Sg V.s. Lp!!!

[MAXIFUNK]

OK, you Gibby connoisseurs other than the shape is there really major tone/sound difference between the two SG & LP.

 

[NWBasser]

Yes, there is.

I used to own an SG a long time ago and still play a friend's one.

The SG weighs a lot less than the LP and doesn't have near the sustain. The tone of the SG is quite a bit brighter and more open on top.

The LP has a very thick mid-range and is much fuller on the bottom than the SG.

Think chunk (LP) versus scream (SG).

 

[marnold]

I've heard people complain about SGs being neck-heavy too, an accusation that I don't think a Les Paul has ever had to face.

 

[ZMAN]

One of the things that is most overlooked when it comes to SG vs LP is the playing position. The neck on an SG is higher on the body than an LP due to the double cut. Similar to an ES335 style guitar. When you are playing, the higher frets are much more accesible, and it changes your playing position.
I have a Gibson SG, and Several LPs. I do find the SG more neck heavy, but I have an original 68 with the baseball bat dot neck. Even with the same pickups the SG will sound brighter, and sometimes almost Strat Like. They are no where near as heavy as a Solid unchambered LP. Mine has probably the lowest action of any guitar I own, but it has the Vibrolo, with the top wrapped compensated bridge. I have owned it since 69, and I love the guitar.
I have played a friend of mine's faded SG in the worn brown with the open coil pickups. It is a really nice playing, and sounding guitar. The neck is substantial and very much like my SG>

 

[bcdon]

I have an Epi LP and this Gibson SG and my SG has a lot more sustain than my Epi (maybe it's just this particular SG owing to its construction). Also, my Epi is chambered and is much lighter than my SG.

When I first got the SG it felt like the frets closer to the nut were much farther away but now I'm so used to it that when I pick up my LP my fretting hand feels crunched in. Thanks ZMAN for explaining the difference in playing position because this is what I felt but wasn't quite sure why.

My SG is also 24 fret and with the cut-away it just feels so much different than my Epi. Honestly, I never thought much about SGs and never imagined I would ever buy one, but when I picked this one up and just couldn't put it down.

 

[sumitomo]

Wow bcdon that is a nice SG,I never saw that ZOOT before,only the rainbow one.Yours is awesome! Question is the 24 fret a custom only? Sumi

 

[Kazz]

That Zoot SG is cool....I like that one...the rainbow one looked like clown poop.

 

[bcdon]

Wow bcdon that is a nice SG,I never saw that ZOOT before,only the rainbow one.Yours is awesome! Question is the 24 fret a custom only? Sumi

Thanks! Nope, this is just a stock ZOOT and they are all 24 fret. Mine is the Black on Orange and I think it looks killer with the clear pups. :dude

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/SG/Gibson-USA/SG-Zoot-Suit.aspx

 

[bcdon]

That Zoot SG is cool....I like that one...the rainbow one looked like clown poop.

Haha.. I agree but too each his own, I suppose. I wasn't quite sure about the colour of mine when it was first handed to me but now I really dig it.

 

[MAXIFUNK]

Well that settles it an SG is added to much have list for 2011! LOL

Thanks for everyone's insight I honestly could not think of anyone other than Angus Young which played one as his main axe. I also never really played with anyone you used them either so when ever we played AC/DC stuff they always used their LP so I just thought the tone must be the same or similar.

I really like the Zoot but most likely be looking for a good used one or one of those faded ones. The SG has now reach the top of my GAS list for 2011.
2010 is done other than a low wattage tube amp for my birthday if all goes well.
I have bought since Dec. an LP, strat, CV thinline on order, Fender Deville, and a great pedal. So for now its just time to woodshed a little and hopefully get better. LOL

But I always wonder what was the deal with the SG and I now know thanks guys.

 

[Tig]

The top of my affordable SG list...

 

[Zip]

"...could not think of anyone other than Angus Young which played one as his main axe."

Well,...remember Eric Clapton's 'Fool' guitar? He recorded tons of Cream stuff with it...Derek Trucks still uses SG as his main axe...so does Robbie Krieger (the Doors)...George Harrison did the whole Revolver album with one....Tony Iommi invented heavy metal with one...Jerry Garcia's main guitar for years...remember Pete Townsend? The list goes on....

 

[FrankenFretter]

I like SGs too, due in large part to Tony Iommi. The SGs I've played don't quite feel as nice as my LP to me, but that may be because I'm guitarded. I do like the sound of my friend Tom's SG. It actually sounds similar to an LP, but as NW Basser said, it's brighter and more open sounding. His has a fairly thin neck, and plays like butter.

