sg standard vs sg classic vs sg faded

[MattZ]

I'd love to hear any thoughts folks have about the pros and cons of these guitars? I assume it's the same type of stuff as American Strat vs. Mexican Strat vs. Squire Strat? Most people seem to think that the mexican strats (for your value) are the best buy in that threesome, right?

 

I am in the market for a new axe and I have always been intrigued by the SG series...

[jff]

The faded, though it is a lower end version is definitely higher in quality than a Squier. It's probably better quality than a Mex Fender. I'd probably compare it more along the lines of something like Fender's Highway One series (a cheaper US made Fender). A nice guitar, but with some cutting of corners.

 

My friend who is a very experienced guitarist plays a faded SG and seems very happy with it.

[bobbob1313]

I don't know, but a blue SG standard is pretty much my dream guitar.

[MattZ]

I don't know, but a blue SG standard is pretty much my dream guitar.

 

aren't you the guy who criticizes people for posting and not adding anything to the discussion??!!!

 

Yeah, I shouldnt have compared it to the American v Mex vs Squier. I think the SG Faded still sells for 5-600 bucks so it's clearly much better than a squier. I assume the pickups are better as you progress from Faded to Classic to Standard. What about neck width or wood or ??

 

I am more of an acoustic dude, so its easier for me to understand what I am paying for as I go up in value... With solid body electrics, it's harder for me... Any thoughts folks have would be great. thanks.

[In a little rowboat]

for the money, the SG faded limited editions are the best of that group...solid mahogany body and ebony fretboard with crecent moon inlays...the hardware isnt great but not bad...not any difference between sg faded, special, and standard as far as woods/construction...they all have rosewood fret boards now on mahogany...Standard/classics have the block inlays

 

I think comparing SGs to strats/teles is comparing apple-oranges, however in this case, i like oranges

 

mine:

 

 

j

[stickman]

Holy super-sweet-sixteen Batman! I love that guitar.

[GtrPlyr]

I tried a few SG's when I was looking to get a new guitar a while back. I tried one of those Angus Young models but was discouraged by the tuning problems. The guitar just didn't seem to want to stay in tune. The sound was okay, but I preferred the sound of the ES-335 and ended up getting that instead.

 

Still though, I would like to get a nice SG sometime in the future if the right one comes along.

[BigWheeledWagon]

I'd love to hear any thoughts folks have about the pros and cons of these guitars? I assume it's the same type of stuff as American Strat vs. Mexican Strat vs. Squire Strat? Most people seem to think that the mexican strats (for your value) are the best buy in that threesome, right?

 

I am in the market for a new axe and I have always been intrigued by the SG series...

 

Personally, I don't know that the American Strat vs. Mexican vs. Squire comparison holds up with those guitars. I think the Mexican Strat would be more along the lines of, say, the Epiphone SG, and the Gibson models would be all up to the quality of an American Strat. It would be more like the comparison b/w a standard American strat vs. a Strat Deluxe vs. american vintage strat (though I guess in reverse order to match your comparison). When it comes to electric guitars, I'm a Fender guy, but I think Gibson tends to win out in quality in many cases. Fender will put their name on some sub-par stuff; Gibson generally will label the sub-par stuff as something else (Epiphone for example -- though there are plenty of quality Epis out there).

 

As for your second question, while some feel that the Mexican Strat is your best buy, I've found many of them to be of significantly lower quality. Then again, I've run across Mexican Strats (or Korean) that sound great, but I haven't found it to be the norm.

[jmacomber68w]

I don't know, but a blue SG standard is pretty much my dream guitar.

 

a white sg is the only gibson I see myself ever buying. I love SGs that are not red. I also have a friend who is an experienced guitarist who plays the faded sg, he loves it, he splits time between playing that and a USA fender. Whichever guitar you end up with you will be happy

[bobbob1313]

aren't you the guy who criticizes people for posting and not adding anything to the discussion??!!!

 

Well, I didn't know the answer, but I don't have 20,000 posts by posting helpful stuff. I've got, like at most, 20 posts that are helpful. The rest are a series of dick and fart jokes and just general douchebaggery.

