Gibson SG Standard Electric Guitar
"In 'Headwires' the high, picking part in the middle eight is an SG through the Memory Man," says Dave Grohl in reference to the Gibson S... more
John Mayer is seen using the dark red Gibson SG Standard Electric Guitar while he rocks a sold-out audience at the Copley Hall in San Die... more
Matthew Bellamy used a red Gibson SG Standard Electric guitars during the Absolution recording. Matthew Bellamy also used two different v... more
Reviews
Trusted musician and artist reviews for Gibson SG Standard Electric Guitar
Based on 49 Reviews
Great guitar with a fast neck, good clean and really rocks through a tube amp.
My first electric guitar recommended to me by my first guitar teacher. At the time I wasn't convinced and was considering a strat but this one really came through. Fast neck, great tone, sounds great clean and really rocks through a tube amps. Tuning stability not as good as my PRS, strat or Duesenberg even without a whammy bar on the SG. Ages beautifully.
The angled string pull on a Gibson coupled with poorly cut string nuts are the SG's achiles heel... I still wouldn't ever part with my standard though! It is a great player and resonates so much better than any other current production full solidbody I own.
Yes, the nuts on modern Gibsons are notoriously poor. Both my 2014 SG special, and my Les Paul Junior limited have that has the main drawback. Getting a skilled luthier to do one custom made (ideally out of a better material than Tektoid) would be the best solution. The problem is finding one that you trust to do it properly, and charge a reasonable price. So the solution I use, is to lubricate the string slots with graphite. I take a good quality HB pencil from a stationary shop, make it really sharp, and carefully rub the nut slots. This seems to do the trick. You'll need to keep reapplying it, but it's usually enough to do every time you change strings (unless you keep them for ages). In my Les paul, the first time I did it, I noticed that there were even tektoid shavings deposited inside the nut slots, so it hadn't even been properly cleaned before being assembled. Really odd, given that everything else about that guitar showed really good attention to detail.
My Number 1!
It's by no means the perfect guitar, but it is my #1, the first choice in the bands that I write music for. Plays beautifully and was a natural fit for me the first time I picked it up. Not as warm as most LP's I've played, a little more on the aggressive side, just the way I like it. Mine is a 2012 limited edition in Honeyburst. Originally equipped with Burstbuckers, the bridge pickup has been replaced with a Wolfetone Marshallhead. Currently strung up with Dean Markley 13's, tuned to D standard, pots and caps replaced with CTS and Orange Drops respectively, and rewired to a 50's wiring scheme.
mmm, I almost bought a 2012 Honeyburst from guitar center as a backup to my 2010, but the neck was just a little on the thin side... not enough shoulder. I kinda regret it right now, a spare SG would be nice.
The modern SG with the reinforced neck joint is a beast and one of the best values in American made rock guitars.... as long as you are patient enough to sort through a pile of them.
Gibson SG Standard
2013 was the year Gibson finally got it right? Overall it's a really nice guitar to play and sounds good especially with the 57 classic PUPS however the balance of the guitar is not the best.
Compared to the 92 SG Standard I had this guitar doesn't come close to being as good. Action is great, the neck is fast and it's a really fun guitar to play. It's a light guitar which makes it comfortable however I find myself constantly adjusting how it sits while playing, minor detail but annoying. Everything else about the guitar I like.
purdy... the hallmark of a good SG is not being neck heavy, so Gibson didn't get it right with yours. I have an odler one and it sits fine even with a nylon strap. But I sifted through hundreds of standards and RIs for 3 years.
My Main Guitar
I use this almost everytime, as it suits my playing style.
the SG takes a bad wrap because of its proto-metal shape and association with tony iommi, but its a great guitar
I bought my first guitar around 1997, and it was Heritage Cherry Gibson SG. Very well balanced tone, small fingerboard and the only thing that wears fast is the finishing/bodypaint colours. I've changed the tuning machines to a grover type because i smashed it on stage by accident and surprisingly it still worked well and only left some small scratch.
classic guitar tone
I've owned my sg standard for a little over ten years now and this guitar has never disappointed me in any way what so ever. It great for styles from classic rock, doom metal, to ambient, and jazz. I've kept mine completely stock simply because it just does everything its supposed to. theres too many positive things to say about this guitar so if you interested in one of these, i highly suggest going to a local music store that has one in stock and play it. See how it feels for you.
Not the most versatile guitar around, but unrivaled at it's own game!
SG was my second guitar ever and has been my number one choice ever since. It's gorgeous looks, light weight and easy playability always make it my first choice for shows and studio leads. SG may not be my ideal choice for clean sounds or solid state amps, but a right amount of distortion and a good tube amp make it unbeatable! The SG is especially great for shredding, Rock, Metal and Blues.
Completely stock SG (except I changed out the tuners to grovers). Got it on ebay for 750.
Best SG I've ever played.
I fell in love with this SG from the first note and had to own it. It has a big chunky neck and the body really resonates when its set-up with a rod straight neck and the action on the high side. The stock 490r neck pickup is warm and sparkly, however I was underwhelmed by the 498t at the bridge. It didn't jive with my favored amplifier, the Vox AC30. At a guitar show I swapped a pedal for an ld Gibson T-top Humbucker with pretty low DCR and installed it at the bridge. It completed the package making my SG into my favorite rock axe.
I have named this guitar El Superbeasto, but she will answer Beasto for short.
Nice! I had a cherry condition 1972 for a while and loved it. It was a dream to play with a slide.
72? did that have the giant schaler 'accordion' bridge?
well at least i don't have a replica chibson sg instead of the real one cough cough
I don't follow rory, my standard's a regular old off the shelf standard, purchased in Maryland from the fine fellows at atomic music with all the case candy even though its second hand. my silver special is a regular old gison in a cool silver finish, purchased beat-to shit with all the lacquer worn off (as lacquer does versus poly) from the sam ash near Nashville... my sivler LP is an American platinum edition, purchased in seatlle. None of 'em made in china. My one Chinese Gibson-alike is the epi joe bonamassa thatw as an impulse by I have been regretting a little. Its an okay guitar, its just not that great and it was pretty expensive for what I got. I wish I ahd trid one in person. oh well.
i always thought the big inlays should be les paul only i prefer dots on sgs,
but sg + vox but surely you mean sg + Marshall
nah, superleads are too loud these days and the voc has more sag.... people don't get hat crunchy old voxes are at 10
not slp but ... jcm
thinking about it people would dislike that more