Gibson All American I

I've got a 1997 solid black Gibson SG-I All American. It's a mahogany body with a mahogany neck and unbound rosewood fingerboard. Pearloid dot inlays, 24 frets (!), standard Grover(?) tuners, Fender length neck, normal Gibson TOM bridge setup, and the "round" neck style. This beast has just one pickup (with a coil split switch), one volume knob, one tone knob, and one input (on the front of the guitar). The stock pickup is a Gibson 500t. This guitar looks AWESOME, I put a w/b/w Gibson SG-X pickguard on it an it's honestly one of the best looking SG's that I've ever seen. This is a VERY simple guitar, but it does what it was meant to do VERY well.

I play an aggressively instrumental amalgam of jazz, metal, indie, hardcore punk, and ragtime. I could not ask for a better guitar. I run this guitar through an '87 Fender Dual Showman red knob head into an 80's Marshall 1965a 4x10 cabinet. The only thing in between my guitar and the amp is a tuner pedal. This setup absolutely SCREAMS. In full humbucker mode, the SG-I is VERY well balanced and clear, without any unwanted noise. I'm able to have a huge amount of dynamics in terms of overdrive level just by altering my picking/strumming style. Without even using the volume knob, I can go from jazzy cleans to metal. The coil split mode can sound even better (more mids and treble); but, unfortunately, as soon as it is engaged, my amp starts buzzing like crazy. Still, this guitar in humbucker mode plugged into the "blend" channel on my Dual Showman is basically a tone monster.

I got this guitar used, so I don't know how it was from the factory. The action is perfect right now, medium-low. I was playing a tele before I switched to this guitar, and it took me only a few hours to adjust. Everything seems to be set up great, although I have noticed that the humbucker pole pieces seem to be slightly the right of the strings...I haven't bothered trying to fix this because I just can't get enough of the way the guitar sounds right now! Also, it should be noted that this guitar is VERY easy to ding. Any slight bash and you'll have a dent in your finish. This isn't a big deal for me, but if you like your guitars to stay in mint condition, this might not be for you.

With the obvious addition of strap locks (the stupid SG strap knob on the BACK of the guitar makes this mod a MUST) this guitar is my main live guitar. When I play live I thrash around alot and sometimes hit people in the face...this guitar is perfect for that (don't know if that's a good thing). You do have to be wary of the neck joint and headstock (as with most Gibson guitars), but you can't really dock this guitar for that. The guitar is holding together great.
I sweat quite a bit when I play, and I have noticed that on the more "used" areas of the guitar, there are slightly whitened 1-2mm areas. I'm not sure if this is from my sweat, but it's definitely annoying.
I'd never gig without a backup unless I had to...but this guitar could probably take it.

I've never tried to get it repaired, don't know about the warranty, and never dealt with the company.

I've been play for almost two years. Other than my amp setup, I own an assortment of guitar pedals and a Gibson SG-Z. I'm very happy with this guitar, and if it were stolen or lost I'd be very upset. I love the simplicity and the good looks (and sounds!). I do wish the neck were bound and the inlays were a little cooler (like on the SG-Z), but other than that, I have no complaints. This is probably the best guitar I've ever played in it's price range.

This is a 1996 Gibson All American I SG-style guitar, made in Nashville, TN USA. It has 24 frets, one humbucker with a coil tap switch along with one volume and one tone pot. I believe this guitar has a mahogany body. Mine has a very nice dark cherry burst finish. The bridge setup is the Gibson standard: stop bar tailpiece and a tune-o-matic bridge. There is no pickguard on this guitar. As far as features go, this is a very simple guitar, perfect for thos who want the stock SG sound with a tiny bit of twang if necessary.

I play everything from country to metal to classic rock to early punk rock. The sound of this guitar isn't as versatile as, say, a strat but if one is looking for that classic SG sound, this is a pretty great sounding guitar.

I've played this guitar through many amps, tube and solid state alike. When the coil tap is set to single coil, the guitar is very bright but the tone pot is super responsive. Pulling back a bit on the volume and setting the tone down just a bit gives a nice, bluesy sound on most any mildly overdriven amp.

In humbucker mode, this guitar rocks with the best of them. Again, the tone and volume pots are very responsive and one can get a variety of hard rock tones. I don't really think I'd recommend this guitar for those who play consistently a rich, clean amp.

The finish when purchased was immaculate. I've since done some cosmetic damage (hey, those are "character marks", not scratches). The lack of a pickguard makes it difficult to keep this guitar pristine.

I don't know how well the guitar was setup from the factory, right after I bought it new in '96 I had it set up for my playing style.

The construction of this guitar is flawless. Hearkens back to the days when Gibson's quality control was much better than it is now.

This guitar has and can withstand epic gigging. Although I cringe to think of playing live without a backup, were I pressed to do so this is the guitar I'd choose out of my collection.

N/A - can't remember how long the warranty was.

I've been playing for about 17 years or so. I own a few other guitars, but this is the jewel in my collection. It may not play or feel like a custom made guitar, or even a high end SG, but it has rewarded me beyond any of my other guitars to this day. I would have liked to have a pickguard on this guitar, but I can't really complain about anything else.