Gibson SG Standard

2007 Heritage Cherry. I rated it a 10 for features as it has 2 pick-ups, a neck, a body and controls for volume and tone. What else is there?

Standard Gibson humbucker sound. The reason I bought the guitar. It will join my Standard American Strat which is better for cleaner twangier sounds and that special 2nd and 4th position twang that Gibsons cannot emulate. Burstbuckers may have been a better option but then it will not be an SG but a LP DC or something else in the Gibson line. But...the most important aspect is the sustain. I always test a guitar unplugged and if it sounds good that way it is likely to sound good plugged. My SG sustains for ages, more than my Fender Strat and almost as much as my late Les Paul Standard.

The fit and finish is excellent. I cannot find any issues and it seems that recent Gibsons have been improved. Possibly as a result of the complaints on forums and send-backs by dealers. Mine was set up perfectly because I bought it from a specialist. The action is SG all the way. Easy access to the high notes, perfectly rounded neck that is similar to my strat--not too deep. I used to own a Les Paul studio but found the neck on that model too rounded and awkward to play. I like the relatively light weight of the SG over the Les Paul due to some back issues. The SG is even lighter than my Strat.

I have owned quite a few Gibsons over the years and have never experienced any durability issues. The SG is made from a solid piece of mahogany with nickel plated hardware. It is difficult to see how anything could go wrong with it other than wiring issues which I assume would be easily corrected if problems occurred. For a sub-$1500 guitar it is excellent value. If I have a complaint it is the usual one in relation to the tuners. Grovers would be best but then that would make it something other than a SG standard.

Never used it.

My first Gibson was a fabulous Barney Kessel. I bought an ES335 in the 1980's and a Les Paul Standard in the late 1990's. More recently I have owned a Les Paul Studio which I did not care for as it didn't seem "authentic" and the neck shape was wrong for me. I just had to own another Gibson and missed my Standard but didn't want the same weight again. The SG Standard seemed to be the best candidate as it is a "classic" and the Heritage Cherry looks authentic Gibson. I think I am going to like my SG more than all of the other Gibsons I have owned as it just "feels right." The Les Paul always felt too heavy and was uncomfortable to play for extended periods. The light weight of the SG combined with fabulous ergonomics and classic looks and sound about sums it all up. I have noticed a few more players using SG's lately and wonder if they are undergoing a resurgence or is it more Baby boomers unable to carry the weight of a Les Paul?

this is a USA 2005 SG Standard, cherry, same specs as everyone elses for the most part(besides what I've altered on it).I'm not crazy about the frets that came on it.

One of the reasons I wanted this guitar is because it seamed like the neck was very playable especially the higher registers, allowing for the shred licks and fast blues licks that I fancy. the benefit of the SG is that while it the neck (i feel) is quite shredorific, the guitar itself is classic rock and roll.

From what I understand this guitar was developed partly as an alternative to the strat. IMHO the single coils on a strat allow for more expressiveness when you play with clean tone as apposed to this beast. With that said, this guitar sounds killer, but i wouldn't suggest it for anyone looking for great sparkling clean tone.
the guitar sounds best distorted, or dirty at least. I play it through my marshall 50w jcm800 halfstack and my nos blues jr. with w and w/ out a TS808, and its unbelievable. rock riffing sounds very rude on the bridge pickup. The neck pickup allows for sweet round single note lines. I feel this guitar sounds best for people trying to emulate Page or Gibbons or Slash or A.Young(dont worry! you wont ever sound EXACTLY like them). Clean tone fun can be had on this guitar but I think you need some reverb or some other effect maybe. I love the sg sound for rock, but when I play blues (leads)on it i feel the sound coming from those humbuckers is a bit too compressed. I've never had complaints though. Now that I think about it, open chords sound amazing especially with clean tone.

