound than a Les Paul. It's very light and comfortable. Mine has no neck dive, even after upgrading the decidedly average standard vintage deluxe tuners with Grover Rotomatic 18:1 tuners that are brilliant.  

Whilst its arguably not the pretiest guitar perhaps as the double pointed horns are somewhat idiosyncratic but the SG is still a classic and definitely one of my favourites. 

Headphones

The strap button's in the wrong place.

Iommi gets it right (and no, it doesn't break).