The SG Special appreciation thread
- Thread starter Sérgio
- Start date
SG Special appreciation?
I appreciate this one!
One thing I like about the Specials is the unpretentious, straightforward nature of their design.
Then again, I went a made bodacious tailpiece extension for mine, so maybe I shouldn't say anything!
I appreciate this one!
One thing I like about the Specials is the unpretentious, straightforward nature of their design.
Then again, I went a made bodacious tailpiece extension for mine, so maybe I shouldn't say anything!
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According to this Wikipedia article, the Special was introduced as a variant model in 1961, right alongside the SG Standard, itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_SG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_SG
Gahr
Ambassador of Blues & Brews
What's not to like about SG Specials (or SGs in general, for that matter)?
When you say a faded brown SG Special, I take it you mean one of the newer ones (relatively speaking) with humbuckers and a batwing? They are really great value for money guitars.
However, they tend to come with a set of 490T and 490R pickups, and in my experience, and I think @Col Mustard is with me on this one, the T490 leaves a bit to be desired. I was never comfortable with it in my faded Special, and I ended up swapping it for a 57 Classic+. Others may very well be able to make the 490T sound great, so I won't say it is a bad pickup.
But I say hell yes!, by all means buy a SG Special Faded! Mine's cherry, but many days I kind of think the brown ones look better.
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OP
Sérgio
Ambassador of CaliZilian Affairs
Yes, Gahr, it's this one
I really like it. I'm researching though, one thing that will most likely seem silly to many here, but that matters to me.
I'm trying to find out if back in the 60s or 70s you could pick up an Sg special in that color, with a batwing... I know it's not a "vintage" SG I'm buying, but I like my guitars to have the main characteristics of the original old ones, like my strats.
But it's a real player, that's for sure! I love the color, the stripped down looks and the "road partner" overall aura in this guitar.
I really like it. I'm researching though, one thing that will most likely seem silly to many here, but that matters to me.
I'm trying to find out if back in the 60s or 70s you could pick up an Sg special in that color, with a batwing... I know it's not a "vintage" SG I'm buying, but I like my guitars to have the main characteristics of the original old ones, like my strats.
But it's a real player, that's for sure! I love the color, the stripped down looks and the "road partner" overall aura in this guitar.
Col Mustard
Ambassador of Perseverance
So... I fear you must give up the idea that an SG faded special has anything in common with 1960s Gibsons.
They are two different animals entirely. Comparisons are futile, and will only lead to frustration.
Don't try to compare the neck joint, or the cutaway bevels, or the knobs or the pick guard or the
pickups or the tuners or the nut or the bridge or the lacquer, or anything. They are all different.
If you really want to make a replica of a 60s SG special, you might get a bare body from
a place like this:
https://stratosphereparts.com/bodies-with-necks/
Then you could start at the beginning, and order the white button tuners, and the batwing P-90 setup
and the wrapover bridge, and the witch hat knobs, the bone nut and all. You'd end up with something that was close to
what Pete Townshend would have played. He often bought an SG and removed the whammy bar or the tuna matic
and installed his favorite wrapover bridge, so you can see pictures of him playing SGs with holes where those parts
used to be. But that's a completely different guitar from the faded special of this century. It's excellent, but different.
Ignoring discussions of 60s Gibsons entirely (It was a long time ago)...
And 70s Gibsons were all over the place, the special was actually discontinued for a while.
I'll give you some pointers about the current crop of Gibson SG faded specials, and encourage you to
consider what they ARE, rather than what they are not.
What they are is an affordable Gibson SG that has all the rawk and kerang, but none of the bling.
That's where Gibson saves enough money that they can offer the faded special at a low price.
Used ones sell here in the USA for about $450- $500. Those are an excellent bargain.
The faded special is a design unique to the 21st century, and shares body shape with the
early Gibsons but nothing else. To me, the modern neck joint itself makes the new SGs
a much better guitar.
Gibson came up with the concept in the late 90s maybe, or early oughts. The idea was to produce an SG that
resembled (superficially) an old SG that had been played a lot but lovingly cared for... and to offer it at an
entry level price. I think they nailed it. The faded finish really does look somewhat like what a 40-50 year old
SG does, one that was cherry red when new. It's not 'artificially aged" meaning that they don't put dents in them
or sand off areas where your picking arm would swing. But it looks vaguely old. Especially the faded brown.
This concept took off as a wild success, and Gibson sold these guitars by the truck load. And rightly so, they are
excellent. The neck shape is called "fifties rounded" even though there were no SGs in the fifties. I would describe
the neck shape as "fast and comfortable." So it's an excellent neck that bears no resemblance to the necks of 60s
or 70s Gibsons, but is great on its own.
