You prefer a Humbucker SG over _____ because?

[Bunky]

Just looking to ignite some SG gas since I can't afford a LP.

 

[NashSG]

I've never found one of those magic Les Pauls. I also like the SG body shape without the curved top, which feels weird to me. I never found the sweet spot for picking on the Les Paul for some reason. I never ran into the neck dive issues with my SGs. To me it is the SG is closest thing that Gibson has to a Strat feel, which I think is the most balenced feeling guitar to play.

 

[philamag87]

I just picked up one of the new 60's LP Tributes with P-90's. Its the first time ever owning and playing a LP and a P-90 equipped guitar. Its an interesting feel and sound and I think the novelty is wearing off. I find myself going back to my main guitar, a 61 SG RI. I love the light weight and the easy access to the upper frets and the sound after I put a lot of aftermarket parts on it. I liked the sound that Angus gets but I never got any where close to that sound but I guess playing through Fenders with dirt boxes only gets you so much.

I spent about $600 in after market parts and labor getting it to sound like I wanted. I put a Burstbucker 1 in the neck (I know its heresy to like the BB1 but it works for me) kept the 57 Classic in the bridge and this is after having WCR pups in there but they just didn't work for me. Put the Callaham steel bridge on, put in RS Guitarworks 500k Super Pots and 500k tone pots, Sprague Orange drop caps, a bone nut and a Gotoh Aluminum tailpiece.

This guitar can cover a lot of ground. I don't play metal but I can cover pretty much everything else.

 

[Bunky]

Thats a lot of upgrades for a guitar. I thought those 61's sounded pretty good off the rack myself. Thankfully i don't have modification gas.

 

[seltaeb]

Thankfully i don't have modification gas.

LOL, +1.

 

[justonwo]

I prefer the ergonomics and upper fret accessibility, and I don't think LPs and SGs sound all that different anyway.

 

[Arewenotmen?]

Yeah, I play my SGs WAAAYYY more than my Burny Les Paul. Most of it has to do with the aforementioned ergonomics/comfort. In my opinion you can essentially get LP tones by swapping the pickups... which is probably why Gibson stocks SGs with inferior pickups -- so you think you have to spend a lot more to get the same sound.

 

[ballynally]

do they make SGs with maple tops? Think they are all mahogany. Not as versatile as an LP. thinner. good rock axes. i prefer them with P90s. Townshend and Angus Young (P90s on recordings-buckers live). had to sell my '73 SG.Needed the money. sold it pre-ebay etc to the wrong guy. I'm still grieving. overall prefer an LP though. LP and Tele, brothers in arms. axes for real men, a friend once told me

 

[Whiskeyrebel]

SG Supreme has a flame maple top. I haven't played one though. They came out a few years after I bought the SG Standard that's my main guitar when I play with my bandmates.

 

[L_Totti]

I've never found one of those magic Les Pauls. I also like the SG body shape without the curved top, which feels weird to me. I never found the sweet spot for picking on the Les Paul for some reason. I never ran into the neck dive issues with my SGs. To me it is the SG is closest thing that Gibson has to a Strat feel, which I think is the most balenced feeling guitar to play.

 

[vortexxxx]

You can't go wrong with an SG. I read somewhere that Gibson sells more SGs than Les Pauls.

 

[IAE]

The SG doesn't have as much Bass as a LP (On account of the thin mahogany body). You can turn your bass up but you still wont get that LP bassy sound regardless of what you do. SG's are a little brighter also. Other than that they are similar.

Many may need a good ear to hear the differences as they are very close.

 

[=JL=]

You'd be hard pushed to tell the difference in sound from a recording, mainly because most of that famous Les Paul low end has to be rolled off to sit well in a mix.
Great if you're noodling on your own, but if you play in a band, just get an SG.

 

[GCDEF]

I prefer them over everything (well, tied with a P-90 SG) because they sound fantastic, they play better than just about anything else and they're light.

 

[GCDEF]

Angus Young (P90s on recordings-buckers live).

I didn't know that, but I'm not surprised. I always thought my P-90 SG sounds more like Angus than my HB one.

 

[NoBrakes]

I always liked my SGs better in the mix than my LP... I hung on to a LP for years because it was a LP... Something always trumped it when it came to actually using it out.. Recently my last SG was replace by a 83' Hamer Sunburst... Still love SGs though

 

[Snottyboy]

My SG just continued to grow on me over the past few years...now it's my main guitar. Extremely versatile across styles, clean to dirty. An easy-wielding guitar that really seems like a natural extension of me.

 

[MKB]

I did love SG's better than LP's until I got my latest LP. Tone-wise it kills my current SG. But SG's have to be the most fun guitar to play; light, great tone, lots of mid snap, not too thick sounding, great fingerboard access, it just feels right. I also like them because they are basically a midget ES-335 in many ways.

You shouldn't have neck dive in a SG if you have a wide strap and the tuning machines aren't too heavy.

 

[Deathmonkey]

SG Supreme has a flame maple top.

I have 2 of these, and they're awesome. They also have ebony boards. They have a little more snap to them that regular SGs. I like SGs because their tone is right in the mids where you want it - listen to Frank Marino or early Uriah Heep with Mick Box. There's also a reason why a lot of sludge dudes like em.

 

[tacorivers]

SG is more comfortable than the LP and is tonally more diverse IMHO. It doesn't capture the low-end magic of an LP, but it has an equally compelling tonal signature IMHO.