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#1
04-18-2008, 10:22 AM
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My Gibson SG Classic
Folks,
I haven't posted a topic in a while, but as I have recently acquired a new SG, and put it threw it's paces at rehearsal with the band, I decide would share my thoughts on the guitar. First off, this is a Gibson SG Classic, equipped with P-90's. It has a nice fat neck too, not quite as deep as the necks on the SG Standards perhaps, but nice and full none the less. My guitar is actually very well balanced for an SG. The body is a touch heaver than your usual SG (though not heavy really) so this SG sits nicely on a strap, without any worry of the headstock diving to the floor. The pickups are stock Gibson P-90's and sound pretty good so far. I don't hear any reason to swap them out at this time, and I have had a chance to listen to recordings of our rehearsal sessions. In a nut shell they sound just the way I expect P-90's to sound, and it is all to easy to nail the classic "Gibson" Rock tone. I will try to describe the tones I get from the SG Classic by pickup possion..... Neck P-90- This is the fattest and deepest sound of the guitar of course. But with the tone wide open the sound is still cutting enough to be used as a rhythm sound for that chords or riffs. lowering the tone just a touch (9-7) still provides good definition with out getting murky. This is also a great possion for lead lines as it gets real fat as the tone control is rolled down, giving you that singing quality. This is ware the fat is at! Middle Possion- This has become my favorite with the band so far, as it is more cutting than the neck alone, but still fat and full. My favorite way to play this setting is with both tones rolled down just a tad, and the neck volume lowered slightly. To my ears this is a classic SG sound (granted I'm using P-90 and not PAFs) and great for Classic Rock tones! If I need to cop an AC/DC vibe, this setting is it threw my rig. With the tones wide open the sound gets choppier, still great for Rock and Blues. Bridge P-90- The lead possion has noticeably less bottom end than the other settings. It's still full, but lacks the low-end chunk the other setting have. However it works out great for me as I can use this pickup for chimer tones that mix well with the band, and open our rhythm sound up nicely. I tend to use it for shuffles and strumming open chords (with a dirty sound). If I need to imitate a Fender tone this is the pickup I use, as it really cuts with the tone wide open. Not a tele by any means, darker of course, but still biting. Rolling the tone down a little trims the highs nicely, it's crunchy but not too heavy. A lighter rock tone when distorted and very useable. Controls- As yet I have no issue with the pots for either volume or tone. The tone caps are a different story though. They really don't have a lot of range, which is why I only mention turning them down a little at a time. I plan on swapping them out with some paper/oil caps soon. Doing this has always been an improvement in the past, so I'm confident it will open up more tonal variations. I plan on using a .022 for the neck pickup, and a .010 for the bridge. String wise I am using 9's so far. They sound fine to me on Gibsons. I briefly strung a set of 10's on, but wound up taking them off as they didn't play well on this guitar to me. I do use 10's on a PRS SE and a strat however. The fit and finish is good over all. One or two minor comedic issues are present as with many mass produesed Gibsons. But they are not noticeable unless you are really looking closely, and do not hamper the playability or tone of the guitar. So not a big deal. So I am very happy with this guitar, it's great for the type of music my band plays, which is Classic Rock and Blues. I also own and have gigged with an old Gibson Melody Maker\SG, and the SG Classic reminds me of that guitar in a very good way. The Melody Maker is older and has mellowed with age, but many of the fundamentals of it's sound are present in my new SG. Which leads me to think that the Classic will only sound better with time. Great! I have turned away form using the Melody Maker over the past few years, due to the drastic tapper of the neck width, and a few repair issues. The new SG Classic fills in for it nicely and shares most of the old guitar's vibe. Very nice indeed! I have also spent time using Fenders and PRS guitars, which were all great in there own way. The SG Classic (with it's P-90's) gives me some of the more cutting attributes of those guitars, with it's own "Gibson vibe", which is the vibe I grew up listening to. ( I'm a big Southern Rock fan.) So this guitar is really working out for me and the music I play. And like all SG's it's so damn comfortable to play! Great guitar folks! MCG 
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#2
04-18-2008, 10:50 AM
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Quick 2c on this - at around a grand from GC this (still) has to be a steal. Great looking, feeling and sounding guitar that won't break the bank......nice one!
Bradz.
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www.bookstorerobbery.com www.myspace.com/bookstorerobbery Cool deals done with a smile include: procos, quackattack, telephile, beng2040, billy budapest, studio8000, xknight, jmburke, mastervolume, garygtr, Turiguillano, Crackpot, MooCow, Korvis...
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#4
04-18-2008, 10:58 AM
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The first SG Classic that I owned was an unresponsive, heavy boat anchor. The one I purchased about a year ago is feather light, extremely responsive and has a nice fat neck. It is one of the best guitars I have owned.
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#5
04-18-2008, 06:29 PM
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Great review.
I picked one up recently from a member here and couldn't be happier with it. Phenomenal guitar. Just one thing I don't understand--why the hell wouldn't Gibson include a hardshell case with a $1000 guitar?
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#6
04-18-2008, 06:41 PM
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Congrats on the SG! I've one of the GOTW '67 SG RI's and love the stock P90 pickups. I thought I would have to swap them out but I love their tone. My favorite switch position is also the middle.......killer thick tone!
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#8
04-21-2008, 09:59 AM
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I'm glad you all enjoied the review. Thanks.
BTW, I did change out the tone caps this weekend with .022 caps for both posisions. But as my family was home, and they don't let me turn my amp up musch at all, I have yet to hear the results at a higher volume. But as stated above I'm sure they will preform better than the ceramic caps that came stock. So it's all good. MCG
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#9
04-21-2008, 10:11 AM
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Thanks for the review, I don't think I can argue with any of that.
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#11
06-09-2008, 03:04 PM
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Just an update to my review of the SG Classic. A while back I changed out the tone caps as noted above. Well the band finally got around to rehearsing and I got a chance to hear the new caps a gig volume, and put them threw there paces. They sounded great, noticabaly better than the stock caps! Much smoother and more musical at curving the highs and getting a touch honky at lowwer settings. And I can get more body out of the bridge P90 than before! I'm happy.
MCG
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#14
06-10-2008, 08:13 PM
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#15
06-10-2008, 09:01 PM
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Linear Mode
