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Gibson SG for instrumental music


agjs

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Hey guys. I'm a huge fan of Satch, Vai, Buckethead, and similar artists and that's the main type of music I play. Aside from that, I play some hard rock and metal.

Since I never owned a Gibson and I've been playing for 15/20 years, I'm thinking to buy Gibson SG 2018 Standard and I'm wondering if the mentioned artists above would sound any good on the SG. 

I would love to hear if any of you are playing a lead guitar on your SG, how does it feel to solo, shred, etc on it. I'm aware that not having a FR or tremolo is a limitation but I have more than 10 Ibanez guitars and I'm covered there. 

Kind Regards,

Alex

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I have two SG's and they are great all around guitars. However, my only complaint is that everyone SG I have played it's neck heavy. But reach in the upper fret area helps to forget about the neck heavy artifact. 

I read somewhere there are guitar straps that combat the issue of neck heavy guitars, but I cant seem to find the link.

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I read someone say that SGs are quirky, but are phenomenal guitars. I tend to agree with it. It is neck heavy, so you'll need a strap that'll grip, like a leather strap. As a LP player, even though the scale lengths are the same, the neck feels farther away from your body. However, if you can live with these things or somewhat tame some of its quirks, it's just a surreal guitar. It is extremely versatile (I've seen Jazz players use them), it has all the fret access, sounds phenomenal (the thing can growl, yet retains clarity in a way that is unique to SGs), it is light as a feather, can take a proper beating, in summary it is just amazing. I don't like trems or FRs, so I can't help you there, but since I've got my first SG, I hope I'll always own one. 

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I never played the type of music you described (I'm old), but have used an SG for lead guitar, and they do make models with vibrato (probably not the extent of dive-bombing you might seek), but they are certainly worth you're trying one out.  I never experienced the neck dive that some complain of, the fret access is very good and an SG can sound very much like a Les Paul, but is so much lighter and more comfortable to play for long periods of time.  They have been used over the years for many different styles of music.  If you have access to a local music store that carries SGs you owe it to  yourself to try one out.  

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Along with the other players listed above, Eric Clapton (“Fool” SG), Buck Dharma, Frank Marino, Frank Hannon, Robbie Krieger, Glenn Tipton & countless others.

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I have 2 SGs, they great all around guitars, and you can pretty much expect to play anything you need/want on one.  The neck dive is solved with a suede or brushed leather strap.  Straps made from Nylon materials will slide around on your shoulder, the suede or brushed leather will not.  This the kind of material I go with on all my straps.

I've never seen an SG with a FR, not saying they don't exist, I've just never seen one.  They are pretty thin bodies, so no idea how the required route would work.

There are other options available though.

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What about the Floyd Rose designed for Gibson's with a Surface-Mount FRX with locking nut.. Lots of images on the web showing them installed on SG's, like this one below...

frx.jpg

There is also Kahler, Stetsbar that replace the bridge and stopbar,  or Duesenberg that replaces just the stopbar, to name a few..

My SG of choice is one with P90's.

Nothing like an SG for upper neck access...

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I currently have an SG and have had several over the years.  I can vouch for its versatility, as others have stated here.  A pleasure to play - and I have never been bothered by any neck dive  😏.   

Keep in mind, from a historical perspective, that Gibson in fact designed and introduced the SG as a replacement for the Les Paul in 1961 (and it wasn't re-named as the SG until 1963.  The Les Paul wasn't re-introduced until 1968) - so they weren't really targeting a specific genre of music (at that time of course).  With the excellent upper fret access, I think its more versatile than the Les Paul.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On ‎6‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 5:05 PM, bobalu said:

I currently have an SG and have had several over the years.  I can vouch for its versatility, as others have stated here.  A pleasure to play - and I have never been bothered by any neck dive  😏.   

Keep in mind, from a historical perspective, that Gibson in fact designed and introduced the SG as a replacement for the Les Paul in 1961 (and it wasn't re-named as the SG until 1963.  The Les Paul wasn't re-introduced until 1968) - so they weren't really targeting a specific genre of music (at that time of course).  With the excellent upper fret access, I think its more versatile than the Les Paul.

I have had many SG's over the years, the 61 style below is one of my favorites, I don't think I could ever part with this one....

GLDu1Sl.jpg

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On 6/12/2019 at 7:46 AM, agjs said:

Hey guys. I'm a huge fan of Satch, Vai, Buckethead, and similar artists and that's the main type of music I play. Aside from that, I play some hard rock and metal.

Since I never owned a Gibson and I've been playing for 15/20 years, I'm thinking to buy Gibson SG 2018 Standard and I'm wondering if the mentioned artists above would sound any good on the SG. 

I would love to hear if any of you are playing a lead guitar on your SG, how does it feel to solo, shred, etc on it. I'm aware that not having a FR or tremolo is a limitation but I have more than 10 Ibanez guitars and I'm covered there. 

Kind Regards,

Alex

 

Nothing wrong with the SG.  Just be sure to have it  properly setup.  Give it a shot,  you  might just like it! 😉

redsgs3.jpg

On 6/12/2019 at 9:20 AM, Twang Gang said:

I never played the type of music you described (I'm old), but have used an SG for lead guitar, and they do make models with vibrato (probably not the extent of dive-bombing you might seek), but they are certainly worth you're trying one out.  I never experienced the neck dive that some complain of, the fret access is very good and an SG can sound very much like a Les Paul, but is so much lighter and more comfortable to play for long periods of time.  They have been used over the years for many different styles of music.  If you have access to a local music store that carries SGs you owe it to  yourself to try one out.  

 

Why yes they do! 😉

sgorigfrontzmangl.jpg

...and if nothing else:

bigsby.jpg

😄

 

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On ‎7‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 2:29 PM, arcticsg said:

Why yes they do!

😉

I have had lots of different type of tremolos and found the Strat style to be the most efficient but a real pain to install on a Gibson..  The easiest to install with the most dive travel by far is the Les Trem II by Duesenberg which will go down almost as far as a Strat and its really simple to install just replacing the stopbar, no extra screws no damage to cover up if you take it off....k7aiGWg.jpg

Also my Stetsbar that replaces a wraparound bridge with no extra screws and a B5 style hardmount Duesenberg. But the simplest and best reacting I have found is the Les Trem II.

I am a firm believer that an SG can do anything.....................

Santana-Woodstock2.jpg

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