Gibson SG Standard

Gibson SG Standard 2003 Ebony

All the usual stuff from Gibson, which isn't much. Any guitar player knows that "Gibsons Standards" are really "Below Standards".

Now, this is the least bad part. It sounds like a Gibson, but not an old Gibson. If you're wanting to buy this guitar because of the people who've played it and the sounds they were able to get from it, you'll without a doubt be dissapointed, it's not anywhere near that. When I got this I was stupid enough to care about the brand on the headstock and that's what you're paying for. Go for a much cheaper, no name guitar, and you'll be way more satisfied with it than I am with this state-of-the-art bullshit.
The sound from the pickups was too muddy and noisy compared to the price I payed for it and that only lasted untill one of the pickups and the selector switch stopped working. Very embarrasing Gibson.

This is the best part. First of all, the laquer finish on the guitar is horrible. It can be scrapped off with your nails if you wanted to and it started FALLING OFF around the places where the bridge was mounted with screws. Then three of the tuners slowly started loosening. You see, the Gibson tuners (which aren't very good to begin with anyway) consist of two parts that are glued together and that makes them very sensitive. The one part of the tuner that is holding the plastic things will simply fall off with time. Way to go Gibson.
As mentioned above the electronics stopped working and to fix this I unscrewed the backplate for the first time, only to discover what a great job Gibson had done on the interior of the guitar. Wood was actually falling of and they hadn't even bothered soldering the electronics in a way so that it would last. Enough said.

I think this was described in detail above. I have a lesser risk of breaking a string than the guitar and the tuners are being held together with duct tape and super glue.

Called Gibson about the tuners and finish, told me that the warranty was worthless because I had soldered the components myself when the pickup stopped working.

I made the mistake of falling for the Gibson brand. I wrote this review to warn people about it and not doing the same. As you can see in my and other peoples reviews, Gibson Guitars aren't what they used to be and this is too embarrasing for Gibson to even describe in words. Just do me a favor and ban them for the rest of your life.

I'm giving an 8 because it doesn't have a tremolo. I know, it's not supossed to, but hard rock / metal guitars should have tremolos, and this guitar is for hard rock & metal.

This guitar sounds fricking amazing. The pickups are tight, raw, loud and prominent in a band setting. Solos sound amazing. Neck is resonenet and the nitro finish/mahogony body combo adds alot of raw tone. Definitely the best sounding stock guitar I've ever played.

Not the best. The finish, being nitro and Gibson, is a bit sloppy. You might have a space where the wood is showing. The binding might be a bit sloppy. This guitar will scratch very easily because of the nitro finish, but who wants a new looking guitar forever anyway? Gibson is also a bit sloppy with fret inlays - play and look before you buy.

The headstock breaking is a big problem. It happens alot, don't think it can't happen to you. My wife was cleaning and the guitar fell over on it's face and the headstock broke - $150 repair. It's not a huge deal, but compared to a Strat that wouldn't break if Al Gore sat on it like a swing, you have to be careful with this thing.

Ha!

This guitar is cool and a serious classic. Nitro finish, great pickups, (relatively) slim feeling neck, enough frets... And if you play rock or metal, this guitar sounds RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME. You just can't treat it like a strat, and when you feel like grabbing that whammy bar it just isn't there.

It's a Gibson SG, Angus Young, George Harrison, Eric Clapton. You know and love it. All mahogany, save for the rosewood fingerboard. I got mine used but the guy I got it from never really played it much, so it was pretty much mint and I got one of those fancy "Gibson USA" hardshell cases with it. The guitar is a 2005 model so it's a fairly recently made guitar

I got this guitar by an even trade with a Gretsch Sparkle Jet with which I never could bond, it just wasn't my guitar. The guy with which I made the trade said that his band plays surf style music like the Ventures and the Shadows and said that you just can't play that on a Gibson SG. You CAN however play that kind of music on a Gretsch Sparkle Jet so we both got the better deal of it. My band plays heavy metal in the style of Iron Maiden and iced earth and this little Gibson shines in that kind of music. Both in clean passages and full on balls to the wall distortion, it takes it all with a vengeance. At the first rehearsel that I took it with me others already gave it the affectionate nickname "Odie" because another guitarplayer they have worked with had an SG with a Sticker of the Garfield character Odie.

