Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

daan

daan

New member
I had a job interview this morning, so I didn't have to go to work early, I had enough time to go kill some looking at guitars. THe interview was right by a GC I hadn't been to, and they had a TON of cool stuff today- They had my "Holy Grail" guitar, a '02 Gibson "Non-Reverse Firebird" in Cardinal Red, (and without a neck break repair.)
I've wanted one of these since I was a little kid-my neighbor growing up had a NR Firebird. This one was $1800 so it's not like I'm gonna get it ever though :( Well, not unless I go buy a lottery ticket after work...
THey had a good selection of SG's there, both Epis and "real" Gibbos (plus a "LTD" that was nice). I had a crappy plywood Epi bolt-neck SG, that weighed about 14 pounds and the bridge posts pulled out of the body so I've been kinda-sorta looking for a real set-neck SG. They had a couple of bolt-ons that were consistently heavier than the set-neck ones. They had a satin-finish Epi that I really liked, the neck on it is a lot bigger (in a good way!) than my crummy SG. They wanted $300 for it, which I thought was OK. WHile I was playing this, the sales dude (who was very cool, this is definitely not an anti-GC rant!) found a 2013 Gibson SG

that they had kicking around the store. It was the "worn" finish, and no pickguard (I don't remember the model name now) It played and sounded nice, there was lots of dings and ...wear, I guess on the finish, so he said they'd take $ off the $500 they were asking for it. I never thought I'd be seriously thinking about buying a "real" Gibson, I'm 100% OK playing my import copy beater guitars, but secretly always wanted a "good brand name" guitar. That and I just got my Skylark guitar that I'd been wanting since I was a kid, so I really don't NEED it, buuuut I sold a few of my crappy project guitars, so I gots this $ burning a hole in my Paypal account...

Between the Epi and the Gibson, the Epi has a slightly bigger neck (which I like), it's also a bit lighter. THe Gibson has nicer sounding pickups (but those are easy enough to change) I like the color of the Gibson but it isn't grain-filled, and I'm old enough to remember 100% of all new guitars being smooth, flat and shiny so the matte finish with the unfilled grain pits just looks weird to me. But I've painted enough guitars now (and have so much "ReRanch" nitro lacquer left) that I could fix that...
So, what's the consensus around here about the recent "worn" Gibsons? Good players/keepers, or are they "mod platforms" that will have to be worked on? DO these have the fake wood fretboard (richlight or whatever) I'm not a fret board snob, I just don't want to pay decent-wood $ for a plastic fretboard. A freind has a Gibson with a baked maple board that plays just fine, and sounds just like I think it should... Anyway.
And does anybody want a couple Parts-casters so I can go buy this thing?
 
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Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

Take that $500 and put the Firebird on layaway. ;) Besides, you can probably get a solid discount on it if you ask. :firedevil
 
Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

Failing that, do the same for one of the Gibson SGs rather than an Epiphone.

On that 24 fret example, one rip-snorting bridge/Treble position pickup might be enough!

Part of the "problem" with the Satin brown burst SG is the unfortunate juxtaposition of "worn" finish coats and shiny, shiny chrome plating. Nickel or black would look so much better. Uncovered pickups would be a good start.
 
Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

Which one speaks to you more? Thats the question you should ask.
From a logistics standpoint, the Gibson will prolly hold it's value a lot more than the Eppy.
If I had $500, I'd prolly go for the Gibson. That name on the headstock does mean something. That being said, I've played my Eppy head to head with Gibsons and its held its own pretty well.

Go with your heart and hands. Forget the name, and the price. Play the crap out of both, and then decide which one suits you best.. Then go from there... My .02 cent anyways :)
 
Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

There's been a number of posts here about the worn SG Specials. Some are decent (but not of the quality of the more expensive models) and some not so much. You're getting the Gibson name on the headstock; you're not getting the quality of a model that costs 2 or 3 times as much. For me, there's not a lot of excitement with low-end Gibsons, especially when they're all dinged up. Fret wear is a concern, take a good look at the condition.

With either guitar, you can talk them down on price.
 
Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

I hear you on the dream guitars, mine is music man jp6, but unfortunately I have been disappointed every time I have tried a guitar that I have coveted. don't know if its just because I build such an imagine of it in my mind that theres no way anything could ever live up to it or maybe the guitars just had crap setup jobs, but either way I usually end up disappointed. that being said when I go guitar shopping I tend to focus on #1 the feel of the guitar overall, #2 the sound of the guitar, #3 the very last thing I look at is price, which depending on my budget kills my shopping trip. so I guess what im trying to say is go back try them out and see which one seems like it was meant for you, which one feels natural in your hand, and then move forward appopriately
 
Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

jackson111 said:
the very last thing I look at is price, which depending on my budget kills my shopping trip.
Click to expand...

Reality rears it's ugly head. You'd save yourself time and effort by just going thru guitars in your price range.
 
Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

Those are both overpriced if you ask me, especially the worn finish Epi. You can buy New Epiphone standard SG's (G-400) for $300 all day.
 
Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

Took me a while to figure out what model that was. Its a 60's Tribute, the fretboard according to Gibson genuine rosewood. The pickups are a Burstbucker1 neck and BB2 bridge. If they're going to knock money off the Gibson I say grab it. I don't think I ever played the SG version but I did try some of the Les Paul 60's Tributes, I thought they felt and sounded good. I know that an sg will sound different to an LP, but the LPs I played sounded good when compared to others in the store and the ones I own, I would hope the same is true of the SGs
 
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Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

Well I stewed over it all weekend, (and threw a bunch of stuff up on ebay to try and pay for whatever) and when I went back to talk "real" prices of everything (the sales guy said "we'd take 'something' off the brown SG") they had sold both the Gibsons. I did play the Epi SG again, I like the way it feels and plays, but I guess I really should sell everything I want to "send down the road" and THEN go look at guitars. Man I was kinda upset that they were all sold, but if I really wanted them, I shoulda put $ down to hold it...
I think I'm gonna look at more Epi SG's, but I wanna play, like, ALL of them before I blow all my guitar $ on something.
Thanks for all the responses, guys.
 
Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

With the Epi's you definitely want to play as many as possible. Their quality has gone up in recent years, but there are still a lot of "blah" sounding ones for every great sounding one.
 
Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

The satin worn brown one I owned didn't sound as good as the gloss finish ones I've owned and played, so I sold it. Look for used Epi SG's here and on eBay. Why pay 'new' prices?
 
Re: Why do I go to the guitar store? (SG question)

You can pretty much turn around and sell the entry-level Gibsons for the same you paid if you get a good deal/the condition isn't terrible. Not so much with Epiphones.

I've had one of the "worn" models for over a decade and still play it every day. I replaced the "vintage" style tuners which yours appears to be already spared from.

Can't comment on the Firebird because I hate 'em.
 
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