Ye Olde Brown SG Club

Col., as always, it is a pleasure to read what you write!

Well, the tuners don't really bother me, though the Klusons did look better being cream colored.

As for the baked maple, both SGS were made in 2012 so I have no idea if they are "still" made. What Ican tell you is: Gibson had a spare one in stock.
 
Glad to hear the service was good! Good luck with the new one.

Btw., have you gigged with the SG yet?
 
since you use mostly your two excellent Strats on stage, many of us will be curious to hear
how the SG fits into your music.
 
Our lead guitarist switches between a Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster and a 2012 Gibson Les Paul Traditional.

Friday night, he is going to play my 2016 Gibson SG T Series (now with 9 feet of copper tape, Tone Man harness .033uf/.015uf K40Y tone caps and 7.9k/7.8k Alinco II Nickel Covered double wax potted PAF's) and give me his thoughts and impressions.

It's also neat to be able to watch and listen to someone else playing your guitar.

I need a second opinion on this SG.

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Btw that's a stunning looker, that one. Is it a worn finish? Can you feel the grain when you hold it?


Speaking of grain, some thoughts about my SG's.

I think this particular guitar is a case of love and hatred to me. Sometimes I really frown upon its finish, it's too thin and I really dislike the naked wood feeling.

And this one is an ugly bitch regarding wood grain. It has too many flaws, and almost no figuring at all, it is actually more beautiful on the sides than in front and back :LOL:

It looks almost like if the mahogany was cut the wrong way.

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Sometimes I look at it and think "how the hell did this pass CQ section?"


BUT

I love it exactly because of that!!! :eek:

I've always seen the SG as Gibson's "mutt". The one that went wrong but some bums liked it and it got away with it despite the company's and Les Paul's disgusts. There's something "badass", "misfitting" about the SG itself and in my head, SGs were never meant to be good looking or beeeeeeeeautifuly figured like a Les Paul with its artsy fartsy carved AAA grade maple cap and all the bling.

It's all wrong and it's killer exactly because it's wrong in its essence. It neckdives. It lacks a maple cap. It had a vibrato that was never as good as a strat's and most players would strip the guitar of it and install a stopbar instead. It was called a Les Paul but Les Paul never created it, it was Ted who did.

Later it was deprived of its own name, being called "solid guitar", like an inmate's number; like a street bum is referred to as "that bum over there".

An SG is meant to be a dust covered, dinged and all thrashed up roadhouse workhorse. A bad rover rocker's musical instrument. It's cheaper and less praised guitar than most of the other Gibsons. It tried to replace the Les Paul and failed eventually. It tried to outsell and killthe Stratocaster, and lost the fight.But it stood its ground and survived.

It's an underdog by nature. A hard hitting loser boxer. A road worn trippin' hippie. A "I'll play for dinner and a couple of beers" travelling musician.

But it survived and can't stay away from the ring. In the process, it played some of the most crude and stunning records and gigs ever with Black Sabbath, AC/DC and so many others.

It's the baddest guitar ever made, and I like it like that.


So I like mine all wrong as it is:

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Nice SG, Sergio...

I'm not sure if you were asking me about grain on mine in your post??? If so, yes. Its the worn brown finish. You can feel the grain, but its not rough. I really like the open, natural looking wood.

The Gibson Deluxe Green Keys are excellent. They have a wider ratio than Kluson's or Grover's....meaning the key turns more than the tuning post. I like this because it's effortless to "sneak up" when tuning to pitch. This one stays in perfect tune and intonation.

I'm also a big batwing fan...

Now, about battered old guitars....

I'm very kind to my guitars. I grew up in a modest home, so we could not afford to replace things.

My 1987 Squire Stratocaster has never had a case, only the gig bag it came with. It gigged all over Los Angeles in the 1980's and has been played on hundreds of recordings.

As you can see, some cracks have developed in the body/finish over the years, but other than some button scratches on the back, there is not a chip or a gouge in it....

It's not until you see the "E7" serial number (E7=1987) that its age is revealed.

