15 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
An ax you can't go wrong with
Date of Review: Apr 4, 2001
The Bottom Line: A great sounding, great looking guitar that players of all skill levels can enjoy playing; produces a classic rock sound that many will be familiar with.
I bought my black Gibson SG in 1993, after admiring their look and sound for many years. My favorite rock musician, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath used them all the time, as did AC-DC's Angus Young. I love the sound that both of these guitarists get, so when it was time to buy, this was an easy choice.
The sound of the SG is fatter and warmer than the Fender Stratocaster, in my opinion, and this suits my style of playing well. The three position toggle switch allows you to choose one of the two pickups or a combination of both. I prefer using the pickup closer to the neck for a smooth warm tone when playing leads. Each pickup can be controlled with its own volume and tone knobs.
The input jack is located on the face of the body, rather than on the side, which I prefer.
The SG's neck is just the right width and has 24 frets. The higher frets are easy to reach due to the design of the body. The body weight is rather light.
The bridge piece can be adjusted in order to raise or lower the action (I prefer the strings to be as low as possible).
The lead guitar player in a band I was in also owned an SG, and he used it when we recorded some songs in a studio. The guitar sound we got out of it was great, and the Gibson sound really came through on tape.
The only problem I have had with my SG is that the G and B strings tend to slip out of tune too easily. The G string was also catching in the nut a lot, but a little graphite cured that.
I like to play my SG through a Laney amp (the same set up Iommi uses), as the Laney really lets the trademark sound of the SG come through. I think the Laney does this far better than most Marshalls I've tried, as the Marshall tends to make the sound a bit too bright and crisp.
Gibson has put out a Tony Iommi custom model SG, and I've been trying to find a dealer who can get his hands on one, but I'm not having much luck. Apparently they didn't make too many of them. I've heard it runs about $2,200 but I'm really considering buying if I can just find one!