I bought one. Mine's a 2007, and it's my favorite instrument, I boastingly say it's the best guitar of any kind that I
have ever played. Highly recommended
They are two different animals entirely. Comparisons are futile, and will only lead to frustration.
Don't try to compare the neck joint, or the cutaway bevels, or the knobs or the pick guard or the
pickups or the tuners or the nut or the bridge or the lacquer, or anything. They are all different.
If you really want to make a replica of a 60s SG special, you might get a bare body from
a place like this:
https://stratosphereparts.com/bodies-with-necks/
Then you could start at the beginning, and order the white button tuners, and the batwing P-90 setup
and the wrapover bridge, and the witch hat knobs, the bone nut and all. You'd end up with something that was close to
what Pete Townshend would have played. He often bought an SG and removed the whammy bar or the tuna matic
and installed his favorite wrapover bridge, so you can see pictures of him playing SGs with holes where those parts
used to be. But that's a completely different guitar from the faded special of this century. It's excellent, but different.
Ignoring discussions of 60s Gibsons entirely (It was a long time ago)...
And 70s Gibsons were all over the place, the special was actually discontinued for a while.
I'll give you some pointers about the current crop of Gibson SG faded specials, and encourage you to
consider what they ARE, rather than what they are not.
What they are is an affordable Gibson SG that has all the rawk and kerang, but none of the bling.
That's where Gibson saves enough money that they can offer the faded special at a low price.
Used ones sell here in the USA for about $450- $500. Those are an excellent bargain.
The faded special is a design unique to the 21st century, and shares body shape with the
early Gibsons but nothing else. To me, the modern neck joint itself makes the new SGs
a much better guitar.
Gibson came up with the concept in the late 90s maybe, or early oughts. The idea was to produce an SG that
resembled (superficially) an old SG that had been played a lot but lovingly cared for... and to offer it at an
entry level price. I think they nailed it. The faded finish really does look somewhat like what a 40-50 year old
SG does, one that was cherry red when new. It's not 'artificially aged" meaning that they don't put dents in them
or sand off areas where your picking arm would swing. But it looks vaguely old. Especially the faded brown.
This concept took off as a wild success, and Gibson sold these guitars by the truck load. And rightly so, they are
excellent. The neck shape is called "fifties rounded" even though there were no SGs in the fifties. I would describe
the neck shape as "fast and comfortable." So it's an excellent neck that bears no resemblance to the necks of 60s
or 70s Gibsons, but is great on its own.
I bought one. Mine's a 2007, and it's my favorite instrument, I boastingly say it's the best guitar of any kind that I
have ever played. Highly recommended
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Alex_SG
Ambassador of Trippy Rock
Sergio my brother, I have 2 SG Specials.
Firstly, my awesome little TV Yellow Epiphone 50th Anniversary '61 SG Special, which is an awesome little guitar. I love it, and would never get rid of it.
I also have a 2011 Gibson SG Special in worn brown, and it ROCKS. As you describe it, a "stripped down road rocker".
The pickups are really well voiced, the neck is slick... It's so easy to play this guitar fast.
I love my SG Faded Special. I love the neck, the weight, the overall feel. The only thing I have changed is the control knobs, as I found them a bit slick.
Some people don't like the pickups... I personally love them. They are definite "rock machines".
There's also something "organic" about playing a stripped down mahogany slab... The clean tone I get through a tube amp is just unbelievable. There's no thick layers of lacquer or poly - Just the natural tone of the wood.
I hope this helps you make a decision... I can't find anything about this guitar I don't like. It's perfect, at least to me, as it is... This one, like the Epiphone '61 SG Special, is a keeper.
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It's a little more complicated than that. My 1974 SG Special has the small pickguard. As an added twist, for just a few years in the '70s, the Specials also had small, block inlays, instead of dots. My '74 is one of those.
Gibson went back and forth with the small pickguard and the batwing over the years.
Col Mustard
Ambassador of Perseverance
since I'm a fan of the SG faded special
and now that I've dispensed with your idea of comparing a new one with an old one...
I'll show you some pictures of one of Gibsons best success stories. I don't know how many
of these faded specials they sold between 2000 and 2013 when they stupidly discontinued them
but they sold a lot. This is what mine looked like new: I named her Luna.
I absolutely fell arse over teakettle for my 07 faded special. It was on a display rack at GC when I
came shambling through in 2008 on another errand. I saw the SGs out of the corner of my eye and did a perfect
double take... "Is that a faded special?" It was, but she was on a rack of SGs, some of which cost more than
twice what her price tag said (About $600 if I remember right)... She called me over from about ten meters away
at least. "play me...'
