For me I thought the Telecaster could only do country. But now that I’ve owned one for a while I’ve realized it can do many genres of music. It’s very versatile.

@Soldano999

6 ай бұрын

Same here it wasn't until i actually owned one that i realised this guitar can actually do it all. And do it all with style.

@professorpenne9962

6 ай бұрын

I forgot about quite of the guitars I have after getting a yamah revstar. all about giving something an honest chance and seeing if you really like it or not.

@someonesnoone4439

6 ай бұрын

Yup thats what I thought about telecasters also. But country music is also looked at as one thing so maybe that's why I tightcast the guitar. Country guitarists don't often get enough credit for their playing for example most of your greatest guitar players lists always skip over country players in favor of the shreddy rock n rollers

@gabrielrangel956

6 ай бұрын

Knowing some of the most iconic parts in the early Led Zeppelin discography were recorded on a Telecaster really changed my perception of it

@TonySop

6 ай бұрын

A few years ago I had 70 deluxe tele I traded in to get Martin. The Martin is amazing and I love it but there isn’t a day that goes by I don’t regret it. I would of rather just bought the Martin than trade the tele in 😢😢😢

I always felt like you can play any kind of music on any guitar. Pickups matter more.

@zwerko

6 ай бұрын

For high-gain music, or on a heavy-EQ-able gear, pickups matter the least. Certainly far less than the speaker you play it through and, if recording, the microphone you use for capture. That aside, I agree, most guitars are versatile enough to play pretty much any genre on them.

@JJDon5150

6 ай бұрын

@@zwerko That ain't true at all lol. There's a reason most rock/metal players use higher output pickups that are either Alnico 5 or ceramics. You can play on anything, but in order for high gain playing, its amp>pickup>speaker. Reason the speaker is last is because people back in the 70s/80s when high gain were first coming out started using higher output pickups like he Super Distortion or JB and it was enough to drive lower output amps with the variety of speakers they had back then. Amp matters most, but even with a super high gain amp, stuff like pinch harmonics, clarity, or clarity during drop tunings sound way better with higher output pickups.

@rydaug79

6 ай бұрын

@@zwerko I just meant pickups as in single coil vs humbuckers but if you understood that and your reply still stands then I trust you.

@Kaz999998

5 ай бұрын

​@@JJDon5150I agree. For rock or metal I think the amp matters more than the pickups. You can slap a guitar like a tele/strat into a high gain amp and that thing will still chug.

@DrMurdercock

5 ай бұрын

get low out put and high put PUPS, put them in a high gain mix and you wont be able to tell one from the other. @@JJDon5150

If you take an SG with PAF style pickups, and a Marshall half stack, you can find almost every sound you ever heard from an electric guitar by playing with the knobs.

@weedshoes5089

3 ай бұрын

It needs 500k volume pots. Gibson puts 300k in a lot of SGs.

I’ve never actually thought “this guitar is only good for one genre”. I reckon you can play anything on any guitar as long as you set yourself to it.

@stephensarmento3529

3 ай бұрын

I agree to an extent but there is a reason you don't see metal bands using stratocasters for example lol. Any guitar could play anything but of course certain tools will be better fit for certain jobs

@splitzerx570

3 ай бұрын

@@stephensarmento3529 Well yeah you are right, like you say there is a reason metal bands don’t play strats, but if they wanted to they could y’know. I mean even then what defines a strat as a strat, is it the pickups or is it the body shape, because most of the metal players out there that I’ve met use super strats, which are basically just a strat with humbuckers and without the contour body. Sorry if I’m rambling

@A.C.Lawrence

2 ай бұрын

​@@stephensarmento3529 Dave Murray from iron maiden plays a strat.

I never had any SG desire until one basically fell in my lap and I ended up loving it. The neck goes on forever!!

@armandomlopez1345

6 ай бұрын

Literally exactly my scenario as well!

@allenmitchell09

6 ай бұрын

A guitar player I was in a band with knew another guitar player selling a left handed Epiphone SG with an old Kramer hard case for $200. I happen to play left and jumped on it. I was surprised how much I ended up liking it.

For me as a metal player, when I started I thought the classic guitars were boomer guitars and I needed something ultra modern to play metal. Now i play doom on a 50's les paul with p90's.

@antv4408

6 ай бұрын

I now play neoclassical on a fender mustang. 😂 Fun to see the reactions

@fistovuzi

6 ай бұрын

to be fair. if i was told i was to play a metal gig using a guitar design from before 1970 and it could only have single coil pups; it would be a Les Paul or SG with P90s. try doing that with a jangly-ass SSS American strat (the Mexis are warmer sounding and kinda doable but not really).

