Product: Gibson All-American SG
Price Paid: US $535 used
Submitted
04/08/1999
at
06:55pm
by
Josh Nibert
Email: yeti37 at hotmail<dot>com
Features
:
8
American made in 1993. 22 frets. Has two tone and two volume knobs, along with a three-way pickup selector. It comes with a 490r and 490t both passive. The body and neck are both mahogany. Tune-o-matic bridge, with a stop bar tailpiece. Gotoh non-locking tuners. Has the fat SG neck we all know and love. Mine came with a case. I give it an 8 because it's a straight up white SG. It's not flashy but by god it gets the job done.
Sound
:
9
The guitar is almost perfect for my style (Metal, punk, hardcore, ska, etc.) of music. It's a little too harsh for ska and a little wimpy when playing the really heavy, heavy stuff. I solved the last problem by throwing on a set of .11's and tuning down a step. The ska thing is yet to be resolved. I run it directly into a 5150 2x12 (see my review:) It's a little noisy when really going at it, but it's got some pretty crappy pickups (I want the Iommi signatures) running into an extremely(!) high gain amp. The guitar is not very versitile. I'd say it goes from dirty blues to metallica (old stuff) but not much heavier or cleaner. It has the perfect wood (mahogany) and I've got the perfect amp. Now, if I only got thos Iommi's maybe...
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
Got it used. Everything was fine except the strings got changed (.11's) the action got raised, and the pickups got raised. Now it plays wonderfully. An excellent example of modern Gibson instruments. A 6 when I bought it and a 9 now.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
This guitar will stand up to anything. The hardware is chrome, so it will do fine (unlike gold...) The finish won't last, but it's not really a fair thing to say, because I THRASH my guitars. I put strap locks on it and I would put absolute trust into it.
Customer Support
:
5
Gibson kind of moody, and it really does depend on when you catch them, so right down the middle.
Overall Rating
:
9
I've been playing for three years and have owned a Les Paul Studio, and a Strat. I would definately want another SG if this were lost, although I'd probably get a Standard. It's no Les Paul, but for a durable, dependable, rock-worthy, ass-kicking guitar at a low price (always buy used!!!!!!!!!) this will not disappoint.
