SG recommendations please!

[Oli]

So i'm in the market for an SG, and occasionally think that i'll go for an older Gibson (late ish 60s), but it's very hard to find one that appeals to me at the prices that guitars of that era command. What lesser-known SGs are worth a look at?

My preference is soapbar p90s, followed by humbuckers-- not massively keen on mini-hums, but I think that's more of an irrational fear! Chunky neck is a must, and i'm not really fussed about the bridge, although if I had to choose then it'd be a TOM or wraparound.

So what SGs are good to look out for (and which ones to stay away from!)? Price can probably go up to about £2k, but i'm certainly not disregarding cheaper instruments if they're well built and good machines!

Cheers :)

[ToneMonkey]

If I had two grand to burn then I'd be giving a luthier a call and get exactly what I wanted (depending on luthier of course).

I know there a lot of SG fans on here, so I'll let them answer on alternatives.

[Twinfan]

PR Guitars SGR Special for £1299.  Job done  :)

http://www.prguitars.co.uk/page40.html

Here's my Standard and my old SCR:

[choucas09]

Check this out.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/L-K-1968-Gibson-SG-Special-vibrola-/200619150100?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2eb5d54b14#ht_500wt_1156

[jpfamps]

Guild S100.

Excellent guitar, and expect to pay around £900 for a real vintage guitar.

[FernandoDuarte]

If I had two grand to burn then I'd be giving a luthier a call and get exactly what I wanted (depending on luthier of course).

I know there a lot of SG fans on here, so I'll let them answer on alternatives.

+1 and SG has to be neck-thru in my opinion... So it drives to the custom built

[HTH AMPS]

Check this out.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/L-K-1968-Gibson-SG-Special-vibrola-/200619150100?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2eb5d54b14#ht_500wt_1156

I can't imagine finding a better deal than that on a vintage SG.

If you absolutely positively must have vintage P90s, they're not even that expensive on ebay - you can get 50s and 60s P90s for around $250-300.  Here's a pair of '67 P90s for $400 buy it now... http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-1967-Gibson-P-90-Dog-Ear-Pickups-Pair-ES-125-/250838522499?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a67241a83#ht_671wt_1139

on the Guild S100 idea, here's a reissue from '95 starting at £250...  http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Guild-S100-Electric-Guitar-/150618048513?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2311890801#ht_502wt_1139

[_tom_]

Have you seen these - http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/SG/Gibson-USA/SG-Special-60s-Tribute.aspx ? The worn white looks incredible and they're quite nicely priced :)

I like my SG Standard but it has pretty rubbish sustain compared to a Les Paul unless you pile on the gain.

[Alex]

I would be very careful with buying an old SG secondhand, as the old ones can suffer from weak neck joints and stability.
In fact, I prefer the SG Standard mainly because of its stronger neck joint.

In order to avoid disappointment I would strongly suggest playing any SG first and not buying over the internet!

[Philly Q]

Late '60s and '70s SGs tend be be fairly slim-necked and narrow at the nut, as far as I know, so they probably won't meet your chucky neck requirements.

If the chunky neck really is important, it narrows the options quite a lot, at least with current models.  All SG Customs, the '61 reissue, nearly all Custom Shop models seem to have the '60s slim taper neck, unfortunately.

Alex makes a good point about the neck joint.  Much as I love SGs, I've started to be wary of them for that very reason.  The weakest seems to be the early '60s neck joint with a little "step" at the sides of the neck.  The current neck joint is a bit bulkier at the heel but does seem to be a lot stronger.

[choucas09]

That 68 on Ebay claims to have a chunky neck.

[Philly Q]

That 68 on Ebay claims to have a chunky neck.

Yeah, I noticed that - I wonder if that's just the seller's perception (being used to Ibanez Wizards or something!) or if it really is chunky?

I'm far from an expert, I just go by what I've read mostly, but the couple I've actually tried from that era were on the skinny side.

[Alex]

That 68 on Ebay claims to have a chunky neck.

Sellers claim lots of things. It's the neck joint anyway that is the problem.

[MrBump]

Have you seen these - http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/SG/Gibson-USA/SG-Special-60s-Tribute.aspx ? The worn white looks incredible and they're quite nicely priced :)

I like my SG Standard but it has pretty rubbish sustain compared to a Les Paul unless you pile on the gain.

These might not fit the bill (skinny neck), but I've been lusting after one for months now...

[AndyR]

Have you seen these - http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/SG/Gibson-USA/SG-Special-60s-Tribute.aspx ? The worn white looks incredible and they're quite nicely priced :)

I like my SG Standard but it has pretty rubbish sustain compared to a Les Paul unless you pile on the gain.

These might not fit the bill (skinny neck), but I've been lusting after one for months now...

Those look quite cute.

Anyone else read the comments on that page? At the moment there are loads of posts from a nobhead dissing it for p90s... he's taking his experiences and why they don't work for him and then using language that implies his view is gospel in all cases - even when he explains how/why they don't work for him specifically, but might for blues etc, he still sounds like he's telling us all to stop using them :lol: ... a fine example of "internet expertise/facts" :roll:

If you are prepared to look at these (ie Gibson's "no finish, faded" range), but are after a chunky neck, I can highly recommend the Faded series at the cheaper end of things. It does seem they can be variable (I guess these 60s tributes might be as well), but after trying a few I've got what I regard as YUMMY geetar that just gets better with playing. It's got hums in it obviously, but MQs will fit very nicely! :lol: