Fireguy8402 « Makes a great backup guitar. »
Published on 11/19/11 at 13:54The SX GG1 Standard is a single cutaway Les Paul styled guitar. It has an arch top body made of solid mahogany and also features a mahogany set neck. The fretboard is rosewood with trapezoidal inlays and has 22 jumbo frets that measure 2.7 mm. This guitar is a dual humbucker guitar with covered ceramic pickups. The GG1 has your standard LP layout, two humbuckers with a three way toggle switch and a volume and tone knob for each of the pickups. The guitar features chrome hardware with dicast sealed tuners. Bridge studs are 3” apart, width of the nut is 1 5/8”, the overall length of the guitar is 40” and the scale length is 24.75”. The guitar is 2” at the edge of the body and 2 ½” at the middle of the arch top body. The specific guitar I own is around 9lbs.
UTILIZATION
The GG1 is built to be a Les Paul styled guitar. While it doesn’t copy the Gibson version exactly, it picks up the traits and alters the body style a little to have its own identity. I would call my Agile 2500 a Gibson copy, in the sense that it tries to be a Gibson LP. This guitar on the other hand picks up some traits and moves on while staying in a similar style as the Gibson LP. The action on this guitar can be set very low without fret buzz and the neck seems very stable. From the factory this guitar was not set up quite as well as my Agile and no where near as nice as my PRS, but with a little tweaking you can get it there yourself, or take it to a tech who can do that for you. Odds are it will need a little tweaking out of the box so plan to invest a little time or money into that. The tuners on this guitar, while not Grovers, are fairly decent. Upgrading these isn’t necessary, but an upgrade would be noticeable. Access to the upper frets is decent and the guitar sits well while standing or sitting. The neck is what I’d call a thick neck, way thicker than a strat. The paint job isn’t too shabby, but there are few places where it bleeds into the binding. Binding at all at this price is a nice feature though.
SOUNDS
Well what can I say about the stock electronics? They aren’t that great. The guitar is made out of decent woods and seems sturdy and would be a great basis for a modded guitar for a seasoned player or a good beginner/intermediate guitar. The stock wiring gets the job done but upgraded pots and wiring is definitely noticeable. The stock humbuckers are not buzzy or noisy, but they are stale and uninspiring. Rewired with new pickups this guitar actually sounds very good with a good chunk like that of a LP. Upgrade the switch, wiring, and pots and you have yourself a guitar that you can use on the road with little worries. The tuning stability is there, although upgraded tuners make tuning a smoother process.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall this is a decent LP styled guitar for a beginner or an intermediate player, but it needs some tweaking. I have used it at a few gigs, and taken it as a backup on several gigs, but only after a few upgrades. The electronics are the letdown on this guitar, but the build quality and the woods used are actually pretty decent at this price range. You’re not getting a super guitar here, but for the price you are more than getting your money’s worth. I would suggest picking this up before looking at Epiphones in the same price range.
UTILIZATION
The GG1 is built to be a Les Paul styled guitar. While it doesn’t copy the Gibson version exactly, it picks up the traits and alters the body style a little to have its own identity. I would call my Agile 2500 a Gibson copy, in the sense that it tries to be a Gibson LP. This guitar on the other hand picks up some traits and moves on while staying in a similar style as the Gibson LP. The action on this guitar can be set very low without fret buzz and the neck seems very stable. From the factory this guitar was not set up quite as well as my Agile and no where near as nice as my PRS, but with a little tweaking you can get it there yourself, or take it to a tech who can do that for you. Odds are it will need a little tweaking out of the box so plan to invest a little time or money into that. The tuners on this guitar, while not Grovers, are fairly decent. Upgrading these isn’t necessary, but an upgrade would be noticeable. Access to the upper frets is decent and the guitar sits well while standing or sitting. The neck is what I’d call a thick neck, way thicker than a strat. The paint job isn’t too shabby, but there are few places where it bleeds into the binding. Binding at all at this price is a nice feature though.
SOUNDS
Well what can I say about the stock electronics? They aren’t that great. The guitar is made out of decent woods and seems sturdy and would be a great basis for a modded guitar for a seasoned player or a good beginner/intermediate guitar. The stock wiring gets the job done but upgraded pots and wiring is definitely noticeable. The stock humbuckers are not buzzy or noisy, but they are stale and uninspiring. Rewired with new pickups this guitar actually sounds very good with a good chunk like that of a LP. Upgrade the switch, wiring, and pots and you have yourself a guitar that you can use on the road with little worries. The tuning stability is there, although upgraded tuners make tuning a smoother process.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall this is a decent LP styled guitar for a beginner or an intermediate player, but it needs some tweaking. I have used it at a few gigs, and taken it as a backup on several gigs, but only after a few upgrades. The electronics are the letdown on this guitar, but the build quality and the woods used are actually pretty decent at this price range. You’re not getting a super guitar here, but for the price you are more than getting your money’s worth. I would suggest picking this up before looking at Epiphones in the same price range.