Question for SG players

[MORE BARN]

I've always played Les Pauls, so clearly that's what I'm used to, but I wanted to look at the SG simply because I like the sound as well as the lighter weight. I've played a few, and they sound great however my question is in regards to the feel/playability. If I just put my hand at rest on my Les Paul's neck with my arm out straight (as opposed to shifted out towards the left or inwards towards the right), my index and thumb are resting on the 9th fret. If I try this on the SG, that same position is moved up a few frets (12th & 13th). It's like everything is shifted waaaay over to the left-so if I play on the first or second fret, it feels as if I need wrist or arm extensions.

Now, this isn't really a huge issue, but my question is how long (if I played nothing but the SG) would it take to where the SG would seem 'normal' and the LP would feel foreign? Also, suppose you play a LP half the time, and an SG the other half-would either one seem awkward, or do you just adjust to both of them simultaneously?

Thanks

[ubernerd]

I have the same problem. It takes me a day of just playing my SG to get used to the shift. I've found that because I've been playing Les Pauls for a long time, going back to the Les Paul from the SG isn't as big of an adjustment. I've been thinking about repositioning the strap button to the end of the top horn to get it to "hang" more like my Les Paul.

[SgtThump]

I routinely go back and forth between my Les Paul, SG, and Charvel (25.5") and it really doesn't take me any time at all to get used to it. Like not even a second. I don't even think about it, really.

I've always been like that. Jumping from thin to thick necks never bother me, changing guitars, etc, etc... I guess I'm the weird one. lol

[Maxer]

I don't notice that either. I have several different guitars and so there's tons of different neck profiles, neck joints/heels, nut widths, etc. I keep switching 'em around all the time so that I don't get 'stuck' on one instrument.

[ubernerd]

To add to my previous post, it's not bad if I can look at the neck while I'm playing, but I sing and play guitar in my band so I usually navigate the neck from feel/muscle memory and rarely look down at the neck. The difference in the neck position throws off my fretting.

[Tycho]

Originally Posted by SgtThump

I routinely go back and forth between my Les Paul, SG, and Charvel (25.5") and it really doesn't take me any time at all to get used to it. Like not even a second. I don't even think about it, really.

I've always been like that. Jumping from thin to thick necks never bother me, changing guitars, etc, etc... I guess I'm the weird one. lol

I'm the same way; never given it a moment's thought. But I met my match when I got a Firebird!

[jsg]

I am more likely to feel weird about playing a different song live with a different guitar. I play an sg and a hagstrom swede live and am ok with the adjustment when I switch.

[just_one_more]

This happened to me when I first got my SG and I played it sitting down. Took a few hours of playing and now I go back and forth withoput even thinking about it. Standing up it was never an issue.

[MORE BARN]

Good input, thanks...and to Just One More-yes, I was sitting down when I tried it out today, didn't play it standing up yet

[Whiskeyrebel]

I'm the opposite. My first electric was / is a Les Paul copy. After I got an SG Standard and got comfortable with it, the LP style feels much less ergonomic to me. The LP positions a bit better sitting but I almost always play standing now. The strap button at the heel places the end of the neck comfortably at the edge of my waist. If I play standing, having the strap button on the upper bout or horn brings the highest frets in too far over the middle of my body.

With the neck angled upward and the heel strap button angled downward, the SG lines up very nice. It doesn't align as well with the neck closer to parallel with the floor.

[Maxer]

Originally Posted by ubernerd

To add to my previous post, it's not bad if I can look at the neck while I'm playing, but I sing and play guitar in my band so I usually navigate the neck from feel/muscle memory and rarely look down at the neck. The difference in the neck position throws off my fretting.

Good point. One, I'm almost always playing sitting down, and two, I'm not gigging live. Three, though I've gotten to the point of muscle memory in certain phrases, most of the time I'm still looking down at what my fingers are doing. In your case, I can see how changing up your neck profiles, scales and other variables can make the whole thing a lot more challenging.

[CharAznable]

Originally Posted by SgtThump

I routinely go back and forth between my Les Paul, SG, and Charvel (25.5") and it really doesn't take me any time at all to get used to it. Like not even a second. I don't even think about it, really.

I've always been like that. Jumping from thin to thick necks never bother me, changing guitars, etc, etc... I guess I'm the weird one. lol

I'm exactly like that. I switch between an SG, a PRS, a Strat, a Gretsch and a Rick without even thinking about it.

I don't really care about neck shapes, fret sizes, scale length, neck finish of anything of the sort because it takes me like 30 seconds to adapt.

[SgtThump]

I should also point out that I have several years under my belt gigging on bass guitar (the "thump" in SgtThump), so that's probably a big reason why it doesn't take me long to adjust.

[goodhonk]

you might enjoy the new feel; finding your way around a new guitar might open up some experimenting. the flat sg body feels very comfortable against my stomach when playing.

[Simto]

Originally Posted by SgtThump

I routinely go back and forth between my Les Paul, SG, and Charvel (25.5") and it really doesn't take me any time at all to get used to it. Like not even a second. I don't even think about it, really.

I've always been like that. Jumping from thin to thick necks never bother me, changing guitars, etc, etc... I guess I'm the weird one. lol

You're not the weird one. The only "thing" i do when i play SG's a lot, i tend to lift other guitars a lot with my left hand because you lift a lot more because of the neck being heavy on some SG's