Gibson SG ‘61 Reissue vs 2017 Standard

Duppy03

Many moons ago I tried an SG ‘61 reissue and really liked it.

I’ve now started hunting for one and thought is there that much of a difference between one of them and the 2017 Standard model that can be had for a few hundred quid less?

Aside from the obvious control knobs and tuners, what othe key differences are there?

veldt666

Closest to the 61 Re Issue, was the short lived 2013 SG Standard.

humbucko

61 has a wider headstock
61 has cream/yellow neck binding, standard's is whiter than Joey Essex's teeth
61 has silver topped knobs, standard black
2017 standard has hideous kidney bean tuners, 61 has elegant tulips
2017 standard comes without poker chip attached
Might be a thinner neck on the 61 but seems to vary

It's mostly cosmetic stuff, folks around here don't seem to care but to me the small things add up. The more you love the look of a guitar, the more you're going to play it, and the more you'll put into playing it

Bigsby

humbucko said:

61 has a wider headstock
61 has cream/yellow neck binding, standard's is whiter than Joey Essex's teeth
61 has silver topped knobs, standard black
2017 standard has hideous kidney bean tuners, 61 has elegant tulips
2017 standard comes without poker chip attached
Might be a thinner neck on the 61 but seems to vary

It's mostly cosmetic stuff, folks around here don't seem to care but to me the small things add up. The more you love the look of a guitar, the more you're going to play it, and the more you'll put into playing it

I totally agree with that last sentence... But it's quite funny, you're listing cosmetic differences, but missing out the only one that would matter to me, the body carve. The 2017 T has a really shallow carve, especially around the horns. It's more like a 70s SG than the '61 shape where the carve goes right into the pickguard. Here's the comparison from Gibson's site:

Reissue:


2017 T:

For some odd reason, they made the carve a bit deeper on the HP range (same in 2016), so obviously there was some intention to doing this:

Still not as curvy as the '61, which is my favourite SG shape. (But I do like that finish)

Beyond the cosmetic, is there much difference? Well, assuming you're OK with the looks and price, I'd say it's worth playing both; you can't really tell which you'd prefer the sound and feel of by looking at pictures or specs!

p90fool

Colour aside, how thick is the neck binding and do either have fret nibs? 

I hate nibs with modern thickness neck binding, I refretted my LP to get rid of them. I could've lived with the thinner Historic style binding but have no idea what is fitted to those two SGs. 

Moe_Zambeek

It used to be the case the 61s were a one piece body, then latterly 2, whereas a standard could be 3 or 4. also note that the depth of carve on the 61 reissue is not the same as on the CS reissues (as pictured above with the maestro), the latter are much deeper and more pronounced. The production SGs are all very similar, with the exception of the AY which is very shallow 70s style.

Bigsby

p90fool said:

Colour aside, how thick is the neck binding and do either have fret nibs? 

I hate nibs with modern thickness neck binding, I refretted my LP to get rid of them. I could've lived with the thinner Historic style binding but have no idea what is fitted to those two SGs. 

I'm pretty sure anything off the Gibson USA production line in recent years will have thick binding and nibs, except: most 2014 & 2015 models and 2016 onwards High Performance models, all of these have thick binding but fret over binding. 

Latest thing I heard was that some (all?) 2018 models have now got thinner binding with smaller nibs. I haven't seen it myself, so can't be sure about that.

Anything from the Custom Shop range should have the thinner binding and nibs, but I can't confirm if that's correct over all years of production.

Yup, I hate those thick nibs too, seems crazy to cut off usable fret and replace it with useless plastic. Ended up selling a lovely Diablo because of them.

Duppy03

Good shout on the 2013 Standards. I’ve seen some people asking silly money for 61 Reissues, not far off Custom Shop prices.

chromatuna

Very informative post thanks. The 61 above just looks gorgeous and the others well so so or meh as I believe young folks say today  Shame they didn't continue the 2013 versions. If I ever do give in to my SG gas this will help a lot.

AlexO

Having owned the CS 61 and a normal SG standard (Though not a 2017)

I found the necks to be drastically different. The 61's have what I would call a very flat D shape hear some people call it a razor blade. I actually prefer the necks on the standard which is more rounded more of a 50's gibson neck.

Duppy03

Do the Custom Shop VOS models have the same neck profile as the ‘61 Reissues and 2013 standards?

Moe_Zambeek

Duppy03 said:

Do the Custom Shop VOS models have the same neck profile as the ‘61 Reissues and 2013 standards?

No. They are a bit beefier all round thought still quite slim in comparison to an R7 or whatnot. Also note that the CS necks are set differently to production SGs (inc the 61); the CS fretboard face is noticeably higher with regard to the plane of the body. The neck angles may also differ. 

Voxman

'61 reissue all the way for me.