@djencode

6 ай бұрын

@@fistovuzi it's not great for death metal but it's awesome for doom, not too surprising there though. Orange and P90 was the og sound of Black Sabbath.

@djencode

6 ай бұрын

But yea for a long time I felt that Les Pauls were for blues lawyers only but there's a magic to a well made Les Paul Standard. And the gold top is a beauty.

@fistovuzi

6 ай бұрын

@@djencode i got a few guitars over the years and pretty much got all the sounds i was after, more or less. this very day i put a deposit on a Gretsch of all things, their mid-range Electromatic range are great value and i needed that bell-like chime of the semi-hollow clean tones. the last guitar i need is my dream guitar, never managed to get my hands on one. Les Paul gold top with cream P90s to match the trim. unless i win the lottery, it'll be an Epiphone tho, lol.

Fun story, my son wanted to learn guitar, he was a big AC/DC fan, so I bought him a cheap Epiphone SG. I think the whole thing with the case was like $125. But holy crap, that is a fun guitar to play. As an old guy myself, I remember when I was younger and learning guitar you couldn’t buy anything for under $500 that was playable. I can’t believe how good this thing plays and sounds for $125.

@mrsasshole

5 ай бұрын

Right? I'm 49 and I remember scraping to put together $500 for an Epiphone Les Paul (which thankfully I still have). And of course, $500 in 1992 dollars is a LOT more than $500 now. Cheap guitars are SO much better now. Makes me happy for all the young players (and parents trying to make ends meet) that the barrier to entry on a decent guitar is so much lower today.

@plane_guy6051

4 ай бұрын

Ha! I hear you, cause I'm and old dude too, and in the old days, you really DID have to buy either a Gibson or a Fender (okay, there were some others, such as Hagstrom, Rickenbacher etc), but the rock gods all played Fenders or Gibsons. But then the mid '70's came along and Ibanez started producing excellent electric guitars and the Fender/Gibson dominance started cracking. It was still not 'cool' to play an Ibanez, but I bought a 1977 Ibanez Explorer back then, and it was every bit as good as a Gibson, and anyone who played one knew the Gibson/Fender jig was up, and frankly I always thought that was a good thing. Nowadays there are PILES of very good, cheap guitars around like the Epiphone SG you picked up, and that's great. It levels the playing field. No more guitar snobbery. It's like just get out there and play the damned things.

The same way that you use to feel about the Gibson SG was the same way that I used to feel about the Fender Telecaster. When I was younger, I always associated the Telecaster as a guitar for country music and punk rock. It wasn't until I got a little older did I start to appreciate the Telecaster.

I’ve used a 2005 Epiphone version of the 61 with maestro vibrola in a worship setting for over 15 years, and it’s beyond versatile- and I get lots of comments about how good it sounds from other guitarists.

@zwerko

6 ай бұрын

The 'devil horns' complement worship music quite well 👿

@vickydemeo6679

6 ай бұрын

I got my Epiphone SG in gold... Angel horns!

Well, being a lot older than you Mike. I'm a Brotha from Detroit. I started highschool in 1981 and went to a school in the suburbs of Detroit. There was sort of a revolution going on it seemed to me where I took guitar lessons. You had the old guard who was trying to keep what I called "Bell bottom" rock alive. (70's rock) and us new younger guys who were into the original Alternative/under ground/new wave/Punk music that was happening at that time. Gibsons seemed to represent the 70's rock and the new stuff was played on various Fenders. If you were into newer hard stuff like Van Halen the thing to do was take your strat and put in a Duncan Humbucker, swap out the tremolo for a Floyd Rose and order a Charvelle neck. So I stayed away from Gibsons until about 1996. I picked up this 1968 Gibson SG Jr and I couldn't believe how fast I could work the fretboard. So I bought it for $600. It's only got the bridge pick up but it does have the tremolo and I have the original tremolo bar with it.

As a kid I loved the SG - Santana, Clapton, Zappa, Marino, Young - so many players with distinctive styles and sounds.

Had my SG Stnd for about 12 years...sold it last month....could be 'the one that got away'. Rawked like no other...played GREAT in the hands...but I seldom played it. Had frets dressed and parted ways. Fetched a nice price for a lefty 2005. Oh, as you already know....the Tele is another guitar riddled with misconceptions. I"m into Tele's now...full circle for me....from early 20's to now in my early 60's...Tele's are my fav.