I got this guitar used so I can't really tell anything on how it was set up from the factory. But it plays really nice, I love the fat wide neck which enables me to do some complex fingering which would feel cramped on any other guitar. The only thing I had to do adjustment wise was oiling the fingerboard which was bone dry.

I never play live without Backup guitars, it's not uncommon to see me on stage with three guitars leaning against my amps, a backup for the backup, better safe than sorry. My Backups are my Epiphone Les Paul Custom (Modified with Seymour Duncan 59 humbuckers) and my Squier Telecaster (also modified with seymour Duncan 59 humbuckers) but I hope that I never have to use either of them because this SG blows both of them out of the water in both sound and feel. I know that SG's have a name for being fragile, so in an effort to steer disaster away I replaced the stock strapbuttons with Schaller locking straplocks and I wear the guitar using a sturdy Stevie Ray Vaughan approved Black Leather with white music notes strap, so it's a very unlikely thing that the guitar would ever break while I'm playing it.

I don't deal with Gibson. I'll just play their guitars.

This is one of those "Magical" ones. One of those guitars that you pick up and go "Yeah." I haven't found any flaw yet, well maybe apart from the fact that you just can't play texas blues like the fabulous Thunderbirds on it. But maybe if I changed the setting on my amp a bit...
The only other guitar I ever found that had that "Magical" thing was my 1989 Squier Stratocaster which I bought new on my fifteenth Birthday in 1991, I walked into the store, saw that red and white one grabbed it and instantly felt at home. "Screw all the other guitars, this one is meant to be mine."

If it were stolen I'd be pretty bummed, I could go out and buy myself another but I doubt if they would be as nice as this is.

Well this is a 1999 SG Standard in Ebony thios review is about. I have been waiting on a decent SG for some time. I've had a Gothic and a Epi G-400 before but didn't care for either and let them go. The Wood and Electronics have been well described so I won't bore anyone with that. I will say that around 99-2000 Gibson was using different parts on different guitars. For EXAMPLE. My SG Standard SHOULD have a T.O.M. Bridge. It doesn't have the Nashville style Tune-O-Matic, I have a ABR-1 on my SG. I have to tell you...I LOVE this Bridge on this guitar and REALLY believe it helps the tone ALOT. I own several Gibsons 3 Les-Pauls and a ES-135 and a ES-335. From experience with Both bridge's I know the ABR sounds slightly Cleaner. This SG sounds absolutly GREAT with the 490/498 pick-ups. I never really cared for them and have BB-Pro's on my Pauls, But in this SG the 490-498 set sound great. very Clean no muddiness at all. The do get a nice fat chunky grind in thre Neck position if desired and the bridge 498 is a great Rock and Roll lead pick-up. MUCH nicer than Duncans famous JB! The Neck on my SG is much Fatter than the 60 profile I thought the Standards came with. I really like the neck. Its ACTION is unbelievable and as good as any electric i EVER PLAYED. I bought the SG used from the original owner and he hardly played it ever, since he prefered his LP. So my fretwork is like new and a super job also. I polished the frets and cleaned the fretboard. All it needed. The weight on my SG is 6.3 pounds and one of the lightest eletrics I ever owned. It was just slightly neck heavy so I took ofg the Gibson knobs and added Fender Chrome Telecaster knobs. Now the SG's balence is PERFECT. Love the guitar!

This SG is an AWESOME sounding Gibson. I have played many SG's over the years and have never played one as versitile as this one. Or that had a set of 490/498 pups that sound this good. And I owned a Gothic SG with a Ebony fretboard and it was muddy compared to this Standard. It almost go'sinto a Fat Strat tone. And of course is right at home Rocking hard on the neck of bridge, And the middle position with Dual Tone controls? You couldn't ask for a more versitile set-up.

Action on this SG is unbelievable. I have the strings very low and there is not a buzz anywhere. Everthing about this Standard was done dead-right by Gibon. I know they can screw up a guitar from time to time. Not the case here. Someone must have really gotten into building this one. Cause its SWEET!

