What do YOU like more about the SG than the LP?

[heymisterk]

Hi All,

 

I thought this would be a fun topic to take us through Hump Day...

 

Since you're on this part of the Forum, I'm curious to to hear your thoughts: Why do you like the SG more than the Les Paul? If you DON'T feel that way, perhaps you can name SOMETHING that you like more about the SG than the Les Paul. (For the record, I like the LP too.)

 

For me, the SG is just an all-around more practical guitar. I'll be the first to say that I think a LP - with the top all flaming or whatever - is impressive to the audience. But when I hold both guitars in my hand, the SG just "feels" better to me. It's like I'm holding a petite, sexy woman in my arms, what with the thinner body and (much) lighter weight. I also feel freer to bounce around the stage with it than I do a LP. Add to it that SGs are much more reasonably priced than LPs, and it's Game Over. Sound is obviously dependent on the pick-ups; I'm a P-90 guy, and love my Classic.

 

Would love to hear from you!

[fartz]

Price and weight. I played a lot of guitars before settling on my Classic. I love the p90s and neck.

[Maple]

well i agree the SG is a more "playable" guitar. ligher, smaller and better access to the high notes.

 

I'm new (in the last year to Gibsons) but form what i can tell, an SG sounds like an SG and an LP sounds like an LP. LP's sounds a bit smoother to me and they overdrive faster. SG's sound a bit rougher. Don't get me wrong this is not a bad thing at all. I own both and love the way they both sound. Example, Mr. Speed or Firehouse by Kiss; that's an LP sound all the way. Bad Boy Boogie or Whole Lotta Rosie by AC/DC, total SG sound. Both are amazing to me and you can play them all with either guitar, but they sound "right" when played with guitars that were used. right tool for the job kinda thing.. or being able to appretiate both.

[SG dude]

I love the looks, the light weight, the fastest neck in the world, the heavenly hellish sounds that it makes, i love soooo many things about it but price is only a bonus.

[sliptrip]

I own both as well. My SG is my backup to my LP. Sometimes, I wonder if it should be the other way around! But, I'm a LP guy first, and and SG a close second. They both have their own identities. I have small hands, so playing the SG in the upper registers is MUCH easier than trying to stretch my kiddie fingers around the monstrous neck joint of my LP. But, then the LP almost feels like an extension of me when I'm playing it. It almost plays itself for me. For a while I was going to sell the SG and buy a V, but I'm glad I didn't it.

[cvansickle]

I definitely like the SG's lighter weight over an LP. I don't start the evening playing the SG, but I finish with one!

[sliptrip]

I definitely like the SG's lighter weight over an LP. I don't start the evening playing the SG' date=' but I finish with one![/quote']

 

I do the same thing: first 2 sets, Les Paul and the the last set, the SG!

[Kurt]

I like them both. But if I could keep only one guitar it would be an SG. It´s easier to play and in my opinion it has the perfect shape.

 

Greetings

Kurt

[elantric]

I'm the opposite.

 

I prefer my '72 LP over my '61 SG Special P90s - on my LP, I have much better tone, and with my rewiring with yamaha push-push pots on all 4 pots I have a wider spectrum of tones. (series/ parallel, independent coil selection, etc) all stealth.

 

SG has a fiddly Neck, it flexes too much at the neck / body joint, its awkward to play "F" bar chords because the 1st fret is so far away compared my other guitars, and poor intonation due to the angle bar bridge ( '57 LP Jr style.) and sounds thin (even with vintage oem P90's) compared to my LP.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

I typically have my SG strung in Open G tuning for slide.

[charlie brown]

Upper fret access, and weight! Otherwise, I like them both, equally...playability and tone wise. They're a bit

different, that way...but equally awesome.

 

CB

[heymisterk]

I really disliked the standard 490/498 'buckers that came on my '95 Standard, to be sure. I thought they just sounded DOA. That said, it's still my absolute favorite guitar. In addition, if you haven't checked out Guild's S-100, if you love SGs, you owe it to yourself to try one.

 

As much as I love Les Pauls, I do think they're overpriced. You can get a USA-made Hamer or a Heritage with the same sound and style (and some would argue better-quality) for cheaper.

[Demoryn]

The first thing that appealed to me about the SG was the balance. As strange as it may sound, the top heaviness of the SG fits me better than the LP. Also, the upper fret access has always been a staple of the SG

 

Tonally, I always thought the SG had a warmer, dirtier, more raw sound, which is what I like. It's got a really nice dirty, guttural edge.

 

Last, I just like the shape better; it looks badass. And I was always really partial to the cherry finish

[callen3615]

Access, you cant replace a les paul tho. There just different.

[BigKahune]

You can't beat the LP's sustain, but... the neck joint is a *****, the single cutaways make access to the fretboard problematic, the body is quite a bit heavier, which also makes the neck pop up on you and the LP is at times uncomfortable to play. The fact is, the SG was designed to address all of these faults with the LP. Despite these faults, the LP was still so popular that Gibson never dropped it - it's gotta be the magic, mystique, voodoo, mojo, whatever...

