Gibson SG Standard Review – Play or Pass?
The Gibson SG is a major part of music history although it doesn\’t have the same iconic status as a Les Paul or Stratocaster. Artists as diverse as Eric Clapton and Angus Young have used this influential guitar at one point or another.
The SG has found its way into rock, blues, and even jazz artists at one time or another, and the current Gibson SG Standard is the company\’s attempt to fuse the best of the past with the present. Not to give away the ending, but we think Gibson succeeded. Let\’s take a look at the SG Standard in more detail.
As usual, the SG has an instantly recognizable double-cutaway body, which is made of mahogany. Similarly, the neck is mahogany and sports a bound rosewood fingerboard adorned with signature trapezoid inlays. For the pickups, Gibson chose a 490R humbucker for the neck and a 498T for the bridge. This combination yields a wide variety of sounds.
Outfitted with chrome hardware, the SG also sports a 3-way selector switch and dual volume and tone controls.
As you might expect, the SG is pretty light, particularly compared to a Les Paul. What would you expect from an instrument that\’s been Angus Young\’s choice for years?
We chose the Heritage Cherry finish and could find absolutely no issues with it whatsoever. Similarly, the action could be set very low with no noticeable fret buzz. Score!
We chose three very different amps to test out the SG Standard – a Dr. Z MAZ-18, Marshall JCM-800, and Rivera Chubster 55. The guitar sounded great through all three, though the Marshall pairing was likely our favorite one.
The SG certainly is its own animal. Sure, it doesn\’t have the bottom end of a Les Paul, for example. However, it also has a top-end bite that the Les Paul lacks, which gives it a sound unique to the SG. It certainly cuts through a mix more than a Les Paul. Given the price (around $1,200 new), it\’s hard to speak ill of such a quality, USA-made instrument like the Gibson SG Standard.
If you are looking for the absolute cheapest price on a used or new Gibson SG Standard, then you need to visit Ray\’s Guitar Shop, which offers the lowest prices on all new and used guitars (acoustic and electric). It doesn\’t matter if you\’re looking for a PRS McCarty, an Ibanez JEM7V, or a Fender Stratocaster, Ray\’s Guitar Shop has what you\’re looking for!
