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Sold SG, couldn't get into it.


Stratman2016

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Hello, first off this is not some kind of fender vs Gibson troll, despite my choice of username n all.

 

Ok, so basically I've been a player of a mex strat for a few years but last November I went out and treated myself to a 2016 special, basically cos I randomly tried it out in a shop and thought it was pretty nice.

Only played it for a couple of weeks then kept coming back to the strat, it just felt like a better guitar all round. Esp didn't like the way the Gibson felt 'catchy' along the neck.

 

Tbh I was really disappointed, that the hallowed Gibson brand hadn't lived up to its name. Have I missed something, bad guitar perhaps? Sg special maybe not the best Gibson on the market?

Where are all these amazing guitars that people rave about?

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Hello, first off this is not some kind of fender vs Gibson troll, despite my choice of username n all.

 

Ok, so basically I've been a player of a mex strat for a few years but last November I went out and treated myself to a 2016 special, basically cos I randomly tried it out in a shop and thought it was pretty nice.

Only played it for a couple of weeks then kept coming back to the strat, it just felt like a better guitar all round. Esp didn't like the way the Gibson felt 'catchy' along the neck.

 

Tbh I was really disappointed, that the hallowed Gibson brand hadn't lived up to its name. Have I missed something, bad guitar perhaps? Sg special maybe not the best Gibson on the market?

Where are all these amazing guitars that people rave about?

 

 

They're out there! And, not as difficult to find, as you might think, even after your experience!

SG's do take some getting used to. Your Strat, was "familiar," and thus felt better, every

time you went back to it. Your SG may have needed a good, and proper set up, by a great luthier.

That is not uncommon, at all...with ANY guitar.

 

I've found, over the years, that I can only truly "fall in love" with any guitar, only by playing

it, exclusively, for an extended period of time, without going back and forth. I.E. taking the time

to really get used to it, and explore all it's various facets, in tone and how it feels and plays.

Retreating back to the familiar, does not help, in that quest, IMHO.

 

Having said all that, there are times when a guitar one hopes will be "the one," in any format, just

doesn't do it, for you. But, I always try to give a new (or, new to me) instrument, as much time as

possible. And, I tend to try out several, of the same model, before even buying the "best" one, of

the batch. But, that's just Me! [biggrin]

 

Good Luck, "next time!"

 

Cheers,

 

CB

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Well, getting used to a specific guitar shape and feel is mainly a personal thing. Habits, taste, and expectations regarding playability and tone will have more impact on a personal decision than just quality of design and build.

 

For me every song defines what tones and options like vibrato it takes. In the end the music rules for me, defining instrument, pickup selection, and amp/FX settings. There are some guitars I think I need to accomplish, and seen from economical and and spatial points of view I fortunately don't need most available guitars. [biggrin]

 

I think everybody has to find out for oneself. There's nothing wrong with it, and I don't see any brand bashing in going with different ones. Not everything is for everybody if I may say so! :)

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Nah man , I gave it a full set up, and tried others out before actually going back to the first one I played. Played it solid for about 2 hrs a day over the two weeks, just couldn't get it. The only thing that I liked about it was that the flat fret board allowed for a lower action with big bends. ( the strat has a curved fretboard, so can damp strings when bending with a low action).

 

I think that what I didn't like about it was the neck feel in the main, but overall it just didn't feel nice.

 

Note that I've other guitars than the strat, an Epiphone riviera which is lovely to play.

 

I guess what I'm getting at also is how I can prefer a factory Mexican made clone strat to a hand made USA Gibson made from better wood, etc? It's that which has surprised me and also disappointed me in equal measure.

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...

I guess what I'm getting at also is how I can prefer a factory Mexican made clone strat to a hand made USA Gibson made from better wood, etc? It's that which has surprised me and also disappointed me in equal measure.

The MIM Fenders of mine are fine as well, and if a song takes one, I prefer her over a Gibson. Another song makes me decide the other way. Beauty is in the ear of the listener! [biggrin][thumbup]

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...

 

Come on , recommend me a Gibson to fall in love with. Reggae, blues , classic rock with a bit of jazz player.

There are lots of fine Gibsons, but when it's about choosing just one, for me it would have to be a Les Paul.