A decent SG is on my list, but it's not at the top. My next purchase will likely be a CV 60s Strat, or possibly a Vintage Vibe Strat. And then a Tele. I need to fill out the single-coil sector of my growing family.

 

[marnold]

I like SGs too, due in large part to Tony Iommi. The SGs I've played don't quite feel as nice as my LP to me, but that may be because I'm guitarded.

I was going to mention my fellow fingertip-challenged guitarist Iommi too. Re: the second comment above, the first step is admitting you have a problem, FF

 

[MAXIFUNK]

Well,...remember Eric Clapton's 'Fool' guitar? He recorded tons of Cream stuff with it...Derek Trucks still uses SG as his main axe...so does Robbie Krieger (the Doors)...George Harrison did the whole Revolver album with one....Tony Iommi invented heavy metal with one...Jerry Garcia's main guitar for years...remember Pete Townshend? The list goes on....

Cream was long before I was rocking. LOL
I know some of their music for sure but I was never clear when it Clapton or Beck playing on what songs.
Derek Trucks just discovered him in 2010.
Did not like the doors.
GH he was cool but not real big Beatles fan.
Toni Iommi I just had to Google his name to know who he was. Sabbath was cool but I never listen to them all that much honestly.
Forgot about Jerry & Pete considering I worked enough of their shows over the years I should have been able to remember that. LOL

But I get you point plenty of major player used SG's as their main axe thanks for the info. Angus & Clapton would be one cool jam session.

 

[MAXIFUNK]

The top of my affordable SG list...

Sheer EYE CANDY..............:drool

 

[FrankenFretter]

I was going to mention my fellow fingertip-challenged guitarist Iommi too. Re: the second comment above, the first step is admitting you have a problem, FF

I believe I have said it before, but for the record, once again:

My name is Sean. I'm a guitar addict.

 

[bcdon]

I believe I have said it before, but for the record, once again:

My name is Sean. I'm a guitar addict.

And a total enabler too! It's cool, the poison is sweet. :dude

 

[deeaa]

I like SG's but as mentioned, many of them are neck heavy. Not all, but especially the cheaper copies tend to be. My friend has one from the 60's and it's got a SUPER thin neck and isn't neck heavy at all for instance.

SG's don't, IMO, have any less sustain than LP's but they have a much more biting attack and tone, and, again as mentioned, the playing position is different. Having played an LP for 13 years I've always kinda wanted an SG, but if I do get one, it's gotta be white, or in a pinch transparent red, basic Angus style one.

One thing that's a big issue for some is that an SG is really very small a guitar. Suits me just fine, but on my friend who's quite sizeable a fellow, it looks just plain ridiculous, like a violin or something. Conversely I sold him my Explorer for the reason the Explo looks like a canoe or something on me, but suits his size quite nicely. I'm not exactly a small guy, 5.10+ but sort of light and slender, and bigger guitars just look dumb on me.

But to sum it all up...yeah an SG is entirely different a beast from an LP, although you _can_ make them sound pretty much alike. Harder to make an LP sound like an SG but the other way round it's just some tweaks on pedals.

 

[Duffy]

Sg Lp

I have an Epi SG, a copy of a 66 Gibson Standard.

I played about seven SGs the day I bought it, one a Gibson, and this one sounded about five times as good as the others, including special edition ones like the metalflake blue one.

Mine is high gloss trans cherry with block inlays and is one of my favorite guitars, far from as expensive as my more expensive guitars, but awesome nonetheless. This is a great guitar, completely stock and it has withstood the test of time, as I've owned it a few years and it just gets better.

It is not a small guitar when placed next to my other guitars, except of course my lawsuit Ibanez Explorer/Destroyer. But it dwarfs all my guitars.

Tone wise there is a major difference between any of my LPs and LP type guitars. It is sort of like a combination of the tone of a strat clean and a LP deep tone, quite versitile.

Aside from the obvious tonal differences, it has a way different feel.

I have been playing my SG almost exclusively over the last few days and it is a beautiful full tone. I would like to get another one like the Zoot Suit or a P90 one.

Dude, that natural and black Zoot Suit pictured here is awesomely beautiful. Thought about getting one. Those are multipiece laminated bodies, with the different laminate layers stained its unique color, right?

