Timely advice needed on used 2016 Gibson SG Faded

mbenigni

mbenigni

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TGF Recording Artist
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Since I can't shake the SG bug lately, I'm hoping to run down to our local GC tonight and check this out:

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I'm kind of out of my element with all things Gibson, and would love thoughts and opinions. I know the general consensus is that the robotuners are dog poop, so I'll have to account for the cost of replacing them. I'm looking for P90s, and as far as I can tell these are covered P90s? (Feel free to mock me; I didn't even know covered P90s were a thing LOL. Now I'm reading that I've got to be concerned as to whether they're nickel or chrome covers, because chrome is a big tone suck. :idk)

What's the overall take on price, or perhaps better alternatives? (A brand new SG Special is only another $600.) I seem to recall Sam Ash blowing these very guitars out new for around $600 a few years back, but I may be confused? GC is not usually very flexible when it comes to prices on used stuff, but should I try beating them up for a couple hundred bucks? Maybe remind them that robotuners are not a "feature" LOL?
 
Eagle said:
What is going on with the nut ? Looks like a 2015 to me which is the least desirable Gibson year. The neck specs are weird. Check it out but remember this speck is hundreds less normally.
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Thanks, Eagle. Insights re: price and desirability (if any LOL) were exactly what I was looking for. @stonge texted me shortly after I posted and said the pickups looked like Firebird pickups rather than covered P90s. Between that, the robo-tuners, and the price being so close to a brand new SG Special (particularly with all of the coupons flying around this weekend), I decided to spare myself the drive.
 
Yeah, those look like Mini-Humbuckers to me. I'd pass. If I have a vote. :LOL:

Some of the Faded from the 2000s were killer. I am not familiar with that
run of Faded SGs. :idk

I have been looking every day for a P90 SG like the one I played in March. It'll
happen. Just have to be patient and persistent. :beer
 
Avoid 2015/2016 Gibson with the titanium nuts. The neck is way too wide on these guitars. You can find an older Faded SG Special for less than this and it will be a better guitar overall.
 
la szum said:
I have been looking every day for a P90 SG like the one I played in March. It'll
happen. Just have to be patient and persistent. :beer
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I'm still amazed you didn't buy that one. Do you know whether they've sold it? (And if not, do you intend to buy it? And if not... what store is it in??)

I've been searching daily as well. It's tough because I'm not into SG "lore", and there are so many variations out there, and so much misinformation in used listings. Couple this with the fact that some variations (e.g. anything with P90s?) don't seem to move as often, and don't seem to depreciate much if at all. (In many cases, they're more expensive than new, for reasons I can't surmise. Or for no reason at all, maybe?)

Hmm. This one's interesting... but it's in Japan:

 
mbenigni said:
I'm still amazed you didn't buy that one. Do you know whether they've sold it? (And if not, do you intend to buy it? And if not... what store is it in??)

I've been searching daily as well. It's tough because I'm not into SG "lore", and there are so many variations out there, and so much misinformation in used listings. Couple this with the fact that some variations (e.g. anything with P90s?) don't seem to move as often, and don't seem to depreciate much if at all. (In many cases, they're more expensive than new, for reasons I can't surmise. Or for no reason at all, maybe?)

Hmm. This one's interesting... but it's in Japan:

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Definitely the right color \m/
 
GuitarBilly74 said:
Avoid 2015/2016 Gibson with the titanium nuts.
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Titanium nut. I learn something new every day.

GuitarBilly74 said:
The neck is way too wide on these guitars. You can find an older Faded SG Special for less than this and it will be a better guitar overall.
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The neck might actually appeal to me, who knows? Most guitars I pick up lately have necks that feel too narrow/deep to me. A side-effect of (not) growing up with Ibanez shredders, Parkers, an oddball SG Custom with a really shallow carve, etc.

But point taken on this guitar otherwise not being a great deal at $1K.
 
mbenigni said:
I'm the opposite of a Gibson headstock connoisseur. I can barely tell them apart, and I don't really like any of them - which makes it easier to enjoy my Epiphone, I guess. :D
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I'm not really a connoisseur. There's just some that get really pointy at the top of the wings and I prefer ones that don't do that. I couldn't tell you models or years or anything for instance.
 
