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tjon901 « Tony Iommi Signature without the pickups »
Published on 07/21/11 at 10:45The Gibson SG standard 24 is exactly what it sounds like. It is an SG standard with 24 frets. It isnt exactly an SG standard. It has the small pickguard like a 61 Reissue. To me this is a Tony Iommi Signature SG without the expensive inlays or pickups. Which isnt bad because those things made the Iommi Signature guitar very very expensive. This guitar is good if you need a 24 fret SG other than that there is nothing really special about it. This guitar has a 60s profile neck so it is nice and thin and fast. It has dual Gibson 57 classic pickups. Each pickup has its own volume and tone control and are switched with a 3 way switch. It has 22 frets on a rosewood fretboard with trapezoid inlays. The headstock has 6 Gibson Kluson tuners. I think this guitar only comes in black also. It also looks like they forgot the inlay on the 24th fret for some reason.
UTILIZATION
Because of the SG design it isnt hard to get up to the 24th fret. The guitar could have been 24 frets to begin with really but it wasnt. I think in the 60s making it 24 frets would have made an already weak neck joint weaker but now with the stronger joints on the modern SG's it is not something hard for them to pull off. With the slim 60s neck the guitar is easy to play and since high end Gibsons are now Plek'd the frets will be perfectly level. The plek machine uses lasers to grind the frets down with perfect accuracy. The SG design with the neck being placed so far out on the body is naturally neck heavy and SG's tend to neck dive. The Tony Iommi Signature fixed this by moving the strap peg to the upper horn but Gibson does not do this on any other SG so you will have to do it yourself.
SOUNDS
This guitar has all the natural SG tones. Because of the thinner body you get a sharper tone than that of a Les Paul. The Classic 57 pickups are good pickups and I dont really see any reason to change them unless you are playing the heaviest of heavy metal. Because of the 24 fret neck the neck pickup is pushed back a bit so it has a bit different tone than that of a normal SG. With the neck pickup farther back you have a slightly brighter tone with more high end since it is closer to the bridge. This change in tone can be easily compensated for with the tone knob. The bridge pickup has a good tone for blues or heavy classic to moderately heavy rock and roll. These pickups are what Gibson should put in all of their medium to high end guitars.I am not a fan of the 498s or Burstbucker series of pickups.
OVERALL OPINION
I dont know if this model is going to do to well. It is just a 61 reissue SG with 24 frets. The two extra frets do not make this guitar very special. The Iommi Signature had special Inlays and a set of super rare Iommi pickups. This is just a 24 fret SG. Gibson players have gotten by with 22 frets for 60 years if they were clammoring for 24 frets they would have said so by now. If this guitar was more metal oriented I would understand putting 24 frets on it but again this is just a standard SG. If for some reason you are looking for an SG but absolutely need 24 frets I believe this is the only SG model currently being made with 24 frets now that the Supreme and Iommi Signature models are gone.
UTILIZATION
Because of the SG design it isnt hard to get up to the 24th fret. The guitar could have been 24 frets to begin with really but it wasnt. I think in the 60s making it 24 frets would have made an already weak neck joint weaker but now with the stronger joints on the modern SG's it is not something hard for them to pull off. With the slim 60s neck the guitar is easy to play and since high end Gibsons are now Plek'd the frets will be perfectly level. The plek machine uses lasers to grind the frets down with perfect accuracy. The SG design with the neck being placed so far out on the body is naturally neck heavy and SG's tend to neck dive. The Tony Iommi Signature fixed this by moving the strap peg to the upper horn but Gibson does not do this on any other SG so you will have to do it yourself.
SOUNDS
This guitar has all the natural SG tones. Because of the thinner body you get a sharper tone than that of a Les Paul. The Classic 57 pickups are good pickups and I dont really see any reason to change them unless you are playing the heaviest of heavy metal. Because of the 24 fret neck the neck pickup is pushed back a bit so it has a bit different tone than that of a normal SG. With the neck pickup farther back you have a slightly brighter tone with more high end since it is closer to the bridge. This change in tone can be easily compensated for with the tone knob. The bridge pickup has a good tone for blues or heavy classic to moderately heavy rock and roll. These pickups are what Gibson should put in all of their medium to high end guitars.I am not a fan of the 498s or Burstbucker series of pickups.
OVERALL OPINION
I dont know if this model is going to do to well. It is just a 61 reissue SG with 24 frets. The two extra frets do not make this guitar very special. The Iommi Signature had special Inlays and a set of super rare Iommi pickups. This is just a 24 fret SG. Gibson players have gotten by with 22 frets for 60 years if they were clammoring for 24 frets they would have said so by now. If this guitar was more metal oriented I would understand putting 24 frets on it but again this is just a standard SG. If for some reason you are looking for an SG but absolutely need 24 frets I believe this is the only SG model currently being made with 24 frets now that the Supreme and Iommi Signature models are gone.