Jared Maurtua Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 My Epiphone SG is top heavy and it's very annoying. Any help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Welcome Jared. This subject comes up quite a bit. I don't seem to have to much of a problem with mine, but then I use a wide strap. That seems to be the easiest solution, something 2 1/2" - 3" wide and suede or leather, not nylon. Other thoughts vary from lighter weight tuners (not enough bang for the buck to me) to adding a Bigsby (hmmmm.... I like that idea). Anyway, there will be others coming along with some more options shortly. Here's your forum-warming present. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemans335 Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 +1. It's a strap issue, more than a guitar issue. I always keep one hand on my guitar when I'm wearing it, so I don't have 'neck dives.' It's actually a good sign, as that means the neck is thicker, and that translates to better tone. Guitars with thin necks give up some tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwillow777 Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Like the others said, get a leather strap with a suede back and problem solved. Nylons straps will produce neck dives all day long on a G-400. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Some folks also solve this by hanging a small weighted ornament, fishing sinker, etc. from the end pin or the end of the guitar strap --- just enough to balance the weight of the headstock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birki Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 hi! what really works on a G400 - been there, did that - is to replace the grover style rotomatics with some something lightweight like these ... http://www.thomann.de/at/schaller_st6kn_mechanik.htm yours wolfi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dporto Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 "Some folks also solve this by hanging a small weighted ornament, fishing sinker, etc. from the end pin or the end of the guitar strap" Seriously? In all my time watching and playing live music I can honestly say I've never witnessed this... :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Jared, Welcome to the forum! You've got enough good answers already. So................... Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dporto Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 ^^Uh, that should work^^ !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigneil Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I have also heard of people fitting lead weights inside the control cavity, or taping them to the bottom end of the strap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNick Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Peavey had a black leather strap out a couple of years ago that was 3 inches wide for about $12.00. Just right for those top heavy babes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Peavey had a black leather strap out a couple of years ago that was 3 inches wide for about $12.00. Just right for those top heavy babes. Leather is the answer for an SG or G400. Nylon will put the headstock on the floor at the most inopportune time. Straplocks are good for preventing wear on the strap holes, too. There's never a good excuse for lack of preparation when the headstock hits the floor and snaps off! ... unhappy guitar day ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheapShoes Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 Yep this comes up a lot and it depends a lot on the guitar. A suede strap works for only slight imbalances. To say it is "the answer" is too limited in experience, but seems common for SGs. I have two guitars that would pull your shirt off using a suede step alone, and need additional weight to balance. A Korina Epi V and a Dean 12 string with a hollowed body. Both fat necks and light bodies. The V , I added a weight to the back of the guitar and moved the back button from one wing to the V crotch, plus the wide strap. Not a clear option for the huge-necked 12 with a featherweight body, but so far I've hanging an ankle weight off the back strap feels perfect. Not as clean, but works. I noticed Lonnie Mack used a weight off the back of his V and added a Bigsby across the V space... that ought to do it. Other option is hang ia V to your knees and play it nearly vertically foo fighters style. but not my style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SV Stormy Monday Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 I use a Steph strap GT109 on my Dot. For the most part works ok, http://www.stephguitarstraps.com/products Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 Wide leather (preferably suede) straps will solve 90% of the problem on 90% of guitars. Nylon straps just encourage sliding. I have a Squier Thinline Tele with a nylon strap that loves to dive. (Note to self: need new strap.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Refer to the post about cutting the end of the head stock off. Drastic, but effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keesee54 Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Just happened to wonder if the SG double neck guitars have the same problem..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amx05462 Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 instead of the weights and the tuner changes etc etc. with the guitar on the table or what ever you would put it on to work on it . take the strap button on the lower en of the body and move it to the left an inch and a half. this canges the balance of the guitar from center to center over to center on the neck end to high on the lower body end . and this did the trick for me. no weights no tuners no nothing other than a movement of the strap button. hagstrom did this back in the 70s some of there guitars had two of them on the lower body end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howlin Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 I tried one of these but after 3 days I went back to my Aircell strap. Since my Nighthawk weighs only about 6lbs. I decided that adding an extra pound wouldn't hurt all that much compared to fighting neck-dive all the time and it worked. Actually, only about 300 grams of washers hung from the strap at the base of the guitar did the trick. The above post about moving the strap button makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Rocker 59 Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Just hold the damm neck so it don't fall. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Just hold the damm neck so it don't fall. LOL. if only it was that easy. i played hundreds of shows when i was younger with an epi sg. i damaged so many tuning pegs and put so many dings into my headstock just from bending over to get a drink or whatnot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amx05462 Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 i was just playing my sg yesterday . and noticed where the offset screw hole is. like i said to the left of center about an inch and a half. these days its back in center because ive added a lyre vibrato. so that more than offsets the neck weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Zeplin Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 +1. It's a strap issue, more than a guitar issue. I always keep one hand on my guitar when I'm wearing it, so I don't have 'neck dives.' It's actually a good sign, as that means the neck is thicker, and that translates to better tone. Guitars with thin necks give up some tone. To me it is a design issue. Look at where a Les Paul neck meets the body and compare it to an SG. 16th fret versus 19th. Also take a look at the distance from the tailpiece to the butt end of the guitars. Everything on the SG is shifted forward in the direction of the headstock. This moves the center of gravity in this direction creating the imbalance. The necks are going to be fairly equal in weight. Couple that with the lighter weight SG body and the result is neck dive. So it is a guitar issue and one solution to the problem is a wider strap. I am not calling if a flaw, just a characteristic. Or if nothing else works you can do this: http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/98696-has-anyone-ever-cut-the-top-off-of-their-epiphone-headstock/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheapShoes Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I agree on design issue. The strap solves very slight imbalances, has virtually no effect on seriously neck heavy guitars. The worst offenders I have are an Epi Korina V, and a Dean hollowbody 12. That Dean has a baseball bat neck with 12 peg heads on top a lovely but tiny semihollowbody. The solution to both required a super wide suede strap and weights on the backside. The V also needed to move the strap button. That or play them vertical with 8 foot straps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howlin Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Just hold the damm neck so it don't fall. LOL. Oh, that's real comfortable. Kinda like carrying a dead person I would say . . . ^_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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