thinking of getting a new gee tar- what do you guys think?
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Stupid American Pig Stupid American Pig https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4753 - KVRAF
- 7065 posts since 25 Nov, 2002 from not sure
heres teh deal, I have a mexi strat which is ok, but I went and played a Gibson standard SG this weekend and was blownaway by how great the action was. this thing practicly played itself. I also played a Epi casino, and gibson es-335. I have my mind made up that the next guitar I get will be one of these three- so please vote in the poll and provide comments. Actual owner feedback would be great as well.
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- KVRist
- 126 posts since 16 Jun, 2004
Hi!
I just want to say that you should really try them out. All of them and do not listen tp us. It is all about what you think.
Maybe I really like the '59 neck of a Gibson Les Paul but you would think it sucks. Maybe I hate to play on a SG but you love it. Maybe I love them pickups on the Epiphone but you hate it. You get my point.
It is all about personal opinion when it comes to this kind of stuff. Go to your local guitar shop and try them all out.
Maybe you will like to play on one of them but the sound of the pickups are not in your taste. You can then change them into others.
I am out. Just promise me, do not buy any of these guitars just becuase some people here will say that they are great.
Best Regards
Rickard Gerthsson
I just want to say that you should really try them out. All of them and do not listen tp us. It is all about what you think.
Maybe I really like the '59 neck of a Gibson Les Paul but you would think it sucks. Maybe I hate to play on a SG but you love it. Maybe I love them pickups on the Epiphone but you hate it. You get my point.
It is all about personal opinion when it comes to this kind of stuff. Go to your local guitar shop and try them all out.
Maybe you will like to play on one of them but the sound of the pickups are not in your taste. You can then change them into others.
I am out. Just promise me, do not buy any of these guitars just becuase some people here will say that they are great.
Best Regards
Rickard Gerthsson
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- KVRian
- 588 posts since 14 Feb, 2003 from Rural splendour (Up North, England)
I wouldn't constrain yourself to just those three - with the amount of money you're looking at spending you have some fantastic choices (especially if you're buying in the US - the land of cheap guitars!). You could even get a MIDI-ready guitar for that kind of money (I don't own one but I do quite fancy the idea).
If you like the SG and the Epiphone then you could always do what I did and get an Epiphone Elite SG (they were called "Elite" before they became "Elitist" - some trademark violation or something I think).
Best of both worlds I reckon
Regards,
Derek.
If you like the SG and the Epiphone then you could always do what I did and get an Epiphone Elite SG (they were called "Elite" before they became "Elitist" - some trademark violation or something I think).
Best of both worlds I reckon
Regards,
Derek.
Less than 1000 posts and writer's block has set in 
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Stupid American Pig Stupid American Pig https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4753
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 7065 posts since 25 Nov, 2002 from not sure
points taken- I guess the main thing I was asking for was user experiences and any caveats for the above models. I do plan on playing each potential guitar before purchase(really I plan on playing several of each, since they can vary between examples) I like the idea of a semi hollow archtop, and I am also looking for a gutsy humbucker sound(I just have the strat twangin' away right now). but anyway, thanks for the replies so far, and if anyone has any experience with gibsons let me know.
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- KVRAF
- 2217 posts since 15 Jul, 2003
i had a Gibson ES 335 I sold in '71 for $350. thanks for bringing up that memory -- I'll be kicking myself all day
i bought it for $175 with a trade in of my brother's Harmony bass
guess those days are gone. as i recall the 335 had a very round mellow tone. now wouldn't the SG sound a whole lot different from that?
if you liked the action on the SG, I'd go for that.
a friend from that same era sold a '52 Telecaster with a very hard slick maple neck and the fastest action he'd ever played. he sold that and when he thinks of that he kicks himself too.
i bought it for $175 with a trade in of my brother's Harmony bass
guess those days are gone. as i recall the 335 had a very round mellow tone. now wouldn't the SG sound a whole lot different from that?
if you liked the action on the SG, I'd go for that.
a friend from that same era sold a '52 Telecaster with a very hard slick maple neck and the fastest action he'd ever played. he sold that and when he thinks of that he kicks himself too.
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- KVRist
- 159 posts since 9 Apr, 2004
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- KVRist
- 135 posts since 27 Sep, 2003 from Reston, VA.
The SG doesn't seem to fit in with the other two guitars since it is solid body and those two are semi-hollow.
I doubt you would go wrong with any of them. I would make sure the Epi has good pickups in it as the quality of pickups is usually the differentiator between the Gibson and Epi guitars.
Out of the three, the Gibson ES 335 would tempt me the most. Beautiful guitar. The SGs just don't have enough personality for me.
Good luck and have fun trying them all out.
I doubt you would go wrong with any of them. I would make sure the Epi has good pickups in it as the quality of pickups is usually the differentiator between the Gibson and Epi guitars.
Out of the three, the Gibson ES 335 would tempt me the most. Beautiful guitar. The SGs just don't have enough personality for me.
Good luck and have fun trying them all out.
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- KVRian
- 864 posts since 9 Jul, 2001 from Chester County PA, USA
All good valid points. 
