NGD! Gibson SG Special!

[Flaps]

I've an 04 Special that I got new as an engagement gift. Wine Red, humbuckers, I love it. Never tried one with P90s but would like to.
Enjoy!

 

[Tone Quest]

Happy New SG Day!

 

[darkwaters]

Lovely.

Here’s her first cousin. You know you want one:

 

[cooltouch]

Yep, the solid color ones were what started my quest.

 

[Short on cash]

I love mine !

 

[StratDal]

I love my SG. Very light and easy to play.

Enjoy yours sir. Play it Loud and Proud!

 

[MickM]

Well, my last two guitars have been Fenders, so I figured I was about due for a change.

I've wanted one of these guitars since shortly after I sold my early 60s SG Special several decades ago. Along the way, I've acquired other Gibsons that were close -- some more than others -- but they just never were the same thing. In about 2000, I bought an SG Showcase Edition -- a very nice, limited edition model with active EMGs. Sounds killer, but it just wasn't the same. Then maybe a year later, I got closer and bought a double-cut Les Paul Special -- with P90s -- and that was much closer. But still, it wasn't an SG. Just about as close as you can get to one without it being an SG, though. And most recently, in 2018, I bought a Les Paul BFG with P90s. Again, about as close as you can get, although it doesn't quite have the upper reach ease that the SG has, and its neck is a touch thicker.

And then I start seeing these SG Specials -- new ones -- that look pretty much identical to the one I used to own. Right down to the Klusons with the white knobs and the compensated wraparound bridge. I kept telling myself, I've got two Les Pauls with P90s, and that should be enough, but it kept eating at me. Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer. I'd saved up enough where I could afford it, and I decided that I'm not getting any younger and I'd better get one while I can still enjoy the experience of playing it. What sealed the deal was a really good deal I ran across at Reverb, and when I saw it, I was lost -- or rather, a major chunk of my savings was lost. Hehe.

Anyway, here it is:
View attachment 983017 View attachment 983018 View attachment 983019

So here's the deal. This is a 2020 build. But it is brand spanking new. Still has the peel-away plastic on the pickguard -- and there's no wear on the plastic. No marks or scratches anywhere. The case is equally unmarked. So, I'm guessing it's NOS. But that seems strange to me -- a guitar like this is pretty popular. Seems like it would have sold -- unless maybe all the covid crap may have rained pretty hard on a certain music store's parade or something. All I can think of.

The third pic shows the bling that came with the guitar. A leather strap, a cleaning cloth, a manual, a hangtag, a case key, a cool little multi-tool, and coolest of all, a -- what do you guys call it? A birth photo or something? It's a shot of the guitar sitting on the workbench of the tech who did the final setup.

You know what I was really hoping to find with this SG? A guitar that has had a couple of years of honest wear -- you know, minor nicks and dings here and there. Some pick fogging on the pickguard. Maybe a bit of corrosion on the pickup screws. But what do I get? None of that. I get a guitar that is perfect, and now I get to agonize over that first ding or nick or evidence of wear. That's probably the one thing I hate about owning a new guitar. I will feel so relieved once I finally put that first nick or ding on the guitar. Not that I plan to do any such thing, of course. And so the angst continues.

I don't have an SG (yet) but when I get one it will be exactly like yours. Same finish same pickups same everything. Rock it hard!

 

[Hodgo88]

I have been eyeing one nearby in Ebony. Happy NGD! Any neck dive?

 

[Tele-friend]

Cool! Wine red SG with P90s is the first model that I think of, when I think of SG.
You deserve it!

 

[fenderchamp]

I've an 04 Special that I got new as an engagement gift. Wine Red, humbuckers, I love it. Never tried one with P90s but would like to.
Enjoy!
View attachment 986509

I like the black pickup covers

 

[rze99]

Congratulations. A 60s SG Special is my main guitar.

 

[MisterZ]

Red SGs are the s**t. HNSGD!

