Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: AndyR on August 01, 2009, 07:29:41 PM
-
That's right Roo, it's safe to come in here :lol:
No pics yet, I've just finished ripping it to bits, transferring my Riff Raffs into it and then setting it up for 11s - and now I've got to go out and get the dinner apparently :roll:
I wasn't really expecting to be buying another guitar this year - and certainly not this one. It's a Gibson SG Special Worn/Faded Cherry and, bugger-me, it's good :D
I was kinda bored, wandering round music shops, and thinking I'm not loving my Epi SG with the RRs in. And I saw some of these faded/worn things. I've been reading the threads about them, not really getting off on the batwing scratchplate, but wondering and semi-gassing...
Up close, it turns out the batwings don't worry me, but I don't like the look of the uncovered pickups - but, hey, that was no problem because if I was buying, what I was really buying was a new home for my RRs :lol:
The first one I tried was, er, OK, but no cigar. It was a bit weedy and harsh sounding for my money. The Riff Raffs would have sounded worse (for what I want) in that one than they do in my Epi. I tried another, it was different, but not better.
(I shoulda gone home then... )
But I knew people were saying these faded beasties are variable. So I wandered back to where I'd seen some others. They had one cherry and one brown, the colour was kinda not an issue for me, I like both, but I lean towards red guitars, so I asked to try the cherry first.
Even as the bloke was checking the tuning accoustically I could hear it was streets ahead of the others I'd tried. He put it in my hands and I started noodling. Seemed to have a lot more soul to it for me. I got him to give me the brown one as well, and A-B'd them without the amp -even he could hear the difference (the brown one was a bit thinner sounding, and then through the amp loads harsher). I played the cherry for a bit longer, it's got the bite you want, but some warmth and body as well.
When I got it home, I found it sounded even better through my usual amp models. I quite liked the gibbo pups (490R/T), but I hate the uncovered look. I tried it against the Epi with the Riff Raffs and I preferred the new one with the 490s :o (that was a big smile moment - I knew I hadn't made a mistake!!).
So I ripped out all the pups (discovered the new one has a bluddy circuit board and molex micro-fit connectors :x ... but I managed to get round it :P), and now my new geetar has nice nickel covered Riff Raffs in it.
Boy-oh-boy - I thought the Riff Raffs were good before (they were my first set)... I had no idea how good they are!! :lol:
Compared to the 490s (and bear in mind I also switched from 10s to 11s on the strings - so that'll have some effect), the Riff Raffs are a lot thicker and warmer sounding, but with the same amount of top-end and SG bite. At the same time they sound more open and let my playing breathe.
Happy bunny 8)
-
i have a faded V with riff raffs, whenever i play it (which I should do more often) the air around my cabs absolutely stinks of 70s hard rock tone. good work on the buy!! but of course you know that anything you say about it will be open to question until we see images ;)
-
Great!!! :D
But NO pics and NO sound clips?? :cry: It's a fake thread untill you prove yourself :P
-
I have the worn brown Sg faded, and I loves it. I love the Gibson pickups as well, as much as I'd like some covered BKPs in it, the stocks are fantastic for now. Though a fatter clearer version might be interesting, Riff Raffs look exciting!
Mine is unusual though, the fretboard looks like ebony, but it has the standard dot inlays. No circuit board gubbins in mine either, just braided wires and gibson pots.
Oh and i'm also interested in another one, but sticking a set of MQs in it. I'd stick some in my brown one, but loving the humbuckers right now.
Oh and I got mine for £250. Bargain!
-
sweet. certainly if you can find a shop where you can try several gibsons, you can often find a very nice guitar. I liked the last sg special i tried, i thought it sounded really good indeed, though the fretwork wasn't amazing. though i guess if you wanted/needed one enough you could budget for a fret crown from a luthier.
-
£250 Badger??!! That's well under half the current going rate! Extreme envy :lol:
Yeah, MQs would sound really good in here as well. I bought my MQs for the Epi SG, but they were just too much, and they found their home in my Explorer. They'd do roughly the same job in this SG, possibly even better, but the Explorer's keeping them for the moment. If I was to go for MQs it would be a new set, black covers, standard screws...
You're right about the fretwork Dave - it plays fine, but there are a few flat frets (and the nut seems to be made of a piece of wensleydale cheese!!). And what is it about Gibson and mangling rosewood boards? I've bought two real gibsons now, and both (the Explorer is worse) have cosmetic issues where it looks like a blind person was measuring up for the fret positioning using a bread-knife or something :lol:. In both cases I spotted it while buying, but the guitar itself was so yeah soundwise that I had to ignore it.