@lazvt8469

6 ай бұрын

@@stvo2009 me too...have way too many and have been selling a few lately.

@koreanname

6 ай бұрын

You sold it for a reason.. Fenders are superior

Good review of the SG. I have bought and sold several Gibson solid bodies over the years, the SG is the only one I liked enough to keep. They can be as sweetly expressive or as harsh and driving as you want. Add the fact that they are comfortable to play, and you have a winner.

I just gotta say, the SG and les Paul are are some of THE MOST versatile guitars out there right now. Great for everything and still have a timeless look and feel!

@waynesilverman3048

6 ай бұрын

Whats the difference in sound compared to a les Paul ?

@typicalkyle3085

6 ай бұрын

@@waynesilverman3048 Two differences imo. 1) I find the SG to be better for lead parts because of the higher range sounds. 2) The Les Paul I find had more bass and mids, maybe because of the thiccness of it. Also, the les Paul feels for natural for playing rhythm. The SG is better for leads because of the unmatched fret access.

@Elksniffer1

6 ай бұрын

​@typicalkyle3085 I actually feel the SG has more mid than the les Paul. I used to hate the sound of the SG but now I own an 86 62 reissue and it's my favorite guitar because it has more mids than my LP standard.

Funnily enough, my very first guitar was an Epiphone SG Special, but I thought it was only good for the AC/DC kind of thing. At the time though, that didn't matter to me. It wasn't until various points throughout the years that I realized how much an SG can actually do. I learned not only about Tony Iommi, but Eric Clapton in Cream, Pete Townshend, Frank Zappa, and even George Harrison. Because of that, I have gained an even higher appreciation for the instrument than I already had to begin with. In fact, a couple years ago I finally let myself buy one of my dream guitars, which was a Gibson SG Standard from 2007 - the year I started playing. One of the best purchases I've ever made. It has made guitar even more fun for me.

Sweet. Really felt like your playing was improved in this video. Love my SG standard, though I would prefer the 61 with vibrola. Sounds nice.

I'm 49 and and my first guitar, I saved up all summer working for at 17 was a 1991 Gibson SG Standard. Bought it new in 1991 and still own it, and will until the day I die. I have a a couple Les Pauls, but SGs will always be my go to Gibson shape! They are not one trick ponies by any stretch!

For me it really was the SG. Was led to believe for the longest time it was just a rock machine. Ended up buying one because at the time it felt the comfiest and the ergonomics were amazing for me; and learned it sounded amazing playing just about anything I wanted on it.

That white 3-pickup sg custom with gold hardware Terry Kath used in the late sixties is one of the most beautiful guitars ever built

@vayabroder729

6 ай бұрын

Jimi too!!

I actually learned on an SG. Not a real one. A lawsuit era Japanese one. Even though I’ve acquired several other types but my heart will always be with the SG. The one I should never have dismissed is the BC Rich Warlock. Surprisingly comfortable and felt very similar to the SG with it access to the upper frets. I built one for my family’s Stranger Things Halloween costume and it quickly become one of my favourites.

Don’t forget Gary Clark Jr!!! He does some great stuff with the SG!

Mike, you're aging like a fine wine! Thanks for the comedy, the great playing, and most of all sharing your experiences as you go through the stages. Us old folks know those stages, but it refreshing and fun to watch your videos. You really get it!! All the very best to you!

I played my first show with my uncle’s ‘62 Les Paul (SG) and it was magic. I play a Telecaster as a #1 now, but that Valentine’s Night in 1986, I was playing that vintage-instrument with reckless abandon. It was a “battle of the bands” and we won. I was 16 & I’ll never forget the sound of that guitar through my Dad’s Fender-Twin … cranked.

I got my first SG a few months ago, and i love it. I was more surprised at how comfortable it is to play more than how it sounded tbh

Seeing Angus in 2017 at Magnetic Hill, NB. I loved the SG shape! I've never played one, but I think the double cut look is amazing.

I keep looking at SGs more and more. I have a Gretsch 2627 with triple broad'trons. Each pickup has it's own volume in addition to a master volume. With a little tweaking, it can sound like anything. Something about engaging the middle pickup with either or both other pickups, creates an incredible jazz tone.

Guitars with humbuckers sound so similar to one another that pretty much all of them can do any kind of tones. It's about the other gear, the settings and the speakers.

I have the same model sg and I love it. Light, easy to play, sounds great. And looks gorgeous.

