SG Special Faded Quality

[kaleb]

I was just wondering, and although I do love my SG Special Faded like a woman, I just wanted to know if anybody else has had these faults.

My SG has some finish problems on the headstock, neck joint area, and inside the cutaways. Like the wood wasn't sanded very well and then stained.

The other issue is that the fingerboard used to stick out a little on the bass side of the neck. That was fixed when I sanded the finish off of the back of the neck ( dont ya just love the feel of bare wood on your hands! ). I know mahogany is an open grain wood so it obviously needs more filler when applying a satin finish. So I wouldn't really call this a QC problem, but just as something to expect. Stuff like that doesn't really bother me anyways, as sound and playability always come first. Just wonderin'. I'll post pics later when I get a new cell phone.

[BryanFoFyan]

i have the same guitar and have absolutley no complaints about it besides maybe my neck is starting to dull and turn more orange due to playing it so much i guess. but i actually prefer the faded finish on the neck over the standard.

[kaleb]

i have the same guitar and have absolutley no complaints about it besides maybe my neck is starting to dull and turn more orange due to playing it so much i guess. but i actually prefer the faded finish on the neck over the standard.

 

Thanks for the info. Maybee I just got unlucky. But that won't stop me from cranking out good rock n' roll on this axe!

[Swinzey]

I have one and it dosent have any qc problems xcept for the crap nut. thinking about putting a brass nut on.

[yoda]

I was just wondering, and although I do love my SG Special Faded like a woman, I just wanted to know if anybody else has had these faults.

My SG has some finish problems on the headstock, neck joint area, and inside the cutaways. Like the wood wasn't sanded very well and then stained.

The other issue is that the fingerboard used to stick out a little on the bass side of the neck. That was fixed when I sanded the finish off of the back of the neck ( dont ya just love the feel of bare wood on your hands! ). I know mahogany is an open grain wood so it obviously needs more filler when applying a satin finish. So I wouldn't really call this a QC problem, but just as something to expect. Stuff like that doesn't really bother me anyways, as sound and playability always come first. Just wonderin'. I'll post pics later when I get a new cell phone.

 

 

You do realize that it is a FADED finish. e.g. not all the coats of stain, and clear coat, and buffing of a gloss finish guitar. The fret board thing is weird, but the finish on the faded is not the smoothest thing in the world.

[kaleb]

You do realize that it is a FADED finish. e.g. not all the coats of stain, and clear coat, and buffing of a gloss finish guitar. The fret board thing is weird, but the finish on the faded is not the smoothest thing in the world.

 

Yea, I know. It's just that some parts are smooth and some or rough. Doesn't really bother me though.

[Kostek12]

theres a weird dark spot on my cutaway, kinda sucks but got to live with it :\

[Dio-bass]

I luvthe finish of my faded satin black. Its like something very different compare to other guitars

[ironlung40]

I've seen the inconsistencies with the finish you speak of very commonly with the faded series. It's really not a big deal in my opinion, although, all of the edges really ought to be smooth. I've seen woods that can have a problem area that is really hard to sand out, and the more you sand, the more the area seems to not cooperate. Maybe this has happened on a few of the fadeds as well, as I'm sure the wood quality isn't as good as the higher end models. My faded is all smooth everywhere though, even in the covered cavities....so each one is a bit different. It's one of those play before you buy deals, and pick the best one. I don't see a little roughness being a problem though, on a faded.

 

 

as far as the fretboard, that seems odd. You should post some pictures.....nevermind, I see you sanded it down. Does the fretboard match up good on the treble side of the neck, or is there a gap there?

[kaleb]

I've seen the inconsistencies with the finish you speak of very commonly with the faded series. It's really not a big deal in my opinion, although, all of the edges really ought to be smooth. I've seen woods that can have a problem area that is really hard to sand out, and the more you sand, the more the area seems to not cooperate. Maybe this has happened on a few of the fadeds as well, as I'm sure the wood quality isn't as good as the higher end models. My faded is all smooth everywhere though, even in the covered cavities....so each one is a bit different. It's one of those play before you buy deals, and pick the best one. I don't see a little roughness being a problem though, on a faded.

 

 

as far as the fretboard, that seems odd. You should post some pictures.....nevermind, I see you sanded it down. Does the fretboard match up good on the treble side of the neck, or is there a gap there?

 

 

Yeah, now I understand that a FADED finish has differences from a regular satin finish. On the treble side, theres no gap and its perfect. The gap on the bass side is still there, but it ain't as bad as it used to be. Thanks.

[Tommy]

You`re all talking about the faded finish...

 

But what is about the quality of the wood? My Sg faded is made of 3 parts mahagony, and a dealer told me, that the standard version is often made of one piece or not more than 2. He also told me, that there are differences in the quality of the wood... what do you think about that?

[BryanFoFyan]

You`re all talking about the faded finish...

 

But what is about the quality of the wood? My Sg faded is made of 3 parts mahagony, and a dealer told me, that the standard version is often made of one piece or not more than 2. He also told me, that there are differences in the quality of the wood... what do you think about that?

 

 

the wood is actually not as good as on a standard and the faded are definatly made of usually between 2-4 pieces of wood.

[Onlyme]

about 2 years ago now i was looking to buy my first real Gibson. I looked at several Faded specials and was not impressed with the quality at all. In general the necks were poorly finished, particularly the frets but also the join to the body in several cases just didnt look like a good fit. The "ordinary" specials seemed better but only just.

 

I eventually concluded that the bound neck models are vastly superior in finish and that real Gibson quality started with the SG standards. I bought an SG Classic with P90s which was, I believe, a special run for the distributor I got it from and a little cheaper than the SG Standard if I recall correctly. It has a really nice bound neck and the same sort of overall quality as the standard although it is clearly not a one piece body. I am very happy with it although I am wondering if the action could be set a little lower. Maybe I will take it to an expert and see what they think.