I had a les paul studio before this axe, and i ran into a bit of a problem with the bridges on both guitars. I feel that the bridge ends are very sharp and this can contributte to string breakage, it would be nice if it came a bit flatter from the factory.
I will say that one thing that holds this guitar back are the teeny weeny sized frets that come on it standard. its a shame that such a shredtastic neck comes with these puny little things. So... I dropped $300.00 and had dunlop 6000 fretwire installed. now my freinds this thing is ready to rock. If you too are like me, and enjoy your SG's and Les Pauls, do yourself a favor and have some jumbo frets put on it. Its like bending, vibrato and sustain on steroids. the guys at gibsone should catch a clue on this one. the 61 reisue has taller frets but the dunlop 6000's or something like them should come from the factory.

one problem I can think of is that the pickguard was put on a bit hastily. with a couple of the edges poking up awy from the body. I dont mind though.

The 61 reisue SG is overpriced, i dont see what the big deal is. the Standard has a sturdier neck/heel joint, so it is less flimsy. also the standard is ballanced properly due to the thinkness of the body; the 61 reisue is top heavy. I would still be carefull with the neck, but it is way more sturdy than the flimsy 61.

no problems yet so i dont have an opinion.

This is a great alterenative to the les paul. I see many people playing les pauls for heavy rock and a les paul sure is HEAVY. if you are into fretboard accrobatics and you want something light, and classic looking this axe is great. if i had to do it all over again though i would have taken a hard look at the sg classic, its cheaper, maybe not as pretty, but its got p90s so probbably sounds a but more expressive, i'd drop a pair of seymour duncan stack p90's and get the even bigger dunlop frets installed on it.
ps i am really stoked on the jumbo frets, look into it.

made in 2006 Gibson SG Standard, Heritage Cherry, trapazoid inlays. Mahogany body. Hardshell case.

The guitar sounds very good for crunch. The clean sounds are very strong as well I can see why it is a standard for rock musicians. I use the guitar primarily for coming up with ideas for songs. it honestly has more balls than either of my 2 explorers. the guitar is a work horse.

The action is great, the laquer on the neck is really thick and gets dirty quickly, however, I bought the guitar as an impulse buy. I walked into Musicstop to purchase some picks (3.00 worth) and left with an 1800.00 guitar. The neck on this guitar is the best neck I've ever felt on any guitar... it's wonderous. the action isn't fast... if your looking for a crisp rock/metal machine this might not be your choice. the neck and headstock look absolutely awesome... the wood grain makes this guitar an absolute looker.

I'm not a gigging musician, I've got a 32 track and I record music. I'm not going to be able to give you the standard "I would never gig without a back up" or "I gig without a back up all the time"... sorry. honestly if I gigged I wouldn't gig without a back up... I like guitars too much so I'd probably gig with 4 or 5 back ups.

I've been playing for 13 years. this was the first Gibson I owned... right after I bought the SG I purchased an Ebony V and Ebony Explorer (and put EMGs in them, then I bought an Ebony Firebird Studio (gold hardware) and a White Les Paul Studio (Gold Hardware), Then I bought a White Explorer, then I bought a northern Jumbo and a White Flying V. all within a 5 month period... I love all my gibsons.

Mine is a 2007 model and the 3rd SG standard ive owned in 22 years. same features the SG has had for a long time. 2 humbuckers, a tune-o-matic and some strings. I dont rate features on a guitar...its either got what you need or it doesn't. I don't get people who buy something totally inappropriate for what they play and then give it a bad rating. (" just got a 52 tele reissue and it sucks..has no features and sounds like shit...I play death metal") Why buy it?

