SG Monday

Started playing early but this SG required some looking into.

Left this aside for a while. Slight neck bow occured & I'm still trying to figure out what happened considering it's not exposed to drastic temperature changes. Then again, the weather had been erratic lately. I'm also tired of dealing with Gibson tools that came default with the instrument; these rust very quickly so the multi-tool you see there was a separate acquisition. I also noticed the pickups like lowered itself into the cavity, geez... So that was taken care rather quickly. 

Between SG & Les Paul, I favour the former not because it's a 'better' instrument but it fits my handling quirks. Being someone too accustomed to an Ibanez, the SG's double cutaway suit me better. 

Re-string: LP Black

This is my LP Classic, a guitar that I should not have bought because it's black. I've had it with black & sunburst finishes. I don't fancy these colours any more. I find them over-hyped but this one was on a clear-out at Swee Lee's I12 branch back in 2020 & it's an opportunity not to be missed. I particularly like the slim taper neck carve & the '61 humbuckers but only in this guitar. Somehow, the '61s sound good here especially for distortion. The slim taper neck profile is Gibson's take on a fast neck but it's nowhere near what Ibanez has to offer when it comes to 'slim'. This was played last weekend & had a re-string done.

I'm still wondering how dirt got to this part of the bridge pickup mounting ring. During play, this part was clearly blocked by the strings so how do those get there? Hmm...

The only imperfections in this guitar are the tooling marks at the fretboard edges. I'm just showing one part of it. In my opinion this guitar should be a B-Stock. 

This is a common issue with LPs sporting pickguards. The nut leaves a dent on the body but it's invisible, of course, unless you remove it like I did here for cleaning. The nut was covered with sponge & taped up to prevent further physical aggravation. Problem solved.

Strings of choice for this re-string episode - DR's Veritas. DRs are for those of us who are aggressive pickers, not for those who thrive on bends. Metalheads will enjoy DR. My Dad likes DR bass strings, that's what made me check them out.

'61 SG

Epiphone has released this SG called the '61 Les Paul SG Standard. The LP name is there because back then, the SG took over the monicker after the LP was discontinued.

And there's a white version as well. Is it a worthy '61 reincarnation? Not quite but they did include Gibson humbuckers, CTS pots, Mallory caps & a gorgeous hard case. Also, the neck is a one piece unit, not that it's 'better' but it's something not done elsewhere.

OK... we don't have an Epiphone dealer here. Hmph.