ilovegibsons Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 I am debating between the SG standard and the SG '61 Reissue. The main difference (apart from colour, finish, and pickguard) seems to be the '57 'PAF' Pickups. Are they really worth the extra money, considering that I play a wide range of music (Jazz, Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Blues, Classic Rock...)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbomb76 Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Copied from an earlier post I'd made on the SG section: Just the other day I was in Guitar Center and they happened to have a '61 RI and Standard hanging side-by-side, and honestly, with the horrible diminishing bevels on the current '61 reissues (in fact at our GC, the Standard there has better beveling than the '61 RI, which is SAD, SAD, SAD, Gibson!!!), the ONLY real differences were as follows: '61 reissue has the small box-joint neck (which I prefer)/Standard has the bigger heel and smoothed joint (which is more "sturdy" feeling according to some, but inhibits upper-fret access a little bit compared to the smaller '61 joint) '61 RI has nickel hardware/chrome on the Std (big whup, I actually like chrome more) '61 has '57 Classic pickups/Standard has 498T/490R combination (both are okay sounding, although it's worth hearing them A/B'd) '61RI has the smaller pickguard, blank truss rod cover, wider headstock, tapered horn tips (more like the originals) and slimmer neck profile. Both now feature the same style of tuners, tune-o-matic/stopbar, knobs and switch cap. But the '61 reissues I've seen since '07 have gradually lost their "reissue-ness" as far as I'm concerned due to the skimpy bevels. I'm thrilled to see they've kept the circa-'99 tapered horn update, but I'm saddened to see the rest of the guitar coasting downhill. Structurally, the '61 is a decent guitar, and the '57 Classics are a little more versatile on the clean-side than the 490-series pickups, and are more than capable of metal. Either have advantages/disadvantages, but I think overall you're going to appreciate the '61 more down the road. H-Bomb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovegibsons Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 That was... detailed. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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