But I do agree with you that the SG has always had a kind of "tough guy" vibe to it...IMG_20170210_40326.jpg IMG_20170210_51767.jpg IMG_20170219_2586.jpg
 
I brought my Gibson SG II, Brown Dog, home from work last week. I haven't really played it for about a year, and I figured it deserved to be treated a bit better. It also needed some soldering work on the jack input and a good cleaning.

The tuners (Gibson Deluxe ones) are not original. One of them is falling apart and one hardly turns at all, so I have decided it is time to get things sorted out. The original bridge is a compensated wraparound, but it is meant for a wound G string, so intonation has always been crap. The intonation screws are also missing, so this issue too needed to be adressed.

So, since it was my birthday a few days ago, my wife agreed to pitch in on some replacement parts. I found a set of 3-on-a-plate Kluson Deluxe tuners with metal tulip heads, that I believe came on the guitar originally, on eBay. And I have ordered an aged compensated wraparound bridge from Crazyparts. I'm really looking forward to the parts arriving!

Honestly, the guitar could do with a refret as well, but that will have to wait. And I'm already spending a bit of cash on a guitar most people would say was hardly worth it to begin with. But it holds a very special place in my heart, and it gives med great joy fixing it and hopefully returning it to some sort of ugly glory.

By the way, I had completely forgotten how bright the mini humbuckers were! They definitely have a single coil quality to them that none of my other guitars have. Not necessarily my cup of tea, but variety is the spice of life, so I'm keeping them. I'll probably not play it a whole lot anyway, so there is no point in swapping the stock pups.

Anyway, once more, behold Brown Dog!

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My impressions: it was the first time Iplugged it into my gigging rig, with my Fender valve amp.

it ain't as balanced as the first one. The bass is a bit muddy and the neck pickup is DEFINITELY muddy compared to the bridge.

I have to get it properly set up before I gig with it. And though it does the job with lots of power due to the humbuckers, I don't seem to bond with it completely.

I am particularly disappointed with the finish. When we finished playing, I was putting the guitar back in the case and accidentally touched one of thelatches with thebody (I swear, I didn't put any pressure, I barely touched it) and it got its first ding. Worn finishes are supposed to wear faster, but come on, Gibson... This guitar will look battered within six months of gigs)...

I guess I don't have much luck with Gibsons. Or, which I think it's more the case, I am indeed a Fender man. My Stratocasters feel much more reliable, clear and precise, let alone being much better finished instruments.
 
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Sérgio said:
My impressions: it was the first time Iplugged it into my gigging rig, with my Fender valve amp.

it ain't as balanced as the first one. The bass is a bit muddy and the neck pickup is DEFINITELY muddy compared to the bridge.

I have to get it properly set up before I gig with it. And though it does the job with lots of power due to the humbuckers, I don't seem to bond with it completely.

I am particularly disappointed with the finish. When we finished playing, I was putting the guitar back in the case and accidentally touched one of thelatches with thebody (I swear, I didn't put any pressure, I barely touched it) and it got its first ding. Worn finishes are supposed to wear faster, but come on, Gibson... This guitar will look battered within six months of gigs)...

I guess I don't have much luck with Gibsons. Or, which I think it's more the case, I am indeed a Fender man. My Stratocasters feel much more reliable, clear and precise, let alone being much better finished instruments.
Click to expand...

I went through 3 sets of Gibson pickups and I wasn't happy. Muddiness was a problem. Once I shielded the SG and went with the tone man harness and 7.9/7.8k PAF's, it changed how I felt about it....it's really growing on me.

I, like you, seem to find the Stratocaster shape to be very comfortable, or familiar to me. Playing full time in a blues band, I've found it necessary to go back to the Stratocaster at the bandleaders' request and I'm really struggling with my tone.

My Gibson SG is as loud as an acoustic unplugged and my 87 Squire Stratocaster just doesn't have that quality, or the same level of sustain, despite being insanely heavy.

I'm kind of lost really....but you would be happy to know I dusted off my 30 year old DiMarzio Stacked Single Coils :-)
 
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