 

[Zepfan]

I got a Epiphone SG Special used for $100 from a kid going to college. It's wine red with 2 humbuckers.
Like you, I wanted 2 P90's. The original HB's weren't much to talk about so I replaced them with Seymour Duncan PRails and Triple Shot rings. Also added a Deusenberg Les Trem II tremolo and TusqXL nut. Now this guitar does everything extremely well and i couldn't be happier.
The HB mode is great and the P94 Phat Cat coils do P90 tones very well. The Rails are good with each other or the P94 coil and the rings make it all very easy to switch to whatever you want. So you may want to consider this mod.

 

[Bruxist]

Beautiful! Congrats. I love the dot markers!

 

[cooltouch]

Thanks for all the responses and likes, guys. Yes, I've been playing the snot out of this guitar. I'd forgotten actually how P90s, while capable of providing a huge wall of sound, are also capable of great clarity. Remarkable pickups, and very well suited to this guitar style.

Zepfan, currently the only mod I'm contemplating for this guitar is to add shielding to the pickup and control cavities.

Hodgo88l asked about neck dive. I don't notice any. This guitar came with an old-style leather (I think) Gibson guitar strap -- you know, two-piece, with a skinny and a fat strap piece, where the skinny piece of the strap hooks up to the neck-side strap button and the fat piece that hooks up to the tail-side button? I've never worn a strap like this before, but it does grip well, and holds the guitar where I locate it.

One other thing that needs mentioning. Apparently, there is some disagreement over when this guitar was made. I have been told that Gibson went back to the YDDDYxxxx dating scheme, abandoning the YYDDDxxx scheme that was first used in 2014, but which was stopped in 2019? As a result of this confusion, most sites, save one, that I've tried for determining its age are reporting it as having been built in 2020. Only one site reports it as having been built in 2022. Even Gibson's own site on serial numbers doesn't have this latest update on its SN system. So, which is it? Well, it definitely makes more sense to see it as a 2022, since it is in perfect condition and it came with all the bling a new guitar has, plus it even has the clear plastic protective covering over the pickguard, which was unmarked. I still haven't removed it and it now shows light marks from my playing. So I prefer to think of it as a 2022, all those internet sites notwithstanding.

 

[Si G X]

It might be a 2022, they've been shipping this model lately it seems, they are available at every online shop I've looked at in the UK (and Thomann in Germany) .. which is somewhat notable as some other Gibson models seem thin on the ground.

Unless they started them in 2020 and only just got around to finishing them and sending them out.

 

[bholder]

Nice. P90s? My '73 SG special has the mini humbuckers instead. I mean, I love P90s yeah, but I love those mini-humbuckers. My old guitarist called them "volcanic", I prefer to think of them as an ice pick planted mid-forehead! hehe

 

[cooltouch]

According to Reverb.com, the particular model has been available since 2019.

It might be a 2022, they've been shipping this model lately it seems, they are available at every online shop I've looked at in the UK (and Thomann in Germany) .. which is somewhat notable as some other Gibson models seem thin on the ground.

Unless they started them in 2020 and only just got around to finishing them and sending them out.

According to Reverb.com, this particular model has been available since 2019. Dunno how accurate a resource Reverb is, but there ya go. I read somewhere else -- can't remember where now -- that 2018 was the first year.

 

[Si G X]

According to Reverb.com, the particular model has been available since 2019.


According to Reverb.com, this particular model has been available since 2019. Dunno how accurate a resource Reverb is, but there ya go. I read somewhere else -- can't remember where now -- that 2018 was the first year.

If I recall they were metallic red and blue only then though .. now they are shipping in trans cherry and black. I've only recently seen all these cherry and black ones.

.. I'm not sure on the whole dating Gibson thing.

 

[boredguy6060]

Ive never owned an SG.
After the dozens of guitars I’ve owned, never an SG.
I was very interested with the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson line. So when they offered an SG with Grover locking tuners and a 3/4“ maple cap and a flame maple veneer I thought I’d
try it. The neck has a special carve, on the upper part is heavier and slimmer on the lower part, it fits my hand perfectly. It plays like a dream and has no neck dive. Very comfortable to play.
Its a beautiful guitar and a keeper.
This is the 4th Inspired by Gibson that I bought since they released them and I’ve been blown away by each of them.