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Review by
a visitor on 2.5.2010
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Gibson Sg Ebony, bought from GuitarGuitar for £600 brand new. I have a Gibson Les Paul standard already, so when I walked into the shop I had no intention of buying a second Gibson. On hearing the SG being played, however, I couldn't believe how amazing it sounded, especially for such a modest price for a American made Gibson guitar. This was back in 2006; I have no regretted the decision since.
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Features |
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Pretty standard Gibson features. Solid Mahogony, very hot 490R and 490T uncovered Humbucker pickups, rosewood fret board, 50's style neck, Gibson's tune-o-matic bridge, seperate volume and tone controls for each pick-up, three-way pick-up selecter.
The body is very light and beautifully balanced, it is a very comfortable guitar to hold.
Having seperate controls for each pick-up is obviously very useful for creating contrasts in songs. I often leave the neck pick-up with the volume and tone turned down for a soft, warm mellow sound, and then hit the bridge with full tone, volume and distortion for that classic old school black sabbath or Ac/dc blast. The Sg certainly produces that fantastic Gibson bite we have all come to love.
The features on this guitar are relatively basic compared to the SG standard (no neck binding or block inlays, pick-up covers, or hard case etc) , however it is half the price and produces exactly the same sound, perhaps with a tad more low end grit due to the uncovered pick-ups.
The main weakness of this guitar would have to be the tuners, which are far too loose and weak for a guitar that is going to be thrashed around alot during a metal gig. The fourth string tuner has broken in the past, and the guitar does go out of tune far more regularly than I would like. |
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Playability |
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Since buying the SG I have found that I have continued to neglect my much more expensive Les Paul. The Sg has a playability that is virtually unmatched for a guitar of this price. The only 'feel' I can compare it to is a PRS custom 22 for its ease of playing. The neck is incredibly fast, and the light but powerful mahogony body gives it surpising amounts of sustain. The pick-ups, if you are into humbuckers, are fantastic for a heavy classic rock sound or gritty metal sound. A blues sound can be reached on the neck pick-up if you really back off the tone, but this guitar is really made for rock.
The SG has a sonic quality to it at the high end that makes me smile every time I tear up some lead. If you go for a regular gauge I have found the strings very easy to bend, however this depends on your set up. |
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Quality |
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In general the quality of sound is brilliant. On a clean setting the SG produces that soothing warmth we have come to expect from high quality humbuckers. It doesn't have quite the polished, mid-heavy characteristics of the Les Paul, however personally I really enjoy the raw sound of the uncovered 490's. A quality guitar shines through when every effect and type of distortion you throw at it produces a useable sound; the SG passes this test with ease. |
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Durability |
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As I have mentioned, the durability of this guitar falls down mainly due to the tuners. The rest of the guitar has held up perfectly. The set-up was perfect out of stock, and even if it isn't, due to the tune-o-matics its very easy to correct. |
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Overall |
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Firstly, this is a great rock guitar overall, and thus far I would recommend it to anyone. For the price, it is outstanding. If you are considering buying a Gibson SG standard I would definately advise (unless you are hell bent on the original SG look) that you buy the special, as it sounds just as good (if not better), and is half the price. If you are a fender man looking to buy a Les Paul, the SG is easier to play due to its weight and thinner neck, and still produces a great sound so it would make the tranition from fender to gibson easier.
One thing I would advise, is fitting this guitar with locking tuners. The tuning problems do become incredibly irriating when playing in a long gig. Confidence in your axe is key, locking tuners would complete the package for this great all time classic. |
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