SG Special Faded

[sunburstfaded]

Having previously owned a Custon Shop SG, SG Standards, SG GT and an SG Robot, I am now playing an SG Special in faded cherry...and I think it's the best of the lot. The neck feels great and it sounds really alive and responsive. My question is what do Gibson NOT do to the faded guitars compared to the Standard? Apart from the neck binding and inlay work, what is the difference in the neck finishes between these guitars? I could never take to the Standard neck (too many Fenders!) but I love the feel of the Special faded neck. It is real comfy to play. Is there something wrong with me?

[ALIEN8]

Nope, the standard faded in my opinion are the best SG's. Mine sounds better than anything else I've ever tried, and had comments on it too in the same respect. Crappy amps sound good when it's plugged in. Something about them makes them nice and balanced sounding, and full of harmonics. It could be the lack of finish, but it's probably a bunch of small factors all combined, like the no neck binding, no finish, inlays smaller etc.

 

I have an Ebony neck on mine too...

[radiome]

I like my faded too! Totaly love it. However, it seems that there's some faded that slips trough the quality check with some minor faults. Maybe we are lucky?

[ALIEN8]

I'm guessing it's more to do with the cuts of the wood, when comparing faded to faded. Some are two piece bodies, some even three. I was lucky enough to find and almost solid single piece. There's a 1" strip near the control cavity that was added, otherwise it's 1 piece.

 

(I'm guessing here) It seems that Gibson uses the off cuts to make the faded guitars (which is fine and I agree with doing to not waste resources) and this produces some very drastic differences between one and another. If you are faded shopping, spend some time looking at a few of them and playing them. I've found some that are amazing sounding, and some that are dead sounding, coincidentally they were 3 piece. You'll know when you find a good one and when you don't if you compare with other guitars.

[hellion102792]

If you like the neck now, just wait a few months. It smooths out a lot and feels even BETTER When mine was new the neck would feel a bit sticky on my hands after I played for a bit but after almost 3 months it's slick and the feel is perfect. Make sure to wipe down all parts you touched (back of the neck, where your forearm rests, etc) with a cotton cloth after because this finish ages pretty quickly and wiping the sweat and grease off will help it last a little longer.

[guitar_randy]

was told by Gibson customer service that the fadeds are made up of anywhere from 3to 4 pieces of wood,standard,one to two,and reissue,one piece.Looking at my sg faded,it looks like it has 4.But it sure doesn't seem to affect the sound.It really sounds and plays nice.Neck is real fast with the less finish.The neck and frets do feel rougher tho on the hands.I can't tell if my standard is 1 or 2 pieces,I suppose its probably 2,but I can't tell

My faded is the lightest guitar I've ever lifted.It like holding next to nothing.My standard is quite heavy.Both play good.Standard looks alot nicer,to me anyhow,and frets and fretboard feel better,smoother.

The pickups sound nice in the faded.Has a vintage tone kinda.I swapped out the 498t in the standard to an angus sig pickup.That really brought it to life.Its my favorite guitar now.

[ssgfowler]

I've had my Faded for about 1.5 years now. Its' become my favorite guitar I've ever owned, and easily the best sounding one I've owned.

It sings, it snarls, it sustains, and the neck has that broken in feel you usually find only after 20 years and 2 gallons of gig sweat playing it.

The only things I've done to mine are drop in an Angus Signature P/U in the bridge, chrome cover on the stock neck P/U, and replace the tuning machines with Tonepros Kluson replacements.

I agree with the fewer pieces of wood in the body the better tonewise, but I also think (IMHO) a lot of the tone comes from the fact that Gibson doesn't seal the grain of the wood before they put the (small amount) laquer finish on.

[sunburstfaded]

I actually had one of the shiny SG specials a few years ago and I don't recall it being as comfy(strange word to use but it fits) as the faded neck. Is there only one coating of paint or varnish on the necks. No polish? Does anyone know what they do to make them faded as opposed to regular shiny finish specials. I also prefers the pickups on the faded to the Standard. Maybe it's because they are open coils. Great guitars and they go for £450 new with gigbag here in the UK. A steal.

[hellion102792]

As far as I know, the Fadeds only have about 3 coats of laquer thrown on them while Standards have about 7-8.

[jamo71]

Love my Faded. I added reflector knobs and switched the pickups to a nickel set of Seymour Duncan Phat Cats. I replaced the pots and caps with a Vintage RS kit as well.

 

Before

 

After

[guitar_randy]

As far as I know' date=' the Fadeds only have about 3 coats of laquer thrown on them while Standards have about 7-8.[/quote']

 

Thats what I was told as well

[guitar_randy]

Love my Faded. I added reflector knobs and switched the pickups to a nickel set of Seymour Duncan Phat Cats. I replaced the pots and caps with a Vintage RS kit as well.