Always have to watch out for the headstock/neck area with Gibson. But aside from that is a known fact Gibsons will last a lifetime!

I own 5 other Gibsons and Gibson Customer Support has always been GREAT with me. My LP-DC Special had a Crack in the PG. Gibson sentme a new guard on just call. No complaints from me!

I really dig this SG and without a doubt its a keeper. I know the ABR bridge on mine is definatly a helpfull addition and quite possibly the missing link to make these a little better sounding. Because this one sounds BIG clean and OD'd. Vry happy with my Baby!

ebony gibson sg standard. rounded neck. 2003.

this amp's sound is UGLY. i've had this guitar for 4 years and ive never been satisfied with it. I've played it through a variety od different amps such as peavey bandit 112, marshall jcm 900, marshall jcm 2000, fender twin reverb, etc. it has NEVER sounded good. the pickups on the standard are way too dark, way too muddy and lack that searing SG tone. the clean is brittle is always either brittle as hell or muddy as hell. if you're gonna go SG do it right and go for the SG 61' Reissue. I am currently selling my standard and buying one.

when i first bought this guitar it looked fine but i eventually discovered that the paint came off around one of the bolts. the action is OK. REMEMBER that if you wanna really wail, this guitar can be extremely annoying due to the fat neck. Also the bridge saddles were extremely sharp and kept breaking my strings and i had to get them filed down.

it's been reliable, except for the bridge problem.

noooooooooo idea.

I have been playing guitar for 6 years. I definately should have payed the extra few hundred for the SG 61' reissue the first time.

Body: Mahogany

NECK
Species: Mahogany
Profile: Rounded, very similar to the Gibson 50's LP neck
Neck Joint Location: 19
Head Inlay: Crest

FINGERBOARD
Species: Rosewood
Scale Length: 24 3/4"
Number of Frets: 22
Nut Width: 1.695"
Inlays: Trapezoid
Fingerboard Binding: single-ply

HARDWARE
Plating Finish: Chrome
Tailpiece: Stopbar
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Knobs: Black Top Hat with silver insert
Tuners: Green Key

ELECTRONICS
Neck Pickups: 490R Alnico magnet humbucker
Bridge Pickups: 498T Alnico magnet humbucker
Controls: Two volume, two tone, three-way switch

I play Rock, Hard Rock, Alternative, and Metal. This guitar suits me well. I mostly play through modeling amps, i.e. Tech 21 Trademark and Digitech GNX3.

I also play an EBMM Petrucci. The SG Standard is defiantly a darker sounding guitar than my Ernie Ball Musicman Petrucci guitar. I would say if I had to rate the SG Standard sound as far as:

highs / midrange / lows
5 7 8

With the right amp settings you can dial out some of the midrange. I can even get a decent Van Halen tone out of it.

I would say this guitar excels at Classic Rock but can easily cover a lot of other kinds of music.

The neck pickup is very warm and is good for this type of guitar. I feel that the Bridge pickup could be hotter and should have less mids and tighter bass.

Gibson also uses 300k pots so that contributes to a slighly darker sound.

Action from the factory was insanely high. This was easily fixed by lowering the bridge. The nut is cut somewhat high but I like a medium action so its not a problem for me but if you prefer a real low action then you will definately need a setup.

Bridge saddles are cut a little shallow especially the high E string saddle. Most Gibsons I have seen suffer from paint chipping under the back tail piece but its not noticable unless you look really hard.

I had to return 2 other SGs due to Gibson QC issues. One had a major electronics issue and serious finish flaws i.e. hazing. The one I have now close to perfect, finish and sound wise.

The finish on Gibsons' is very thin and scratches very easily.

The guitar came set up for .010s.

As stated earlier SGs have a longer feel in the neck due to the way its joined at the body (19th fret). I'm mostly a strat player but have owned SGs in the past. It doesn't take that long to get used to.

Also the neck is slightly wider than a standard 1 11/16 (1.6875") neck. Its rated at 1.695" @ the nut. Its not overly wide though. I also used to own a PRS Custom 22 w. the Wide Fat neck and I agree that the Gibson neck is wider. Compared to a Ernie Ball Axis or Peavey Wolfgang this neck will definately feel wide.

