Les Paul Or SG?

hyperben

I regularly gig both an LP and an SG. The fret access is really great on the SG, but as others have said it comes at the cost of the neck being further to the left so your fretting hand is further away from you. Sort if feels like playing a bass guitar. So I actually find it a little more uncomfortable compared to the LP. But, the slightly thinner neck on the SG goes some way to compensated the slightly stretched angle of my fretting hand. The LP is an R9 so has a bigger neck. The LP is easily the most comfortable guitar for me and just feels more normal because of the neck position mainly, but again the neck size compliments my hand position. 

Voxman

I have a 1990 LP Custom and a 2006 SG Standard.  Love them both, although the feel, weight, neck, p/up tones, neck access are different. Only thing is I hate the Gibson Deluxe tuners on my SG, whereas the Grovers on my LP Custom are stonkingly good.  I've been meaning to upgrade them with a straight drop in set - probably Grover 135n's that look the same but hold/tune way better.  

thegummy

If you're a fan of the Les Paul neck pickup sound, be sure to try out the SG in the neck position and see if you like that sound enough.

The neck pickup is in a different spot on the SG, more like where it would be on a 24 fret guitar, and it changes the sound quite a lot. Enough that I personally don't like it.

So definitely pay attention to that when trying out an SG.

Teacherphil

Matt_McG said:

So, here's the question, which model of SG offers the best bang for the buck? Or, for that matter, just the best bang, irrespective of buck .

SG Classic. You can pick one up on ebay for £500 - £600. I have one, and a standard and it's the classic that I go back to every time. They don't make them new anymore, fattish neck and p90 pickups. It just works. Mine is from 2005.

JayGee

Matt_McG said:

So, here's the question, which model of SG offers the best bang for the buck? Or, for that matter, just the best bang, irrespective of buck .

A PRS Mira... :-)

Voxman

JayGee said:

Matt_McG said:

So, here's the question, which model of SG offers the best bang for the buck? Or, for that matter, just the best bang, irrespective of buck .

A PRS Mira... :-)

Didn't see that one in the Gibson catalogue....odd that! 

Matt_McG

How close does the Mira get?

JayGee

Matt_McG said:

How close does the Mira get?

Ohhh... Now there’s a question...

I’ve had mine over 10 years now (actually bought it pretty much as soon as one first appeared on a dealership wall), played quite a few SGs in that period (I actually really like SGs), and with the exception of a couple of ‘60s vintage Juniors and Specials haven’t come across one I’d swap the Mira for.

I think they’re pretty damned close (as you’d expect given the similar materials, construction, weight, body thickness, pickup combinations, and in spite of the PRS being a 24 fret neck, neck pickup position) with the added benefit that the coil tap is one of the more effective, useful implementations I’ve come across.

If you’re heavily reliant on the SG’s control setup with individual volume/tone controls for each pickup you might find the Mira’s master tone/vol setup a bit limiting.

If you like the general idea of an SG but aren’t set on a specific model then I’d say it was very well worth tracking a Mira down and having a blast, because it’s got a similar “voice”, does a similar job, has a similar “vibe” about it, but is more substantial feeling than an SG (you *can* do the SG vibrato by pushing/pulling on the neck party trick but you’ve got to be trying pretty hard...), and feels like a way better finished, better made, more polished piece of luthiery than Gibson offer around the same price point.

designerseye88

Does anyone know if the new 2019 SG's are a one piece body? I just watched the Gibson video and the guy playing said they were but from inspecting one myself and looking at the other models I'm assuming they are a 2 piece body? 

PonchoGreg

Very much doubt they'd do one-piece below the CS stuff

thegummy

designerseye88 said:

Does anyone know if the new 2019 SG's are a one piece body? I just watched the Gibson video and the guy playing said they were but from inspecting one myself and looking at the other models I'm assuming they are a 2 piece body? 

Not sure if it's a 2019 model but my mate just got a new SG yesterday, the model below the Tribute, and it's definitely not 1 piece.