Garcia's SG

[Jerry1996x]

More expensive PRSs have rosewood neck. Never played one. Wonder how it is...

[TI4-1009]

EVERYBODY'S gotta have one!

[Tennessee Jedi]

[easytoslip]

I spend a lot of time 'window shopping' before I buy anything over $100...

I love all the positivity for SG's here, as cashflow is lower these days and pretty sure a Strat will not be my next, but an SG will be

[Mosfed]

Re the faded series - I have one of the SG basses in faded cherry and I am pretty happy with it. In the case of the bass the differences are the finish and no binding on the fingerboard. In the case of the guitar, I am not a huge fan on the 490 pickups that Gibson puts in the faded vs the 498 in the Standard but the biggest downer is the baked maple or granadillo fingerboard.

I think the 1961 reissue is probably the winner in the modern series. And with GC's huge Gibson blowout and current coupons you can get one new for $1300 which is just amazing.

[mijknahs]

Re the faded series - I have one of the SG basses in faded cherry and I am pretty happy with it. In the case of the bass the differences are the finish and no binding on the fingerboard. In the case of the guitar, I am not a huge fan on the 490 pickups that Gibson puts in the faded vs the 498 in the Standard but the biggest downer is the baked maple or granadillo fingerboard.

I think the 1961 reissue is probably the winner in the modern series. And with GC's huge Gibson blowout and current coupons you can get one new for $1300 which is just amazing.

Show me where you see "baked maple or granadillo" fingerboard. I've never heard of that. From Gibson's website, they say the faded SG comes with a "rosewood fingerboard" as the original SG Standard did:

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electri ... stock.aspx

[Smolder]

Re the faded series - I have one of the SG basses in faded cherry and I am pretty happy with it. In the case of the bass the differences are the finish and no binding on the fingerboard. In the case of the guitar, I am not a huge fan on the 490 pickups that Gibson puts in the faded vs the 498 in the Standard but the biggest downer is the baked maple or granadillo fingerboard.

I think the 1961 reissue is probably the winner in the modern series. And with GC's huge Gibson blowout and current coupons you can get one new for $1300 which is just amazing.

Well yah, the 61 reissue is obviously the class act of the bunch, that era correct pick guard is much better looking. But the faded runs a third the cost on the used market. I wouldn't leave the gibson pickups in it in any case.

The 70's reissue would be great if it had full humbuckers and not the mini's. They are very well made.

The baked maple wigged me out at first, but having played one, they are pretty nice and sound like rosewood. As I said, the ebony is the bright fretboard, but I think that was only on the first few years of the faded (2001-2002 or so). If you can find an early one - get it.

[zambiland]

Of course- I think that's right. As my ex used to say: "Hear what I meant, not what I said...".

Is there anything that has a rosewood neck?

I love ebony boards!

There are Teles that have all rosewood necks. I'm pretty sure they are after market necks, though. I think Larry Pogreba made some all rosewood guitars as well.

[RiverRat]

Speaking of random Strats, is Danko holding a pre-mods Alligator during what sounds like "Sunshine of Your Love", around the 52:00 mark?

Jerry received Gator from Graham Nash, I believe Nash stated he picked it up in a pawn shop in the southwest a year or two before he gave it to Jerry.

I don't see the metal pickguard section over the volume and tone pots that I think was on the Alligator strat.

No physical mods were made until after June 71 I think?

Correct, the first batch of mods occured between March and June of '71, the pickguard and black knobs being the most obvious.


Back to SG's... all this talk about Jerry's has made me want to throw some lighter strings on my Epiphone.

[mijknahs]

I just sold a Les Paul I wasn't using and turned around and bought a "faded" brown SG from a neighbor via Craigslist. It is well setup and plays great.

I took it home and plugged it into my vintage blackface Fender Twin (with Waldo mods and KT66 power tubes) into a 2x12 cab with K120s. The thing NAILS the '68-'71 tone especially with the neck pickup on full blast. With the amp anywhere past 3 the speakers cones are trying to jump out of the basket. Very much a vintage Garcia tone. I was surprised how well it nailed it. Love it!

[Free Jazz]

I just sold a Les Paul I wasn't using and turned around and bought a "faded" brown SG from a neighbor via Craigslist. It is well setup and plays great.

I took it home and plugged it into my vintage blackface Fender Twin (with Waldo mods and KT66 power tubes) into a 2x12 cab with K120s. The thing NAILS the '68-'71 tone especially with the neck pickup on full blast. With the amp anywhere past 3 the speakers cones are trying to jump out of the basket. Very much a vintage Garcia tone. I was surprised how well it nailed it. Love it!

Whoah now. Are you including the timeless April '71 tones from Skullf@ck in your reverie? There's nothing finer. Welcome to The Nightfall of Diamonds!

[mijknahs]

I just sold a Les Paul I wasn't using and turned around and bought a "faded" brown SG from a neighbor via Craigslist. It is well setup and plays great.

I took it home and plugged it into my vintage blackface Fender Twin (with Waldo mods and KT66 power tubes) into a 2x12 cab with K120s. The thing NAILS the '68-'71 tone especially with the neck pickup on full blast. With the amp anywhere past 3 the speakers cones are trying to jump out of the basket. Very much a vintage Garcia tone. I was surprised how well it nailed it. Love it!

Whoah now. Are you including the timeless April '71 tones from Skullf@ck in your reverie? There's nothing finer. Welcome to The Nightfall of Diamonds!

It's pretty similar but I'd say it's closer to the '69 tone (Live Dead - Lovelight). Yes, some of my favorite early Garcia tone is from Fillmore East April 1971 (love the Morning Dew from 4/28/71). It's all pretty similar though from late '68 through '71. It varies from show to show but it's all very fat and howling, sometimes clean and sometimes crunchy. Lots of fat neck pickup tones.

[Free Jazz]

It's pretty similar but I'd say it's closer to the '69 tone (Live Dead - Lovelight). Yes, some of my favorite early Garcia tone is from Fillmore East April 1971 (love the Morning Dew from 4/28/71). It's all pretty similar though from late '68 through '71. It varies from show to show but it's all very fat and howling, sometimes clean and sometimes crunchy. Lots of fat neck pickup tones.

Aww man... It must be amazing. I would feel obliged to ask which pickups you're using, but with that rig and at those volumes it's "you."

[tcsned]

A guy I work with just got an SG with a baked maple fretboard and it played a lot like a rosewood to me. Can't tell you how it affected the tone but I found nothing wrong with it. I have 2 guitars with all rosewood necks both are Indian necks with Brazilian fretboards. I love the feel as neither are finished. I suspect that it dampens highs a bit but without a side by side comparison it's impossible to tell. They're both Warmoth necks. I'm replacing one with a maple/rosewood neck over the next couple of months, I'll know more about the comparison after all of that is done.

[mijknahs]

It's pretty similar but I'd say it's closer to the '69 tone (Live Dead - Lovelight). Yes, some of my favorite early Garcia tone is from Fillmore East April 1971 (love the Morning Dew from 4/28/71). It's all pretty similar though from late '68 through '71. It varies from show to show but it's all very fat and howling, sometimes clean and sometimes crunchy. Lots of fat neck pickup tones.

Aww man... It must be amazing. I would feel obliged to ask which pickups you're using, but with that rig and at those volumes it's "you."

The pickups are whatever are stock. Not sure exactly.