What's great about an SG?

DirtySteve said:
I have back and neck issues that prevent me from strapping one on anymore so I always play sitting down these days. And since I'm not in a band and on stage it's not a problem.

I hate Ovations for just that reason. I've never understood the round back, I just can't play them.
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if you're always sitting while playing, neck dive would never be a problem. I've never had a case of it, but I've heard that the only time it happens is when you are standing, have a nylon or poly strap, and let go of the guitar to do something like adjust a mic stand or bend over to mess with a pedal.
Cure is to just play! or use a cotton or leather strap which doesn't apply in your case.
 
DirtySteve said:
I hate Ovations for just that reason. I've never understood the round back, I just can't play them.
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Oh….. I get that and totally understand. I guess I learned to live with it. Since I tend to play sitting down as well, it doesn’t seem to be as big an issue. When the guitar was new it had a leather pad glued to the bottom of the bowl. I do believe that helped keep it from sliding around….. till I eventually wore the thing off. Did buy some leather like material several years ago. Cut it to shape and contact glued it on. But it didn’t stay glued on….. so……. :unsure:
 
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DirtySteve said:
So no one is saying anything about neck dive so far so that's cool.
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I have two SGs. One is a 1974 SG Special and the other is a 2014 SG Original 2.

The tendency for neck dive is going to vary from model to model.

My 1974 has no neck dive tendency at all. But, it has the narrower neck (hence, less weight) of that era and a Gibson-branded, Bigsby-style vibrato.

My 2014 SG doesn't really neck dive, but it is just on the edge of wanting to. It has a wider neck and has a Maestro vibrola, which is lighter weight than the Bigsby style. At one point, I had locking machine heads on this guitar and that was enough weight to cause it to neck dive right away. I've gone back to the stock tuners and it's fine again.

I've also noticed that because Gibson has used different neck joints over the years that the front strap button may be in slightly different locations. The distance from the end of the guitar to the front strap button is 15 3/8" on my '74 SG. On my 2014 SG that distance is 14 1/4". So, the front strap button is over an inch further forward on my 1974 SG, which reduces the chance of neck dive even more.

What this means is that one cannot categorically and dogmatically claim either that neck dive is a real problem on SGs or that it is no problem at all. The truth is that some are more susceptible than others.
 
My Epi G400 has substantial neck dive, but not horrible.
Upper fret access is a major plus, if you go there, which I do often.

I have a Well-Hung strap with a grippy back strap and it mostly stays put.
Fine instrument made even better with the 490R and 490T recent upgrade.

Neck dive is not an issue playing seated.
Two other guitars have came and went because it was severe, even with a grippy strap.
One was a tele and the other an Agile AD2300 P90 double cut that I LOVED, but couldnt play it without fighting the neck dive.

I play mostly standing, but in recent months have gotten much more used to playing seated in a type of classical position.
The body rests on my left / fretting hand thigh (but is also supported by the strap).
They say this the way to play a flying vee seated..... Hmmm.

Still play better / more comfortably standing.
 
Kerry Brown said:
My number one.

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I sure like how Kerry Brown has his RED 3 knob as his number 1. ( 1991 or 1993) I forget what year, but I truly remember in some fashion helping him pick up that beauty.

My Black one in my pic above was my first ever actual SG, the one that started it all for me in the SG realm.
I still remember my reaction when it arrived. I took it out of the box and the sweet brown Gib case, all good at that point,,,,,,,,,, then I see it's blackness, no pick guard, " HEY, where is the 4th knob?" " WOAH, what did I just buy?" " wait a minute,,,,,,,,,,,,, did I just get a really weird, oddball SG?" Then I played it and got an idea how it felt and sounded, shortly afterward I found Everything SG Forum likely when I was hunting for info about SG's with only 3 knobs. Col Mustard greeted me in his kindhearted and encouraging and welcoming manner. Let's just say, I was hooked after that day way back in 2012.

After meeting another fella on ETSG named mdubya who also is from Maryland, he also has a black 3 knob that he would tell me was his Number 1 gigging Axe. His has a pup swap in it, and Kerry's may have different pickups Gib put in by the time these hit the 90's. Mine has the circuit board, Bill Lawrence pups.
 
DirtySteve said:
Me thinks you just haven't tried the right P90. I have a couple of hot P90s that hang with my best HBs. I have some "vintage" output P90s that I think absolutely suck.

My favorite P90s are Wolfetone and SD hot P90s. This is why I was turned on by the P90 SG Jr posted above, I have a couple of P90s just sitting here waiting for a guitar to put them in. I would love to get a 70s standard LP, but I cant justify that coin and it doesn't even come with a maple neck! :run: I don't need a neck pickup anyway.
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DirtySteve, what do you mean, 'it doesn't even come with a Maple neck?"

To my knowlegde, most or at least many 70's LP Std's came with 3 pc Maple necks.
 
What neck dive I HAVE seen usually occurs in the 61 style SGs and Customs, which have a more aggressively beveled and contoured body and the headstocks are just slightly wider than something like a Special or Standard. Does it always happen? No of course not and personally I never experienced it except on one 61 Reissue. But it IS a fairly well known issue.

However, its a quite easy to remedy issue as well. As mentioned by @Robert Herndon , heavier tuners specifically metal knobbed ones tend to add headstock weight, so merely going with a standard Kluson Deluxe helps. But adding a wide strap like @Jethro Rocker mentioned helps tremendously, even more so if you have a gripping strap ala something with a cotton back that grips to your shirt and thus holds the guitar.

Some people actually weight their body chamber or strap but I think thats a lil overkill, however it DOES work
 
Oh no, not the neck dive thing again. I've owned a ton of SGs, all had "neck dive" to some extent and it didn't matter on a single one. Just having your picking hand forearm lay across the upper bout, sitting or standing, is enough to prevent the headstock from tipping over and if you are actually playing them then obviously it's a non-issue.

SGs are great. Everyone should play a bunch and own at least one IMO - it might just be the right guitar for you. I could happily have an SG as an only guitar if it ever came to that - they really do about everything well.
 
Robert Herndon said:
Neck dive is largely related to the tuners. If equipped with Green Keys, I've never experienced neck dive, but with Grovers, yes...
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On my G400, I did replace the stock Epi tuners with a set of Gibson Deluxe. Gibby tuners did seem to be a few grams less than the Epi ones. Replaced Not for performance but for aesthetics. Stock tuners seemed to work fine. 1651506994503.jpeg
 
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