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What Was It That Got You Into SG's?


darling67

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Prior to buying my first SG in 1991, I had owned a few electric guitars: A cheap no-name electric, a Gibson Les Paul Custom, and a Fender Stratocaster.

 

But then, I went to see Oliver Stone's "The Doors" movie, and seeing the SG "in action" really made an impression on me. It looked so damn cool. I began listening to The Doors a lot following that movie-going experience, and I finally decided that I had to have a "Robbie Kreiger" guitar. Of course, I could not afford that specific model (heritage cherry with the Maestro tremelo, etc.). So, I settled on the cheaper "Standard" model. But, from that moment forward, no other guitar has been able to come up to the SG in looks, feel, sound. As some of you may already know, I just bought a '50s Tribute SG… and when it's time to add another guitar to my arsenal, it'll be another SG (perhaps one with that elusive tremelo?). I have no reason to look at any other model at this point.

 

So, who or what was it that set your love affair with the SG in motion?

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My reason, and first use of an SG, was a bit more Practical/Pragmatic.

I didn't own ANY "electric" guitar, at the time I was asked to

help start our first band (age 13, barely). So, our drummer's

older brother came to my rescue, by offering to let me use his

'62 SG LP Junior, and Gibson Amp. He wasn't using them, at all,

anymore. (I later bought the SG Junior from him, for 50 bucks!)

Too bad, I don't still have it! [cursing] Anyway...that was my

first ever, exposure to Gibson, and to SG's in particular.

I later got 3 more SG's...a '66 Custom (White), a '64 Standard

with Maestro, and later, a '68 SG Standard, again with Maestro.

Just loved their beveling (back then), and horn tapering. "Devilish"

good looks, too!

 

Sold them ALL, when I stopped playing in '72! [crying][cursing]

 

But, at least now, I'm back in the SG fold, again. [thumbup][biggrin]

 

CB

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I tried an SG as a teen because a teacher had one for students to use. I was instantly impressed and hooked on it's great playability, ease of handling, and great upper fret access. Then there's the awesome tone the guitar gives. [thumbup]

 

I've loved them ever since and never want to be without one! I have the most fun playing my SG more than any other electric guitar.

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Prior to buying my first SG in 1991, I had owned a few electric guitars: A cheap no-name electric, a Gibson Les Paul Custom, and a Fender Stratocaster.

 

But then, I went to see Oliver Stone's "The Doors" movie, and seeing the SG "in action" really made an impression on me. It looked so damn cool. I began listening to The Doors a lot following that movie-going experience, and I finally decided that I had to have a "Robbie Kreiger" guitar. Of course, I could not afford that specific model (heritage cherry with the Maestro tremelo, etc.). So, I settled on the cheaper "Standard" model. But, from that moment forward, no other guitar has been able to come up to the SG in looks, feel, sound. As some of you may already know, I just bought a '50s Tribute SG… and when it's time to add another guitar to my arsenal, it'll be another SG (perhaps one with that elusive tremelo?). I have no reason to look at any other model at this point.

 

So, who or what was it that set your love affair with the SG in motion?

At the innocent age of fourteen I started playing in a band that was playing high school dances. My framus was giving me problems like shorting out on stage. and because I was poor as hell I bought a used 66 standard. I wanted a les Paul but couldn't scrap together enough to purchase one. I got used to the standard and the feel the awesome sound and lightness of the sg standard and haven't looked back since. I started playing sg standards because it was all I could afford at the time. lol

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I tried an SG as a teen because a teacher had one for students to use. I was instantly impressed and hooked on it's great playability, ease of handling, and great upper fret access. Then there's the awesome tone the guitar gives. [thumbup]

 

I've loved them ever since and never want to be without one! I have the most fun playing my SG more than any other electric guitar.

 

You jogged my memory, JM…

 

After I graduated from college, and was making money, I decided to take "lessons" from my teacher who I had taken lessons from, for a very brief time, waaaaay back when I first started. I wanted him to show me what it was I had learned on my own (these patterns on the neck seem to connect somehow!) [laugh] Anyway.... one evening, as I waited outside for my lesson, his student before me came out with a gorgeous heritage cherry SG—the model I was keen on at the time. I think it was very soon after that when I ordered mine.

 

Good times!

