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2016 SG Special 70's Tribute


JamGuy

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I took delivery of my 2016 Gibson SG Special T, or 70's Tribute from Sweetwater a couple of weeks ago... I've seen it listed multiple ways. (and also seen incorrect specs listed on the Gibson site and MF). It does have the satin finish (Gibson has it listed as high gloss) and it has a maple neck (though a recent MF catalog had it listed as mahogany). In any event, my initial reaction was ho-hum... the action was set high and it requires numerous adjustments to get her playing "just-so". It's now playing much better (amazing actually), resonates beautifully unplugged, and sounds killer plugged in. The rosewood board is so dark and beautiful it almost looks like ebony. I've added a few more personal touches to make it a little more 70's-ish... Metal Keystone Kluson tuners, pointer washers, black speed knobs, and there's a Bigsby B5 on the way... I'll be sure to post pics when she's all done. Should be killer with the Bigsby... can't wait!

 

Anyone else picked up one of these yet? What are your thoughts?

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Hi JamGuy,

 

I picked up a satin cherry SG Special T a few weeks ago from zZounds.com

I had the same experience as you. The setup on the guitar was horrible right out of the box.

 

Instead of sending it back, I got it setup by a very trusted guitar shop in my area.

 

The guitar's action is incredible now and is now one my favorites in my collection.

 

I agree with you about the pickups. They sound great. I'm definitely not going to be replacing them.

I suck as a photographer. Sorry about the blurred pic.

 

e6605bf3-0367-4455-99af-8d40433765eb.jpg

 

**I see you're from "The mythical state of Jefferson". Are you in northern California or southern Oregon? I live in the PNW too. :-)

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norcalpiper,

 

I was a little annoyed that I had to get my 2016 Special T setup.

It was a tuning disaster with the nut cut way too high and the neck had a really bad forward bow.

 

BUT, the neck profile is absolutely dreamy, IMO and as was already mentioned, the pups are simply killer!

Now that my guitar is properly setup, it's an outstanding guitar.

 

I haven't played a 2014 Special so I'm sorry I can't give you any advice about that.

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The pickups are awesome... I like them better than the minis in my '83 LP Deluxe for sure! Don't be turned off by the pickups, and as far as initial set-ups go, that's largely a matter of taste... and IMO hard to please everyone. It's always great when it suits your tastes fresh out of the box but it doesn't bother me to have to do some tinkering around with it. It's an awesome guitar and I'm loving the Bigsby on mine. Though now I'm wondering if I should get a roller bridge so it stays in tune better/longer.

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I have the same guitar in ebony from Zzounds and love it! My set up was near perfect out of box, literally plug and play!

 

 

Maybe I just got a guitar that was made towards the end of the day on a Friday. [smile]

It probably should have been either setup by zZounds or they should have sent it back to Gibson.

 

I suppose it doesn't matter now.

The guitar is awesome and I'm glad I kept it.

It's a keeper for sure.

 

**Looking on the bright side: I also helped the local economy a bit by hiring the luthier to set the guitar up properly. Everybody wins. Ha!

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I took delivery of my 2016 Gibson SG Special T, or 70's Tribute from Sweetwater a couple of weeks ago... I've seen it listed multiple ways. (and also seen incorrect specs listed on the Gibson site and MF). It does have the satin finish (Gibson has it listed as high gloss) and it has a maple neck (though a recent MF catalog had it listed as mahogany). In any event, my initial reaction was ho-hum... the action was set high and it requires numerous adjustments to get her playing "just-so". It's now playing much better (amazing actually), resonates beautifully unplugged, and sounds killer plugged in. The rosewood board is so dark and beautiful it almost looks like ebony. I've added a few more personal touches to make it a little more 70's-ish... Metal Keystone Kluson tuners, pointer washers, black speed knobs, and there's a Bigsby B5 on the way... I'll be sure to post pics when she's all done. Should be killer with the Bigsby... can't wait!

 

Anyone else picked up one of these yet? What are your thoughts?