If I remember right, Gibson released the robo-tuner guitars the last year I worked at a music shop. The worst thing about them to me was that they had wider nut widths, but it seemed like the actual string spacing from the usual spec didn't change, so there was just this extra wood between either E string and the edge of the fretboard, really strange.

Good P90 SGs to look out for would be the SG Classic model, I see a few on reverb. They have a thicker, rounder 50s neck which I love and binding.
 
Fishbulb said:
If I remember right, Gibson released the robo-tuner guitars the last year I worked at a music shop.
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I was initially really into the concept, at least on paper. If you could use it to make one guitar cover a couple of tunings, that would be amazing. But it's all a little too optimistic in terms of the longevity of the tuners themselves, neck stability, etc. (As for simply keeping the guitar in one tuning, I've read that it was slower than just tuning manually.)

First time I saw them was when Sam Ash was basically giving them away on cheap SGs, but I had zero interest in an SG at that time, and passed. I wish I'd grabbed one now, just as an experiment. (Though in retrospect, I can only imagine the neck dive on an SG with all that crap on the headstock. :oops:)

Fishbulb said:
The worst thing about them to me was that they had wider nut widths, but it seemed like the actual string spacing from the usual spec didn't change, so there was just this extra wood between either E string and the edge of the fretboard, really strange.
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To be fair, I've had a lot of guitars with the opposite problem. But yeah, this sounds weird.

Fishbulb said:
Good P90 SGs to look out for would be the SG Classic model, I see a few on reverb. They have a thicker, rounder 50s neck which I love and binding.
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Thanks. I have to be careful about this, though. A lot of folks prefer these thicker necks, but I never got over the '80s in this regard - I still prefer a shallow (and maybe slightly wider?) neck. :D The Epiphone SG Special I ordered was THICK and while I probably would have adjusted, it would have taken an effort.
 
What's the general consensus on a brand new Gibson SG Special? I know Gibson's reputation waxes and wanes from year to year. How are they doing right now? The used stuff is all $1K and up, which makes buying a new guitar seem... sensible?
 
mbenigni said:
What's the general consensus on a brand new Gibson SG Special? I know Gibson's reputation waxes and wanes from year to year. How are they doing right now? The used stuff is all $1K and up, which makes buying a new guitar seem... sensible?
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The new stuff is mostly good. I haven’t seen any shockers. But you may find better specs S/H for the same money. I am not a fan of the satin finish on some from an aesthetic standpoint but it sounds good.
 
Eagle said:
The new stuff is mostly good. I haven’t seen any shockers. But you may find better specs S/H for the same money. I am not a fan of the satin finish on some from an aesthetic standpoint but it sounds good.
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Thanks again. I'd prefer basic black if I can find it, but yeesh pickings are slim. I'll settle for red if I have to, but green, blue, etc. are out.

But then there's this, which looks like a pretty good value, and my one experience with this store was very positive. The comments indicate these are P90s; is that accurate?

 
mbenigni said:
Thanks again. I'd prefer basic black if I can find it, but yeesh pickings are slim. I'll settle for red if I have to, but green, blue, etc. are out.

But then there's this, which looks like a pretty good value, and my one experience with this store was very positive. The comments indicate these are P90s; is that accurate?

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I like the looks of this guitar actually. Quite a bit better than the trad red finish SGs usually are.
 
JiveTurkey said:
I like the looks of this guitar actually. Quite a bit better than the trad red finish SGs usually are.
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Me too. It's a little dinged up, but that walnut "naked" finish hides it pretty well.

The tune-o-matic plus wraparound stoptail might intonate more accurately than the one-piece wraparound on the new Specials? I don't have much experience with wraparound bridges, but zero moving parts seems... optimistic?
 
mbenigni said:
What's the general consensus on a brand new Gibson SG Special? I know Gibson's reputation waxes and wanes from year to year. How are they doing right now? The used stuff is all $1K and up, which makes buying a new guitar seem... sensible?
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I’ve bough an SG Standard and Les Paul Special new the last couple years and both are amongst my favorites, long past the honey moon period.

I’ll also add that most retailers will discount new Gibson stuff if you ask. I got 15% off my SG just asking for a deal.
 
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