photodusty Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Hey all, I spend most of my time in the acoustic forum (so I came here to ask.) but my son is looking for a new bass. In particular an SG. He has been playing for 8 years and he is 17. In an Indie Rock band. (Also in the schools Jazz Band) His line of basses as follows. Paul McCartney Copy, Fender Jazz, Fender P Bass. P Bass is his current and he likes it but recently played an SG and likes the feel and sound of the short scale. My main question to you all is the lineage of these SG Basses, are the new 2014 and 2015 models worthy of a look? Should he be avoiding certain years? We live close to Elderly Music in Michigan. They seem to only have 1960's EB-0's and EB-3's and those are a touch out of his budget. But we are going to go and play them to have some kind of a "bassline" to judge. If you have a certain year and like it or dislike it can you help me to help him and narrow down this vast playing field? He has been to Guitar Center to jam on a few. But this bass area is too new to me to help make a wise decision. His budget is $1000-$1200. His amp (if you would like to know) is an Ampeg tube amp. Thanks in advance for any words of advice! db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvinator Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 I think you should be able to find a used SG Std. in your son's price range, maybe less. I would stay away from the SG Special with the satin finish; they don't seem to have much resale value. As far as model years go, there are no big differences in the basses, but the 2015 does have the Babicz bridge, which is a huge improvement over the old 3-point. I would recommend finding a nice used one, and get a Hipshot Supertone or a Babicz bridge for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photodusty Posted May 16, 2015 Author Share Posted May 16, 2015 Thanks a bunch! We are setting out in search of one next week. This info comes at a good time. I'll do my research. db I think you should be able to find a used SG Std. in your son's price range, maybe less. I would stay away from the SG Special with the satin finish; they don't seem to have much resale value. As far as model years go, there are no big differences in the basses, but the 2015 does have the Babicz bridge, which is a huge improvement over the old 3-point. I would recommend finding a nice used one, and get a Hipshot Supertone or a Babicz bridge for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADKNOCKER Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I just sent you a PM on where there's a 2014 Gibson SG Bass for $500 photodusty Look into it my friend.. Good Luck!! Gary/Hk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photodusty Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 Thanks HEADKNOCKER! He has actually played that bass and doesnt like it. However there is one he did play at GC the other day, a 2013 on sale for $1000.......he really likes that. db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Thanks HEADKNOCKER! He has actually played that bass and doesnt like it. However there is one he did play at GC the other day, a 2013 on sale for $1000.......he really likes that. db What happened? Did he go for the bass he liked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photodusty Posted October 4, 2015 Author Share Posted October 4, 2015 Nothing yet.... But a good friend of mine has a Reverend "Mike Watt" model (not in production yet) and has it on good word that they are close to production....however I think its more up to Mike Watt than it is to Reverend so it may never happen.... my son is still is playing out with this P Bass. Oh your not sure who Mike Watt is??? well youtube the punk rock king. :-) Thanks!! db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beate Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Nothing yet.... But a good friend of mine has a Reverend "Mike Watt" model (not in production yet) Googling leeds to a thread somewhere else almost 4 years old: http://forum.reverendguitars.com/topic10979.html But there is a relatively simple path to a custom bass: try to get hands on a used cheap (i.e. worn) SG bass. Replace the minihumbucker by something else, maybe a MM style pickup (the minhumbucker is almost in the MM-position.). Maybe a bit closer to the neck. Or something else Your son likes. Alternatively a Bisonic or a pair of Bisonics - quite recently Guild remakes them and sells them separately for a fair price. Even with this mod the cost of the SG bass should remain within the Your limit. (BTW: a standard PAF like humbucker with a cover hiding the poles will also sound great in this position - it should not be too mellow otherwise it would be a bit bassy. And it requires 500 k pots to sound well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViewFromTheCurb Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I think you should be able to find a used SG Std. in your son's price range, maybe less. I would stay away from the SG Special with the satin finish; they don't seem to have much resale value. As far as model years go, there are no big differences in the basses, but the 2015 does have the Babicz bridge, which is a huge improvement over the old 3-point. I would recommend finding a nice used one, and get a Hipshot Supertone or a Babicz bridge for it. I have to respectfully disagree about the SG Special. I have owned each of these in the 2014 model, my first one being the Standard. A week after that purchase, out of curiosity and some head-scratching, I ordered the Special. When it arrived, I set it up and played it a few days, and the Standard was immediately packed up for return. I would compare the two in hand, if possible and I'm sure you'll see my point. The only difference between the two - other than the extra $700. - are the nitrocellulose finish and the neck/headstock inlays (trapezoid). Are those two things worth that much of a price difference? Same pups, tuning heads, pots, build material and bridge - which I agree with Kelvinator on and easily replaced with a Hipshot Supertone - which I would've done to the Standard, too. It's funny, but I actually like the satin finish better! Oh, and the Special offers three color options over just two. I've always loved the SG body style, and I assumed the Standard would be superior, but I was wrong. Anyway, I paid exactly $649. for my Chocolate Satin Special and I love this thing. It's so nice that I haven't ever given a thought to resale value because this thing isn't going anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Look around for some of the 2015 SG Std.'s, are on discounts. Some can be found for just over $1,200. That's with all the upgrades over the 2014 SG series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvinator Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 I have to respectfully disagree about the SG Special. I have owned each of these in the 2014 model, my first one being the Standard. A week after that purchase, out of curiosity and some head-scratching, I ordered the Special. When it arrived, I set it up and played it a few days, and the Standard was immediately packed up for return. I would compare the two in hand, if possible and I'm sure you'll see my point. The only difference between the two - other than the extra $700. - are the nitrocellulose finish and the neck/headstock inlays (trapezoid). Are those two things worth that much of a price difference? Same pups, tuning heads, pots, build material and bridge - which I agree with Kelvinator on and easily replaced with a Hipshot Supertone - which I would've done to the Standard, too. It's funny, but I actually like the satin finish better! Oh, and the Special offers three color options over just two. I've always loved the SG body style, and I assumed the Standard would be superior, but I was wrong. Anyway, I paid exactly $649. for my Chocolate Satin Special and I love this thing. It's so nice that I haven't ever given a thought to resale value because this thing isn't going anywhere. Yes, I do see your point...The main thing with any instrument is that You like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lungimsam Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 So update us? Did he get a bass yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photodusty Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 Thanks for all the responses! Sorry to be MIA for the last few months. Busy times. He recently purchased a Fender Rascal. Quite a nice bass. This weekend we are going to play the "finished" prototype of the Reverend Mike Watt bass. If he likes that he will get that and return the Rascal. The Rascal is a nice short scale with 3 lipstick pickups that do sound amazing through his Ampeg. There is 7 different pickup combinations that can range from growl to fat and everywhere in between. I will keep you posted on how the search goes from this weekend. db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212West Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Gibson SG basses are great not crazy about the Epi EB-3 it's just built to be cruel.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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