“The best guitar is the one you love to play and can't put down. Doesn't matter what it costs, who made it or where it's from. If you love playing it, that's the one.” -Tommy Emmanuel

My SG was an unfailingly payable and unified instrument. I sold it to pay my children’s tuition, but I think between the guitar and the woman I divorced, I miss the guitar more. SHE never let me down, I never found her in another guy’s case, and it always gave me exactly what I needed.

I Love the stripped down SG Specials, so I was definitely hoping this would be the one you went with. I can’t wait to see where this series goes next. Now to get done with work so I can go play my SG’s!

It's interesting how personal preference varies so much from person to person. You don't like the small frets and I prefer for all the same reasons you don't like them lol. I've found that I also prefer the 24.75 scale. I find it easier on my hands. Easier to control bends and less string tension. Glad you're liking the SG and as always, love your critiques.

I've played SG's for over 20 years and always found them comfortable to play. The neck dive isn't as big of an issue as people say.

Look into the Duesenberg Les Trem. Direct replacement for the stop bar with no new holes drilled into the guitar

Oh man, I’ve ALWAYS wanted that walnut SG. I remember playing it as a kid in guitar center, and doing my best Angus impression. Definitely getting one when I’m able.

I love the SG's tone. Beautiful balance between a Tele and a Les Paul.

I thoroughly enjoy your analysis. Always very enlightening. I also personally love that look!!! Your insightful input is much appreciated. Keep on keeping on...

The Gibson SG will forever be my favorite guitar. I have a 1985 Standard and it’s AMAZING. I have a newer Les Paul Tribute from the same budget line. Comes with the same case. That thing plays just as good and the built is solid. Cool to see someone who doesn’t play traditional brands often give this a shot

I love how that guitar sounds and it’s great that it makes you smile when you play it. I have an sg junior and I enjoy it quite a bit. Gibson just has a certain aesthetic and history that I really dig.

I came across your channel a month or 2 ago and it's definitely become one of my favorite guitar related channels. The way you explain stuff and talk in your videos is $. Like you can tell you would be a great teacher by the way you explain everything in your videos. You don't talk too fast, and you make everything you say clear and easy to understand. You 100% have natural talent when it comes to these kinds of videos. Keep up the great work 👍👌✊️🤘

I bought a Gibson SG Special 1995 in the Guitar Village Shop in Hamburg next to the Reeperbahn. I just play this guitar, its my one and only. I love the shape, I love the length, its the best comfort to play with. It offers you space to move around with both hands. And I play Metal and Punkrock, palm muting all the time. SG forever! ❤👊🏻

As someone looking into getting an SG as well, I appreciate the thoroughness and detail you provide. Awesome content my man!

In reference to the neck stain, what you're seeing is because end grain takes stain darker than side grain. The headstock and, even more, the base of the neck are exposing end grain, thus the stain is darker.

I love how excited you are when playing it and hearing its tone, that's exactly how I feel with my modded SG Faded. I refinished it with wood stain and tru oil, put a pair of P94s in it and added a '70s Bowen Handle Vibrato, Kluson Locking Tuners and a Schaller Roller bridge. It's amazing and has been my best playing guitar since I got it in 2018, and I've gone through a lot of guitars since then.

Man absolutely fine review - i also love your accent, you sound crystal clear!!

Hipshot has tuner buttons you can change out to give the guitar a more traditional look. I did it with mine and they look great!

Duesenberg Les Trem II + Stewmac Golden Age roller bridge = perfect SG

How nice to see such a well considered and informative guitar review. It's ok hearing the instrument put through its paces usually over a backing track, but a really good player can make even a piece of junk sound pretty decent. I really like personal opinion, how it feels, the neck, the action, ease of string bending, all the pros and cons. Andre covered all those things and more and that made for a great watch. Looking forward to the trem episode already.

Nice! I’ve been experimenting with setups a bit lately, I’ve found that the middle position and how it sounds is very sensitive to pickup heights. Lately, I’m tending to have the treble side of my pickups a little higher, while still maintaining even output from bridge to neck. I like to use the VU meters on my recording program to show me where things are peaking from bass to treble strings and from bridge to neck. I use this method to adjust individual pole pieces as well. It’s worth mentioning that if you raise the screw poles a bit and lower the pickup as well, you can get a slightly brighter and more focused tone. I like to match the fretboard radius with my screw poles, then adjust them individually to get a nice overall balance. I got my first SG in 1976. Foolishly I traded it on a guitar that I never made friends with.

I used to have a red-tinted one like that. I didn't love the weight balance, but I certainly enjoyed a lot about it.

