tjon901 « The original budget Gibson »
Published on 12/06/11 at 08:46The SG Junior is as barebones as it gets when it comes to Gibsons. Back in the day this was what you would get if you wanted a Gibson but was low on cash. Gibson has been reissuing these Junior guitars for a while but they are no where near as cheap as they should be. The fit and finish on these guitars is better than a studio or faded but you get less guitar overall. With this guitar you get the flat top mahogany SG body. The set neck is mahogany with the 60s profile. The neck has a rosewood fretboard with 22 frets. If you get one made recently in mid to late 2011 it may have a baked maple fretboard. Up top you get non locking tuners and the bridge is a simple wraparound style bridge. The bridge is non adjustable. As with most Junior models you get one pickup and that is a P90 in the bridge. Since you have one pickup the controls are half of what you would get normally with just a volume and tone and no pickup selector.
UTILIZATION
If you are looking to get one of these models try and find a 60s based one. Lots of the non 60s based Gibson Juniors came with gigantic baseball bat necks. The 60s neck on this guitar helps playability a lot. I guess Gibson thinks playing in tune is a luxury because the tuners on this guitar are junk. They do not hold tune very well. This is probably historically accurate. The bridge is non adjustable so your intonation halfway up the neck is off as well.If you want to intonate this guitar properly you would need to replace the bridge with an adjustable wraparound style bridge.
SOUNDS
If it wasnt for tone this guitar would have nothing going for it. The single P90 pickup is all you need to rock the house. The Gibson P90 is one of the classic designs and it has a unique sound that fits well with all forms of heavier music once you give it some gain. The P90 has a more agressive tone than other period humbuckers because it is a single coil. It has the high end single coil bite and clarity but with the bottom and fullness of a humbucker so it doesnt sound thin. In the bridge you can really rock out with classic rock tones. You can also do some screaming lead playing. It cleans up alright if you like that slightly dirty bluesy clean tone.
OVERALL OPINION
These guitars are great simple rock machines. Their prices are alright nowadays. I have the new model for sale here for about 800 dollars. If they where a bit cheaper I could see them selling better. They have a period look and tone you do not see much in lower price Gibsons but with the fit and finish of a higher priced Gibson. Sometimes you feel a lower end Gibson and you are like eww whats this, but with one of these since they are so stripped down already there is less need for them to cut corners to produce them for the lower price. If you are a simple guitar player and you want a simple guitar with killer tone you should check out one of these SG juniors.
UTILIZATION
If you are looking to get one of these models try and find a 60s based one. Lots of the non 60s based Gibson Juniors came with gigantic baseball bat necks. The 60s neck on this guitar helps playability a lot. I guess Gibson thinks playing in tune is a luxury because the tuners on this guitar are junk. They do not hold tune very well. This is probably historically accurate. The bridge is non adjustable so your intonation halfway up the neck is off as well.If you want to intonate this guitar properly you would need to replace the bridge with an adjustable wraparound style bridge.
SOUNDS
If it wasnt for tone this guitar would have nothing going for it. The single P90 pickup is all you need to rock the house. The Gibson P90 is one of the classic designs and it has a unique sound that fits well with all forms of heavier music once you give it some gain. The P90 has a more agressive tone than other period humbuckers because it is a single coil. It has the high end single coil bite and clarity but with the bottom and fullness of a humbucker so it doesnt sound thin. In the bridge you can really rock out with classic rock tones. You can also do some screaming lead playing. It cleans up alright if you like that slightly dirty bluesy clean tone.
OVERALL OPINION
These guitars are great simple rock machines. Their prices are alright nowadays. I have the new model for sale here for about 800 dollars. If they where a bit cheaper I could see them selling better. They have a period look and tone you do not see much in lower price Gibsons but with the fit and finish of a higher priced Gibson. Sometimes you feel a lower end Gibson and you are like eww whats this, but with one of these since they are so stripped down already there is less need for them to cut corners to produce them for the lower price. If you are a simple guitar player and you want a simple guitar with killer tone you should check out one of these SG juniors.