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In this Discussion
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New guitar: Gibson SG Junior - review
RandallFlagg
Frets: 13938
Took delivery of one of the new 2019 Gibson SG Juniors a couple of days ago; here's my thoughts. Fit and finish are very good, no finish flaws and the colour is a lovely transparent cherry red that shows the grain of the nicely matched 2 piece body really well.
The stock wraparound bridge has the typical "lean" (see pic) due to the bridge posts having too much space in the groove where the bridge slides in. I have fitted some TonePros locking studs and it now sits level and is very snug. String alignment didn't look quite right out if the box but after a new set of strings they fall into place to give perfect side to side string alignment with both outer strings equal distance from the edge of the fretboard.
The first thing that strikes you when you pick up an SG or any kind after not having played one for a long while is the forward shifted to the left the playing position for your right hand is, due to the neck having no overlap onto the body like a Les Paul. It feels weird at first but after day or so I have adjusted and don't notice it now.
Intonation is really pretty good for a wraparound, even with .011s and I have no desire to change to a compensated bridge. Pots and pickup are all hand soldered with the pots mounted straight onto the wood of the cavity, no PCB here. Pots are volume taper and feel every bit as good as on a Custom Shop Gibson.
You get a nice brown case and a little bag with a manual, polishing cloth, a cheapish strap, a little multi-tool a QA check list signed and a photo from the setup bench. My guitar was completed on 22nd February 2019.
The dog ear P90 is a bit of a beast, it's lively, raw and little louder than the P90s in my '68 Reissue LP Goldtop. I haven't got a multi-meter here so can't check the resistance but it feels a little hotter than the Les Paul.
The body is thin and the whole guitar is very, very light. Tuning was a bit wobbly with the new set of strings fitted by the dealer but with some .011s and some nut sauce it's now stable. The tuners feel small with the tiny buttons, I prefer the fuller size green key Klusons but I'll stick with these small buttons for now.
It's a great sounding guitar driven, with a nice mid-rangey grind and fat tones when bending lead notes on the top strings, and, to my surprise really nice clean, I lost a couple of hours earlier noodling away on the clean channel with some tremelo and a wash of reverb.
It's a real fun guitar to grab down off the wall, light and easy to play, no piddling around with different pickups, you just get on with playing.
Good stuff from Gibson.
Pics:
The original bridge studs with the "lean"
With the TonePros studs:
Photo from the factory:
Gratuitous Goldtop pic:
The stock wraparound bridge has the typical "lean" (see pic) due to the bridge posts having too much space in the groove where the bridge slides in. I have fitted some TonePros locking studs and it now sits level and is very snug. String alignment didn't look quite right out if the box but after a new set of strings they fall into place to give perfect side to side string alignment with both outer strings equal distance from the edge of the fretboard.
The first thing that strikes you when you pick up an SG or any kind after not having played one for a long while is the forward shifted to the left the playing position for your right hand is, due to the neck having no overlap onto the body like a Les Paul. It feels weird at first but after day or so I have adjusted and don't notice it now.
Intonation is really pretty good for a wraparound, even with .011s and I have no desire to change to a compensated bridge. Pots and pickup are all hand soldered with the pots mounted straight onto the wood of the cavity, no PCB here. Pots are volume taper and feel every bit as good as on a Custom Shop Gibson.
You get a nice brown case and a little bag with a manual, polishing cloth, a cheapish strap, a little multi-tool a QA check list signed and a photo from the setup bench. My guitar was completed on 22nd February 2019.
The dog ear P90 is a bit of a beast, it's lively, raw and little louder than the P90s in my '68 Reissue LP Goldtop. I haven't got a multi-meter here so can't check the resistance but it feels a little hotter than the Les Paul.
The body is thin and the whole guitar is very, very light. Tuning was a bit wobbly with the new set of strings fitted by the dealer but with some .011s and some nut sauce it's now stable. The tuners feel small with the tiny buttons, I prefer the fuller size green key Klusons but I'll stick with these small buttons for now.
It's a great sounding guitar driven, with a nice mid-rangey grind and fat tones when bending lead notes on the top strings, and, to my surprise really nice clean, I lost a couple of hours earlier noodling away on the clean channel with some tremelo and a wash of reverb.
It's a real fun guitar to grab down off the wall, light and easy to play, no piddling around with different pickups, you just get on with playing.
Good stuff from Gibson.
Pics:
The original bridge studs with the "lean"
With the TonePros studs:
Photo from the factory:
Gratuitous Goldtop pic:
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Comments
I like chunky necks, The SG Jr neck is slim by all accounts, I wouldn't want any thinner.
Im still a bit concerned over tuning stability, I put new .011 strings on last night and lube'd the nut so will see over next couple of days. If it doesn't settle I may change the tuners, they don't feel as high quality as I would like.
Yours looks very nicely made. You just need to fit a P90 to your Martin now....
Blues/rock singer & guitarist by night: www.alexhamiltonguitar.com