Mann SG Copy

I loved this guitar - the only problem I had with it was keeping it tuned. This problem I put down to the Bigsby style whammy bar. I bought it in the mid 70's as my first electric guitar. Used it for years in the High School stage band, and early bands right up to 1980 - when due to tuning issues I started using a buddies Les Paul.

I still have it - and hope that someday I can fix the "Bigsby" and replace the machineheads ... I never noticed the bridge to be plastic ... if it is I think I could replace that too.

It withstood live playing for abt five years - and I wish I could use it now... someday, someday.

For a first guitar in the discount rack at Long and McQuade - I think I did great.

It's your basic 1970's Gibson SG lawsuit knockoff, made by Mann in Japan, i beleive the company was a branch of Ibanez.I've played electric guitars before but this is the first i've owned, havin learned on acoustic. 22 frets, it's got a solid one peice mahogany body, with a three peice laminated mahogany neck, which is bolted on with four bolts.both neck and body are cherry finished. 2 volume and tone controls, and a three way switch, nothing special! 2 chrome covered humbuckers, and i'm debating about switching the neck pickup for a seymour duncan.tune-o-matic bridge. some grover tuners, medium frets, and a thin neck with dot inlays.

It suits what i like, heavy music. I play blues, hard rock,heavy metal and thrash. I run it through a 150 watt peavy amp and a DOD thrash master pedal. when clean it's got this nice bright sound, sorta like a strat's quack. It sounds really sweet when distorted, really chunky, good for rhythm and leads just peel right off it. No feedback! which is great considering how old the damn thing is! the neck pickup is real bright and clear, while the bridge is pretty bassy and muffled.it can make really good acoustic sounds as stand alone clean, and can pull off a very convincing Iommi tone when distorted, as well as being great for old school blues and rock. The sound goes well with the thrash as well.

When i first got it it sounded like shit! it had these ancient strings, and they had to go! the action is a bit of a problem, being very difficult to adjust. On the other hand the pickups are adjusted great! The tuners and bridge were plastic, and only the tuners have been replaced! The main falw with this axe is the bridge, the fuckin thing wont tune perfect! since it's plastic, the sustain suffers, and if u tune down a little then u find problems keeping it where u want. The inlays are nothin fancy, it's got some flakin at the bottom of the guitar, but for how old it is u cant comlain.

It'd better hold up live, because as of right now there is no backup! at the moment i dont trust it to stay in tune, nothing a guitar tech cant fix. the original bridge is crap, and wont last much longer, but the humbuckers are pretty solid,and i dont expect them to crap out anytime soon. The finish is as durable as i oculd expect after 30 years. the strap buttons are well put on and dont move even a bit.

lol! the company hasnt been around since god knows when! Mann was bought out, and info on the company has been really hard to find, if i have any questions, i'm shit outta luck.

I've been playing everyday,6 hours, for about a year, and this guitar has been a big help in building my chops. i dont own much else as far as gear goes, just my amp, pedal and an acoustic. If it was stolen, i wouldnt be able to find another! i would most likely buy a genuine gibson, or an ibanez. I love it as my first electric,but i hate the damn bridge!, i wish it was a set neck, the upper fret access could be a bit better. I compared it to a Mann les paul, and this one caught my eye. Overall, it was a good first electric, not great, but good.