When I got my gibson custom, I really love how loud and clear the tone is, its the loudest guitar I have when plugging in.

I’ve said this before on your other videos but imma say it again. I really really enjoy your attention to detail in all the content you make! Please keep pushing out more content just like this it’s badass! I know you’ve had a prs silver sky se before but I’d like to see a PRS experiment maybe

As always very detailed and interesting review. It'll be very interesting you install, I guess, Guyker trem on it

When I went back to nickel frets I realized how much better I liked them for the reason you talked about. I actually prefer the slight resistance. It suits my playing style. I also prefer not having the binding. For me I like the les paul studios or older les Paul’s for that reason.

I got the 1959 epiphone greeny replica for Christmas and i wasn't exactly a fan of gibson/epiphone or Chinese made products in general, but i can't lie i can't put it down. The neck is so chunky and that's super comfortable to me and like you noticed, the bends are always super on point. And it really does handle jazz to metal, which was a surprise to me considering it had 59' pickups in it too.

Today is the first I’ve caught you on you tube, very enjoyable!

I love my SG but in order to help alleviate the Neck Dive, I did stick a bunch of wheel weights in the control cavity and replaced the metal tuning buttons with wooden ones. The SG fanboys will swear that all you need is a thick suede strap, and I'll agree that it helps but may not completely solve the problem, it may require a combination of things. I've also tried putting a weight on the bottom of the strap which also worked but I like to sling my SG around when I play. Overall it's the most comfortable and ergonomic guitar that I own. I can play it for hours with less fatigue than my other guitars.

The best thing i like about gibson pickup is the blend... And blendding the neck and bridge pickup with the tone and volume really satisfying and sometimes we can have weird sound through blendding it.

Totally agree with you on the excellence of Gibson's truss rod adjustment tool/design. So much easier to use than the allen wrench design used by most other brands. As for the neck dive, as I mentioned in your initial SG video, it gets much worse once you play standing up, using a guitar strap. I found that it was do-able when sitting, but it was really bad when standing. I had to use my fretting hand to hold it up, which, obviously, is not good. You don't want your fretting hand doing split duty.

I just bought a mint 2016 gibson sg tribute worm brown from market place, and this being my first gibson, it is amazing and the neck is something else. wow.

THANK YOU for saying "Whammy Bar" instead of tremolo, vibrato bar, or "bendy thing"... All hail Lonnie Mack!

When you add a vibrato, among the currently-made options I recommend a Bigsby B3 with a Towner tension bar, rather than a B5 Bigsby. That way you can fine-tune the break angle. My favorite vibrato for an SG is the "Jimi Bar" which was the fine tuner version of the Bowen Handle tailpiece. They don't pop up for sale very often though.

Another great review from Dr Fludd! Love how you go over everything rather than "here's my new guitar" widdle widdle widdle. Really helps people make an informed decision if they're thinking of buying something. Especially if your local store doesn't carry them and you're making an online purchase. Also, I've got the Les Paul Tribute which has the same pickups and they are hot!

I love the natural finish!!!

I'm similar how I like modern guitars but I love Gibsons and Fenders too , especially with natural finishes. I love this guitar

GREAT SERIES, I will be watching. The neck on some Gibson's is great. I am not a fan of slim taper. Les Trem makes a bolt on Trem that will work on that guitar without drilling. I will be watching.

really good video I liked your input especially on the shifting hand position... If you want to add a whammy bar maybe you could try stetsbar ? because I believe you never talked about this trem

Great start to the series, looking forward to how you get on with it over time. Shout out to Max Holloway 😀

SD Jazz pickup in the neck pos is magic, wish i still had that SG.

Congratulations on your new guitar! In my experience the Gibson "rounded" maple necks are excellent. Enjoy!

If you haven't picked up one to try out, the duesenberg les trems are absolutely phenomenal no mod whammys to add to this style of bridge. Basically like a bigsby with more range and more stability but also a kind of different feel. Highly recommend.

I’ve played everything but SGs in the past 20 years. I bought a beautiful black standard from the early 2000s in excellent shape. I don’t love it, but ended up going from 10 to 9s and I’m starting to bond with it. It’s definitely in its own element for sound and playability.

Amazing sounds men!👏🏻

The old 2004 Gibson SG Special Faded brown was and still is my favorite Gibson guitar ever.

When mystery girl said it looked like a broom, I had tears 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I am pleasantly surprised you went with the SG Special because of the hardtail. I have an older SG Faded which is similar and I love it. I am rooting for this SG to win you over. Gibson gets a lot of hate, and I won't deny they make some stinkers. But they also make some magical unicorn sasquatches that are just magnificent.

