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I think the SG is neck heavy. For me, all an SG does is slowly tilt its pegs to the center of the earth, time after time.

Did Gibson ever make a solid mahogany guitar that actually had balance? I believe my 335-S Deluxe Professional may be one. THIS IS NOT A 335 SEMI-HOLLOWBODY! These were made for 5 years from the late 1970's to the early 1980's. This guitar has nickel plated enclosed tuners, a bound ebony fretboard with huge/wide frets, a thin neck, open humbuckers, and a factory fine tuner tailpiece. The body was shaped rather horribly-wavy on its belly/arm relief bevels and dual cut-aways. Other than that, the neck, frets, relief, and nut are something to behold. They must have had a different crew working on the body.

This guitar is named after a long line of solid bodies whose shapes were inspired by Gibson semi-hollowbodies. For instance, the L6S was named after the semi-hollow jazz L6.

The quot;Squot; makes all the difference.I hate to sound like some sort of geetar snob...I just happened to have a friend who sold me this guitar about twenty years ago. If Gibson/Epi would ever get the balls to sell a THICKBODY SG, I think it would sell like gangbusters with little more industrial effort.

I disagree.

That is all.

I don't think Gibson has a problem selling SGs. If they did, I'm sure they would be discontinued. I love my SGs. Mahogany is one tonewood that can be thin and still have balls because of its dark tone.

If you want a thincker SG, have a look at the ESP Viper.

As for the neck heaviness, I don't find it as much a problem as most do...maybe it's the way I sling it, I don't know. The SG is the most comfortable guitar I've found.

I was reading a description of a guitar designed by Greg Bennett (formerly with Gibson) and there is actually a benefit to a neck heavy guitar in that it takes the weight off of your shoulders and puts it in your left arm making it less fatiguing to play. My G-400 is a tad neck heavy and I had another guitar in the past that was also and I find this to be true.

Play a doublecut Les Paul Special and get back to me about the unbalanced weight issue. If you think the SG is awkward, play a Firebird... the guitars look great, but I was fighting the stock ones every step of the way in the playability department. I cringe just looking at where the strap buttons are on some of these, I swear they forget that players actually put strap locks on their guitars.

I agree that SGs are kinda neck heavy (at least my special is), but it never really bothered me. I imagine that changing the build specs to make a thicker body would change the overall sound of the guitar, and then it really wouldn't be an SG anymore.

i bought a nice gibson leather strap and that took care of the neck heaviness of my sg, and since i'm basically a bedroom player i don't really notice it.

A wide leather strap with a rough underside will take care of the neck diving. Problem solved.

leather strap

this is the answer to all your problems

To be in balance with your guitar you must become one with it. To become one with it you must accept it for what it is.:6:

i agree, i think it has alot to do with the strap button placement. Which is why i dont like sgs that much. Sitting down is fine, but once you strap it on it just feel odd. Same goes for alot of gibsons that have similair styling in strap buttons.

yep, rough leather strap. just be more carefull when playing topless or shirtless. might rought up yer skin abit.

eh, even with a leather strap, they're a chore to keep in position. I'd much rather have somthing that I wouldn't have to fight with.

Strange, I'm a HUGE fan of the strap button placement on the SG...

I never found the SG's to be neck heavy, but I did find the '61 RI SG's did.

I agree with Big Black. Maybe it's the way you sling it. I've had no problem with mine. It's one of the most comfortable guitars to play, along with Tele's amp; Strats.

Jeff


Originally Posted by SludgenutzIf Gibson/Epi would ever get the balls to sell a THICKBODY SG, I think it would sell like gangbusters with little more industrial effort.

Part of the 'allure' of the SG- aside from it's look is getting a big Gibson solidbody sound, that doesn't weigh 8 lbs. Maybe a 10 lb would have sold like gangbusters in 1978, when people were adding brass sustain blocks to their guitars to make them heavier... Not these days.

I wouldn't call it a design flaw, so much as just the guitar evolving over the years to meet players's preferences ....The original SG's were designed to have a Bigsby tailpiece. This heavy hardware located at the bottom of the guitar created a proper balancing act. However, for a number of reasons (tuning reliabilty, looks, sustain, price, tone), they fell out of style and more and more SG's started getting made with stopbar tails instead.

the resulting less metal on the tail/bridge moved the balance-point in favor of the headstock, on just about all SG's exceppt those SG's with slightly heavier slab bodies than the average.

I have 2 SG's, (both with stop tails). My Special is perfectly balanced. But my Standard weighs about 1/2 pound less than my special and it does the slow neck dive when I let go of it, and I need a wide suede strap tol hold it in place.

Another solution is to move the strap button from the back of the neck joint to the upper horn. Obviously, this may ruin the finish if done incorrectly, as well as being cosmetically non-reversable should you wish to return to a quot;stockquot; condition, so caution and thought should be considered before proceeding in that direction.

Ever get a chance to watch The Who live At The Isle Of Wight dvd you'll see Pete Townshends SG headstock hit the stage more then once.... As soon as he takes his hand off the neck it slides....