 

Before

 

After

 

 

I did the same with the volume/tone knobs.I added covers on the pickups too,but I ended up not liking it too much so took the covers back off

[vourot]

I took my acoustic in a for set up and ended up leaving the store with a 2003 special faded. I was kind of keeping one eye open for one and look what happened. Its one of those orangey,red,brown colors and I think it looks pretty cool.It has lots of play wear on the back but it seems to be in great shape.I really like the neck and it sounds great plugged into my little tube amp. I "rented" it for a month but since they are only asking 599 for it I will probably ( for sure ) buy it.I will try to haggle on the price but I don't think they will move too much.It has a lot of character and I'm stoked!

[ALIEN8]

Play hardball, don't pay more that $500, unless it has moon inlays, or ebony fret board, which are collectable. You can get a new one (without moon inlays and ebony fretboard) for that $600, with a gig bag...

[vourot]

I would be thrilled to get a new one for 600 bucks but I haven't seen any lately for less than 700 hundred.The problem being that L&M are the only guys in town who can sell new Gibsons so they don't move a lot on price.

[sg13]

Is there a way to tell how many pieces of wood it's made of other than guessing by looking at the wood grain? Like if I went to guitar center and tried 10, could I figure out if one was a single piece of wood?

[Guest alanhindle]

Is there a way to tell how many pieces of wood it's made of other than guessing by looking at the wood grain? Like if I went to guitar center and tried 10' date=' could I figure out if one was a single piece of wood?[/quote']

 

My SG special faded is a 3 piece guitar. One piece is the set in neck and the other two pieces make up the body which is joined together through the middle along the length of the guitar. The join is difficult to spot unless you examine it closely. I guess it would be much more difficult to tell if it were an unfaded special with a full 7 coat nitro finish.

 

By the way the tone and sustain of my faded is amazing. I doubt that the fact that it is a 3 piece makes much difference compared to the 2 piece standard model, particularly as it doesn't have the thick nitro coating like the standard.

 

Here's a good review of the various Gibson and Epiphone SGs. The special faded comes out very well indeed.

[sg13]

thanks,I have been saving for this guitar, and I just got it. I love it! Who wants a standard when you can get the better feeling neck and just as good components for half the price?

[jamo71]

thanks' date='I have been saving for this guitar, and I just got it. I love it! Who wants a standard when you can get the better feeling neck and just as good components for half the price?[/quote']

 

Congrats! Lets see some pics!

[deelaz]

Love my Faded. I added reflector knobs and switched the pickups to a nickel set of Seymour Duncan Phat Cats. I replaced the pots and caps with a Vintage RS kit as well.

 

Before

 

After

very nice work! i also have the phat cat bridge and the gibson p94 neck pup on my 61 reissue, but i felt that the phat cat is too flat for me, although it really has the biting sound! IMO. what do you think about the phat cat?

[jamo71]

very nice work! i also have the phat cat bridge and the gibson p94 neck pup on my 61 reissue' date=' but i felt that the phat cat is too flat for me, although it really has the biting sound! IMO. what do you think about the phat cat?[/quote']

 

Honestly, I don't think the Phat Cats are for me. I am more of a humbucker guy I guess. I expected them to be a little noisier, but these things are really noisy in my rig. So, I will eventually throw a set of humbuckers back in it. I did not like the stock pups, so I will look for something else (with nickel covers).

[Wonko the Sane]

I just found this site and look here a thread about Faded SGs. I love mine. I went into Guitar Center looking to get an Epiphone Les Paul Ultra and by the time I was done "negotiating" I had my baby for the same price. Too bad they changed their policy about pricing flexibility and treating repeat customers with some respect. But that's another story....

 

My bud there brought out about 5 of them in boxes as well as the ones on the racks and I bonded with this one. All were obviously multiple pieces of wood but mine looked like on piece and since then I've literally taken a magnifying glass to it from every angle even with the pickups out (when I put some Duncan 59's in it) and can find no seam or discontinuity of grain. It also has a slightly smaller neck than the others I tried.

 

One thing I did was mount some pickup rings on the pick guard to get the angle of the pickups more parallel with the strings.

 

My only real beef is the nut. I've never done nut work myself and I don't know a local person I trust yet.

 

I have to add that I like the finish better than the expensive Gibsons for two reasons. First I really think it allows the wood to vibrate more feely - but I admit that is probably my imagination. Second, I like not feeling like screaming or crying if it gets a nick, ding or bump. I just can't wrap my brain around the idea of a guitar that must be treated like a porcelain doll.

[Faded Mark]

I got my Faded worn brown finish in the first run with the ebony neck and the crescent moons back in 2002. I love it and will never part with it, but was wondering about it's value, mainly for insurance purposes and curiosity. Anyone? I appear to have one of the nicer ones, as the body seems to be one piece. No after-market changes. Thanks!