I play an assortment of music and have been since the mid eighties. currently use a Mesa F-30 combo and a EQ. Sometimes use an old modded crybaby (not much for effects..not my thing). Here is where it gets weird for me. the pickups on this particular guitar sound like crap.Especially the bridge. they are microphonic as hell the have horrible harmonic overtones and pick up every damn noise around..yes I wax potted them helped very little. I was surprised. put in some S.D. pearly gates and it sounds like it should. got the nice thick tone an SG should have. (for $200 more). Store was no help, guitar center sucks..they'll take it back in 30 days no problem but after that good luck! 2 with stock pickups 8 with S.D.s

First off the action was decent played smooth and the frets were finished nice.The neck is the nicest I've had. now for more bad news..I do my own set-ups so when i got home first thing was to change strings etc. Put on DR pure nickel .10s (excellent strings..give em a try!) tried to set the intonation..bridge was not installed at the proper angle so the high e string saddle is maxed out and the intonation is not quite there. hmm.. Also the finish wasn't allowed to cure before they stuck it in the case so the tacky lacquer had fuzzies on it. buffed em out. the binding looks like a monkey installed it. Chinese epiphones have nicer neck binding. The out put jack was loose as well. Why the hell do people like the damn Kluson green key tuners?? is it because everyone gets all misty eyed over vintage stuff? Isnt the point of a tuner to TUNE your guitar and keep it there? these things have always sucked..Buy Grover rotomatics (my choice) or Schallers. I am very disappointed in Gibson's quality control they are too big to care ..people will buy their stuff because the name Gibson is on it anyway. This is my last new Gibson.

Pickup problems aside this will probably be as durable as any SG...just dont drop it!! headstocks break easier than any other guitar.

HAH HAH HAH...big companies aside from Mesa Boogie are a joke. They dont give a fuck if YOU dont buy from them again, someone else will. (Ask General Motors how that philosophy works!) I was told the pickups sounded "...acceptable.." UH..yeah ok whatever you guys say.

Been playin long enough to know when something is wrong! I have played or owned a bunch of guitars and currently have this SG and a beat up Telecaster. I like the neck and frets on this guitar and the upper register access is awesome on SGs but I think my Gibson days are over.

early 2006 model, purchased unused in late 2006, heritage cherry, good features really, very comfortable neck angle, tuners work and last if you keep the strings fresh, you can bring the action down and you wont get buzzing (if its set up appropriately), some people are alergic to satin finishes so the nitro cellulose finish is good, in the first months the neck maybe a bit sticky so you'll have to keep it clean but after a while it just stops. i guess its caus the finish has time to settle in. the pickups are fantastic, very warm yet very sweet sounding guitar, and never short of balls. good sustain, the weight is fantastic, alot of cheap guitars which are light feel like shit, but this guitar just feels perfect and at the same time good on the ol' back. great fret access, i've never felt limited despite the longer neck joint than the '61 reissue (which is over priced), i much prefer the larger batwing style pickguard, just seems more hardcore than the flimsy looking '61 reissue (dont get me wrong, lovely guitar). some people who i've let play my guitar have said the neck's too thick for their liking, which is sad because you wont ever feel better than when you're playing this guitar

never noisy like a strat, and doesn't get that scratchy sound when you rub your fingers along the strings. downside is that you cant really get controlled feedback as easily as you could with a fender at moderate gain levels (ACDC crunch) because the humbuckers are just too anti-noise. at the moment i use an AVT150 and often practise with many low end marshalls such as MGs and ValveStates. have yet to plug into a proper valve amp from marshall with this guitar. like i said, its got real balls that you just cant get with a fender type guitar (unless you have shit loads of drive pedals)

now, here is, and i will point out my only, problem with this guitar. the body is supposed to be a one piece, but it seems to be a fair few pieces blocked together. everything else is top build on this guitar, but my heart always sinks when i think about the multt piece body. having said that, good tone woods are becoming hard to get, so it was predictable that they'd start making the guitars with multi piece bodies just so they could get some proper wood in there, i'd rather have a multipieced body of decent wood than a single piece of shit wood. also its not as if its gonna fall apart any time soon, its not pritt stick they use. infact i should think the glue they use is stronger than the wood. the neck however is a one piece i'm glad to say, and its a beauty, proper bit of rosewood for the fretboard and the inlaiys are finished perfectly. i got mine from a local guitar shop so it was set up nicely, action could be lower, but i dont like the action to be too low. i'd give it 10, but that multi piece body gets on my nerves so i'll give it 7

never gone out of tune at a gig, except one time when i replaced the strings on the same day (big mistake). if you're going into regular giging always replace the strings the day before the gig and stretch the shit out of them in a side to side manner (if that makes sence). good strong hardware, i sweat alot and i've shown it a fair thrashing and only the screws have rusted which i shall replace. again i'd give it 10, but it's an SG and if you dont watch it like you would your own offspring it will likely have an accident (mahogany neck glued in!!!!)