The scale length is the Gibson standard 24.75" which is very comfortable. It makes power and barre chords much easier to hold.

The fretboard radius is very flat. It feels almost like a 15" fretboard radius. The neck thickness is similar to the Les Paul 50's carve. Its thicker than the Gibson 59' carve though. If you have ever played a Les Paul Studio and found that neck to be too thick then this guitar is not for you. Get the 61' Reissue instead.

The thickest Gibson neck I have played is the 57' Reissue Les Paul and that was like a beer bottle cut in half!

The case is very good. It has a faux black aligator skin, combo lock, and is very tight fitting. They also got rid of that annoying silk cover that goes over the guitar in the case.

I haven't owned mine that long to give an accurate durability report however I can make a few comments.

The hardware seems very durable. My PRS hardware tarnished very quickly with moderate playing. So far my SG's hardware still looks new after some playing. This is due to Chrome vs. Nickel.

Tuners work well. Input jack is still tight and the 3 way switch seems durable although it doesn't provide much resistance when switching it.

Haven't had to use it, knock on wood. I believe the warranty is limited lifetime.

Playing for 19 years. Own a Martin D-15 Custom Spruce and Rosewood, Ibanez RG 470, and Ernie Ball Petrucci.

Overall I really like the SG Standard. Its light, comfortable to play, and sounds great. It covers a lot of territory and I think it would make an excellent blues guitar.

Only things I don't like is the neck is a little long. I would prefer a narrower neck with a slighly slimmer neck carve. My ideal neck is the Ernie Ball Axis and Peavey Wolfgang.

Bridge pickup could use less mids, a little more highs, and tighter bass. If you play classic rock then the bridge pickup is ideal.

An 9 - but carries all it needs...

Heritage Cherry Finish.

Mine is USA made in 1999/2000. Owned from new. Paid ??750 then via mail order. They are a bit dearer now. Gibson deluxe tuners. 22 frets. All mahogany, solid body guitar.

Two Alnico Humbuckers. Tone and volume on each. Rythm/treble/both pickup selector options. Standard Gibson stuff...

This is where the SG really excels and outclasses the others. I have owned all sorts over the years and surprisingly even my fender USA strat comes nowhere near!

There is such a punch to the sound. Very "ballsy" but clear and defined at the same time. Good for most playing syles really. Played it through a Marshall Valvestate (the older ones) for years playing modern and classic rock stuff. It sounded fine. Recently replaced the Marshall amp for an all valve amp (Fender Hot rod Deville 212) and WOW, it really accentuates the warmth and ballsy bite of the SG.
Now playing Rockabilly/rock n roll and it nails that genre too, but to be fair the valve amp helps.

Before saving up for the Gibson SG standard I bought a G400 Ephiphone one (copy of the Gibson SG). My advice is dont. It sounded pants. Very "Wooly" sound. No definition. I was so dissapointed. Sorry if thats not what you want to hear/(read!) but there is such a difference - one that the price differential does easily justify. And the reason is largely the quality of sound output.

Sorry if it's overkill on sound but it's so good it seemed prudent to bang on. Havn't bettered it in 10 years of playing.

Action is fine. Factory setup was OK. I set mine up myself.

The only thing to bear in mind with the SG is that the neck is very long! Stand it up (arse end on the floor) next to a strat or a les paul and the first fret on the SG is almost like an extra one! (If that makes sense?!) This is because the neck is set out further away from the body and pickups. This does provide excellent coverage to all frets high up the neck, but it can take some getting used to, as it means you've got further to go with your fretting hand to play open chords. One aclimatised it's fine, and great for solos for obvois reasons.

No flaws on the finish or fittings. Well made. All you'd expect from a Gibson guitar. It does seem to get through strings faster than any other guitar I've had, Why? I don't know! But they loose their "ring" earlier, so seem to need replacing quite regularly. (This might just be mine though?)

Gigged with from day one (So nearly 7 years now). Well looked after mind, but absolutely no problems at all. Always take a backup now, but only for a string breakage. Wouldnt expect to call in it for any other reason.

Hard wearing frets. Never touched a strap button etc...