The thing that surprized me most wasn"t a specific guitar, it was actually the P90 pickup! I really love it and have it on the guitar I play the most, it"s a Sire L7v...

@rocknrollmouseuk

6 ай бұрын

Yes! I remember finding and falling in love with P90s too! ... On the look out for a P90 equiped SG 😉

Great job once again, Man! Since I listened to a lot of Cream when I was learning rock guitar, I always think of Clapton's "The Fool" painted SG, and the bluesy "woman tone" he would get with it. Thanks for showing us how versatile the SG is. Ironically, along these lines, I just got a J Mascis Squire Jazzmaster to play surf guitar. Leo Fender wanted to capture the jazz market, but the jazzers weren't having it. The surfers fell in love with it, but it is a fairly versatile guitar as well. Anyway, I enjoy your videos. Keep them coming!

I felt the same way for a while about the SG until I played one. I had a huge misconception of SGs and Les Pauls. For long time I always wanted a Les Paul until I played one and then played an SG. I love the feel of the SG and the feel of a Les Paul just doesn’t click with me. Ever since I played an SG I hope to own one one day.

I have an old SG that I got from my mom. It has one of the original pickups, someone put a Seymour Duncan SH-4 in it that I replaced with a Dimarzio Steve's Special, and I rewired it to '50s wiring. I challenged myself to only play it for a week and I was basically able to make it sound like any of my other guitars. The SG is a great guitar if you get a sense for how to use those knobs

I fell in love not only the SG but the flying V as well because of the movie School Of Rock. As a kid, that got me interested in playing guitar.

SG has become synonymous with Angus and metal to a point that it's kind of hurt the guitar and people's preconceptions about what it's built for. It was originally a Les Paul model... Les Paul was a jazz player. He played with his wife Mary Ford who was a country/western musician... this guitar was built for all of those things. It's so versatile that I'd buy another one in a heartbeat if Gibson would just figure out a way to fix the neck dive issue...

@JeansBootsGuitars

6 ай бұрын

SG neckdive is exaggerated, it is not a near problem at all, and when people "Show it", the have no hands or arms resting on it, whereas if you just have an arm slightly resting on it like you normally would, it'll stay.

@roodwarrior

6 ай бұрын

@@JeansBootsGuitars I think it depends greatly on the SG... I've payed some with absolutely none, and I've played some where it is noticeable and annoying... likewise the degree of annoyance depends greatly on the player.

@rikosborne1212

6 ай бұрын

Yeah, it was meant to be the "new" version of the LP. Les Paul himself absolutely hated it, and demanded that they take his name off of it. I only recently learned, after loving SGs for decades, that "SG" stands for "Solid Guitar".

@randrothify

6 ай бұрын

Get a wide leather strap and you should have no problem. Another thing you could do is get the regular SG Standard instead of the 61 Standard. I know that many people prefer the 61‘s pickguard shape and smaller heel, me included, but the plain old Standard has a long tenon neck and bigger heel so the weight is more concentrated in the body and there is less neck dive. A bonus is that the neck joint is sturdier because there is more mass there and it makes it less likely to have heel cracks that sometimes show up on the 61 Standards.

I love the SG!!! It’s light weight body makes it so comfortable to play for extended periods of time (unlike the the Les Paul) and the double cut design makes it super easy to access the super high frets! My ideal guitar would be some kind of offset SG with coil spits, phase switching, and a series parallel switch!

My son bought a Epiphone SG Pro and i was blown away at how diverse the sound is. The only challenge I have is everytime I play it, the 5th fret isn't where I'm used to having it. But I do like its sound and it only takes a second for me to adjust.

It’s the SG for me too. I went to the store for a PRS Vela, and when I said I wanted a lightweight guitar, was shown a used sparkling burgundy SG Special. It’s been by my side since. I love it.

Always great to relax,watch and learn from your videos, Mike. Thank you!

Very nice vid. As a 90s kid, I spent a lot of time looking at Musician's Friend mail-in catalogs. I always loved the SG, but didn't care much for Strats. Now, I love them all, much more into them all, jamming all the time.

@disabledveteran1419

6 ай бұрын

Also, love how much your playing at 6:35 sounded like Yellow Ledbetter, very nice job

Great video Mike! I always thought Jimmy Paige was a strict LP player until I found out he made the first couple of Led Zeppelin albums with a Tele. Always thought Clapton played a Strat exclusively, but then found out he used a 335 early on. The sound is in the artist’s fingers and heart and mind.

