Converted - Lusting after an SG

[budda12ax7]

SG special....then up grade it.

[fresh1megpots]

Instead, get an Epiphone SG G-400 for a good playing experience. Te fretwork is often well done, the pickups are good (and don't need upgrading), and generally a great guitar. Swapping pots and caps can do a lot and often mitigate the need to swap pickups to make your tone better. I play a 2005 MIC G-400 that is largely stock except for the tone caps I put in 0.033uF to give it a little more sparkle.

Get a suede backed strap to counter neck dive.

FWIW i can second the G400 as a good alternative. My G400 with humbuckers was my first electric guitar purchase 15ish years back - thought about selling it over the years as my playing progressed and i eventually moved on to some higher end guitars/JMs, but it always held up really well on its own. The neck is actually very nice for a "cheaper" guitar. Mine stayed stock for years until i had been playing single coils for a few years, and had an itch for p90s. I had to do a little bit of routing in the cavity (maybe 1/4 inch in the corners of each pickups rectangular cavity) and then I put some fralins and did a full rewire of all electronics with nice parts. Oh and I put some locking tuners on there which honestly was the best upgrade for the guitar.

IME the thing can take a serious beating and has barely even shown signs of wear at all. Since the re-wrie I've used on some recordings and band settings and am always generally pleased.

All in, I've seen the G400 SGs go for around 250 + maybe 150 for good p90s + 50 for some hipshots....

The real question is whether or not 450 for an upgraded epi is worth it. Sometimes it may be better for resale to just pay the extra couple hundred for the real thing. As much as I love my own guitar, and never plan to sell it, if it wasn't my first electric/modded guitar i would consider saving for a real gibber with the vibrato, buying used, and calling it a day.

[Andreas N]

Just get a real one.
I got this 1970 standard this summer, not regretting it one bit.




Also have brand new SG on the way, kinda got addicted.

[Despot]

That's very like the '69 I bought on a local message board last year too...

OP - there are a load of options if you want an SG but don't want to burn the bank down. If you want to go vintage I'd recommend checking out a Guild S100 from the '70s, '80s or '90s. They're a little different (the pickups sound better than Gibson's output from the early '70s onwards), but you can get refin '90s models (or even '70s models) for relatively cheap. They're worth keeping an eye out for - a little more expensive than an Epiphone ... but you sometimes find deals. I've had a few old Guilds - they made great guitars that are still really under-rated ... one of the last great pockets of value in vintage.

If you were going for a new model I'd just get an Epiphone and then gut the electronics. I would highly recommend that you see if you can find an old late '60s SG ... as Andreas said above, there's no beating the originals ... but it helps to get a sense of the sound of a late '60s model so you can figure out what replacement pickups to put in there. For me half the thing is the pickups - and by that I mean old/late '60s SGs with the full guard (not early PAF SGs, which are a different thing entirely in my mind). There's an inherent bite and brightness to those late '60s SGs without having the blues-y tone of the PAFs. Nothing wrong with PAFs ... but when I play my SG I love that it cuts in all positions, and that it's a brighter mellower sounding pickup at lower volumes than a PAF.

If that's the sound you like too ... you should look at pickups that replicate the sound of those old T Top humbuckers. Of course if you want that PAF sound then there are no shortage of makers who make exactly that!

Good luck with it OP.

[Drill]

SG special....then up grade it.

I love the look of black sg's special. I'd like to try one with the ebony scales (does anyone one knows the years?). But I heard that QC over Sg's is quite random. You can have some very good some awful.
So it involves a lot of trying before buying.

[finboy]

+1 on the sg classic, I loved the neck on mine but traded up for a once in a lifetime goldtop deluxe. Also, if you want vintage, melody Maker sg’s are stupid cheap, have factory routs big enough for p90’s and come in custom colours. It still blows me a way that melody maker sg’s aren’t $4k guitars.

[Ceylon]

Also have brand new SG on the way, kinda got addicted.

I saw your new one over at Ljudbojen which I skim sometimes and I'm curious about the differences in tone and feel between the Vibrola and the Maestro vibratos. I've heard neither are all that great for actual vibrato use, but they both look so cool, and the new Gibson Standard series offers both options, and there are certain conditions under which I might consider treating myself to the SG I've wanted for a while...

[Andreas N]

Also have brand new SG on the way, kinda got addicted.

I saw your new one over at Ljudbojen which I skim sometimes and I'm curious about the differences in tone and feel between the Vibrola and the Maestro vibratos. I've heard neither are all that great for actual vibrato use, but they both look so cool, and the new Gibson Standard series offers both options, and there are certain conditions under which I might consider treating myself to the SG I've wanted for a while...

Well, as you say they're not great vibratos functionally.
Can't really compare them tonally since the guitars I've got them on are so different, though they look similar.
I 'd say they both sort of work for very slight use. I'm sure they can be tweaked to work better.
I just love the look of both styles, needed to have one of each

[burpgun]

I had a really great experience with my P90-loaded Classic this week. I live in Brooklyn in a really dense area and because I don't want to be an a-hole I mostly record with amp sims and it's ok. My Deluxe Reverb just sits there waiting for a day when it will get a genuine work out. And it did this week. My mom passed last fall and we finally sold her house this week. My parents were both always supportive of music but were never keen about rocking out in the house. So with the house empty ahead of the closing, I went in a final time and ran the SG through Deluxe full blast and it was glorious. One thing that stood out to me: all my Fender single coils bring the normal amount of hum. The SG with P90s was pretty close to hum free, even with the amp dimed. It made me love the guitar even more.

[Snake Hips]

I added a vibrato on an SG standard from 2007. I purchased that guitar new, so I had it for over 10 years same pickups electronics etc. This year I added the vibrato, I would say it made me fall back in love with the guitar. It added weight balanced the neck drop. Increased sustain and added a something to the tone. The mod took me like 10 minutes and it was a great decision.

Vibrato function--- its great for a wiggle and a little of the glidding tone you get for MBV. its all in the feel of your playing.