 

Enjoying reading the responses so far…

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A photo of Frank Zappa on the back of the Apostrophe album. Pat Martino on the California Jam 2 album. Santana Gypsy Queen. Pete Townsend at Woodstock when he made that SG Special sound like a wounded dinosaur right before (and while) he unsuccessfully tried to smash it on the stage. Of course that's assuming Zappa used the SG on that album and Pat used his at Cal Jam (I've not seen any footage).

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My first SG was the tobacco sunburst 1978 Standard I still own. Around the splitup of my first band where I had been vocalist and percussionist, I started playing guitar due to a bet against the former bandmate who pre-owned it. My first axe was a no-name LP copy with bolt-on neck I bought from the other ex-guitarist of the same band. Later I bought a badly refinished plywood Ibanez Strat copy. I sold it soon after due to its poor vibrato performance, bought the Suzuki LP copy with set neck I still own, and at first I replaced its microphonic bridge pickup with an SH-5 Duncan Custom.

 

Already being vocalist and guitarist in a new band, I soon founded another group with the ex-drummer of my first band. Two months later we had a record contract, and another month later a contract for a nationwide TV show. This made me look for a guitar with a prominent brand name on it.

 

One of the mates in this new band owned that time a Gibson Les Paul Custom in ebony, a cherry red Gibson SG Standard repaired after snapping off its headstock and for strange reasons retrofitted with an XLR-3 male output socket, and a brown Fender Blacktop Stratocaster which will be mentioned again a bit later. Furthermore, I had admired Frank Zappa for his heavily modded SG already years before - I bought two of these recently released limited guitars in June 2013. The tobacco sunburst 1978 SG I mentioned above was for sale, I was in a pinch, and so on September 2nd, 1982 I payed a price that would perhaps have been justified for mint condition. At that time, this SG was without its pickguard and laced with tapes and stickers. I carefully removed all that crap and reinstalled the pickguard. The finish still says today where the lousy stuff had been. Moreover, on the treble side of the lower bout it was already that time worn down to the wood, and there were and still are lots of dings and dongs on the back due to my bandmate's belt buckles.

 

However, some parts of the track recordings I already had played on my Suzuki, and these ended up on the first record, but most of them and the whole TV show I played on this SG. Due to a directive of our producer, I also played the Fender Stratocaster of a bandmate for a particular rhythm guitar part. He wasn't very pleased with it which I completely understood. Twenty nine and a half years after splitup we became bandmates again in March 2013, and in contrary to both the above mentioned Gibsons he still owns it. By the way, beside some other guitars he actually owns two Firebirds, two SGs, three Les Pauls and another Fender Stratocaster. On our second record I played my SG exclusively.

 

Nevertheless I was dissatisfied with my SG's performance, and played it very seldom compared to the Weimann Blues Bird and the Ibanez RG 430 I bought in 1985 and 1987. It took me years to accidentally find out Gibson had used 100 kOhms tone pots stock which badly choked the sound of the pickups. I replaced them with 500 kOhms ones, and since that day my 1978 SG sounds fantastic. Years before we believed it just was the "new" Gibson sound compared to the "good old" one since my pal's SG and Les Paul had the same indistinctive, mushy tone, and I think it was due to the poorly dimensioned tone pots, too.

 

I still am considering a refinishing of my 1978 SG Standard, and I think I will have it done when it has to be refretted. I still remember how great this guitar looked when the previous owner bought it. Due to my age, I was the only bandmate with a driver licence and a car, and so I brought the whole group to Munich when our pal fetched his brand-new SG on July 12th, 1979. One fine day I think it may look again same fine and glossy as it did that day... I just don't seem to put up with this darn mojo I never would have done to it.

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Back in the day.....

 

The local guitar store had a cream Les Paul in the store-front window I was addicted to. It was just a stunning guitar. The cream Les Paul still is. Anyway it was way beyond my reach but I could still dream. A friend of mine had an older brother who played drums in a R&R band. Through some wheeling & dealing my friend bought a used SG from a down-on-his-luck musician his brother knew. This was shortly after Les Paul forced Gibson to take his name off the devil horned guitar. But I played my friend's SG every chance I got. It wasn't great because it was an SG but because it was the only electric guitar I had ever played. Made me jones for the Les Paul even more. Only 40 years later I finally bought my own SG.

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Would love to see a pic of that '78 Standard, capmaster!