Might get a chance to do pictures later today :D
-
Until the pictures arrive I'm going to assume this thread is a lie :P
Sounds good though! Always wonder what my Mules would sound like in a better guitar than the Epiphone they're in..
I really want to have a go on one of those faded specials. I havent found any in the music shops I've been in yet though so its not looking good for me, dont want to get one without playing first :(
-
Here ya go folks...
(I was originally planning a nice group shot with Alice and Iris [teles :lol:] welcoming the new girl, just for Roo's benefit, but I couldn't be bothered)
-
Nice one Andy! :D The covered pickups definitely suit it.
Out of interest - when you were comparing SGs, did the winner turn out to be a lightweight or a heavyweight, relatively speaking? Not that that's the only factor in the tone, I'm sure, but I'm just curious.
-
Weightwise they all seemed much of a muchness Philly - and, to me, surprisingly light. My Epi SG weighs a ton, so picking these things up was quite a surprise.
I think the first one I tried - the one that nearly put me off altogether - was exceptionally light. But that might be my perception and dodgy memeory of it (remember I've got an ingrained "heavy = tone" that I can't get rid of even though I know it's not exactly true! :lol:)
The one sat here is lighter than my teles and strat, and easily lighter than my Tokai Love Rock.
-
remember I've got an ingrained "heavy = tone" that I can't get rid of even though I know it's not exactly true! :lol:
Ah, the good old 1970s theories! Boat anchors and chunky brass hardware. I grew up with that too, but for me it's over-ridden by "heavy = uncomfortable". As you know. :)
I'd love to see the likes of Ibanez and Washburn re-release some of their early-'80s guitars (Artists, Falcons etc) with lighter mahogany, rather than the very-heaviest-they-could-possibly-find like they used at the time.
Back to SGs, they're all relatively light of course, but it seems to me that the heavier ones can sound thin and "dead" whereas the super-light ones are loud and resonant acoustically but can (sometimes, not always) lack sustain and "body" when amplified. In this case "average" is probably best - with a touch of fairy dust for extra mojo.
-
Mine is pretty light, and those covered pickups are awesome looking. Wonder how easy it would be to add covers to the uncovered Gibson pickups.
Damn you! Now I want a red faded. I think I prefer them to the Standards I tried, I'm not a huge fan of neck binding and the choice of finishes.
-
That looks great. As I may have said before, I used to dislike SG's in my younger days but nowadays I love them. I like the workman like vibe they have( or at least they seem to me to have). I have played a few in my time. A former guitarist in my current band bought one and I enjoyed that but the tuning wasn't as stable as my rock solid Strat. I know it is early days Andy but what about the tuning?
-
nice guitar and even nicer score.
regarding heavy 70s guitars, I played a 70s Strat one time that was heavy as a Les Paul, I kid you not.
-
Sounds great Andy. Will be intrested to see some some pictures of this one. I have a Gibson faded SG and got to agree with you on their fretboards. That said it has a nice feel and sounds bloody good.
Dont rush with the photos just enjoy that guitar.
Gareth
-
Looks great :D
-
Looks quite nice but I'm not too fond of cherry red sgs, the brown looks loads better! :)
Wish I could find a good one to play!
Oh and now we need clips since you've provided us with pics :P
-
38th, the tuning seems ok at the moment. The first one I tried had issues in that department - but it was mainly "catching in the nut", so it was fixable. The nut on this one horrid soft plastic, but it's working at the moment, so I'm changing it until something goes wrong.
I'm not convinced by the "Gibson Deluxe" tuners - but they're ok. The replacement tonepros on my Epi are far better, but I couldn't be bothered to switch yesterday (I was too keen on getting it up and running again with the Riff Raffs!).
The neck is vaguely "springy" as I would expect on an SG, but within tolerances for me and my playing, and it's a lot more stable in that department than my Explorer is. But I have to agree with you - strats and teles are like rocks in comparison, and it took me a while getting used to playing guitars that vary in tuning according to how you lean on the neck!
EDIT: I've finished the ironing now :roll: - and I'm allowed to start playing it again. But I'm listening to the test match as well, so not sure whether we'll get clips out of me today :lol:
-
Good stuff - SG GAS now fast approaching!
-
Looks very cool! :D
-
Ironing and test match- same here! Pure rock 'n roll.
-
:lol:
Go Freddie! (etc)
-
dome reflector knobs would complete the look :)
-
i'm very tempted by these special faded SGs...
very nice! time to buy some BKP, i'd say... :)