my local shop will do one free set up (nothing special) but i'd rather have a professional set up for such a special guitar.

awesome awesome awesome, apart from the multipiece body, but that really doesn't effect it in the slightest in terms of strength or sound, and when i'm playing live i never notice it. remember, only a gibson is good enough!!

this is a Gibson SG standard. just flick on MTV, and youll see one for yourself. beautiful finish that seems to age well. i replaced the stock tuners for Sperzels after knocking one against something and bending the crap out of it. it was my fault, drunk and not paying attention. cant really fault the guitar for that. mine is the dark walnut model, 2002 i believe. has striking cosmetic looks. one of my friend has named it 'the devil shaped hershey bar.' how can something so sweet look so devilishly good?

the sound knocks my socks off. the humbuckers sound great, the wood only exagerates its already wonderful tone. you can achieve limitless sounds for limitless styles of play. the tone controls are great for darkening or brightening, and the volume is very interactive in a different way than say, my fender tele. they seem to only lower the actual volume at the bottom of the dial while everything in between acts as a 'cleaner-upper' great with distortion and leads. i usually use my tele for clean because it is a much brighter guitar. thats just my taste, though. this guitar is still super versatile. awesome.

well, here is where it gets ugly: im convinced that the Gibson people just slap some strings on these instruments and send them off. i expect to make some adjustments to any new guitar i purchase, but this thing was horrible. bad intonation, fret buzzing. the bridge pickup almost touched the strings! however, a professional set-up is a cheap affair (maybe 30 bucks or so), and even less costly if you can do it yourself. the guitar was truly unplayable when i first brought it home. if i had never played one before, i would have left it hanging on the wall at the music store. but since i had already experienced a friends properly adjusted SG, i knew that some patience and tinkering would pay off. the hardware is solid, and easy to set. dont be put off by this: once its set, its golden!

hmm. . . so far so good. ive had this guitar for about 4 years, and i dont really baby my guitars. sure, i take care of them. . . but if this guitar were a goldfish, it would be belly-up by now! these have a reputation for being fragile (i guess the headstock is easily broken) but as long as you dont leave it in the sun or drop it, it ought to be fine. one of the volume controls developed a dust spot, but this may be due to my own lack of maintenence. and, even though it sucks, it too is an easy fix.

i paid just under 900 for my guitar and it came with the case. i dont mind setting up guitars; it helps me to bond with the instrument. but if youre impatient and want something to play NOW, you might want to pass.

im giving this a 10, perhaps out of sentiment. for me, this is the best guitar ive ever played. i own a bunch of differenr guitars and this one will never be let go of, no matter what. if you want it, youll have to pry it from my cold dead hands.

but, as with anything, try before you buy. listen for tone. im sure the set-up will suck.

Gibson.com for the features as I won't bore you with that, I am sure you know what the features are.

I play the rock music and this thing is the "standard". I have wanted this guitar since I started playing 13 years ago, 2 years ago my dream was realized when I had enough money and I committed to buy my first Gibson. Excellent sound from full to bright, full chords to harmonics it can handle it all!

I originally wanted the Wine Red which Gibson made for at least the 90s when I first fell in love with the SG Standard. Mine is a 2005 Heritage Cherry model - beautiful. I think I actually like this better than the Wine Red now, go figure. Factory set up was ok, what do you expect? A guitar should not ship from Gibson to a retailer to you and be in tune and completely set up to your liking. I will admit I did buy a Flying V and it was set up perfectly for me (needed tuning obviously) but for the most part they will need to be adjusted.

