Best SG that is NOT a Gibson

  • Thread starter Thread starter Doughboy
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I can understand your concerns with current Gibson but why not just buy used? Most of the main qc concerns are from the past 5 yrs or so and basically not with historics. I know my 2001 61 ri was top shelf in woods with 1 pc body and neck and perfect finish and frettwork etc. it was a few yrs later that they started gluing scrap pieces together to make the bodies but up until mid 2000's all were 1 pc.
 
joepete77":3ffu2eot said:
I can understand your concerns with current Gibson but why not just buy used? Most of the main qc concerns are from the past 5 yrs or so and basically not with historics. I know my 2001 61 ri was top shelf in woods with 1 pc body and neck and perfect finish and frettwork etc. it was a few yrs later that they started gluing scrap pieces together to make the bodies but up until mid 2000's all were 1 pc.

There aren't that many SGs used in my area. I looked on craigslist & played 2 used ones in person. I just can't find a quality Gibson now a days. I'm sure there are good ones out there & they've certainly made some great guitars in the past, but that doesn't help my situation now.

I'm not a vintage nazi or hung up on big names or brands. All I want is a great guitar. If it's a small company like American Masters or one that I put together from Warmoth parts, that's fine with me, as long as it's a really good solid quality guitar.
 
Doughboy":1fd6m0fl said:
joepete77":1fd6m0fl said:
I can understand your concerns with current Gibson but why not just buy used? Most of the main qc concerns are from the past 5 yrs or so and basically not with historics. I know my 2001 61 ri was top shelf in woods with 1 pc body and neck and perfect finish and frettwork etc. it was a few yrs later that they started gluing scrap pieces together to make the bodies but up until mid 2000's all were 1 pc.

There aren't that many SGs used in my area. I looked on craigslist & played 2 used ones in person. I just can't find a quality Gibson now a days. I'm sure there are good ones out there & they've certainly made some great guitars in the past, but that doesn't help my situation now.

I'm not a vintage nazi or hung up on big names or brands. All I want is a great guitar. If it's a small company like American Masters or one that I put together from Warmoth parts, that's fine with me, as long as it's a really good solid quality guitar.

The real anaswer is that someone told him Gibson was bad so he thinks Gibson is bad. Between this post and the one with trying all SGs at 4 shops, the op is either full of shit, biased, or has no. clue.
 
bigdaddyd":24r777pv said:
The real anaswer is that someone told him Gibson was bad so he thinks Gibson is bad. Between this post and the one with trying all SGs at 4 shops, the op is either full of shit, biased, or has no. clue.

I played the first SG I saw that was on the floor (yes, it was beaten up as you would expect) at the GC in Lake Forest CA and I've gotta say, it played pretty freaking good. No idea how it sounded because I didn't plug it in but it played really well and was around $400-$600 new (or newly beaten).
 
bigdaddyd":uabrzyp1 said:
Doughboy":uabrzyp1 said:
joepete77":uabrzyp1 said:
I can understand your concerns with current Gibson but why not just buy used? Most of the main qc concerns are from the past 5 yrs or so and basically not with historics. I know my 2001 61 ri was top shelf in woods with 1 pc body and neck and perfect finish and frettwork etc. it was a few yrs later that they started gluing scrap pieces together to make the bodies but up until mid 2000's all were 1 pc.

There aren't that many SGs used in my area. I looked on craigslist & played 2 used ones in person. I just can't find a quality Gibson now a days. I'm sure there are good ones out there & they've certainly made some great guitars in the past, but that doesn't help my situation now.

I'm not a vintage nazi or hung up on big names or brands. All I want is a great guitar. If it's a small company like American Masters or one that I put together from Warmoth parts, that's fine with me, as long as it's a really good solid quality guitar.

The real anaswer is that someone told him Gibson was bad so he thinks Gibson is bad. Between this post and the one with trying all SGs at 4 shops, the op is either full of shit, biased, or has no. clue.

Yes, that's absolutely the real answer. After 25 years of playing, someone just told me last week that Gibson is bad & that was enough to send me to the guitar forums to make up stories to discredit them. I will single handedly take them down. Mark my words!!!! I will do it.

How do you do it?

How can you see right through it all from behind the keyboard?

Are you a mere mortal or some kind of super human minataur with ESP?
 
Minotaurs have ESP ?

Wow, ......did not know that. Better brush up on my mythology.

Seriously, all manufacturers of ANY product occasionally produce turds and sometimes this happens more frequently than others. Saying "You're really only paying the big bucks for the honor of that Gibson logo on your headstock." is incredibly shortsighted. For many years I was not a fan of Gibson, until I played a few that were absolutely incredible.

I had a Carvin CS6 ordered and bought new. While it was a nice, well made guitar, it did not hold a candle to either of two LP's in tone or playability and really wasn't my thing.

My thought is, if you want an SG, you should get an SG and just go find the right one. Nothing else you get will sound like it. If you are only buying it for aesthetics (minotaurs like the double horns) then I guess any knock off would do ya. ;)
 
I've owned and played dozens of SGs for countless thousands of hours over the last 25 years. If you ask my opinion, they are pieces of shit. And I would never recommend anyone buy one. If you do buy one, you'll probably have to refinish/reseat/replace the frets, repair the binding, replace the nut, and will often have to adjust the truss rod on a neck that won't stay straight...if you like your action very low, as I do. Sure there are "better" ones. But the "better" ones are mediocre at best, for any serious guitar player.

