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tjon901 « Essentially an SG studio »
Published on 07/17/11 at 20:54The Gibson SG Special is the SG model placed right above the faded SG. It is pretty much the faded SG with a gloss finish. The Special keeps up the tradition of guitar makers giving lower end models names like Special of Deluxe when there is nothing really special or Deluxe about them. This guitar is your basic modern SG. It has the large pickguard that covers more of the body. Gibson switched to this in the late 60s because it allowed them to more cheaply route the wiring for the guitars. Earlier SG's or higher end SG's have the smaller pickguard. The guitar is made from solid mahogany with a mahogany set neck. The neck is 22 frets with a rosewood fretboard. The neck is not bound. It has two volume knobs and one tone knob and a 3 way pickup selector. It has 496R and 500T ceramic magnet pickups in the neck and bridge respectively. These pickups are Gibsons own design. It has a traditional Les Paul style tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece. Pretty much the main difference between this guitar and the faded is just the finish.
UTILIZATION
The quality on low end Gibsons is very hit or miss. You really need to try out the guitar first if you are looking for a lower end Gibson like this. The quality on some of these guitars can be worse than medium to high end Epiphone. I have noticed many of these guitars have poor fretwork and really need a good setup and fret level right from the factory. The SG was designed in such a way to give better fret access than the earlier Les Paul. The neck is not mounted as deep into the body as is with the Les Paul. This design gives it a few problems. The neck joint on SG models is very weak compared to Les Pauls or even bolt on guitars. This weak neck joint makes some SG's prone to going out of tune. Because of the gloss finish on this higher end model than the faded some people may prefer the feel of the faded because it has a smooth satin feel all over. The laquer finish on this guitar may get sticky at times.
SOUNDS
With the uncovered ceramic pickups in this model you get a really powerful tone out of this guitar. The SG tone is closer to that of an Flying V than a Les Paul. Because the body is thinner than that of a Les Paul you get a sharper tone from the guitar. The pickups in this guitar are the lower end Gibson pickups. Some people like them but most do not. I am not a big fan of these pickups. If you are looking for classic Gibson tone you can get a set of Classic 57s and have the classic Gibson tone. If you are looking for a more aggressive tone you can throw in a set of Seymour Duncans and really rock the house. If this still is not heavy enough you can get a set of EMG's and set the joint on fire.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is a kind of inbetween model for me. If you are looking for an SG and only have this much to spend you are better off saving your money and getting the Faded version. With the Faded you get a smoother feel and a more vintage look. The Gloss finish on this is nice but it can get sticky. The gloss finish is all you are paying for if you buy this over the faded version. I would strongly recommend saving up and getting the 61 reissue or a Standard over this guitar. If you are just looking for a solid SG workhorse you cant really go wrong with this or the faded. They are cheap enough that you dont mind tossing the stock pickups and throwing in pickups of your choice to get the sound you really want.
UTILIZATION
The quality on low end Gibsons is very hit or miss. You really need to try out the guitar first if you are looking for a lower end Gibson like this. The quality on some of these guitars can be worse than medium to high end Epiphone. I have noticed many of these guitars have poor fretwork and really need a good setup and fret level right from the factory. The SG was designed in such a way to give better fret access than the earlier Les Paul. The neck is not mounted as deep into the body as is with the Les Paul. This design gives it a few problems. The neck joint on SG models is very weak compared to Les Pauls or even bolt on guitars. This weak neck joint makes some SG's prone to going out of tune. Because of the gloss finish on this higher end model than the faded some people may prefer the feel of the faded because it has a smooth satin feel all over. The laquer finish on this guitar may get sticky at times.
SOUNDS
With the uncovered ceramic pickups in this model you get a really powerful tone out of this guitar. The SG tone is closer to that of an Flying V than a Les Paul. Because the body is thinner than that of a Les Paul you get a sharper tone from the guitar. The pickups in this guitar are the lower end Gibson pickups. Some people like them but most do not. I am not a big fan of these pickups. If you are looking for classic Gibson tone you can get a set of Classic 57s and have the classic Gibson tone. If you are looking for a more aggressive tone you can throw in a set of Seymour Duncans and really rock the house. If this still is not heavy enough you can get a set of EMG's and set the joint on fire.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is a kind of inbetween model for me. If you are looking for an SG and only have this much to spend you are better off saving your money and getting the Faded version. With the Faded you get a smoother feel and a more vintage look. The Gloss finish on this is nice but it can get sticky. The gloss finish is all you are paying for if you buy this over the faded version. I would strongly recommend saving up and getting the 61 reissue or a Standard over this guitar. If you are just looking for a solid SG workhorse you cant really go wrong with this or the faded. They are cheap enough that you dont mind tossing the stock pickups and throwing in pickups of your choice to get the sound you really want.