Anyway, the SG tone is not the same as the LP tone and the feel is way different.

Many, many guitarists, both famous and otherwise have used and still use SG guitars.

I had the Gibson faded SG, bought new last Fourth of July at the GC sale and it was stolen by a relative, not to be seen again - along with the old relative I immediately kicked out; F**k that. He also got my Fender Hwy One fat strat amongst other things. 43 year old a** hole I helped salvage out of dire straits a couple months earlier. F***er.

That Gibson SG was great and spent the next nine days after I bought it in the hospital bed with me along with my Vox Amp-plug. That guitar had some mojo; had some mojo. With all the discounts that only cost me about five hundred, new. Never a/b'd it to the Epiphone. I guess the Epi stands on its own. It sounds super good.

Although brighter than the average LP it does not come close to real strat or telecaster territory. The SG has a place of its own.

 

[Tig]

I played about seven SGs the day I bought it, one a Gibson, and this one sounded about five times as good as the others...

I remember Jimi75 doing about the same thing last year, testing LP's until he found one that felt and sounded better than the others. I've heard the same thing before for several brands, and the elimination process worked even for my CV 50's Strat. I guess it can really pay to grab several until you find the great one in a sea of mediocre ones.

 

[duhvoodooman]

When I bought a used Epi SG G-400 a while back, that shift in playing position due to the double cutaway & neck joining the body so far down was the first thing I noticed about playing it. Takes a bit of getting used to.

Clapton while in Cream is the first SG player I can remember, but one that hasn't been mentioned yet is this guy, in perhaps the most memorable SG performance I can recall. And he doesn't get enough credit for inventing the "guitar face" at 5:35....

 

[deeaa]

I remember Jimi75 doing about the same thing last year, testing LP's until he found one that felt and sounded better than the others. I've heard the same thing before for several brands, and the elimination process worked even for my CV 50's Strat. I guess it can really pay to grab several until you find the great one in a sea of mediocre ones.

Sure. Though I do believe 90% of that is simply due to settings; slightly better intonation and/or neck relief etc. can do wonders, or newer strings, different kind of strings...I do believe you can test a really great guitar and its seemingly much lesser sibling, but if you were to adjust both properly the differences might vanish...

Intonation in particular is something I usually get 'down' on a given guitar only after I've done it like 20 times on it. You get it like 80% right the first time, and every time you do it (by ear of course, using tuners as guide only) it gets slightly better. Sometimes you manage to get it slightly worse too. But at some point you start to notice you've gotten it intonated so that it really sings.

Currently only my main axe is 'perfectly' intonated for me and I haven't touched it any more for a year now, the 2nd axe has some slight issues with certain open chords vs. full barres but is damn near already, and the 3rd one I've intonated maybe three times since I built it, but at a year old the neck also needs some adjustments still as it's not completely settled yet...anyway, it's got a good basic intonation but clearly not as good as its older buddies.

That said, sure I always find the best one of the bunch. When I bought my insofar most expensive guitar, LP standard, I picked one out of a bunch of five. It just spoke to me the best.

 

[Blaze]

How about SG master FZ

 

[Eric]

How about SG master FZ

+1. He's the first person who comes to mind for me when I think of the SG.

 

[marnold]

Sure. Though I do believe 90% of that is simply due to settings; slightly better intonation and/or neck relief etc. can do wonders, or newer strings, different kind of strings...I do believe you can test a really great guitar and its seemingly much lesser sibling, but if you were to adjust both properly the differences might vanish...

I agree and I find that to be especially true with Floyd-equipped guitars. Rarely does anyone bother to set them up properly in the first place, then the idiots come in and try to set it into Drop-D.

 

[ZMAN]

IF you notice in the Santana clip from Woodstock that guitar is a Special. Dot neck, P90 pickups. I have the same guitar but a 68. The same one that Pete Townsend used.
Carlos said he was so stoned the guitar neck felt like a snake in his hands.
I have owned it for over 40 years!

 

[Plank_Spanker]

The SG weighs a lot less than the LP and doesn't have near the sustain.

Hmmmmm..........................

Two SG's and two LP's in the house. My SG's have every bit of sustain that my Lesters have. Sustain is a quality that's different between every individual guitar.

 

[Blaze]

Another SG master in a middle east style tune ,talkin about sustain here..

Love this tune...

Zman , how much for your SG ??? Need one to play slide ..

 

[mainestratman]

SG player: Frank Hannon. He also does LPs and the occasional pink paisley Tele..