I still play SGs ONLY because of the way it feels when standing up. The neck is extended far to left for the right-hand player, making it easy to reach all of the higher frets. If this thread leads to a place where I can get a guitar that hangs like an SG, but with better quality than Gibson, I will sell every SG I own as quickly as possible and without ANY regrets. Sure, I will miss the Gibson "mojo." But I won't miss the Gibson lack of quality.
 
op is either full of shit, biased, or has no. clue.

^Isn't this intrinsically true of all posts?

I love my Gibsons, but the title explicitly states NOT; it is possible to get a good axe from another company

I'm rooting for us masters
 
crankyrayhanky":69462juj said:
op is either full of shit, biased, or has no. clue.

^Isn't this intrinsically true of all posts?

I love my Gibsons, but the title explicitly states NOT; it is possible to get a good axe from another company

I'm rooting for us masters

The doughboy is half baked
 
Damn...you guys were rough on the guy.

To the OP, nevermind these assholes. Find you a Gibson SG from the Custom Shop and you will be good. Decent prices on eBay most of the time. Just don't get the over the counter production RI's unless you get to play it first. The only other I would suggest would be a Guild S100. If you like the relic thing, check out Rock N Roll Relics. Never played one though.
 
bigdaddyd":uaa7c2to said:
The real anaswer is that someone told him Gibson was bad so he thinks Gibson is bad. Between this post and the one with trying all SGs at 4 shops, the op is either full of shit, biased, or has no. clue.

That's the only answer I can think of. These stories of people going to different stores, trying dozens of Gibsons and all of them sucking just aren't remotely believable. I'm sure there are some out there with problems, but I've never seen one. Every Gibson I've owned has been flawless. Good Gibsons just aren't that hard to find, and with Sam Ash selling Standards for $799 recently, a better deal is almost impossible to find.
 
GCDEF":125d41pv said:
bigdaddyd":125d41pv said:
The real anaswer is that someone told him Gibson was bad so he thinks Gibson is bad. Between this post and the one with trying all SGs at 4 shops, the op is either full of shit, biased, or has no. clue.

That's the only answer I can think of. These stories of people going to different stores, trying dozens of Gibsons and all of them sucking just aren't remotely believable. I'm sure there are some out there with problems, but I've never seen one. Every Gibson I've owned has been flawless. Good Gibsons just aren't that hard to find, and with Sam Ash selling Standards for $799 recently, a better deal is almost impossible to find.

That's not even what I am saying. I am not saying every Gibson is flawless, but when someone says every new and used one made is a defective piece of shit with bad frets, finish and whatever, I can't take them seriously. It isn't even statistically possible.
 
steve_k":2azk1wgu said:
Damn...you guys were rough on the guy.

To the OP, nevermind these assholes. Find you a Gibson SG from the Custom Shop and you will be good. Decent prices on eBay most of the time. Just don't get the over the counter production RI's unless you get to play it first. The only other I would suggest would be a Guild S100. If you like the relic thing, check out Rock N Roll Relics. Never played one though.
Nah, He was asking for it :lol: :LOL: Agree on the Custom Shop, but I have played quite a few right off the hanger that were great guitars, if you want that tone without that name I would look at a PRS Mira first, pretty close in tone and feel , the ESP is not close.
 
I like SGs, and Gibsons, but when I shopped for an SG I found I didn't really like the step at the neck joint. I wanted that smoother or blocked or something else. So I checked out other SG types. turns out I got a good deal on an SG and went with it, great guitar even with that dumb step. So give the guy some room to see what he wants.
 
bigdaddyd":1ocyjnts said:
GCDEF":1ocyjnts said:
bigdaddyd":1ocyjnts said:
The real anaswer is that someone told him Gibson was bad so he thinks Gibson is bad. Between this post and the one with trying all SGs at 4 shops, the op is either full of shit, biased, or has no. clue.

That's the only answer I can think of. These stories of people going to different stores, trying dozens of Gibsons and all of them sucking just aren't remotely believable. I'm sure there are some out there with problems, but I've never seen one. Every Gibson I've owned has been flawless. Good Gibsons just aren't that hard to find, and with Sam Ash selling Standards for $799 recently, a better deal is almost impossible to find.

That's not even what I am saying. I am not saying every Gibson is flawless, but when someone says every new and used one made is a defective piece of shit with bad frets, finish and whatever, I can't take them seriously. It isn't even statistically possible.

No, that's EXACTLY what you're said. Apparently you can't even fathom the though of someone not finding a guitar to their liking even if they try a dozen of them. It's just absolutely not something your mind can grasp. After all, apart from being a minotaur with ESP, you actually own a few SGs that constantly receive compliments from friends, neighbors & passer bys.

Btw, you really seem to know what you're talking about & I highly respect that in a person. Do you have any clips of your playing? I'd really love to hear what you sounds like playing those amazing SGs of your.
 
I think part of the problem is the guitar shops. There are only a three close to where I live, and of those three only one actually tunes, and sets up their guitars. Also there are no humidifiers in the store outside of the acoustic room so a lot of the guitars need severe trus rod adjustments, and have feet ends sticking out.

Maybe the shops the op went to don't sell too many SGs so the ones on the floor might have been there for quite a while, and are in need of new strings, and a set up.
 
What the shit guys, dude asked for alternatives to Gibson SGs, he didn't tell you that you were screwed up for playing Gibsons. But why not just jump all over him for not liking what you like, or having a bad lot of SGs at the stores near him.
 
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