Congratulations on your new instrument, that is just a beautiful looking SG I am really liking it,
and drooling.
:dood: 
and drooling.
:dood: 
NGD, another SG Special
- Thread starter SG John
- Start date
SG
OP
SG John
Ambassador of Cool Guitars and Amps.
First thanks for everyone's responses. I bought the guitar because of the color. Really. I was smitten with it in London. I knew that I would have to change a few things, but was hoping to play it untouched for a while. To find an original from the sixties in this color is way too cost prohibitive, and I would want to play it over putting it into a vault. If I had one of the only Stradivarius guitars ever made, I would also play that. It's the way I am.
Gibson is never going to change, even when being called out. As soon as I can put a bit more time into the guitar, Gibson will get an email from me regarding the studs being mounted in the wrong position, the tailpiece being poop quality with chrome flaking off and the adjusting set screws binding in poorly tapped and masked holes. Yeah, I don't want to spend money on it, but I'll be doubling my purchases to finally fix up my '62 and play it more often. I also saw on MojoAxe's website that they make reproduction '58 Flying V and '58 Explorer pickguards. I need those for my two builds that I need to jump back onto when my cellar renovations get done. They'll be getting a nice chunk of a paycheck sometime.
I expect some sort of lame response from Gibson, as they are not accustomed to complaints from people with my machining background. Or knowing how to build and maintain a guitar properly. I'm sure most people just fix the problems and move on.
The reason they will never change is not on the backs of the people on the shop floor. They are given quotas of how many guitars need to cross their bench every day, or they can pound the pavement. Inspection is probably also given orders on what is/isn't allowed to pass through their hands. I believe the correct verbage for quantifying every second of the day, and breaking the backs/will/spirit/minds of employees is "Worker Productivity." As long as people at the top make millions of dollars a year in salary, while the people building and putting together guitars are lucky to make $30K a year, there will be no change. The only reason Chinese guitars are so nice now is you have an endless child slave labor pool with a gun to their heads telling them to work harder/better/smarter, or they'll die. Gibson is happy to be a part of this with the Epiphone brand, and don't they also own Kramer these days? (Mods can delete this line if they want) I've been in the manufacturing sector for over forty years, and this country is crap, and getting worse. It's all on the heads of CEOs and the government. Other than weapons, aerospace, and medical devices, you will never see anything made here anymore. If it is, it garbage because the people at the top need to bleed their companies dry while not paying a penny in taxes. Then they blame their workers for bad "Productivity." See, that word came up again!
This will most likely be my last new guitar purchase until I find a nice ES335. It will probably be a Heritage if new, or a used Gibson that someone else took a hit on. Maybe someday, I'll get a nice old acoustic. I need to concentrate on getting stuff around the house done so I can finally have a place to write, play, and maybe record some demos. Also to get my shop back in order to finish the several guitars I have started, and waiting in the wings. Maybe, just maybe... I can get one of my six motorcycles that don't run back on the road. Travelling for work the past eleven years has opened my eyes to how much of my life I've lost, and I want to change that. Listening to my old Awakening Stick and Vogon Poets tracks last night took me back to a place I really want to return to. I miss me.
I still like the red SG Special. It is pretty sweet. I think the color is fabulous, and I was happy that the neck is nice, the frets are well done (I don't need to plane and crown them like my '61 Les Paul Reissue), and there are no other problems than stuff I would have eventually ended up replacing to make it more suited to my taste.
Well said John.
Excellent post, and I do hope your projects take the front seat.
Cheers
Mr Grumpy
Ambassador of Comings and Goings
Yes, good post SG John - I agree with all of that.
With regard to the specials, it is sad, but I agree that if the neck is good (and put on at a workable angle) with decent frets and it plays well then maybe that's all one can expect from a Gibson? Maybe 1 in 3 (or less) in a shop would be perfect, so ordering blind is always a risk. But, these specials are really nice and come in some lovely colours so there's lots to like.
With regard to the specials, it is sad, but I agree that if the neck is good (and put on at a workable angle) with decent frets and it plays well then maybe that's all one can expect from a Gibson? Maybe 1 in 3 (or less) in a shop would be perfect, so ordering blind is always a risk. But, these specials are really nice and come in some lovely colours so there's lots to like.
Mr Grumpy
Ambassador of Comings and Goings
SG John, a quick question if I may. These specs on neck size below, I found for my new Special on one of the US websites (I think it was MuzicZoo, and they didn't just copy and paste the 2019 Special specs, but seem to be specific for the vibrola version). Is that the same for your Special would you say?
It makes sense that they are both the same basic guitar off of the 2019 production line (mine was made in February 2019).
It makes sense that they are both the same basic guitar off of the 2019 production line (mine was made in February 2019).
OP
SG John
Ambassador of Cool Guitars and Amps.
Sorry for the slow reply, been a bit busy to dig it out.
Yes, those are the same numbers as my guitar. Wouldn't make sense to have two different specs from a production point of view, but you never know.
Mine is April of '19.
My buddy Delfin and I seen them at the Santa Monica civic, with
38 Special, and Doc Holiday about 81.
Wow that was a long time ago.
Cheers
Mr Grumpy
Ambassador of Comings and Goings
Thank you, Sir. I thought they'd be the same - a nice neck to play. After coming off my Epi LP single cut (which is good to play), there's a big difference in playability; this SG is very easy to play, the fretboard and neck seem to be well done.
OP
SG John
Ambassador of Cool Guitars and Amps.
It does feel a bit more meaty, and I like that. It's very comfortable for me.
My '62 Special is .800 at the first fret and .875 at the 12th.
And then my '61 Tribute from 2013 is .820 at the first fret and .913 at the 12th.
I don't really notice any difference between them though. They are all comfortable. Maybe the new Special has a slightly wider nut, but again not really noticeable.
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
The Santa Monica Civic was one of my favorite venues for concerts...
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
I went and did some P-90 loaded guitar shopping this weekend and I found that the current Jr.'s and Specials have a slightly beefier neck than the standard Slim Taper that the '61's have (or my 2017 SG Standard). It's a really super-comfortable neck. Problem with me though is I left the shop more confused than when I entered...the guitar that really spoke to me is the Les Paul '50's Standard goldtop with P-90's. That damn thing blew my mind but I don't know if I want to drop that kind of cash on what will be kind of a novelty for me.
OP
SG John
Ambassador of Cool Guitars and Amps.
A friend of mine just bought one of those, and posted a bunch of photos on F-B. Didn't help with my LP gas. I need to finish the work on my house so I can finish the guitars I'm in the middle of. Then I can start on the Les Paul builds. One of which is going to be a '54 style Gold Top. Even have the correct bronze powders to mix with the lacquer, and a set of Fralin P-90s set aside..
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gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Good move. Looking forward to seeing the photos of that one!
At the end of the day, the guitar I should probably buy is the LP Special. It checks all the boxes because is has a beefier neck and a neck pickup, but it's not sexy, ya know!