[jimmyjimmy]

I can't really comment on the current SG line specifically. The last real experience I had with an SG it was a 1964 model. All I can contribute is that Gibson is wildly erratic quality wise these days; (I've said it before, I'm a dyed in the wool Gibson guy). I really have issues with their necks and fingerboards these last few years. I've played $600 dollar LP Specials that were fantastic and $4k LP's with necks that needed serious adjustment and had gaps between the end of the frets and binding, ruff dressing etc.

 

My best advice is that your just gonna have to be patient and look for a well assembled instrument and don't let it's provenance sway you one way or another.

I desperately wanted a new 335 last year and was so put off by the construction of the guitars I tried I opted instead to buy a 1973 ES-345 knowing that it needed a re-fret; ( I also monkeyed with the electrics, a new circuit, new PUPS under the old covers, new bridge).

 

 

Personally, I don't know that the American Strat vs. Mexican vs. Squire comparison holds up with those guitars. I think the Mexican Strat would be more along the lines of, say, the Epiphone SG, and the Gibson models would be all up to the quality of an American Strat. It would be more like the comparison b/w a standard American strat vs. a Strat Deluxe vs. american vintage strat (though I guess in reverse order to match your comparison). When it comes to electric guitars, I'm a Fender guy, but I think Gibson tends to win out in quality in many cases. Fender will put their name on some sub-par stuff; Gibson generally will label the sub-par stuff as something else (Epiphone for example -- though there are plenty of quality Epis out there).

 

As for your second question, while some feel that the Mexican Strat is your best buy, I've found many of them to be of significantly lower quality. Then again, I've run across Mexican Strats (or Korean) that sound great, but I haven't found it to be the norm.

 

See, here's the odd thing, I've had totally different experiences with Fender gear as of late. I actually have a Fender dealer here in town whom I've worked with forever. It's his bread and butter buisness. He moves a lot of the Classic series MIM (made in Mexico) stuff, and I in turn go buy to shoot the shit every so often and screw around with them. If you are of the mentality that a polyester finish is not a terrible thing vs. a Nitro lacquer job these things come across as the best bang for your buck.

 

I thinks when you get into the Fender Standard series, the Squire Line and for Gibson, Epiphone, you expect there to be some drawbacks and concessions made towards top shelf kit and construction. But with Fender and everything from Standard series up, I see real good stuff.

[MattZ]

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts so far... I really appreciate it.

 

I probably shouldn't have thrown out the Amer vs Mex vs Squier analogy. I only meant that by way of comparison. What I am really trying to figure out is what are the differences between the different styles of SGs. I assume they range in quality (ie, Standard>Classic>Faded) similar to the way that the different strats range in quality and that was the reason for my comparison... But what I am trying to figure out is what makes those SGs different from each other?

 

I can spend 600 on a Faded, 1000 on a Classic or 1500 on a Standard (ballpark). It can't just be the pickups, right? Different neck widths?

 

I did some shopping around online and it looks like you can get the Standard with a kickass tailpiece (Maestro), but that means you are pushing 3k...

 

Thanks again everyone.

[jff]

I probably shouldn't have thrown out the Amer vs Mex vs Squier analogy. I only meant that by way of comparison.

 

Comparing Fenders and Gibsons is like somparing apples and oranges, as someone else stated. My previous comments were not intended to compare them as instruments, but rather to compare those lines in terms of quality relative to one another.

 

Everyone knows that Squires are typically FAR lower in quality than US made Fenders.

 

From what I have seen, the Gibson faded series is not all that much lower in quality than the standard Gibsons. With the faded series you could probably install new pickups and tuners and have a guitar that rivals just about ANY Gibson.

[oceanman]

I really wouldn't buy a faded unless you really wan't to do the work yourself to bring it up to standards as far as sound. They, imo really sound like shit. I love the looks of the LP and Sg faded series, at far as looks, the satin worn raw look is beatiful.