 

This model was indeed once called the '70s Tribute (back in 2013, I believe—that's when I bought one in vintage sunburst, but returned it upon finding it was not "new" as listed). It was a cool guitar, and I probably would have kept it if it were actually new.

 

Curious... how do you know the neck is not mahogany, but actually maple. I find it hard to fathom that MF would get that spec wrong.

 

Congrats!

 

P.S. I see the neck listed as maple on Gibson.com. We're building the Feb. catalogue right now, and I will make sure this is fixed! [wink]

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Hi JamGuy,

 

I picked up a satin cherry SG Special T a few weeks ago from zZounds.com

I had the same experience as you. The setup on the guitar was horrible right out of the box.

 

Instead of sending it back, I got it setup by a very trusted guitar shop in my area.

 

The guitar's action is incredible now and is now one my favorites in my collection.

 

I agree with you about the pickups. They sound great. I'm definitely not going to be replacing them.

I suck as a photographer. Sorry about the blurred pic.

 

e6605bf3-0367-4455-99af-8d40433765eb.jpg

 

**I see you're from "The mythical state of Jefferson". Are you in northern California or southern Oregon? I live in the PNW too. :-)

 

Southern Oregon... [thumbup]

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  • 1 month later...

I bought one of the 2012 Gibson SG special '70s Tribute guitars in like May 2013... this was the first issue.

Mine has a maple neck, baked maple fretboard, volute, oversize Norlin style headstock, new design Mini Humbuckers

Block inlays, TonePros tuners, corian nut, 500k pots and a Silverburst finish. I don't think the 'tribute' models are intended to be

a replica of any vintage guitars, but were intended to correct the flaws of the earlier instruments while keeping

(if possible) the cool factor and the mojo.

 

There was a lot of negativity about the baked maple fretboards in 2012-13, but it was all just closed minded

hoo-hah. The baked maple is an excellent material, and I've had no problems with mine. The fretboard was a lovely

reddish brown when new, but I put some fret doctor on mine and it darkened up nicely. Smooth, hard and fast.

I really like this guitar.

 

The mini humbuckers are similar (if not identical) to those used in the Firebird. No pole pieces, these new ones have

blades under the covers instead. I believe (but don't know) that the Mini Humbuckers used on the Les Paul Deluxe

are somewhat different. Those have pole pieces and holes in the covers. I don't know if there are big differences between

the types of mini... You'd think Gibson would design and produce but one type, and install that where logical.

All I know is that I sure like the tones I get from mine. Great growl in the lows, strong mids with a lot of presence

and jangly sparkly highs with no ice pick.

 

The model I bought did not sell well, maybe due to too much negativity and to the fact that this instrument has a unique voice all

its own. That's why I wanted one. (that and the block inlays and Silverburst *grins) Sometimes guitarists can be very closed minded.

I think that players just didn't know what to make of this model, and they stood back and scoffed. A closed mind is nothing to

be proud of. I didn't care what anybody said, I just wanted one. The price was too high, so I stood back too.

 

But M/F marked them down, and then down again, and then down again until I couldn't stand it. I might have got one of the

last ones, and I'm so glad I did. These are great guitars. IMHO anybody who thinks a new guitar should be perfect right out of

the box is dreaming. All of them need setup, and the sooner the better. You should just expect it, and then get it done and

move on. Who knows how long it was sitting in a warehouse before it shipped to you.

 

That said, Sweetwater is supposed to be one of the best places to get a guitar online because they are supposed to correct any

problems before it gets shipped. If they fail to do this, I believe their customer service is good. I've had only excellent experience

getting gear from them.

 

Anyway, imagine my surprise when Gibson re-issued this model for 2016! It's got a regular rosewood fretboard but all the other cool

features, and some new finishes, and it's only $739. Mine came with a 'Satin' finish... which was cool. But I bought some Meguiar's

Ultimate Compound from an auto parts store and hand buffed my satin finish until my arms were really tired. Then I decided it

was shiny enough. It looks great now. I named her April. That's her in my avatar.

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  • 4 years later...

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