In terms of action, another thing to consider of course is how much things like action and general playability can be changable from instrument to instrument, even of the same make, model and year...so in other words, just because you liked the way the action felt on a particular SG doesn't necessarily mean that all SG's will feel and play that well: one might play like a dream, the next be set up so poorly that it plays like crap.
(more often than not I usually find most guitar and basses at music stores, both new and used, tend to have their action poorly adjusted (either so high that you can barely play it, or so low that frets buzz like crazy), the intonation completely out, the neck either bowed or arched, etc)
Of course, the nice thing is that all of these concerns can be adjusted for. Sometimes (but not often, sadly) you can find a store that's willing to make a few adjustments for you if you're seriously thinking about a purchase, so you can get a better idea as to whether you really like it or not.
I play a Strat myself and love the way it feels and plays, but then I've spent a lot of time adjusting it to the point where I'm really happy with it. I also tend to really like the way some SG's and Les Paul's play too on an average (as well as how they sound of course, especially Les Pauls)...but on the other hand, I've also played some that felt so awful that it was like playing a boat oar.
My biggest current problem is that since I started playing Chapman Stick recently, EVERY guitar or bass I play now feels like its action is too high in comparison! The Stick's action is so low and fast it's insane...so when I go back to my Strat or one of my basses right after playing it, they all feel like the strings are hovering a mile over the neck.
In terms of action, another thing to consider of course is how much things like action and general playability can be changable from instrument to instrument, even of the same make, model and year...so in other words, just because you liked the way the action felt on a particular SG doesn't necessarily mean that all SG's will feel and play that well: one might play like a dream, the next be set up so poorly that it plays like crap.
(more often than not I usually find most guitar and basses at music stores, both new and used, tend to have their action poorly adjusted (either so high that you can barely play it, or so low that frets buzz like crazy), the intonation completely out, the neck either bowed or arched, etc)
Of course, the nice thing is that all of these concerns can be adjusted for.
Sometimes (but not often, sadly) you can find a store that's willing to make a few adjustments for you if you're seriously thinking about a purchase, so you can get a better idea as to whether you really like it or not.I play a Strat myself and love the way it feels and plays, but then I've spent a lot of time adjusting it to the point where I'm really happy with it. I also tend to really like the way some SG's and Les Paul's play too on an average (as well as how they sound of course, especially Les Pauls)...but on the other hand, I've also played some that felt so awful that it was like playing a boat oar.
My biggest current problem is that since I started playing Chapman Stick recently, EVERY guitar or bass I play now feels like its action is too high in comparison! The Stick's action is so low and fast it's insane...so when I go back to my Strat or one of my basses right after playing it, they all feel like the strings are hovering a mile over the neck.
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- KVRist
- 109 posts since 19 May, 2002 from Boston
I have a Les Paul that I got from an English guitarist. It plays like dream; when I first played it, I felt that I'd never known a real elec guitar until I met that one.
Anyway, Har is right. Not all SGs will be as good as the one you tried. I suggest you buy the actual SG you played.
Anyway, Har is right. Not all SGs will be as good as the one you tried. I suggest you buy the actual SG you played.
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- KVRist
- 109 posts since 19 May, 2002 from Boston
Oh, by the way, if you are willing to spend $1500, you can get a second-hand PRS for that money.
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- Banned
- 6127 posts since 1 Apr, 2004 from Et in Arcadia Ego
what are you going to be using the guitar for the most?
SG's are great for rythm, but yeah, you're going to need to try more than one to compensate for quality control issues..
I was looking at a Les Paul baritone myself recently, but I'm purely rythm guitar..And I tune kinda...
low.
SG's are great for rythm, but yeah, you're going to need to try more than one to compensate for quality control issues..
I was looking at a Les Paul baritone myself recently, but I'm purely rythm guitar..And I tune kinda...
low.
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- KVRAF
- 9217 posts since 23 Jul, 2002 from Pequot Lakes, MN
Also,Robert Fripp used a Tokai Les Paul as a synth controller through the mid-late '80s.Now THAT'S an endorsementpough wrote:Tokai! Better build quality and they buy their wood from the same place! All you need to do is buy new pickups for it and you got a great SG for $600 CDN!
Personally,with $1200-1500 I'd tend to build myself a guitar using a Warmoth body and neck;you can build a nice guitar for that and have the joy of playing something you built yourself.
ew
A spectral heretic...
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Stupid American Pig Stupid American Pig https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4753
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 7065 posts since 25 Nov, 2002 from not sure
sicklecell666 wrote:what are you going to be using the guitar for the most?
SG's are great for rythm, but yeah, you're going to need to try more than one to compensate for quality control issues..
I was looking at a Les Paul baritone myself recently, but I'm purely rythm guitar..And I tune kinda...
low.
I am a rhythm guitarist, and not a great one at that. I honestly never even considered the SG until I played this one last weekend- it was butter. I really want a semi hollow, its just that they are soo damn expensive, and I am not sure I would do that guitar justice.
My bro also suggested a PRS- I guess I will have to hunt some of these down.
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- Banned
- 6127 posts since 1 Apr, 2004 from Et in Arcadia Ego
Shecter has some very, very nice guitars as well, man..I'm pretty torn between a Les Paul & a Shecter right now..