Sorry, no high res pics, took them with a webcam just now, and PC or provider was reluctant to rotate them 90° clockwise... <_<

 

The newest parts on this 1978 SG besides the strings are the truss rod cover since I do love blank ones, the TP-6 fine tuning tailpiece for convenience, and the Levy's MSS3 Tan strap which greatly prevents neck diving. As you might suppose, I keep the original truss rod bell saying S-G and the stock tailpiece on the shelf.

 

jbna.jpg

 

gvar.jpg

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Sorry, no high res pics, took them with a webcam just now, and PC or provider was reluctant to rotate them 90° clockwise... <_<

 

The newest parts on this 1978 SG besides the strings are the truss rod cover since I do love blank ones, the TP-6 fine tuning tailpiece for convenience, and the Levy's MSS3 Tan strap which greatly prevents neck diving. As you might suppose, I keep the original truss rod bell saying S-G and the stock tailpiece on the shelf.

 

]http://imageshack.us/a/img30/7839/jbna.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img40/8868/gvar.jpg

 

Thanks so much for posting those, capmaster! Nice SG! I love how the burst finish was carried-over to the back of the guitar, and not just a black back.

 

[thumbup]

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I had very little pull to them until I was at a jam one day and one of the guys brought along an SG Classic. He handed it to me, and said "here,.. play it..." I plugged it into my marshall and was instantly smitten with the P90 growl not to mention the fret board access and over all ergonomics of the guitar.

 

I bought my own classic a few months later, added to the stable with an SG Standard last year.

 

they don't get as much use as my les pauls do, but they get played a lot.

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Weight. My L P was killing my back!

My lightest LP (CS Std F) has the same weight as my heaviest SG (USA Supra) and my heaviest Fender Stratocaster. In contrary, my lightest SG as well as my lightest Strat are about 30% below my heaviest LP. In other words, my Strats are in the same range as my SGs.

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For me it was all about the feel. SG was built to play. The bouts are in the right spot, the cutaways are generous, it's thin, and it's light. It's got the right balance between bulk and nothing, and just holding it feels fast. It's an absolute joy to play.

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I have an SG on the GAS list at the moment, and the sole reason I want one consists of two words:

 

Angus Young

 

It really is that simple, the sounds that man gets from an SG plugged into a cranked valve amp are simply divine. Or hellish, depending on how you look at it.

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Angus Young.

 

As a teen, I loved his tone and his playing style. I had a cheap Strat copy, and and desire to own LOTS of off-beat guitars (everybody I knew played Strats or Ibanez, and I started looking for something different... although I turned down an obscurely-branded Perspex-bodied guitar to buy a Washburn Bantam headless bass).

 

For my 21st (1992) I traipsed off to Guitar Crazy at Coogee with the aim of going home with an SG. I was overwhelmed by choice! Old mate showed me a lovely wine-red unit with gold hardware and a trio of humbuckers...

 

"It's a '67 Reissue," said old mate. That meant squat to me. I fell in love with the delicate thin neck, the ease with which it played... while the other one he showed me - another reissue (sixty-something either '61 or '63 or something) had more sting to its tones, the '67 RI had me hooked.

 

And so it's been with me for nearly 21 years, and I've not felt the need to purchase another guitar since.

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I always liked the looks of them, but many years ago, a sales guy told me they were no good..."Just a plank..." About 8 years ago, I bought a Chinese copy, then an Epiphone, then a Gibson...Now I have 3 Gibson SG's-2 1999 Specials, both black, and a 2007 3 HB Special in worn white. They are all a little different, but all great players, and really, you can get any kind of sound you can imagine out of an SG*...All 3 of my SG's have Humbuckers...and all 3 of my LP's have P90's, as does my Epi Casino.

 

It just happened that way.msp_rolleyes.gif

 

I can't explain it...

 

mark

 

* Any kind of sound you can imagine...Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush, 1970's, live...intro by Dickie Betts...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw_MEs0xOAg

 

 

Frank is SO underrated, it's a crime. Added - Frank used solid state Peavey amps on the road for many years...this was probably played using one...

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I have an SG on the GAS list at the moment, and the sole reason I want one consists of two words:

 

Angus Young

 

It really is that simple, the sounds that man gets from an SG plugged into a cranked valve amp are simply divine. Or hellish, depending on how you look at it.

[biggrin][biggrin][biggrin] or perhaps even listen [lol]

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