SG Special Faded-- who's played one?

[Oli]

So i'm on the SG hunt again, and i'm noticing a few SG Special Faded's on eBay at the moment, and am just wondering about the build quality and the neck. It looks like the Specials had a 50s neck, but some are just listed as 'SG Rounded'-- are these the same?

[Philly Q]

I don't think SG necks are ever described as '50s shaped (although I could be wrong), they're usually either "Rounded SG" or "Slim Taper".

The "Rounded" is the profile of a modern Standard or Special and I assume the Faded Specials are the same.  Having said they're not '50s profile, that is effectively what they're like - pretty big and chunky, not massively deep at the nut but quite thick by the 12th fret.  I like 'em.

The "Slim Taper" is more like a '60s shape, much more of a constant depth along the neck.

[itamar101]

I tried one once. The build quality was great and everything was in working condition but I hated it. I stopped playing it within one minute. I am pretty sure that it was the set up that I hated. Nothing that you can fix but the action super high, the strings were .09s (which don't belong on any guitar let alone gibsons) and they were RUSTY and there were practically split hairs sticking out. All easily fixable but it made the experience a horror. I must say that the pickups really aren't that great either. Especially the neck pickup. It sounded shite, yet the same pickup in my LP sounded even worse. But BKP are a nice quick fix for that.
Overall... The guitar looked pretty good for the price but in the end I didn't didn't get a very good feel for it simply because of how bay the owner had taken care if it! Shocking really. And it was his main guitar that he played every day.

[ericsabbath]

I've had 3 or 4 of them (still own one disassembled with a double broken headstock)
they're pretty fine
neck is a bit thick, but not 50's les paul thick, just a little wider like a PRS
stock pickups SUCK, but they use quite quality mahogany for those, unlike some people speculate
those were some of the most resonant and acoustically rich sounding guitars I ever played
sometimes they come with fugly dry and bright looking fretboards, but nothing a proper dying can't fix

[AndyR]

I have one. I tried several and hated them - possibly bad set-ups. I really wanted to like them but they sounded thin and weedy. They also felt like "beginners" guitars and I thought "oh well, you pays yer money..."

I'd almost given up on the idea of them, and then I found the one I bought. As the guy was getting it off the wall he brushed the strings and we both heard it - I couldn't rip it out of his hands fast enough :lol:

It feels and sounds warmer than all the others I played.

Can't really comment on the pickups too much - they weren't there too long, I bought it for my Riff Raff set... (I think they look LOADS prettier with covered pickups by the way).

The neck is a very interesting beast. I don't really know what a 50s profile or whatever should feel like, but this one is very chunky (a good thing for me) and has the "squarest" profile of all my guitars. It's not really, but when you pick it up you imagine the back of the neck is actually flat - it's that square. For some reason I find this very comfortable to play once I've got used to it.

I'd say it's a definite "try before you buy". And try to give it the benefit of the doubt over the strings it has. I've discovered that it's one of the most unforgiving guitars I own for old/dead/dirty strings. They all benefit from nice new ones, but most of them feel ok to me to play with old ones. My SG feels (and sounds) rather unlovable with older strings on it.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I feel like even Gibson SG's are similar to Epiphone guitars....u gotta play a couple before picking one, cuz the quality and set up could be a bit off. I've played SG's where I thought the Epiphone next to it sounded better, and then there were some that just sounded and felt like nothin else!

[ericsabbath]

I can't agree with that
had several Epiphone G400's as well (including the custom and also played a friends gothic several times) and none sounded as good as a Gibson special or had any close acoustic qualities or better construction
the necks may be slightly more comfortable, but that's because they had wrong les paul-like scale width, instead of true SG necks
I can only agree that quality and tone varies a lot on gibsons, but no SG I played was ever inferior to an epiphone G400

[BigB]

I can't agree with that
(...)
I can only agree that quality and tone varies a lot on gibsons, but no SG I played was ever inferior to an epiphone G400

I'm not sure allstar was talking about G400 specifically. And if you take the epi mention out, I'd personnaly agree that SGs (gibbies SGs) are somewhat inconsistant wrt/ build quality and feel, and that you indeed have to try quite a few before you find the one that's right for you.

[ericsabbath]

I got it, but the worst Gibson SG I played was still better sounding and better built than the best SG copies I've tried
I've played a beaten up 90's les paul studio  that was a bit acoustically weak compared to good gibsons, didn't have much resonance and still sounded killer plugged in
it had a duncan distortion, so it still sounded better than a couple others with the 498t (urgggh)
when I read people talking about bad gibsons, I can only think of bad setup (close strings suck a lot of tone in gibsons), old or thin strings, bad tuners and stock pickups (most of them suck on the guitars they come in, with rare exceptions)
I've seen a few bad finishes, multipiece bodies, but never shitety sounding woods, weird woods or materials that weren't supposed to be there, misplaced bridges or defective necks (things there are quite common in supposedly professional level asian copies, including japanese ones)
they surely don't have a flawless quality control like PRS, but if you ever find a "bad" Gibson, you can send it to me and I'll make a proper disposal   8)

[Oli]

Yea, usually I have quite a high action especially on a tune-o-matic, and i've got a new bridge that i'd probably put on the SG (as I don't really want to drill out the bushing holes on my LP). And a pair of MQs will probably make their way into it, too!

[_tom_]

Think I tried one and it was alright but it wouldn't stay in tune. The finish of the Standard definitely feels like a higher quality instrument.

[BigB]

if you ever find a "bad" Gibson

Please come visit us in France, you'll find quite a few lemons stamped "Gibson" in local stores, and when I say "lemon" I really mean it - not something a proper setup would fix.

[roland_rat]

I have got one.  Currently with a set of riff raff's in.  As I recall the stock pickups were muddy.   The guitar is not bad but not great either.  Fretboard was a bit iffy but no problem with the tuners.