I took down the first SG in reach. A shiny one. I tuned it and strummed it... yeah yeah...
I took down the second one, with the cool faded finish. I tuned her and she responded sweetly. I played a chord
or two... WOW, what a difference. She practically raised the hair on the back of my neck ( all I have left...)
The brown one sounded GREAT unplugged. I put it back, trying to be cool. I had not intended to be buying
any guitar that evening. I took down the next one which had very lovely gloss and binding and a very high
price. It didn't respond as well or sound as good to my ear. I put it back.
I walked away, still trying to pretend I wasn't interested. I looked at the Telecasters and the Epi Les Pauls
but all the time my eye was on the un-named brown SG in the picture above. Finally I admitted to myself that
I was actually terrified that some other gorilla would come over and get his hairy paws on that SG.
I didn't have a gun or a knife to defend her with. (I knew a Tele would work, but still...)
So I went back and took it down again, and played it some more, just to make sure I felt the way I did.
No doubts. That's when the salesman came over. He had likely been watching me, and likely had seen this
happen to unsuspecting guitarists over and over. I asked him, "Do you have a quiet room where I can plug this in?"
He did. I played the SG for nearly an hour before realizing that she was my guitar and the only thing between
me and the highway with her was some paperwork. We did the paperwork, and the salesman pried her out of my
hands so he could "set it up" for me. I allowed it, but watched him like a hawk, suspecting he'd try some kind of
switcheroo... You can see I was slightly crazy about her already. Ah me... that was eight years ago and I still
feel the same way.
And that my friend, is what is possible when you get one of these great instruments. I can't promise that you'll bond
with yours the same way I did, but the potential is there. I'm still head over heels for this one instrument. I have other
cool guitars I play, but this humble faded special is the Queen of my music room. This is what Luna looks like now:
The back of the neck is almost blonde from my thumb going up and down there,
You can see where the thin faded finish has gotten a bit thinner on the upper bout where my picking arm goes up and down.
I've modded her a lot, lovingly... like a man buying cool accessories for his beloved... just like that as a matter of fact.
But the heart and soul of her has always remained the same. After I played this guitar that first time in the store,
my life was forever changed. For the better... 2008 was a terrible year... the last year of the Bush ll regime, bringing
economic collapse, wrongful war, I was worried about my business, I had lost my mother and one circle of friends had broken up
and my lady had left me for someone else... I grabbed onto this guitar like a life ring, and the music I could make
with her helped to hold me up. Here's what she sounds like, with my friend Rod Capps playing lead on her:
https://soundcloud.com/michael-hough-5/holy-ground-1
and now that I've dispensed with your idea of comparing a new one with an old one...
I'll show you some pictures of one of Gibsons best success stories. I don't know how many
of these faded specials they sold between 2000 and 2013 when they stupidly discontinued them
but they sold a lot. This is what mine looked like new: I named her Luna.
I absolutely fell arse over teakettle for my 07 faded special. It was on a display rack at GC when I
came shambling through in 2008 on another errand. I saw the SGs out of the corner of my eye and did a perfect
double take... "Is that a faded special?" It was, but she was on a rack of SGs, some of which cost more than
twice what her price tag said (About $600 if I remember right)... She called me over from about ten meters away
at least. "play me...'
I took down the first SG in reach. A shiny one. I tuned it and strummed it... yeah yeah...
I took down the second one, with the cool faded finish. I tuned her and she responded sweetly. I played a chord
or two... WOW, what a difference. She practically raised the hair on the back of my neck ( all I have left...)
The brown one sounded GREAT unplugged. I put it back, trying to be cool. I had not intended to be buying
any guitar that evening. I took down the next one which had very lovely gloss and binding and a very high
price. It didn't respond as well or sound as good to my ear. I put it back.
I walked away, still trying to pretend I wasn't interested. I looked at the Telecasters and the Epi Les Pauls
but all the time my eye was on the un-named brown SG in the picture above. Finally I admitted to myself that
I was actually terrified that some other gorilla would come over and get his hairy paws on that SG.
I didn't have a gun or a knife to defend her with. (I knew a Tele would work, but still...)
So I went back and took it down again, and played it some more, just to make sure I felt the way I did.
No doubts. That's when the salesman came over. He had likely been watching me, and likely had seen this
happen to unsuspecting guitarists over and over. I asked him, "Do you have a quiet room where I can plug this in?"
He did. I played the SG for nearly an hour before realizing that she was my guitar and the only thing between
me and the highway with her was some paperwork. We did the paperwork, and the salesman pried her out of my
hands so he could "set it up" for me. I allowed it, but watched him like a hawk, suspecting he'd try some kind of
switcheroo... You can see I was slightly crazy about her already. Ah me... that was eight years ago and I still
feel the same way.
And that my friend, is what is possible when you get one of these great instruments. I can't promise that you'll bond
with yours the same way I did, but the potential is there. I'm still head over heels for this one instrument. I have other
cool guitars I play, but this humble faded special is the Queen of my music room. This is what Luna looks like now:
The back of the neck is almost blonde from my thumb going up and down there,
You can see where the thin faded finish has gotten a bit thinner on the upper bout where my picking arm goes up and down.
I've modded her a lot, lovingly... like a man buying cool accessories for his beloved... just like that as a matter of fact.
But the heart and soul of her has always remained the same. After I played this guitar that first time in the store,
my life was forever changed. For the better... 2008 was a terrible year... the last year of the Bush ll regime, bringing
economic collapse, wrongful war, I was worried about my business, I had lost my mother and one circle of friends had broken up
and my lady had left me for someone else... I grabbed onto this guitar like a life ring, and the music I could make
with her helped to hold me up. Here's what she sounds like, with my friend Rod Capps playing lead on her:
https://soundcloud.com/michael-hough-5/holy-ground-1
Gahr
Ambassador of Blues & Brews
Yep, I know, but I think the first big ones appeared in late 1965. Here's a pic of a late 1965 SG Special with a big guard:
From this page:http://truevintageguitar.com/inventory/1965-gibson-sg-special/#wpexLightboxGallery[]/15/
shreddy bender
Well-Known Member
BUY IT! I have had mine since it was brand new out of the box. It's a 2003 with the ebony fingerboard and Moon inlays.
I love the neck profile. It's a very comfortable and fast neck.
After playing it for this many years the finish is showing its age but that's ok, all the wear is from me playing it.
The 490 pickups are not everyone's cup of tea but they got me lots of compliments on my awesome sound at many gigs. After owning it for over 10 years I put a Dirty Fingers in the bridge because I had a set and was curious.
It's staying in there and a few months ago I changed the neck pickup as well.
Now it's a rock and roll monster!
I like the 490 pickups and they will be going into a guitar that I just haven't been able to get completed due to lack of funds and moving to a new shop last year. It's still pretty chaotic there and I haven't been able to get settled in properly.
In a nutshell, the Special Faded is one of the best models of SG for a working class guitarist- they are affordable, well made, play and sound great and look awesome on stage.
Hope you pull the trigger and get to experience the goodness that is the Special Faded!
BlackSG91
Ambassador of Anarchy
I really love my '91 SG Special. It has an ebony fretboard which feels great. It originally had the 490R & 490T pickup combo which is a good set, but I did a pickup swap with my Epiphone LP Standard and now both guitars are balanced. I wired the Epiphone pick ups out of phase in the middle position on the selector switch. Very cool sounding.
;>)/
;>)/
David KOS
Well-Known Member
This is a Special ... with P90
YUP
this is the one, da kine, whatever...P 90's!
The naming went wrong later on.
SG - humbuckers
SG SPecial - P90's
is the old correct way
Kerry Brown
Ambassador of the Great Northern Bar Jams
I agree about the 490s. I don't like them in an SG. I took them out of my SG and installed them in an H/H strat. They absolutely rocked in that guitar. I've also got a set in a Les Paul Special that sounds great. For me they just don't suit an SG. The 490 pickups don't sound bad to me, just not raw enough for an SG. I would definitely recommend an SG special. I have two. I would buy a special, get it setup paying attention to pickup height, and play the crap out of it. If down the road you want to replace the 490s there are lots of options and the people here will be more than happy to suggest their favourite pickups for an SG.
Col Mustard
Ambassador of Perseverance
yeah, I played Luna for about a year with the 490s, and was able to get good sound out of them
but eventually decided that she deserved a set of Gibson '57 classic and Classic plus.
So I played her stock while watching for the '57s to go onsale, and when they did, I pounced.
They take a guitar that already sounds fine unplugged, and send her over the roof beams.
Or bust her through the rafters.
For me, those are perfect. The Neck pickups sound quite similar, (both great) but the Bridge p'up seems
like night and day. I liked the sound of the 490T... but LOVE the sound of the Classic +
but eventually decided that she deserved a set of Gibson '57 classic and Classic plus.
So I played her stock while watching for the '57s to go onsale, and when they did, I pounced.
They take a guitar that already sounds fine unplugged, and send her over the roof beams.
Or bust her through the rafters.
For me, those are perfect. The Neck pickups sound quite similar, (both great) but the Bridge p'up seems
like night and day. I liked the sound of the 490T... but LOVE the sound of the Classic +