Ted Higginbotha

There is a standard SG for $1329 with the pickups 490. Or there's the '61 SG reissue with the BB pickups for $1800. I'm wondering whether it's worth the money for the slight variation in sound between pickups. And then there's the traditional LP sunburst for $2300. The more I read about all three, the more I can't decide. I don't live in a large metropolitan area so it's not easy for me to try out a load of models. Youtube has been helpful. I know for a fact that I don't want the neck style of that 74 Guild SG but I don't know what neck style it had. It only had one volume and one tone adjuster. No matter what description I read of any style of electric Gibson, they all sound indispensable. I suppose that if I go with a '61 SG and I want to change the pickups later from a BB to a 490, I can always do so, right? I can only see that happening if I wind up getting that Merle Haggard Telecaster later in life. BTW, I'm middle aged so it's not like I have the rest of my life ahead of me. I dig the warm sound of a Gibson. I also love the neck and feel of the Strat but my son already has one of those. Gibson makes the most sense to me. All you guys' advice has been terrific. It's so cool that this forum exists.

That makes a whole lot of sense. I own a condo with a small family. My son uses a Cube amp and I want to get the Vox 5 watt amp. (Both amps also takes batteries so we can travel with them to nature and annoy all the fauna.) It can't be too loud. I've been playing acoustic most of my life and I've never had good luck with electric guitars because most of them were super rinky dink cheap and didn't sound good or it was hard to tune for some reason (Guild '74 SG).

Thank you all for the excellent advice. I'm leaning towards the '61 SG with burstbuckets R and T. Here is the reason why. I had been vacillating between a Telecaster for that Merle Haggard/Keith Richards sound ("Girl with The Far Away Eyes" kind of twang) and a Gibson SG. I Iike the way that the brightness of the '61 SG can do good capturing that country sound; I found that it also can approximate the Iggy Raw Power sound as well. On top of this, if I ever want it to be less spankier (as one person said), it seems that I can just control with the tone knob. Of course I heard these pickup sounds (490 vs BB) from a LP. When I heard the two pickups A-B on an SG, it was harder to differentiate. I don't know why that is. Dang, those Les Pauls sound great. It's like picking between Marilyn Monroe or Brigitte Bardot. One is a little fatter it seems and the other has a more lithsome look, sound, and feel. They both are so terrific in their own unique ways. This is the video I consulted for my comparison, but once again, the cat is playing an LP and not an SG.

This may sound superficial but I love the look of the guitar the same way I'd like the look of a girl. Of course the guitar must deliver, but I want her to look ravishing to my eye. I prefer the teardrop pickguard on the SG and it's because of the whole Zappa/Iommi fixation on my part. The Robby Krieger models appear limited edition and well sold out.

Guys, I have a serious question. I was at a local guitar shop and I played the Gibson SG standard and then the Gibson Les Paul Deluxe 70s sunburst. Of course I like both. The employee told me that the SG would stay in tune better if it had the "clouson" (spelling?) tuner that had the Les Paul. He said the tuners were $80 and that they could drill holes in the SG and replace the other tuners. (I wouldn't see the holes unless I removed the clouson tuners.) And so this question I have. While the below guitar has a tremolo, it appears to have the "clouson" tuners that the standard SG doesn't have. Assuming I don't use the tremolo (https://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibson/SG-Standard-61-Electric-Guitar-Vintage-Cherry-1500000274179.gc?rNtt=gibson standard deluxe&index=6) would either of these '61 versions be a nice way to go to maintain better tuning stability? My son is terrorizing his Fender Strat with the whammy and I'm scared he'll do the same with the Gibson. The cool thing about my son is that he has a highly experimental approach to the instrument. It's idiosyncratic and I don't want him to lose that because his style original. We are learning Russian together and I'm hoping that this summer we can create some inspired metal music together. I like Tony Iommi and Sabbath while he prefers Batushka. I keep asking myself which guitar I would rather play? It's always the SG, but I want one that will have great tuners to maintain its remaining in tune. What do you guys think of the clouson tuners?

Thanks! I'll check it out, 'bro.

Thanks for the tip on this Trad Prov V. How does this compare with this: Gibson Les Paul Deluxe '70s Electric Guitar Cherry Sunburst; or a Gibson (is this traditional or classic?)? If I'm going for a color other than sunburst, I want there to be excellent value.

Thank all of you so very much. I'll remember the suede strap. Thanks for the tip on not going for the tremolo (whammy bar I assume is what that means).

Hello everyone, My son has a Fender Stratocaster and he'll be learning to play this summer. I wanted a Gibson to complement the sound of the Strat. My budget is between $1000 and $2000. I really like the Gibson ES series but it seems too pricy. I thought an SG would be perfect since my son loves heavy metal. (I like R&B mostly). The concern I have is this: I bought a used '74 Guild SG 20 years ago and it wouldn't stay in tune. I have a couple of posts about someone's Robbie Krieger-style '67 SG going out of tune easily and that he had to use some industrial mix to sand the nut or something. That sounds a little technical for me. All I want is a reliable Gibson that is less wont to go out of tune easily. I'm attracted to the 67 SG but I could go with anything really as long as it's a professional guitar in my price range. Does anyone have any recommendations for someone who is not too handy? Ted H.