Hello New G310 owner...

[Bettyboo]

Hello All,

I'm a new SG owner, and after years with Strats and Superstrats (Ibanez), I wished I'd bought an SG earlier. Having lots of fun playing it, and trying to come to terms with the headstock dive!

I just bought a cheap SG as I'm a beginner, a 310, and I've added Wilkinson ceramic zebras (I like the power of the ceramics on an SG - maybe get a Gibsin Dirty Fingers for the brigde down the line) which sound really good; a nice upgrade from the stock pickups, and cheap at 40 British pounds for the pair (you can get them cheaper off the net if you look). The GHS boomers, 10s, play really nicely too. She came with nice Groover tuners which keep tune well (maybe they're a bit heavier than I'd like in an ideal world...).

The only issue I have is with a couple of the saddles which aren't machined well, but I'll upgrade with a nice $30 Gotoh Bridge upon next pay day, I also plan to get a new set of electronics put in down the line - the anti-clockwise pots are a bit unintuitive and they don't do much for a large part of their spread (cheap pots...).

Here's a pic of the beast. I'll be changing some of her looks, maybe putting in a bronze coloured bridge, new pot tophats with a bit of colour, etc, as she's a bit of am ugly punk mule... :)

View media item 46

 

[ghostwolf]

Welcome, and congrats on the new SG.
Neck dive can be controlled with a suede lined strap, although lighter tuners won't hurt, either.
BTW, can't see your pic for some reason.

 

[Bettyboo]

Thanks Ghostwolf.

I tried to repost the picture.

I like playing without a strap, so yeah lighter tuners and perhaps a heavier tailpiece might help a bit. Lots of fun to play though, kinda nice to throw around and treat roughly. :)

 

[WavMixer]

Greetings Bettyboo.

Some here recommend tying a brick to the rear strap holder. If you try this, make sure to wear shoes when you play.

 

[eS.G.]

WELCOME the 310 is a great guitar. I have had a few over the years. And a friend of mine has an Alpine White with the HUGE black pick guard lowest action of almost any guitar I have played. HE has the means to buy whatever he wants ---he owns 1 White 310 SG and is very happy.

 

[RTH]

BettyBoo, you have to set your album permissions to be veiwable by members for your pic to post to the thread. Your album is currently set to "owner only".

Congrats on the G-310. I have a 1994 and it has always served me well.

 

[Bettyboo]

Some here recommend tying a brick to the rear strap holder. If you try this, make sure to wear shoes when you play.

:) It's not quite that bad, but thanks for the advice.

WELCOME the 310 is a great guitar. I have had a few over the years. And a friend of mine has an Alpine White with the HUGE black pick guard lowest action of almost any guitar I have played. HE has the means to buy whatever he wants ---he owns 1 White 310 SG and is very happy.

It was the cheapest 'decent guitar' I could find. I'm happy with it.

Us lefties, can only dream of colour variations such as white...

you have to set your album permissions to be veiwable by members for your pic to post to the thread. Your album is currently set to "owner only".

OK, thanks for the advice - done. I hope that works.

Congrats on the G-310. I have a 1994 and it has always served me well.

Good stuff. But, you've changed the bridge, right??? :)

 

[LeadFinger]

That's a great looking SG, and for the price a great mod platform. Congrats!

 

[eS.G.]

Ah, a South Paw then are ya. Very cool.
YOu can have ANY guitar any Color just gotta learn to play like Dick Dale, upside down and backwards.

 

[RTH]

Good stuff. But, you've changed the bridge, right??? :)

Not sure what you mean, but nope. Its all original except for the pickups.

 

[Bettyboo]

^ my bridge is a bit dodgy; the saddles aren't machined well, so couple of the strings won't intonate. It plays well, but for $30, I'll stick a Gotoh on it. I thought they might all be like that?

Ah, a South Paw then are ya. Very cool.
YOu can have ANY guitar any Color just gotta learn to play like Dick Dale, upside down and backwards.

I've thought about it when I've seen the Pelham Blue SGs...

 

[RTH]

^ my bridge is a bit dodgy; the saddles aren't machined well, so couple of the strings won't intonate. It plays well, but for $30, I'll stick a Gotoh on it. I thought they might all be like that?

Oh, I see. No, my bridge is ok, fortunately. Even the generic die-cast tuners hold really well. Mine, being an early model, came with some pretty terrible Vantage covered pickups though. Those had to be swapped out almost immediately.

My bridge looks a little different than yours. Mine doesnt have the thumb screws. Sorry for washed out pic.

 

[Tazz3]

Nice sg and welcome

 

[Bettyboo]

^ Thank you. :)


I thought I'd add some better pics. I got some parts today:

It turns out the cream toggle switch cover is too 'creamy', so that'll go into the spare box. I'll order up an ivory one.

This spoon was perfect for getting the old knobs off, push up a little bit, turn, push up a little bit, turn, repeat until it easily comes off:

So, it looked like this:

We're about at the limit of my DIY abilities here... This is how the new knobs looked:

 

[Bettyboo]

Oh, I see. No, my bridge is ok, fortunately. Even the generic die-cast tuners hold really well. Mine, being an early model, came with some pretty terrible Vantage covered pickups though. Those had to be swapped out almost immediately.

My bridge looks a little different than yours. Mine doesnt have the thumb screws. Sorry for washed out pic.

I'm pretty happy with my tuners, nice Grovers:

Not so the bridge. The thumb screws are not easy to get to (you can't get to them with the strings on) and aren't adjustable by your thumb (not even superman could twist these bastards)...

 

[Bettyboo]

Here are a couple of other pics I took today. I prefer the new knobs. Might look nice with an ivory toggle switch to match the pups. Now, I'm off to play...

 

[ScottMarlowe]

Amazing how much nicer those knobs make it look. Especially a dot neck goes with reflectors.

 

[Bettyboo]

^ thanks for your input, Scott.

Being a bit of a sad git, I looked at loads and loads of pics, and the classic silver top witches hats just seem to be the best match for a black SG. I also really like this style of pic guard (is it the 66 or 67?).

The SG in your pic looks great, the P90s, yellow colour and smaller guard match really nicely - bet it sounds great too.

 

[dub-setter]

hi..

nice updates for your g310!!

the grovers are stable workhorses,keeping the tuning well.
only thing theyre a bit heavier then stock klusons or gibson tulip ones.

one change i would highly recommend to you is to change the stock nut to a bone one
it will give your baby more tuning-stabilty and sustain..
you can buy bone nuts on ebay but for putting it in
i would suggest a visit at your local luthier if your e not familiar
with guitar works / set-up + not having the right tools at home.

salute,
lars

 

[Bettyboo]

^ thanks for the advice, Lars.

I agree the tuners are heavy, might do something to them down the line, but not a priority (maybe some Gotohs to match the bridge I'll put in next month). I wouldn't want to change the nut meself, and I don't know anybody locally that I'd trust to do it (currently working in Korea), so that's gonna have to wait - but once I find somebody who I trust I'll get that done.

I really rate the 310 as a decent starting point to making a really nice SG. Even the basic pups it came with sounded good (but I had the Wilkinsons already):






For now, I'm just gonna play the little beastie... :)