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Indeed it was, I was at the time looking to broaden my experience of different machines, happened to try the sg out , liked it and gave a buy.

Honestly I really liked it on first play, but the more I played it, it started to grate tbh.

 

 

You might wanna try a Les Paul special/junior with p90 pickups.

Faded finish is maybe something you could like, as you thought the neck felt sticky

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I love my strats and my SG's. Totally different animals. It takes awhile of playing to get my brain to switch from Fender to Gibson mode if I pick up one after playing the other. If I ever expect my SG's to play like my Strat's, I'll probably end up selling them too!! MIM strats are very good guitars in general. I've played some that are better than USA strats, or some SG's and LP's for that matter.

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cheers for the comments, basically I am still looking for a darker more 'earthy' guitar to complement my lovely Strat.

 

I like the Epiphone riviera but find the body a bit too big, I do quite a lot of playing chilling on the sofa you see, strat is so comfortable for doing that!

 

What are those new Gibson Memphis guitars that are like a mini 335? Is it the 339? Might check that one out.

 

I agree with whoever said about needing a brain switch to go from a Gibson to a fender. It's the differences in fret spacing that screws me up!

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...

 

What are those new Gibson Memphis guitars that are like a mini 335? Is it the 339? Might check that one out.

 

I agree with whoever said about needing a brain switch to go from a Gibson to a fender. It's the differences in fret spacing that screws me up!

Yes, it is the ES-339.

 

Interestingly on SGs, except the 1970's with deeper neck set, the nut position is farther out than with Fenders despite of the SG's shorter scale. The higher bridge positioning makes for that. For this reason I play SGs with a larger neck up angle than Strats, Teles, or Les Paul guitars. It makes fingering chords at low fret positions easier.

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cheers for the comments, basically I am still looking for a darker more 'earthy' guitar to complement my lovely Strat.

 

I like the Epiphone riviera but find the body a bit too big, I do quite a lot of playing chilling on the sofa you see, strat is so comfortable for doing that!

 

What are those new Gibson Memphis guitars that are like a mini 335? Is it the 339? Might check that one out.

 

I agree with whoever said about needing a brain switch to go from a Gibson to a fender. It's the differences in fret spacing that screws me up!

 

There are some very excellent scaled down semi-hollow models. My two favorites are the ES359 and CS356. These two guitars have different body construction and therefore very different tone. I don't feel comfortable with the larger bodies of the 335 style guitars, and these scaled down semi-hollows are just perfect. If I could only have one guitar my choice would come down between these two, but thankfully I don't have to make that kind of decision.

 

You've played fender/strats for a loooong time, so it will likely take some effort to get used to something new.

 

Here are my two scaled down semi-hollows. My CS356 in faded cherry and ES359 in vintage sunburst:

IMG_0360_zpsc80b2fb5.jpg

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Funny…

 

I had a Strat back in, ohhh.... 1985 - 1990. It was a decent guitar for the kind of music I liked and was playing at the time. But then, I saw Oliver Stone's "The Doors" movie, and fell in love with the SG (Though, I'd seen pics of Krieger with an SG, and listened to the music long before that). So, I sold my Strat and bought an SG Standard...

 

... and the rest, as they say, is history. The Gibson SG officially became my guitar of choice (own three of them today + an SG bass), and that won't ever change.

 

We all have our own paths to walk!

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I had my strat 25 years. Though the small neck radius was always a challenge, I liked the scale.

At that time I found the short scale & narrow necks of Gibsons beyond me.

 

Maybe you might prefer a 2016 HP model? The scale remains 24.75 but the neck is a little wider. Coming from a Fender, that might help you.

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  • 4 weeks later...
What are those new Gibson Memphis guitars that are like a mini 335? Is it the 339? Might check that one out.

 

Midtown's too are well priced. Anyway good luck playing around with the Gibson's.

 

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-GIB-DSDC15T-PBCH3?src=Y0802G00SRCHCAPN&scid=scplp12373679&gclid=Cj0KEQjwrte4BRD-oYi3y5_AhZ4BEiQAzIFxn42shmNN9iEM1rOxDwup6Uq4iOaTy5S6hrsk2u1qgJ0aAnS68P8HAQ

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