 

Yeah, no comparing brands, especialy Fender. I've played mex reissuies that play 10 times better than any american for the price. Each guitar is made different and factory specs might not be to your specs. Guitars come out of the factory at a standard as far as setup, neck bow, and pickup height. I have found that Gibson really leaves it up to the customer to adjust to their needs, and Fender's are pretty much in a comfortable playing set. This leaves me to believe that alot of folks won't buy a new Gibson for this reason, and that is a shame. And this is coming from a Fender player.

 

If your really serious, some one will do a setup for you to make a sale. If not I say move on. Buy used if you have to, but play it first. Their is like a million times I wan't to buy a guitar from Elderly and in the back of my mind is the what if?

[rockinrob]

Here is how it works.

 

The faded series has a satin nitrocellulose finish, with 490R and 490T pickups. They are versatile good pickups. The faded series does not have binding on the neck, they have dot inlays (moons were only 2001-2003), rosewood fingerboards, mahogany neck and bodies, nashville abr bridge and stop tailpiece, regular gibson kluson style tuners, and a gibson decal rather than a pearl inlay. They come with a gig bag.

 

The classic series has a gloss nitro finish, with single coil p-90 pickups. P90s are kind of in between humbuckers and fender style single coils. They have a great rock and roll, ballsy sound. The neck and body is made from mahogany, and they have a rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays and binding. Gibson is inlayed in pearl, and they have kluson style tuners with button style keys rather than the usual tulip type. The bridge and tailpeice are the same nashville abr and stop tailpeice. I believe these have a hard case but I could be wrong.

 

The standard has a gloss nitro finish, and 490R and 490T pickups. The neck and body is made of mahogany, and the fingerboard is rosewood. The neck has binding and has trapezoid cellulose style inlays. Gibson is inlayed in pearl, and there is also a pearl wheat-stack inlayed on the headstock. The tuners are regular kluson style, and the guitar comes with a hardshell case.

 

Basically the faded is a standard without any inlays, binding, or a gloss finish. The classic is missing some of the inlays that the standard has, but has p90 pickups. There is no difference in any of the components on any of these guitars. They are all made in the same factory, and have the same quality components. All gibsons have setup issues, and many of them need to have the nut recut for the guitar to play in tune. 90% of all tuning problems are from an improperly cut nut that is pinching the strings or bad stringing techniques. It does seem that the cheaper the gibson, the less attention to detail from the factory, but there are exceptions to this from both sides of the scale. Any one of these would be a nice guitar, but it just depends on what you are going for. I have an sg standard that is great.

[a.miller]

^^^SST Post of the Day!!!

[MattZ]

Here is how it works.

 

 

Thanks.

[jff]

for the money, the SG faded limited editions are the best of that group...solid mahogany body and ebony fretboard with crecent moon inlays...the hardware isnt great but not bad...not any difference between sg faded, special, and standard as far as woods/construction...they all have rosewood fret boards now on mahogany...Standard/classics have the block inlays

 

I think comparing SGs to strats/teles is comparing apple-oranges, however in this case, i like oranges

 

mine:

 

 

j

 

That's a nice looking guitar. Is yours stock or have you modified it? My friend has one with the moon inlays on the fretboard, but his came with a stop tailpiece and the uncovered humbuckers.

[rockinrob]

You can buy those trems at allparts http://www.allparts.com/store/tailpieces-t...es,Category.asp . They are the same one that goes on the 61 reissue sg, but they do not have "gibson" and the lyre etched into them.

[MattZ]

Do the Maestro Tailpieces serve a function other than looking totally badass?

 

Can one be installed on an SG that didnt come with it?

[In a little rowboat]

Do the Maestro Tailpieces serve a function other than looking totally badass?

 

Can one be installed on an SG that didnt come with it?

 

When i first bought the guitar, it was just body and neck, no hardware...I installed the vibrola, picked out a Gibson 57 for the bridge, SD Jazz for the neck, cut a new bone nut, added a roller bridge and kluson tuners and shielded the thing...i think theres a thread on VC where i documented building it

 

The maestro install took about 35 minutes, and yes, it functions as a pretty great vibrato...i had a bigsby on it first and like this so much better and this one stays in tune...i highly recommend a roller instead of TOM bridge

 

this guitar is for sale...im on to gretsches right now, and want another gibson chet atkins SST