I picked up a hollow-body Gretsch while I was in a bit of a rockabilly kick, and it quickly became my #1. Does a great job with blues, rock, punk, jazz, and just about anything else I throw at it. The SG is still my #2 though.

I bought a '61 standard last year and absolutely love it - in fact, everyone that has picked it up and played loves it as well. It's really a great, versatile guitar - and I'm a Tele player.

When I moved back to The States, LP was selling for ~$3000. I’ve never spent that much on a guitar and never plan to. I found two SG Standards in excellent shape in hard cases for $700 each (pre covid numbers obvs). Even though I didn’t like SGs I wasn’t;t gonna pay thousands for a LP. So, I gave the SGs a try. Who knew I’d LOVE THEM?? They produce the kinda tone that gets me compliments after my shows and they always handle well.

Humbuckers and Gibson neck on three shapes: les Paul, SG and a 335. All can cover any genre imo. Also SG - Frank Zappa 🙏

Im an offset Fender/Squier kinda person, but I pulled the trigger on an Ibanez RG470 MSP w/Floyd Rose. I dunno, my Korn/Vai appreciation finally got the best of me. I can't tell you how happy I am with it! I thinks it's worthy to sit with my Jazzmasters & Jaguars.

I remember when I first was getting into guitar, I saw Angus playing his SG and thought it was a custom built guitar since it had the horns. Then I find out that Gibson is the one making SGs and I fell in love. Own 2 SGs and a third one sometime soon. SGs and Telecasters are my about favorite guitars, though I have an awesome Kauer as well. And yes, my SG can cover a lot of ground as well.

I got an epiphone sg at the start of my playing career, again after getting into AC/DC just thinking it was the coolest guitar ever. Two years ago I got my first Sg standard and I love it to bits . Always been an sg player .

Personally my favourite guitar. Sits nicely in my lap and fits my hand well. I’ve heard, and read a lot of complaints about the SG but I don’t have any of the issues commonly identified. I believe it’s Gibsons best selling guitar style, but I’ve never seen their records or talked to a rep who could confirm that. Good review Mike. I hope you do another one when you have had some time to get used to it.

@johnstackhouse1706

6 ай бұрын

The biggest one person whine about is "MuH nEcK dIvE" even though it's really simple to deal with by HOLDING THE GUITAR BY THE NECK or getting a nice strap

@rocknrollmouseuk

6 ай бұрын

@@johnstackhouse1706 I haven't yet found a Gibson SG I can afford, so I play copies, some suffer with dive a bit, some sit rock solid horizontal, depends on the make - I remember testing my SGs, wearing a t-shirt and using a cheep nylon strap, plesently surprised by how many hung well (without dive). I play horizontal neck, but for folks pointing their nect up a bit, even more of these should balance well. The standard cure for neck heavy instruments, as you say, is a wide strap; if you rest your strumming arm on the body that also helps. I have heard the SG was designed to have the vibrolla trem, instruments with this fitted balance well, it's the ones without that have more problems - I've never played an SG with trem though so can't comment how right this is?

i got a epiphone sg special for $25, no cord jack, not sure what was wrong with pickups/wiring,etc but couldn't get to work, put in new jack, no solder wiring and seymore duncan phat cats. sounds great now.

had this exact experience today. suddenly it dawned on me that that middle ground between a strat and a les paul might already exist, the SG. I played a 61 standard and it blew me away immediately. never had such an instant reaction to a guitar. love at first sight...sound

Yes, SGs are actually very versatile "work horse" guitars and can be used in almost any genre of music. They are light weight, easy to play and a brilliant design which has stood the test of time. Both the humbucker and the P90 versions are great. They are incredibly misunderstood and have been stereotyped due to their association with AC/DC. What people don't realize is they produce wonderful clean tones as well. You can even play jazz or country on them. In fact, there is almost no style of music they can't handle.

I just got an SG 61 R/I it's sweet! I play jazz, reggae - all sorts

I have a Gibson SG faded I got from guitar center for 500.00 a couple years ago. Love it.

I really had issues with my first "real" SG, epiphone g-400, that my brother bought overseas, that slim taper neck, and the left shifting, used to pisses me off, and felt weird on my big fat, long fingers hands, but I had to play it, if I wanted to play, Now the arctic white almost cream, gotoh bridge and aluminium tailpiece, plus some SD pearly Gates, a proper nut and now, I love it, not only because of my brother's effort, because it's such a relief to play, slim and light, and sounds and plays amazing.

