SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

[RiffGuy]

Is an SG considered a dark sounding guitar? Since it's all mahogany it should sound dark, but to me they sound brighter than Les Pauls. The only reason I'm asking this is because I've heard some people say guitars that are all mahogany can be hard to choose pickups for since they will always sound dark.

 

[Forbes]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

They do have a very thin body, which, i believe, prevents them from being as dark as, say, a mahogany Les paul.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

At first glance, it might seem like it would be, but there are some key features that make it brighter than you would think.

First off would be body weight/thickness.

The SG is much lighter and a bit thinner than a LP. Another thing is the positioning of the bridge pickup.

It's much closer to the bridge than the on in a Lester.

The deep double cutaway also does not transfer as much string energy as the neck single cut design of a Lester, thus not transfering as much lows to the body as on a Lester.

I wouldn't think of a SG as bright, it just has a lot of high mids. :burnout:

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

SG's aren't dark at all. Actually nicely balanced sounding

 

[RiffGuy]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

At first glance, it might seem like it would be, but there are some key features that make it brighter than you would think.

First off would be body weight/thickness.

The SG is much lighter and a bit thinner than a LP. Another thing is the positioning of the bridge pickup.

It's much closer to the bridge than the on in a Lester.

The deep double cutaway also does not transfer as much string energy as the neck single cut design of a Lester, thus not transfering as much lows to the body as on a Lester.

I wouldn't think of a SG as bright, it just has a lot of high mids. :burnout:

Thanks. That pretty much answered my question. I figured it wasn't a dark guitar, but just wanted to confirm it with someone more familiar with SGs.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

An SG isn't a dark guitar.I'd put it between a strat and a LP in that department.

 

[lex666]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

True. SG aren't dark at all, unless you want them to be. The tone of my SG is more "heavy" than dark. Definetly not muddy at all. It has alot of "bite" and "chunk". I like it for punk stuff as well as AC/DC tunes and Sabbath. I even put Tony Iommi pups in mine and I can still nail Angus' tone. Roll back the tone knob and you get a nice Sabbath tone.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

Great balance of tone on an SG, ive gotta get me one. sometimes my LP is just a bit too much.

 

[The Owl]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

Great balance of tone on an SG, ive gotta get me one. sometimes my LP is just a bit too much.

Good points everyone.

The SG does have a more bit-ey sound than a LP but yet is darker than a Strat.

To get an SG to darken up necessitates some judicious EQ-ing on your amp, and I have done it meself AND heard, of all things, jazz maestro John Abercrombie get a VERY dark jazz archtop like sound out of his SG/Melody Maker, so it's DEFINITELY doable.

I tend towards a darker chordal sound in clean mode and I've been able to get a pretty thick, dark darn near Les Paul like tone out of my SG and amp, took a good bit of tweaking though.

 

[bloodswords]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

SG's aren't dark at all. Actually nicely balanced sounding

+1
bought the SG, sold off my Les Paul... i like the SG's midrange, very rewarding if you solo in the neck humbucker, especially at the upper frets.

 

[Old Ghost]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

... i like the SG's midrange, very rewarding if you solo in the neck humbucker, especially at the upper frets.

I agree. That's where the SG Really shines.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

An SG isn't a dark guitar.I'd put it between a strat and a LP in that department.

+1 in my experience

 

[Boston Joe]

Re: SG: a dark-sounding guitar?

I owned a Firebrand SG made of walnut-- bright but at the same time, dark and harsh. Had an ebony board as well. It had no tonal direction. Mahogany tends to be warm, but smaller body dimensions will accentuate the mids and give the guitar a nice chime. The second reissue of the Flying V has those characteristics as does the early SG Les Paul Custom and Standard. The SG Junior and Melody Maker are similar if I recall correctly.