People do seem to replace tuners with SGs? Bear that in mind. But mine have been no problem. Very sound at staying in tune by the way.

N/A

Have no doubt about the quality of this instrument. Can't give it a ten as i've put some 9s in. Sound is the MAJOR MAJOR stand out feature of brilliance. Been unable to match it in 10 years of playing.

Seriously - don't get a cheaper copy, they really don't cut the mustard.

If it got nicked I'd get another one tomorrow. Even If I had to sell both my fender strats (and possibly an aunty).

You may email if I've missed something etc..

Hope this is helpful to someone.

Finish: Trans Red
Body Style: Double cutaway solidbody
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic
Tuners: Gibson deluxe
Neck/Scale: 22 jumbo fret/Fat mahogany neck
Made: 2006 in Nashville TN
Controls: 2 Volume, 2 Tone
Pickups: 490/498T humbuckers
Body and neck wood: mahogany/mahogany

I play blues/country/jazz/rock/rockabilly, pretty much everything except punk or emo. I am currently in a band that is considered adult contemporary (think counting crows/cracker) and I needed a guitar that could cut through the mix. I was using a PRS CE-22 and while the PRS had a wonderful playability, my solos never cut through and the rhythms came out muddy and weak. I decided enough is enough and it was time for a change. I am a huge fan of having a double cut design due to as much fretting I do above the 14th fret. I currently own a variety of guitars from strats to teles to p-90 equipped guitars but I needed something with some balls to stand out and this thing definitely does it. I run it through a Boss CS-3, Rocktron Nitro for boost and TS-9 into a Fender Blues JR.

First let me say that it took a little while to get used to the neck. If you are used to playing a fender or similar this guitar will take you a while to get used to. The neck is much wider that even the PRS "wide fat" neck but still slim enough to wrap your thumb around. It gets very comfortable with time. The pickups are a lot smoother of a tone than the classic 57's in the 61' reissue and have plenty of punch (thanks in part to the amount of wood on this guitar). It packs plenty of sustain, even without the compressor on. Rolling back the volume still gives a lot of tone and doesn't kill the high end as much as I'm used to with my other guitars. I don't think I'll even have to modify the taper of the pots. Overall, very pleased after I did my own setup and some fret clean up (further listed below).

When I first played the SG, it had old crappy Gibson strings, high action and the pickups were way too high. I replaced the strings with DR 10's, oiled and steel wooled the frets/fretboard and set the action nice and low and set the intonation. After lowering the pickups, I got a lot more of an open natural tone without loosing much punch. The one thing I've had a problem with this one was the frets (as is with most Gibsons). After a little leveling and a nice round dressing it was a lot better, not perfect, but better. I know that Gibson puts binding around their frets, but it's still very poorly cut and dressed and polished. After some good ol' TLC, it plays very nicely now but you still have to work for that good dug in blues tone but once you get it, you get it.

This guitar will definitely withstand live playing. I look forward to puting it to the test. It is very solid, although I can see how some people would want to change the strap buttons since the front button is located right at the heel of the neck and can slip off if you are not careful or have a worn out strap. It is very dependable, with the usual Gibson problems of course, and i mena the g strign slipping out of tune on occasion. I don't think I have ever played a Gibson or even Heritage that didn't do it, no matter what the nut material was made of (graphite, bone, tusq, plastic). You may want to have a backup just in case, in my ten years of experience, better safe than sorry.

I am a guitar/bass/amp tech at a local shop so I highly doubt that I will ever worry about warranty or anything like that. Other than that, it has the usual manufacturer defect warranty. I have never dealt with Gibson since most people don't bother with them either, they just take their guitars to me.

Overall, I would have to say that this is an good guitar, excelent with a good setup and some work. Since I have owned it, I have played roots blues, jazz, country, rock and slide on it and every time passed with tonal flying colors. If it were stolen, I would probably replace it. Compared to a Les Paul, it is less chunky, lighter, and slightly brighter tone out of the neck positionl. Compared to a PRS, it has a higher mid range and thicker tone, although in my opinion the PRS still has the better playability. The only thing I wish it had was a little more wood towards the rear or a slightly slimmer neck to balance it out so that the neck doesn't want to dip down on you as much.