I own an Epiphone Pro SG and I love it on the cleaner side with minimal distortion. I think in the video you always had some overdrive but not enough clean tones. Great content either way, thanks

My teacher has an X-shaped small Jackson with active humbuckers and a floyd. looks metal af but he teaches all kinds of things on it to me, from blues to thrash metal

I rec'd a broken (like body & head) 1992 SG some months ago. Took it too my local shop & they fixed up the wood, the wiring, etc, new keys, about $400. I never thought of me & an SG. BUT IT"S GREAT! It can be heavy or it can be spanky, I can do rock or country w it. It's my new fave guitar, why did I wait so long to get an SG????

I like what your doing Mike! Your playing is really coming along! Keep up the good work!!!

335/ semi hollows. I have a nice Ibanez As73 that's my favorite guitar I've played. I use it for everything, including metal chugging.

I've got 2 SGs, one with a Seymour Duncan JB pickup in the bridge and an SG Junior with a single P90 pickup. Both are great! I would prefer the P90 one for more low gain crunch/clean stuff.

Tele. Hands down. A beast of a guitar that I in my eighties hair metal days labeled “country only.” A silly child I was. One of my go-to’s and probably my desert island guitar nowadays. BTW, I have the “faded” version of yours, and absolutely love my SG too!

I really enjoy your channel Mike. I love my LP Standard and I agree with then new player allure it evokes. When it comes to an SG I've all but closeted my newish Standard '61 for a well loved 10 year old SG Special. From my humble experience the P-90 can do ANYTHING you ask of it.

I live in PA, too. Most people either love SG’s or hate them. I’ve always liked them having first seen them used by Robbie Krieger in the Doors getting the pretty jazzy neck pickup tones on the first two albums that are drenched in plate reverb and echo chamber and room reverb. They are totally unique and beautiful sounding and are Strat-like in ways but with warmth and character from the mahogany without the maple cap that a Les Paul has. To me an ultimate combination is a an SG and Fender Twin Reverb with lots of reverb. Plus they were perfect for psychedelic music in the 1960’s with those sort of weird “spooky” tones heard on Doors songs like “People Are Strange” and “The End” and others especially from the first two albums that had lush reverb. I can see why they’re misunderstood. Different ones I have made in the 1960’s have proved to be excellent for contemporary worship in the churches I attended from the 80’s to about 2010. I’ve never had a problem with neck dive if my hand is on the neck anyway.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe played one. She wasn't exactly ripping it up at high gain. I love how SGs feel to play, you can sling them around all over the place. I like the neck dive, I like wrestling with it and shoving it around, it forces movement to add to the performance.

Sg is such a versatile piece. I had one with p90s walnut finish, beautiful guitat both look and sound. Sold it because i needed money and i was tired or bashing the headstock due to it being heavier than the body. Regret it everyday such a unique sound.

My 1999 SG Special is my favorite guitar. She’s coming up on her 25th birthday, and still going strong. I’m the original owner, and can’t imagine having any other electric guitar. I play hymns, blues, and 60s & 70s tunes with it. It always Sounds Great. I’d say the SG is a Super Guitar.

I've had the opposite experience. Growing up in the 80's, Stratocasters and Super-Strat guitars were foremost in my mind. Picking one up disappointed me, and I fought this hard until recently. I can get what I want out of an S-type, but I have a lot to learn about amps while we're at it. Telecasters were a struggle until I found one I could bond with. It's cheap. It's old. It's made in Japan, and it has Dimarzio pickups. It makes no sense. But it does the Telecaster thing all the others fight me to deliver. So I wanted to like the SG. Has all the hardware of a Les Paul, so why doesn't it work for me? Like the Telecaster, it took a lateral step to find what I was looking for. Pick up a Guild Polara, and everything I can't stand about an SG falls away. Specifically 90's Polaras. I haven't had the chance to try the new ones, but the '98 Polara I tried was divine. The neck, frets, tone, and balance were all better by just what I wanted.

The SG WAS IT until I got one about 4 months ago. Yes, it does everything and I absolutely love it. No turning back and no more preconceptions.

Jaguar Special HH, with small frets, Fender fingerboard, vintage tuners... but it is a great guitar to play rock and heavy.

I love my 2016 Black Gibson SG Standard. It is so comfortable. Exceptional value for the price. I have a Strat, two Teles and an ES-335. They are all great.

