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Gibson Epiphone SG 'Neck Dive" Poll


EpiSheriMan

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6.6 wow, you may not need a strap it probably floats. So did you name this sg "neck dive"? And photos of neck dive?

 

Hahaaaa, thats very funny Golden and thanks for saying that I am one of the unlucky ones with the dreaded condition!!! It makes me feel so much better.... ](*,) Anyway, I'm sticking with my opinion that SG's, especially the Jnr's, are going to be predominately neck divers, and that I am not alone.... [rolleyes]

 

'll try and figure out how to post a photo although I'm not sure that its going to help explain why mine has neck dive [tongue]

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If your guitar has neck dive and do not like gripping straps that will bunch up your shirt this is what I did:

 

A mutli-tool holster with belt loop and velcro that attaches to the strap on the back of the guitar. I put a 1/2 led ingot in it and that's all you need, if the guitar has extreme neck dive and you are using a super slick strap maybe an additional 1/4 pound or 1/2 will be needed. Adding one pound will make any guitar balance like an Explorer.

 

You can also just leave a multi-tool in the holster instead of the led if the tool is heavy enough.

 

The nice thing about this is there is no modification to the guitar and can be transferred to others, a slick strap will work and not grab your shirt.

 

I had to do this because I have nerve problems stemming all the way from my neck and just that effort to be propping up the neck with my hand was bothering me a lot.

 

26333711728_553f9212dd_c.jpg

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The best solution, is to play any SG (or any other guitar, for that matter) BEFORE you buy it! I now have

5 Gibson SG's, and NONE of them have the dreaded "neck dive!" I bought all (but 1) from my favorite dealer,

and got to "cheery pick" the best one, out of the 4 or 5 they had in stock, at the time. The one I did by,

on-line, from Sweetwater, a 2018 SG Jr., was the heaviest of the 4 they showed. Luckily, it also had a nice

dark fingerboard, and lovely grain, in the body! So...try, before you buy! [biggrin]

 

Cheers,

 

CB

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Like CB, none of my SG's have suffered from neck dive either (I own a couple of the same SG's as him - Gibson SG Custom Kirk Douglas and an SG Original). I've never owned an Epi SG so can't comment on them, but I have an Epiphone Thunderbird bass in my collection which does neck dive a little bit. Doesn't bother me at all and I think it's a really nice bass - used it on some recordings recently and sounded great.

Edited by cody78
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I might add, that none of the other SG examples, from which I picked the one I liked most,

of each model, suffered from "neck dive," either! That would be about 18 or so, other SG

examples, in total. So...??? :-k

 

 

CB

 

Did you strap them on?

 

SG dive to several degrees, in my experience just about all of them do and a lot has to do with where you wear the guitar, if you strap'em high there is less run on the strap and the neck dive will be less. If the guitar is strapped very low that can help with neck dive as well. In between it gets tricky.

 

The new SG I bought has a slight neck dive, now, many would not consider this particular case a neck dive but I do. No way i could use a seat belt strap with it.

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Did you strap them on?

 

SG dive to several degrees, in my experience just about all of them do and a lot has to do with where you wear the guitar, if you strap'em high there is less run on the strap and the neck dive will be less. If the guitar is strapped very low that can help with neck dive as well. In between it gets tricky.

 

The new SG I bought has a slight neck dive, now, many would not consider this particular case a neck dive but I do. No way i could use a seat belt strap with it.

 

Of course...I always do that, to see how balanced they are, in a standing playing position. :D

 

 

CB

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An Epiphone G400 without neck dive, IN-CRE-DI-BLE , your Epi will become collector ... [biggrin]

 

:lol:

 

Is this statement even close to reality? I mean, my XPT700 dives like an eagle/firebird, so it was quite refreshing to play a guitar that doesn't.

Edited by JAF
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Wth is the problem here? Good grief, a guitar is played using both hands. Just don't let go of the damn thing and it will be fine. Is SG neck dive a deal breaker? Do you play it or do you just walk around with it hanging loose? I guarantee that if I let go of the neck of any of my SGs it will head for the floor, so I don't let go of it. If you let go of the forearm stock of a rifle or shotgun the barrel will dive, too. Do you shoot with one hand?

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  • 1 month later...

I have had my 1979 Gibson SG Standard since 1982, and played the proverbial crap out of it for decades. Additionally, I have played A LOT of Gibson SGs. Not until this thread have I even vaguely knew that "neck dive" was even an issue for some people's SGs. It certainly is not at all an issue with my '79 (and I do use a light non-leather guitar strap with it) ... maybe because it was made in Kalamazoo?

 

4575540054_large.jpg?v=0

Edited by 01GT eibach
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I have 2 Les Paul DC's that came with strap buttons on the horn, which didn't dive, but I did what a lot of people used to do and I moved the buttons to the base of the neck where SG's have them mounted. Now they have a little neck dive, but the position feels better with what seems like more freedom of movement. I also have 2 Epi 61 SG Specials with the 61 thin taper D profile neck, typical on the Epi G400 models, they also dive a little. But the ease of access all the way to the 22 fret makes it worth it. With my right arm resting on the body and my left on the neck, 99% of the time I have contact with the guitar. I used to use oversized extra wide leather Bass straps. But now just use Ernie Ball seat belt straps, easier to move around when I'm getting animated. Almost all of my guitars have the old Kluson style of tuners that helps keep the weight of the head stock down.

 

I just recently sold my Gibson SG-X with 24 frets which had the newer style large tapered butt joint, which allows the strap button position to be farther forward creating a little better balance, even with having the heavy stock cast Grover style tuners it had zero neck dive.

 

So basically I wear my guitars low and I like the nylon straps that can slide easily when you need to reposition. :)

Edited by mihcmac
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Is this statement even close to reality? I mean, my XPT700 dives like an eagle/firebird, so it was quite refreshing to play a guitar that doesn't.

 

Not with me it isn't JAF. My Epiphone SG-400 dives like Billy-Oh even with "grippy" straps.

 

In fact it was so bad that I placed lead fishing weights (about 3 ozs) inside the control cavity which hardly makes a difference to the weight of the guitar but completely stopped the diving. The weights do not move they are fixed to the bottom opposite corner of the cavity to the neck.

 

Result = complete satisfactory solution to a problem which irritated the hell out of me.

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I use a wide leather strap that is not sewn, just a straight piece of leather with a ruff rawhide underneath side, and that eliminated most of the dive on my SG's. I find that Epi G400's are way worse with neck dive than their Gibson counterparts.

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