13 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
Classic SG tone without alot of fluff
Date of Review: Aug 11, 2005
The Bottom Line: The Gibson SG special is a great choice if you want an american built guitar with a great reputation for quality for under $1000.
Introduction
I have owned and played many guitars over the years but one model that has slipped past me until recently was the Gibson SG. Don't get me wrong, I like the SG. It is just that I really like my well worn Gibson Les Paul and always felt like the SG was the same thing with only a little different cosmetics. Boy was I wrong!
The Gibson SG has a style all its own. It does share some good built traits with the Les paul and unfortunately shares one bad trait (read on) but it sounds very different.
Fit and Finish
The SG special is the lower end of Gibson's double cutaway rock and roll classic guitar. There is actually one model below the SG special price wise; the SG special faded is the lowest priced US made Gibson SG. It can be purchased new for around $550-$650. The model I am reviewing is the gloss finished SG special. It cost between $800-$900 and has a nice gloss finish instead of the cheaper satin one on the faded models.
My guitar is the ebony (read black) and has a very uniform gloss finish with no runs or other blemmishes. It comes with the traditional two pickups and 3-way toggle similar to the LP and gives the user a tone and volume for each pickup. That is where the similarities end. The body is much thinner and lighter than an LP. The neck is set and the neck shape can vary depending on what year your SG is but the newer specials have a rounded profile neck and traditional dot markers on the fretboard.
The neck and body are not bound ie. no plastic trim on the edges but are very nicely fitted and uniform up and down the neck. Most SGs I've played sounded very good right out of the box or only needed minor adjustments from the store. Speaking of adjustments, the SG makes adjustments a snap with the adjustable tailpiece. Action can be set low or high depending on taste.
The headstock is a classic Gibson shape but does show cost cutting in that it only has a foil Gibson label rather than an inlay. The tuners are the same plastic tipped Gibson ones used on most Les Paul models and have the same problems... they do not hold tune extremely well. They are ok but with all the excellant tuners out there, I wish Gibson would go for a better quality tuner. OF course, it was almost certainly done as a cost saving measure and since some players swear by the original tuners, I guess they are wise to keep the price down.
How It Plays
The tone on the SG is a bit different than the Les Paul. First of all, the guitar is weighted differently. It is slightly body heavy. If you release the neck while wearing a strap, the guitar neck will dip towards the ground. Not a big deal but worth mentioning if you happen to alternate between playing guitar and holding a mic as I have. The plus of having a lighter weight body is you can move around the stage without the heavy guitar weighing you down. Just watch Pete Townsend and you will see what I mean. The SG is designed to allow maximum comfort on stage.
The tone of the SG is similar to the Les Paul but not the same. Tone is so subjective so I will just say this is my opinion but I would say the Les Paul was better suited to fast single note play while the SG was better suited for power chords.
Bottom Line
If you want a comfortable electric guitar that is dependable, and built with care in the United States but on a budget, the Gibson SG special is a great choice. Other guitars to consider in the price range would be the Fender American Stratocaster, the Gibson Les Paul studio, or for less money, the lower end Korean made PRS guitars.