I can't play a Strat to save my life. I've owned a 74cSG Standard since 1991, my sophomore year in college. Townshend at Woodstock, Clapton in Cream and Ian MacKaye in Fugazi made me want one. Definitely a versatile instrument.

Angus is the only reason I picked up the SG. I love the weight and the playability. I had an Epi SG to start my guitar playing and it was my main until I got a Gibson SG, but now I mainly play on my Gretsch 6120. Now I'll bounce between the two depending on my mood and what my band is playing.

Thanks! Excellent review. Probably for me, like you at one time, the SG. Really good insight

I have 2 Epiphone SGs. The older one (1997) was my first electric guitar, and I bought a second one a year ago. I love the Telecaster and the Les Paul (both of which I also own) but I am an SG man. I love the light weight and the natural tendency towards gain. It is not brilliant for certain things, but it is immensely playable and has loads of power!!

I bought an SG Standard in the late 60s when I was playing in a cover band. All the other guitar players in town were using Les Pauls. I played them both and I chose the SG because it weighed half as much! I never regretted my decision. It sounded great through a Vox or Marshall and it could do just about any type of music like you say. I wish I still had it.

@plane_guy6051

4 ай бұрын

I've owned both and the SG was ergonomically WAY better to play. The Les Paul is weird -- narrow and heavy, but hey, Jimmy Page played one so...

I love the SG. I have two of them. My first SG is an Epiphone model 310. The other one is a Gibson Futura with robot users. I finally found some decent tuners to replace the robot tuner and will swap them out soon.

For me it was the Tele. You can play anything on a Tele. I prefer the look of a Les Paul, but find the SG to be more comfortable to play. My first guitar was an Epiphone SG, that I still own and play. It's a great guitar that I got for $100 used.

I have a 2017 SG. I wanted to learn electric guitar. The guitar tech at the shop ran it through a peddle similar to yours. Since I was interested in variety of music, I chose it as my electric guitar.

I’ve always played SG’s! To me they sound, look & feel great!

There are two types of guitar that come to mind, one of which I have now gotten one up and the other which tempts me to this day. The first is the flying V, a model that I wasn’t aware began as a blues ax before becoming embraced by hard rock or than metal heads. The other is the Brian May Red Special, the lack of which I know you’ve talked about in other videos, Mr. Cole; too many people demonstrate that guitar by trying to play Queen riffs. Regarding the F G, it is a guitar whose jeep had me momentarily confused with the Stratocaster before I learned what it really was. It did seem as though Gibson wanted to create an instrument with a similar body shape to the Strat, especially later in the 60s when (what’s called) the batwing scratch plate was introduced. Shortly before the lockdown, there were a couple of SG standard models that were on the floor of Guitar Center here in New York City that tempted me, mainly because they didn’t cost the entirety of my savings. However, I didn’t get one. I’m trying to work out if that was a mistake.

HUGE ACDC fan but i didnt want to be an Angus clone so avoided SGs. Fast forward 30 guitars later and I got one. Well I was wrong. Light. Thinnish body. Access to all the frets. Mine has no neck dive so they exist. Easy to play. Sounds awesome. Amazing guitar.

Well Mike, I actually owned a 61 Les Paul/SG with the vibrola. When I purchased the guitar in 1972, from a person in South Bend, Indiana, it had a broken headstock. Wasn't snapped off but almost. I bought the guitar for $100.00 hoping it could be repaired. I got it fixed by Roxy Music in LaPorte, Indiana. It was a great guitar, but at the time, they weren't seen as a collector's guitar and I eventually sold it. (You.may kick me now) Oh well, such is life!! Love your channel!! Keep up the great work!! Oh and I have lots of guitars and amps I should have kept stories, but I think we all do.

Probably the Godin 5th Avenue with the single p90. I never owned a p90 guitar before and I found that it is WAY more versatile than I ever gave any Jazz box guitar credit for.

Hearing you improve after all this time is really satisfying

I’m a massive Gibson fan and have spent 27 years of playing building up a great Gibson collection. I have 2 x 335’s, 2 x LP’s a J45 and a SG standard 61. I gig regularly and lately the SG is becoming my go too. They are so versatile, weigh nothing and look incredible.

when you were doing that blues lick/I half expected Eddie Vedder to Start singing Yellow Ledbetter..oh yeah i have an Epiphone SG from a pawn shop for 40 bucks..it had a busted ground wire and cracks in the horns BUT she does sound amazing

Bought an SG ‘61 Reissue with ‘57 Classics back in 2012, it will never leave my arsenal.

