Most beautiful guitar body design of all time? Let’s see some SGs

PonchoGreg

TTBZ said:

TINMAN82 said:

Batwing on ebony, small pickguard on cherry works best I reckon.

Agreed, I still wish I got an ebony one - looks so much cooler than boring old cherry red. Luckily though mine looks more orangey brown in most lights so it's a bit more unique than your typical red.

Here's one for you lot - we always talk about MIJ LPs but what are the SGs like, just as good? 

Very good Q, and I'd love to play one! My ex Tokai LP could hang toe to toe with any LP shy of CS, for about £1000 (including a pickup swap).

But the value proposition might be different for SGs... I came across a video by @JohnCordy the other day that echoes my gut feel: given how close the prices are, it's a much less clear-cut answer than for an LP or 335...

freakboy1610

impmann

PonchoGreg said:

TTBZ said:

TINMAN82 said:

Batwing on ebony, small pickguard on cherry works best I reckon.

Agreed, I still wish I got an ebony one - looks so much cooler than boring old cherry red. Luckily though mine looks more orangey brown in most lights so it's a bit more unique than your typical red.

Here's one for you lot - we always talk about MIJ LPs but what are the SGs like, just as good? 

Very good Q, and I'd love to play one! My ex Tokai LP could hang toe to toe with any LP shy of CS, for about £1000 (including a pickup swap).

But the value proposition might be different for SGs... I came across a video by @JohnCordy the other day that echoes my gut feel: given how close the prices are, it's a much less clear-cut answer than for an LP or 335...

I just don’t see the point of buying an MIJ SG. You can buy a Special for less than £700 and tbh, they are just as good as a Standard. I’ve had both… Aside from the bound fingerboard (which I’m not mad bothered by) and some bigger inlays it’s the same guitar for at least £500 less.

I’ve not played a MIJ that came close to my Special in terms of sound. A good SG isn’t just about the snarly shouty barky thing they do - there’s a *lot* of harmonic content. I’ve not heard that on a copy.

guitarjack66

I had an SG as my first electric guitar but didn't like it at all. Strangely the Yamaha models with similar shapes appeal much more,particularly those new Revstars.

boogieman

 

Pelham Blue SG’s are what all the cool kids have. 

Mine’s a made-in-2000 Gothic, refinished by Rich Rendall. Original black hardware all replaced with chrome, original pickups changed to Mojo P90s. 

AK99

That bottom shot is a great one boogieman. Love it.

boogieman

AK99 said:

That bottom shot is a great one boogieman. Love it.

Maybe you should rephrase that. 

But thanks anyway, it’s a beautiful guitar. 

PC1971

Gotta love the SG. 

https://i.imgur.com/w3C78tW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/pK3d1JN.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OdhjHxY.jpg

Philly_Q

After seeing this thread the last few days, I dug out a couple of my SGs yesterday evening and as always I thought... meh.  I love the look, but I've never owned one I really like.

danishbacon

https://youtu.be/-mGvt2HFJ7c

AK99

PC1971 said:

Gotta love the SG. 

Yeah - I'd gladly give house room to any - or indeed all three(?) - of those. Cracker looking things PC!

guitargeek62

PC1971 said:

Gotta love the SG. 

*drool*

jumping@shadows

I didn’t ‘get’ SG’s until pretty recently, but they’re now a firm favourite. 

I’ve been thinking of working out the body templates and router bits required to make some vintage replicas, as I have some superb old mahogany not quite thick enough for other builds, but we shall see! 

TTBZ

impmann said:

I just don’t see the point of buying an MIJ SG. You can buy a Special for less than £700 and tbh, they are just as good as a Standard. I’ve had both… Aside from the bound fingerboard (which I’m not mad bothered by) and some bigger inlays it’s the same guitar for at least £500 less.

I’ve not played a MIJ that came close to my Special in terms of sound. A good SG isn’t just about the snarly shouty barky thing they do - there’s a *lot* of harmonic content. I’ve not heard that on a copy.