[80LPC]

You can get a USA-made Hamer or a Heritage with the same sound and style

 

As for style, I don't think either of these guitars can come close to the iconic Les Paul Custom in black. I've never been too keen on that oversize Hamer headstock.

 

There are many good reasons to own different guitars, but at the end of the day it's about tone. And although I prefer (just) the looks of the SG over the Les Paul, I think the LP wins on tone. I used to make many recordings with my LP and SG, and the LP always sounded better - both clean and overdriven. With the LP, there is more clarity to the treble, and this means you can use higher gain and avoid becoming muddy. The maple cap and stronger neck joint definitely help the tone I think. My Custom has a maple neck which makes it sound brighter than a Les Paul Standard. The SG and LP compliment each other very well. The SG has more warmth, and the Custom has that clarity that cuts through a mix.

[TinFish]

It would be easier for me to say way I dislike about SG's compared to Les Pauls. Balance.

[brundaddy]

I love the wide neck on my 61ri! The SG has much better neck heel (not structurally but you can reach way higher frets), it's light, sounds fantastic...

[nynvolt]

Looks. Most of us were probably first inspired at an early age and for me I liked how the SG looked. I also liked the explorer, the flying V and of course fender strats. The LP didn't appeal to me growing up. To me it always looked like a country pickers or rich kids guitar. It has since grown on me and I would love to own one but if the SG is overpriced then what could be said of a LP at almost twice the cost for similar model range. CRAZY expensive. To me the LP is more of a symbol of prestige than a working musicians tool. Sorta like those cadillac SUV's with the 30" chrome rims and never see the rain much less mud or mountain trails.

[Murph]

I love a double cut. I make a living up there, contrary to whatever the quote is.

 

I gigged a Les Paul for 14 years. But the SG's bigger/thinner body fits me better, and I just happened to get a cheapy Walnut one (that was 14 years old NOS I found in a music store in Lake Charles La.) that has sustain that'll rattle yer fillings.

 

Unplugged.

 

I bought my daughter a new Studio Lester, '08 Fireburst, I'm looking at it right now, it's a fine machine.

 

I just prefer the 339, and the SG.

 

Murph.

[sgTime]

Everything.

 

There is only one flaw to my sg standard...

 

You know the input jack?

 

Have you ever tried to quickly slide down the neck pup's tone knob?

 

Yeah.

 

Other then that, its perfect...

 

Although i probably wouldnt change that little bit, since the side input sgs (robot?) were weird as hell...

[80LPC]

To me the LP is more of a symbol of prestige than a working musicians tool.

 

A few working musicians who influenced me seemed to think it could be both :

 

Al Dimeola, John Mclaughlin, Randy Rhoads, Mick Ronson, Peter Green, Jimmy Page, Mike Bloomfield, Scott Gorham, Gary Moore, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Brian Robertson, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, John Sykes, Philip Catherine, Andy latimer, Steve Hackett, Frank Zappa, Snowy White, Bill Connors, Icarus Johnson, Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton and Les Paul.

[the guitar butcher]

my sg is light as he!! but if i had to find the lightest lp it would be an lpj

[jimmiJAMM]

Weight, curves, tone, fret access, attitude.

[hbomb76]

The thing about a good example of both a LP AND SG is that with very minor EQ tweaks either can sound identical to the other to all but the most anal of ears (and even then I'd challenge 'em to a blind test to prove 'em wrong and watch 'em steam before stomping out of the room...lol). I never was as enthralled with traditional LP's like most people. I actually got my hands on an old LP before I ever touched an SG, and just wasn't impressed. I couldn't get to the last several frets efficiently, and it wasn't some magical event like was supposed to happen. I think I even hurt dude's feelings because he expected me to be blown away by it. Sorry dude...lol

 

SG's (and do realize I don't mean ALL SG's, I speak specifically of the '61 through '71 models) jumped out at me because they just look like rock-n-roll to me. They're curvy like a woman, horny like a devil and I can reach all the way up that neck without much effort (I gots little hands ya' know). As already said, I determined early on that the sound difference between the SG and LP was nominal, and I prefer the SG's "bite" to the more mellowed LP tone...back the tone off a notch and you're in LP-ish territory, or close as I care to be anyway. I liked the more balanced look of the SG, and when you're trying to play rockstar on stage, you can't get around as easily with a LP around your neck, unless it's one of those chambered models for chicks (lol). Speaking of chicks, you know the guitar that hands-down has gotten more female-compliments than either my buddy's gold-top OR his tobacco-burst? Yup, you guessed it, my Angus signature. Go figure. Chicks like devilish guitars and bad boys. :-

 

Would I mind owning a white or black LP Custom? Certainly not. But not before I'd but THREE properly-made early/mid-60's SG Standard reissues (or if I happened upon a garage sale genie and snagged another original in cared-for condition...lol). Besides, the SG has already been proven (or at least is speculated to be by a scientific mind) the "most powerful guitar" so there you go. Case closed...or "open, with guitar in hand!" ;)

 

H-Bomb

[pete c]

i like the sg because of the weight, i have shoulder problems. plus i like to sit when playing at home. the sg is more comfortable than the lp for my to sit and play. and just the overall look of the guitar.