There is just something about SG's that are magical when you get the right one. I played a few of them that I didn't like the feel of, so naturally (or idiotically) I thought I preferred single cuts like Les Pauls and Tele Style's. Then one day on a random trip to Denmark street, I picked up what is now my pride and joy of an SG and it was like thunder struck me (pun intended). I learned not to limit myself to only one style of guitar and try and see what works. Maybe some pick up covers might remove a bit of aggression from the pick-ups, I found 490r/t can be quite hot sounding. Love your videos and learn a lot from them!

Lots of fun wiring mods you can do with an SG/LP, especially if you have splitable pups and/or are willing to add a switch, or two. Old LPs were called "Fretless Wonders" because of the super low frets, which were considered "better" at the time. Tastes change, I suppose.

I respect that you push against your assumptions and biases. We should all do more of that. I’ve been Fender only for a while, and suddenly I’ve discovered Yamaha - wish I hadn’t waited so long.

It does look better in your studio than in the store.... Congrats on the SG!!! I'm a fan of Gibson.

What a beautiful neck, it has even a bit subdued flaming on it, though Gibson declares the neck wood to be just "maple". Nice review, thank you!

yeah give the sg some love. i absolute love it for me its one of most practical shape i have ever played light super good access. love it

Hi Andre! It looks like you are pleasantly surprised so far by the SG. After watching your channel for awhile, I figured that if there is a Gibson you could get into that it would be an SG. People think of the SG as a rock guitar, and for good reason. It's a GREAT rock guitar. However, what many people don't know is that the SG is also a really good and vastly underrated jazzer. It may not look the part, but the tones are there. Btw, I don't think the guitar is ugly. 😅 Cheers man! Have a great weekend!

easiest way i've seen to fix neck dive on SG's is by putting a few bike tire/fishing weights in the wiring cavity, using tape or your choice of adhesive to keep them from rattling, super simple way of balancing the guitar out without any permanent modification

To compensate for some of the neck dive, you can try tire balancing weights in the control cavity, the ones that are squares with stickum on one side.

The neck itself might not be much thicker than modern C, but the nut being wider might make it feel that way. The shoulder on it as well.

Is that a maple neck? And SG with a maple neck, I’m loving that!

I put a Duesenberg Les Trem II Chrome for Tune-O-Matic on my Gibson Firebird. It seems to do the job but sometimes one or more of the strings don't return to pitch properly if I use the trem excessively.

Great insight to what Gibson offers! I predict you might a Floyd Rose FRX system! Can’t wait to see the next episode!

I have the exact same sg. For $1,300 it's a wonderful guitar. The soft case is real nice too. Very protective.

If you come across one in your travels, try the 2 humbucker Les Paul Specials. They don't have the neck dive issue and aren't terribly expensive used. The bridge pickup is quite hot. The two pickup setting with just a touch of bridge pickup gives it a little midrange boost that's just the right amount of impolite. Or just flick on the bridge pickup and play Foghat covers.

Not quite the same thing, but recently I got a Harley Benton SG, and man, I love it so much. It was 140 euros (long story short, I needed a temporary guitar) and for that price I just expected something that maybe kinda works and that I can experiment on without worrying about damaging it. But instead, I got an amazing guitar that I barely needed to set up. Obviously there's only so much quality you can squeeze into a 140 euro price, but wow, I'm so happy with it. SGs are just beautiful guitars, the neck is super fast and the fret access is incredible. I don't want to go into details too much, but it really made me appreciate the SG design. I will say, though, the neck dive is really terrible. You can adjust for it, as you mention, but I find that keeping the neck dive at bay makes me contort my body and it makes playing uncomfortable. There are ways to fix it or at least reduce its intensity, but it's definitely the biggest issue I have with it. Also the nut on the one I have isn't that great and I'm hoping to replace it, but I can hardly blame them for that. Regarding what you said about the bridge being too far forward - I palm mute a lot and I didn't really have problems with it. As I just said, the guitar is uncomfortable for other reasons, so maybe the discomfort of the bridge position is being overshadowed by the discomfort of the compensation for neck dive. Either way, I'm glad you appreciate the guitar, it really is a work of art. Thank you for the nuance of your videos in general, your opinions/findings/criticism are very interesting to listen to, even when it's a video on a guitar that I don't care about at all. Maybe you should've gotten the cherry one with bindings, though :)

I've never been a gibson fan, myself, but having owned and played several of each, if i was forced to play one, I'd pick an SG over a Les Paul any day. I would still prefer my modern guitars.