Mike. I think you got it covered! Excellent video on your take on the SG!

So glad you mentioned Max Newman… his have a cigar solo inspired me so much

Man, so rad. Much Gratitude and respect. 👊🏽🔥🎸

I was a strat guy through and through, I really only saw the telecaster as a country guitar until I borrowed one from a friend, it changed my world and now I own three tele's, it's such a simple machine, a real workhorse ready to anything you want.

The secret sauce to all Gibson guitars is their pickups. They are all great. I put the 61s in an Epiphone 335, wow, that thing rocks now. As for the guitar, where a Les Paul puts up a fight, the SG is soo easy to play. Lighter, lower action. I have two, the SG Special w/P90s and SG Futura with P90 Sidewinder in neck and burstbucker 3 in bridge - and it has become my favorite. Easy to play, love the sounds, it has a boost built in too. So easy to play. I still love my les paul but definitely a different playing experience. I would love a '61 with the vibrola, if I didn't have the two that I do, I might chase one...

@2216sammy

6 ай бұрын

Pickups are a small part of the sound . What the guitar is made of is what defines the real sound . Ask George Lynch , Tom Anderson or John Suhr how important tonewood is. George Lynch hates all wood except maple or hard Ash for guitars because those two species of wood produce the best hard rock guitar tones according to him .

I own a 2020 Gibson sg in black. Love it. Sounds amazing

My most versatile guitar is my EBMM Majesty 6; my main guitar is EBMM Kaizen 6, I have a few and plan to get more. Up until 2023, I never looked at EBMM guitars or considered them. My main hardtail guitar is Ibanez PS (I have a few, including a PS 10), and my fav trem guitar prior to discovering EBMM is Jackson Rhoads, with Duncan Blackouts and FR. The Majesty is not only versatile, it's the easiest and most comfortable guitar I've ever played. Still prefer the Kaizen 6, which quickly became my favorite guitar for everything, Cheers!

Absolutely love your approach and breakdowns of guitar s and assessments and insights. Me being wayyyyy older than you puts my time frame of guitarist heroes in a different light, being born in the south usually fills your soul with an affection for Southern rock and or country music. And was no different for me. Images of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts both armed with LPS hits home . But Duane loved his SG to on many slide applications and of course who hasn't seen the Woodstock SG of Carlos Santana on Soul Sacrifice. I think as you so aptly stated that our mind sees an SG and automatically associates it with ( 4 me ) Toni Iommie or of course the SG poster child Angus Young. Both are phenomenal guitarist and 2 completely different styles. And maybe subconsciously the double cut away ( Devil horns look ) steers some people away from it ?? Anyway keep up the articulate and informative videos.

Hey, that thing sounds great. I customized my own guitars, always chasing tone and I had no Idea anyone could pull off all this with a SG. Great video 😎👍

I've always had a soft spot for the SG and while I've never owned an original I' ve always had a copy and a friend let me play theirs. I just love everything about.

This was a good video Mike. Highly considering the SG as of late. Keep it up buddy.

What a fantastic review! So much more life and story than the typical list of features type review, Thank you. For me, my "not interested guitars", might be a bit shocking for some - SG (yes similar to you) and Strat types.... SG dislike came from playing copies, a big neck, and it just "didn't feel right, nothing felt like it was where it should be - especally the strings over the body oddly. I carried on playing LPs and Firebirds, then one day I picked up my old SG copy, thinking "it's time I sold this", but started playing it, all of a sudden everything felt right, everything was just under my fingers. Now an SG is my favourite guitar to play. Strats were different, The guitar players I liked best tended to use G style guitars (yes some strat players, but no one who really inspirred me to want to pick one up), I'd had a telly-type and knew sharp sounding single coils hurt my ears, and s-types just looked so complicated, all complex switches knobs and three pickups - but still unable to controll each pickup individually (remember my centre was in G world). After watching LOTS of you-tube I started becoming curious, I was hearing new players I liked, and starting wondering.... My first Strat was a bargin 2nd hand Squire, still using it as my go to strat - but now with warmed classic (low output) alnico pick-ups. My other 'no interest' guitar has become my no2 go-to choice.

If my telecaster can play metal then your SG can play country. The L5 can do both, Ted Nugent plays a Gibson Byrdland…(Look it up) but NOBODY wants to take a $10,000+ L-5 to a ruckus gig and risk hurting it. I wouldn’t even bend a damn string on an L-5. But I do love your videos. Good job!