I record, gig and practice with this guitar and it holds up very well. It is started to age primarly due to my heavy playing with the guitar but its ok. I love that I actually play enough to age a guitar, doesn't affect the sound but the look. Extremely reliabile and durable.

Gibson is fantastic!

I got mine a few years ago before Gibson's price increase although I would still spend the extra few hundred for another SG Standard, its a great guitar. I would have loved to have bought one of the Classic White ones offered a while ago but other models won the affection of cash.

The Gibson SG:
Mahogany body and set mahogany neck.
Gibson Kluson tuners.
490r and 498t pickups.
Heritage cherry finish.
Rosewood fretboard with Gibson trap inlays.
Two tone and two volume controls.
Stop bar bridge.
Three way pickup selector.

This is my second Gibson SG. My first was stolen while I was at college 20 years ago. It was my fault for bringing it. Well, this guitar is totally awesome and absolutely perfect for that vintage classic rock or blues sound. It's sound is very similar to the Gibson Les Paul Standard but the SG is much lighter in weight. Good slide guitar as well. It is a good all around guitar and made by he best!

I thought my SG was setup well but after I was convinced to let my local music store do a few minor corrections to it I was completely amazed. It now sounds and plays better than ever. The pickups needed a little adjustment but after the height was set it was better. This guitar, In my opinion does not need any modifications at all as far as upgrading th pickups, replacing the tuners, etc. It only needed a few minor adjustments that took about 20 minutes to do. All stock!

I use this guitar as my main guitar. I do have a Fender Strat as well for a backup even though it doesn't sound anything like my SG but a backup is not needed. This is a very well put together guitar. It will last a lifetime if you take care of it and keep it from getting stolen. Remember to wipe it down after playing to remove all of the fingerprints and acid/sweat. I would imaginge that the ebonty finish would be harder to keep the finger prints off.

Never had to deal with customer support. Hopefully, I never will.

I play this SG thru an older Peavey Mace 2X12 160 watt all tube amp and I am instantly transported back into the 70's. i also play it thru a Marshall JCM 900 head and it sounds just as good. Awesome sustain. The neck pickup is perfect for that fat sound for blues leads and what have ya. I highly reccommend the Gibson SG standard (not the faded pick of crap). It is a great substitute for the Les Paul.

Standard SG model, in heritage cherry (nitro) finish.
Body and neck are made of mahogany. If you look closely, the body seems to be made out of 3 pieces (!!). Still, it is so well done that you wouldn't notice this.
Tune-O-Matic bridge, stopbar, 490R and 498T humbucker pickups, white plastic three-way switch, two volume and two tone knobs, Gibson "deluxe" green key tuners, 0.10 brite wires installed.
Includes a beatiful canadian-made, black hard case.
Made in USA, June 2007 I guess (from the serial number).

I always wanted to have the Angus guitar, so basically I went for it as soon as I had the money. I have a Peavey amp and a Digitech multi-efects but now prefer to use TonePort and my computer for practical reasons.
This Gibson SG sounds more modern than classic. As they say regarding their gear, the 498T has more output for modern music, so if you are looking for a "vintage" sound like 70's ACDC you might try a '61 reissue or a Special with P90 pickups.
Still, this Standard SG sounds great and I did not notice anything strange. Both pickups seem to do their work fine, of course they sound much better than Epiphones' but haven't compared with other custom pickups. Probably the best thing is the high output but anyway I am a quiet guy ;), so I don't need more.
It has the simple tonal variety of two humbucking pickups, three-way switching positions, so that is what I expected. Treble is clear and cutting, Rythm is sweet and both together are a little muddy.
My advice: shredders, get away from this one!

