Gibson les Paul special vs sg special

[Abe the dude]

I can get both for nearly the same price and can't decide. Both are flat tops and I'm planning on repainting which ever one I buy, if you had the choice which one would you buy and why?

 

[Zenzeypher]

It's all down to preference and what tone you prefer.

I don't like Les Pauls all that much and im still undecided on SGs.

Id play both, see what you enjoy playing...how come you plan on repainting ?

 

[Abe the dude]

I do agree with that, I am an on and off guy on lp's and sg's. Also I want to have a fancy paint job like a burned look or the fool. My uncle is a pro car painter and can get the small details.

 

[andrenighthound]

the neck sticks out longer on the sg than the special. so if you go from a strat or les paul to an sg it might throw you off a couple of frets being that the notes don't line up the same with your "normal" holding position on the sg and another type guitar.

 

[Zenzeypher]

the neck sticks out longer on the sg than the special. so if you go from a strat or les paul to an sg it might throw you off a couple of frets being that the notes don't line the same with your "normal" holding position on the sg and another type guitar.

This is true I can't change mid gig or practice from a Tele to an SG or I start messing up some of the notes..it messes me up more going from a Tele to a Firebird,

give em a play, if neither feel right look for something else.

 

[romiso]

Are we talking P90's or humbuckers?

If we're talking about humbuckers, I'd get the SG -- the only noticeable difference between the Special and the more expensive Standard are dot inlays on the neck. To my old-fashioned eyes and ears, LPs with 'buckers should have carved tops.

If you're talking P90's (and I hope you are -- they're my favorites!), I've had:
- a cheap-ish LP Special from the '90s (it came with P100s but I had them replaced)
- a "Faded" doublecut special (loved everything about that guitar except the neck)
- a much more expensive Historic '60RI (loved everything about that guitar except the weight -- I think it was made of marble).

Now I get my P90 joy from an SG Classic -- love the neck, the tone, the weight, and the price!

 

[Alexandre]

They just don't play the same... it's really a question of personal taste, both for feeling and sound.

If you are going for looks, I believe the LP have inlays while the SG has dots... so LP wins that one. For some reason, I just don't like dot inlays on Gibsons (ok maybe on the Explorer), so SG special look odd to me.

 

[Roadstar07]

Just got an LP jr special w/ 2 P90s - best playing git I ever owned. Like it more than my custom Nashville power Tele. Yikes.

 

[dannew02]

I have both (LP and SG jr's) bottom-of-the line Epi guitars. I've always liked the looks of SG's but since I've played Strats too long the neck on an SG just seems to "stick out" too far. The bolt-on SG-Jr's have the neck set into the body a few frets, and feels just about right to me. The LP Jr's don't seem to play any different than other guitars. If you were going for "real" Gibbies, this probably doesn't help you any... the Epis cost next to nothing, but are really fun to play and sound pretty good for being low-end instruments.

 

[Abe the dude]

I would prefer p-90s and I found a lp special with p-100s which people seem to hate. So do they take away the p-90 tone I like? Also is $650 with hsc like mint with the little square inlays a good price?