Who knows if you'll see this, but if you want to really unlock a gibson, try blending the neck and bridge pos. together. if you want you can even do the peter green humbucker trick and reverse one of your magnets for a strat-y kinda middle

I love satin and maple necked SGs. So yeah, I have this exact model as well :)

SGs are fantastic. Very versatile. I have one guitar and it's the 61 Custom Shop version. I play everything from jazz, funk, disco, emo, hard rock, blues and metal... and holy shit it hangs tough in all situations. Comfortable too.

I have that same guitar man, it's a great workhorse. It's my go-to every time I have an idea I need to record.

I have the same guitar put a Duesenberg trim 2 on it add address to Mac harmonica roller Bridge compress the spring shut the bar off of the Duesenberg to match the bridge you can Palm Tran now and use bar if you need it also put go to locking tuners on it

HAY, DR. ANDRE, I'M GLAD TO SEE YOU'RE GETTING INTO YOUR NEW GUITAR. THE SG PLATFORM IS MY FAVORITE. YOU REMEMBER AROUND A YEAR AGO, I PURCHAST A "CAPTAIN" KIRK DOUGLAS SG FOR MY GRANDSON ( THE EBONY WITH GOLD TRIM ) ON HIS BIRTHDAY. JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, DID YOU GET A CHANCE TO CHECK OUT KIRKS DEMO OR ANY OTHERS? I'VE BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME FOR THIS DEMO, I'M JUST SAD YOU DID'NT GET THE CHANCE TO DEMO THE CAPTAINS SIGNITURE GUITAR. I ALSO THINK THE FINISH YOU CHOSE IS WICKED COOL. I'M A BIG FAN OF NATURAL WOOD GRAIN GUITARS MORE THAN ALL THE OTHER FINISHES. HAVE A KILLER TIME WITH YOUR NEW GIBSON. I'LL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT INSTALLMENT. STAY COOL DR. ANDRE... PEACE...

Best truss rod is on my Charvel - has a wheel at the 24th fret. Awesome access, easy to use, and no stupid bolt that can get stripped

That's my favorite looking SG...I never have really bonded with them in the past but if I got one...that model would be my choice

I really appreciate you and love this guitar I do prefer the mahogany neck on my sg but the maple neck on my lp tribute has made me appreciate the difference I don't know why but I feel free on an unbound fretboard all my acoustics and electrics are unbound its like riding a horse in Ireland no fences

great video as always! im very interested in the ergo play thing you put on the guitars. Is there any info on where I can buy that?

I have quite a few guitars but Gibson pickups bring me back all the time.

The reason the '61 doesn't have neck dive is probably the vibrola acting as a counter weight.

I think that thing about the bends being the right tautness to naturally bend them to pitch has most to do with the scale length and the length of string behind the saddle. And definitely string gauge as well. I have a jaguar which has a considerable amount of string before the saddle and a tele and a strat and this thing you describe about the bends being accurate is different on each guitar. Each has its own level of tautness so to speak.

I have played 24.75 inch Gibson scaled guitars my whole life. My sausage fingers just never really fit on that scale for some reason. But being apparently dense as I am, I just never put two and two together until I bought a cheap Harley Benton strat with a 25.5 inch scale as a decorative wall hanging and, Oh my God! My fingers actually fit! No more dead strings from accidental sausage finger muting because I can spread my fingers out length wise. Brian May Signature guitars is another one that fits my fingers. They only have a 24 inch scale neck but, the neck is wider so I can spread my fingers out width wise. You should review one of those. That unique switching is incredible. The hollow body resonates and the guitar "sings" with that good feedback easily. Almost like a sustainiac guitar but without the battery and special pickup, it feels alive. Its my favorite guitar by far. Gibson's narrow neck and that 24.75 inch scale, just doesn't fit me. Its just to dinky. I wish it did fit, I love the look of them, and the sound. I actually have a double cutaway Agile Les Paul with an axcess heal. Nice guitar, it rings with harmonics, but again, the sausage finger muting makes it hard for me to play.

The stripped maple necks on the LP and SG Tributes are my favorite part about them!

I know Tony iommi moved the strap button to the top horn and it fixed the neck dive.

for decades i've been an SG-hater. i'm not even sure why; perhaps the shape and the ac/dc connotations. but, man o man, i am infatuated with them nowadays. this instrument is stunning-both aesthetically and sonically. thanks for the rad review, andre! (still not an ac/dc fan, with the one caveat that "you shook me" is a fantastic song!)