Fair enough - I thought new Gibson Specials/Juniors were more expensive tbh but around a grand isn't bad which means a bit less used.. I may have to keep an eye out for one on the used market to go with my Standard!

Kittyfrisk

Philly_Q said:

After seeing this thread the last few days, I dug out a couple of my SGs yesterday evening and as always I thought... meh.  I love the look, but I've never owned one I really like.

Daft (genuinely not sarcastic) question time.
If you didn't like them, why did you buy at least two?

Philly_Q

Kittyfrisk said:

Philly_Q said:

After seeing this thread the last few days, I dug out a couple of my SGs yesterday evening and as always I thought... meh.  I love the look, but I've never owned one I really like.

Daft (genuinely not sarcastic) question time.
If you didn't like them, why did you buy at least two?

It's a fair question.  I do like SGs, I really do.  I've owned 12 (I think) over the last 30-odd years, including a Greco and a few Tokais.  I like the body shape, I like the look, I don't even mind the neck-heaviness.  And It's the perfect guitar for stoner/doom metal....!

But I've never managed to find one I really like, except perhaps my SG-X and the Pete Townshend SG Special (I stupidly sold the latter).  One of the Tokais is pretty good too, to be fair.

As for the two SGs in question, I actually bought them both at around the same time, both eBay purchases from the USA which happened to appear when I had SG GAS.  One's an early Robot SG (2007), in metallic green with an ebony board - it looks great although I hate the robot tuners.  The other's a 50th Anniversary (2011) SG Standard 24 - like a Standard but with two extra frets.  Again, it looks cool, all black and the body is super-pointy and contoured.

So far so good, but whenever I pick them up I just find them uninspiring.  The necks don't feel great - too thin, although they're meant to be "rounded" - and they both sound thin, plinky.... I wonder if the green one might be OK if I ditched all the robot hardware and electronics, but it might make little difference. 

I'm sure there's a great SG for me out there somewhere, but I haven't found it yet.

(I hope nobody remembers this post if I ever try to sell them in the classifieds....)

AK99

^ You definitely have at least one too many SGs Phil. That robot one's never going to do it for you - time you stopped beating yourself up on it and flogged it to me..

Re this thread in general btw.. I tend to start out loving such threads with loads of cracker looking pictures of SGs, but then I start to go into buyer 'shortlisting mode', and starting to scrutinise all of the microscopic differences in features - and in particular the subtle variations in body carves - and end up convincing myself I need to start hunting for The One again.

Every bl00dy time. Damn yis   

Philly_Q

AK99 said:

^ You definitely have at least one too many SGs Phil. That robot one's never going to do it for you - time you stopped beating yourself up on it and flogged it to me..

Just to make it worse, I can't charge the shitty robot tuners because it's a US charger... but you did tell me how to unlock the tuners and use them manually, which was handy. 

AK99 said:

Re this thread in general btw.. I tend to start out loving such threads with loads of cracker looking pictures of SGs, but then I start to go into buyer 'shortlisting mode', and starting to scrutinise all of the microscopic differences in features - and in particular the subtle variations in body carves - and end up convincing myself I need to start hunting for The One again.
 

The Standard 24 really does have a nice body carve, more contouring and more pointiness in the horns than most.  But it does have the modern style of neck joint, which is probably sturdier although they use the early-'60s joint on Custom Shop models.  It also has a Nashville bridge, ABR-1 would look (and possibly sound) better I think.

LastMantra

SGs look cool. I've never actually played one though.

AK99

Philly_Q said:

The Standard 24 really does have a nice body carve, more contouring and more pointiness in the horns than most.  But it does have the modern style of neck joint, which is probably sturdier although they use the early-'60s joint on Custom Shop models.  It also has a Nashville bridge, ABR-1 would look (and possibly sound) better I think.

At the risk - nay certainty - of lowering the tone of this great thread, I felt the urge to post my budget 2001 ebony 'Vintage' SG project beside a real one, to see how close the carves are..




The horns on the original are better - much pointier, down to the larger scallop taken out of the cutaway. 
(10 mins with a spoke-shaver, some black touchup paint and you'd be almost there, I'd say.. )

Carry on.