dickus Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 I was hoping someone could shed some light on the true differences between a Standard and a Special- are there significant electronic or wood quality differences, or are they mostly cosmetic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Standard has a bound fret board, covered pickups 490, 498, and the full nitro finish, both are mahoghany boddies. The Special can have the full finish, pickups are the uncovered 490t and 490r check out Gibsons site for further info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eljay Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 specials from gc have p90s (at least some do) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Robinson Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 This topic has been covered brfore so it might be worth taking a look. If your thinking of buying one and not sure if the standards worth the extra cash ..it is and u can get very good second hand ones to save even more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rushview Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 The Specials are usually made from 3/4/5 pieces of wood. On most I've seen, especially on the Special Faded models, they're pretty much all 5 piece bodies. Most Standards tend to be 1 or 2 piece. Blackie's right about the pickups and fingerboard. Standard also has inlaid Gibson logo instead of the Silkscreen of the Special. You also get a Hardcase with the Standard where as the Special comes with only a Giggidybag. My vote... Standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonesullivan Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 the GC and Musicians friend SGs that have P-90s are called SG Classics, not specials, as far as I know. Originally, the specials had the p-90s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG_Slinger Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 These guys answered it plain and simple. My vote, go for the standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 These guys answered it plain and simple.My vote' date=' go for the standard.[/quote'] Totally agree the above and other comments,get the standard. There are some nice specials out there of course, but a lot of people get a special and then fairly soon, wish they'd got a standard,start modifying it (pickup covers etc) to make it look more like a standard/, change pickups etc. I also found that the neck was a little thicker on the the special, or at least it definitely felt like it(and not in a nice way). I'll throw you a curved ball here though, a lot of guys here rave about the SG classic, which (if I'm right) lies between the special and standard in terms of price.It has P90 pickups, and has (I think a bound neck, but dot inlays), It certainly isn't considered to be a "second best" option by most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom123 Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I have an SG classic, and it took me a good thirty minutes of side by side to tell the difference (In feel) between that and an SG standard at my local shop. The Classic won. Big time. The Standard was an incredible guitar, of course (That was the one that originally made me want an SG of any kind), but the Classic both sounds better, and, ultimately, felt better too. It may not have the trapezoid inlays, but that isn't exactly the most important thing when you're playing, is it =P It really is a glorious guitar. Edit: And finally, this was all even, with the classic being 500 dollars less. You need a good 1100$ to get a good one online, and more like 1900 for one in an offline store. I paid 610 for my classic. That's 500 less online (Already almost as much less as I paid in the first place) and 1300 less offline (More than double) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG_Slinger Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I also found that the neck was a little thicker on the the special, or at least it definitely felt like it(and not in a nice way). My SG faded special does indeed feel like it has a thincker neck than a Standard:-k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsme72 Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 definetly standard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Of course, a lot of it varies with factory inconsistencies. I've played custom shop SGs that felt much worse than my Standard and lower cost models that felt great. I've played a Classic and a Standard that both felt like crap. And of course I've played SGs of all sorts that just blew mind (why I bought my Standard). The bottom line is that the better models such as the Classic, Standard, '61 RI, and custom models will all feel more consistently better, but there will always be some duds. It's important to play as many of whatever you're looking for as possible to find the one that really shines. So I don't think playing 2 guitars from a line and comparing them is fair. Unless they're 2 really great ones. (by the way I'm not saying custom shop models and classics or standards are no good. I love them.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmiJAMM Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Bought my last five guitars on eBay without ever laying a hand on them and they're all awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apothecurious Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 just get the standard... a much nicer instrument IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmiJAMM Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Agreed. The Standard killz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruliosis Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Agreed. The Standard killz +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I was hoping someone could shed some light on the true differences between a Standard and a Special- are there significant electronic or wood quality differences' date=' or are they mostly cosmetic?[/quote']I say mainly cosmetic. With the right amp they both sound amazing. To show you check out these videos below. The first is a Gibson SG Custom Shop Reissue. Top of the line guitar. Better than the Standard you could say. [/YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdQH0cEPCVk[YOUTUBE] next up, Gibson USA SG Special [/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE] They both sound great, so I say the difference is cosmetic and a few $100 Look how great the Special sounds compared to the Custom Shop VOS Reissue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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