Max Holloway cameo got me good. Here's my recommendation for SGs with neck dive. 1) ensure the guitar you're buying doesn't have this balance issue before you buy it (most of them actually don't neck dive, only some do). 2) If you're stuck with one with neck dive, simply hot glue some fishing weights inside the control cavity until you get the right balance. This takes 5 minutes and is well worth it.

Nice review! I also find the frets are not as tall as I would like them and my finger tips can drag, I have to adjust my playing style for this. I have found this to be an issue on other Gibson guitars as well. This model has the fatter neck which I have to adjust my playing style (Its not that much thicker than modern C necks), string bends are easy. Its alsmost as if Im playing an acoustic guitar because of the neck style and thickness ( bonus is I can easily switch back and forth between my acoustic and this guitar). Notes ring out with great sustain on mine and chords do to (it's very acoustical in its own way). I dont try to shred on this as my string are slightly high and at times I feel I have to use more muscel to play it, this can lead to hand fatigue if I dont play it often enough. Lighter gauge strings help and the sustain is still good. I like it for blues and classic rock and for working out acoustic guitar parts late at night. For me its a Guitar for certains styles of music whereas my other guitars are more capable of almost any style of music. I paid $700 (used) for it, I dont think I would pay much higher than that. I use a small weight pouch from a scuba diving belt, it slips onto the strap and it's not noticiable, this eliminates neck dive.

cool guitar, I had the black beauty les paul. very good fret board .

One thing I live about Gibson is the smaller frets. It bothers me when I play a Strat because of how high they are(and all the other Strat design flaws). Anyways, nice choice! I think it's beautiful, and I love the "walnut" finish.

Watching these videos on your SG journey. SGs now matter who makes them (had a great Samick model that was as fun to play as the Gibsons) can be fun guitars to play and mod. Since you are already modding this guitar, I would definitely suggest a Duesenburg Les Trem to go on your guitar. On the plus side adding more weight on your body may help with the neck dive to boot. If you decide to keep this for the long run, put the Stainless steel frets you like on here. It looks good and you sound great on here. I look forward to more videos on this.

Still amused that my two newest guitars (of just 3 that I own) are the two that you did/are doing The Experiment on. Pretty much also with you on the SG. I LOVE the sound. My right hand also naturally sits at my usual spot. However, for a smaller person, the extended neck is not comfortable for when I play frets ~1-4, and the neck dive on mine is a bit much :(. The beautiful tone still gets me, though it is up for sale now.

Definitely get the Floyd Rose top mount bridge for SGs!

I never liked SG's my first few years of playing guitar I only liked strats. But about 6 years ago I walked into a store and tried out a Gibson SG Faded T 2016 model and I fell in love with it, funny thing is it was this specific guitar the other ones just were not vibing to me at all. I bought it on the spot and it's still my number 1 guitar almost 7 years later and I adore it. My guitar looks really similar to yours except mine has keystone tuners a plain headstock with no diamond, the truss rod cover I just left off permanently but it's also just plain black, however my guitar has stainless steel frets. I wonder if Gibson have gone back to nickel for their lower end models.

Frank and Dweezil both play(ed) SGs for ages, so they can't be all bad. They always seem too small and light for my tastes. I need those long, skinny, Fender necks. Thanks for all the awesome vids! \m/ (Dr. Fludd Band online Jam Session, when? :) )

4:45 I wouldn’t argue that “modern c” is “thin” as much as it’s “better for people with smaller hands because not all of us were gifted with the height and hand size of Dr. Andre Fludd.” 😅 But I get what you mean! Tried an Ibanez just to see because you gotta try everything - and oh my GOD I am not a shredder and I like keeping my thumb underneath so even with my small hands I was not a fan. If you ever get a Kiesel, you would definitely have to ask for double thick neck at the very least. I always say it, I love your discussion of ergonomics and how your background and style meshes more with my classical violin background than any other guitar KZfaqr. So it’s awesome to hear your thoughts on the SG since that is the Gibson I would consider first.

you picked the BEST color of that guitar!

I don’t know if you get two for one views from me but I had to watch on the big screen (because I love your choice) and on the phone because i had to comment and compliment another great video

I have the SG Tribute, too.

Will go well in a formal dining room; turn the SG over and you have a charcuterie board. so versatile... j/k play what you dig! I always do!

I have the same guitar. Hated the stock pickups which were lifeless and changed them out. The medium jumbo frets are too big for me and I prefer the old flat style. Still like the guitar for build quality and tuning stability and looks.

I never liked SGs, until I played one. Really comfortable to play. I got the Tony Iommi Signature and am looking for another SG

If you think the 490R bridge is hot you should try the 498T bridge pickup!

Angus Bro! I love SG's!