Made in 2006, brand spanking new, Gibson SG Standard. Cherry red nitro finish (Adds resonance, but can wear a little thin a little too quickly) Mine seems to be a bit of a lighter red than most of the other ones i've seen. Tune-O-matic bridge, Gibson tuners, fairly fat neck made of mahogany, rosewood fretboard. Made in Nashville, U.S.A. 22 frets, 2 volume, 2 tone knobs, 3-way selector switch, 490R and 498T humbuckers, passive electrnics, Mahogany body. Usual Gibson materials.

I play damn near anything, though mostly classic and hard rock (ie. Metallica, AC/DC, Black Sabbath) pretty much right up this guitar's alley. I use a crappy ass Traynor Reverb Mate 30, and it still sounds good. Nice, rich tone, not as thick as a Les Paul, and not as thin sounding as a strat. It's a very nice compromise. This thing handles distortion like a champ. Clean it up, and it's not as amazing, but still fairly nice.

I got the guitar fresh in it's case, fresh in it's box, ordered it in at Long&McQuade (Canada's big music chain). The action was perfect, which is pretty rare, but maybe I got lucky. Pickups are set well. From the other reviews I've read on here, i seem to have gotten really lucky with mine. I can't find any flaws, not a one, other than the slightly lighter finish, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the finish. Who knows, maybe Gibson's finally adressing their quality-control issues.

This guitar feels light, much lighter than my Les Paul, but it feels solid as a rock. The nitro finish will of course wear out, but the guitar feels built to last. Straplocks are a must, since the front button is on the back of the guitar. I just bought some cheap ass clip on locks, lets me keep my original buttons. I can definitely depend on this beast, although i'd be reluctant to gig with any guiar without a backup.

Dunno what Gibson has, but Long&McQuade gave me a year warranty, threw in the straplocks and a tuner, and were extremely friendly and knew their stuff.

This guitar is great. I've been playing for almost 4 years now, and I always used Epiphones. I finally decided to try a Gibson, and i'm glad I did. If it were stolen, I'd get anoher one for free, thanks to my warranty.

I had to replace all the hardware myself, all I bought was the body and neck !!!
I put geniune Gibson parts back into it, except the pick ups. i used Seymour Duncans and I really like the sound of them. They sound like vintage Gibson to my ears anyway. took it into a local music shop I trust for wiring and set up, and now a fantastic solid body for the fraction of what a new one costs.
I can understand why people pay so much for these though, they are fantastic as far as I'm concerned !!! I love mine.

I play blues, rockabilly, and jazz. It is actually quite versatile as far as blues and rockabilly go, but jazz is definetly out of the question. That isn't why I wanted it. I picked it up for blues mostly.
It fills that niche beautifully.
I use an Fender Stage Deluxe 212, it sounds like heaven on slow blues.
Very rich, full tone and really sings/cries. Beautiful Gibson sound.
I play it mostly on the rhythm setting, or with both pick ups on.

I got this guitar used and it had a neck repair done on it right up by the nut. I guess this is common, I've seen a few that the necks have broken on them. It was repaired well, but not finished very well.
Again, this isn't from the factory.
also the binding on the side of the neck is not white , but black.
Very strange. The only other SG's I've seen like that are Specials and the Epiphones line.
All the factory parts I installed in it all work great so I have no complaints, and I set the action up myself so I'm to blame if it isn't to my liking !!! hehehe

This guitar is a work horse ! I can see why they are so popular and remain so.
I use it as a back up on stage, but depending on the set it could be the number 1 choice no problem.
I use more than one guitar on stage always just for tonal variety.
It doesn't sound like a hollowbody archtop after all !!!

They just helped me date it with the serial # when I bought it.
No warranty.
This guitar was repaired, but not by the factory I'm sure.

I've been playing over 20 years, I have an couple of archtops, and a semi hollowbody. I like Gibsons and Epiphones really, no use for Fenders.
If it were lost or stolen , I 'd like to have another one.
A good friend of mine has a 1979 Les Paul Custom that I measure all other solid body guitars against, and this one measures up very well, and actually sounds better to me. I'm very happy with it.