Factory set-up seemed to be ok, anyway I got it adjusted at the shop. No complaints about the action and pickup height is correct. The fretboard is incredible and very easy to play, the creamy binding looks very nice and only adds more comfort. The neck is soft and fast, too.
NOW... I didn't know that the finish would be soooo delicate. The body is covered by a thin (very thin) nitrocellulose layer and will easily chip. The dealer told me that my guitar was just out of the box (and indeed it was still sticky and had a strong lacquer smell). But I noticed some marks on the body edges most likely caused by the hard case itself: you have to push and press the guitar to make it fit inside! I have a cheaper SG hard case and it fits much better there...
Don't get me wrong, the guitar looks beatiful and you can clearly see the wood grain and the soft red paint under the lacquer. But it is a annoying to inspect the guitar any time you grab it, to make sure you didn't scratch it. I bought Gibson polishing and am currently cleaning and cleaning it, let's see.
Another thing: it had a little scratch close to the jack input. Probably the typical idiot that tries but not buys guitars had the time to play it just before me that day.
In general, all pieces look perfectly assembled and haven't noticed any flaw, besides the finish weaknesses.
Anyway I will not return or have it replaced; they told me that it would take other 2 months to receive a new one, it seems that Gibson distribution in Spain is slow and many people is waiting to buy one.

It is a Gibson, so it MUST withstand live playing (otherwise I will give bad publicity). In general this guitar looks like it will last with proper care and the hardware seems to be very strong.
Again, the only thing is the finish, that unfortunately will wear and fade in a few years. My guitar value will increase for sure, but the money I paid still hurts too much to have it scratched or damaged, so I will keep it at home for a while before playing live.
It is absolutely dependable for live playing and girl attracting ;)
The three-way-switch should not be abused, of course. And unless you change strings too fast, you should always have a backup guitar.
Concerning strap buttons, the are solid but smaller than Fenders. I would not remove them to install strap locks, but would definitely use a very good leather strap with tight button holes.

It's new and works fine, so no need to contact them yet. Being out of the U.S., local support is given by the retailer.
It states a 2-year warranty period.

Well, now I have my "dream" guitar and am very satisfied with it. Not only visually, but it sounds and performs very well. I can play from ACDC to Led Zep or Santana and get the right tone.
I am not a "material guy" and never give things more value than they actually have. In that sense, I don't care about exotic woods, custom pickups, luxury details, etc. I like simplicity and functional design, that's why my other guitar is a Fender Stratocaster. I like this guitar over the Les Paul because it is red, it looks like a little devil, it looks classic but modern, you can easily access all frets, it sounds like Hells Bells, it is thin, and comfortable, it is light so it won't hurt your back... and is not as expensive as other custom models!
However, I read that the Gibson Standards are "mid-priced" guitars. Hmmm, to me, 1350 euro is not that mid-priced. It is a month salary! The guy at the shop told me that only the Gibson hard-case is 200 euro. Well, I'd rather have the guitar itself and paying 1150 instead, as my old, cheap case fits better.
My overall rating is an 8. It is a very good purchase, if you like classic rock you will love this one and keep it for a long time, if not forever. Just polish and take or care it as much as you can and if someone asks to borrow it from you, say NO!!

It has all the features standard. 3-way selector switch, H/H with 2 tone and 2 Vol controls Prics around $1500

The pickups sound great. I play all types of music from Jazz to country to AC/DC

Here is were it all falls apart. When I got the guitar the finish wasn't curred yet!! It was still tacky on the neck and the padding on my guitar rest stuck to it! Ripped right off the stand and stuck to the guitar!! After lots of buffing and rubbing you can still see where it was. Also teh low E string won't intonate. the bridge seems to be drilled too close to the nut. Lastly I already had to resolder the wires to the switch because of poor workmanship. I really did expect more from Gibson. Just a note the finish is now just fine, they just let it go out the door too soon the QC at Gibson should hang his/her head in shame.

All in all I think it will last. I would only buy one from your local dealer so any isues like the intonation will be found before you even get it home.

didn't use

overall I think there is a lot better deals for the buck out there. If this one was ever lose or stolen I don't think I would replace it.