Hey all!! I'm about to pull the trigger on another new SG. Before I do, I am between a Tribute or a Standard. Curious to hear from anyone that owns/has played both, what is the difference in the neck? Other than maple vs mahogany of course. I'm speaking of feel in hand (profile, etc.). I currently have a Standard in White, and vintage SG in cherry. Standard in ebony might be cool to have the opposite the white....pretty sure can't go wrong no matter what... Cheers!!
Depends on which neck profile you prefer. Gibson has an ebony Standard 61 Slim Taper available online with a hard shell case. The batwing Standard has a thicker, rounded profile neck and a soft case.
Because I had a bit of time, I thought this was an interesting question: what do you get for the extra $500 on the Standard. Here's what's what according to Gibson's website: Tribute Standard ------------- -------------- Satin finish Gloss finish (both nitrocellulose lacquer) Maple Neck Mahogany neck Dot inlays Trapezoid inlays Nickel hardware Chrome hardware Kluson tuners Grover tuners Black tophat knobs Black tophat knobs w/ silver reflectors Black switch tip Cream switch tip No Gibson accessory kit Gibson accessory kit Otherwise, they are basically the same guitar in every other aspect. So a great question is are the amenities of the Standard worth the extra $500? As a lot of folks around here point out, the feel of the neck is a critical decision maker. Is there a decided advantage of a mahogany neck over a maple one or of Grovers over Klusons (this is usually a neck weight consideration)? Beyond those questions, everything else seem to be aesthetics.
This is...this is an AWESOME answer! Really my wondering was the difference in neck between maple and mahog. 500 bucks is nothing to sneeze at in terms of price difference. I like the look of the walnut tribute from the front too, but from the back the color difference is VERY obvious and may drive me nuts....haha! *Pouring two white Russians* haha Cheers!
I'm a fan of SG specials... so my opinion in this might be very different from the majority. I didn't vote for any of the guitars in your poll. Since you've already got the SGs you describe, my vote would be for an SG Classic with P-90s. This would add a lot to the tones you have for your music. You'd have to search for a good second hand one... IMHO, the extra money you pay for an SG Standard is the cost of the decorations. That's one of the reasons I'm a fan of the SG special. I don't care about the decorations such as binding and inlays and the Gibson Deep Gloss... So I don't want to pay for them. I want a Gibson, and I love my SG specials. I have two of them. The Silverburst has a "satin finish" and the other one has Gibson's "faded brown" finish. Both of these are thinner and softer than what's on Gibson's more expensive models. The Silverburst has a maple neck, and it's more rigid and less fragile than mahogany, which the faded special has. So the maple neck is more practical, renders awesome tone, and stays in tune better IMHO. The mahogany neck is traditional, it renders awesome tone and works fine like so many other guitar necks do. I love both of these SGs, and I don't need a fancy one. I got both of these for about the same money you'd pay for ONE SG with all the bling. It costs Gibson a lot of factory time to have their employees carve the inlays, and install the binding, and it takes many coats of lacquer and lots of polishing to develop the awesome Gibson Deep Gloss. That's what the extra $500 is for. And those are lovely, that's for sure. If a guy can afford it, he should have it. But few people in an audience would ever perceive the difference. Higher priced Gibsons usually have hotter pickups, so there is that. If you're picky about neck shapes, you have to play it before you buy it. That's how you know. Me, I'm a guitar slut... I love 'em all. I own eight guitars and basses, and I play them all without giving a thought to the neck shapes, which are all different. *shrugs But lots of people think neck shapes are really important. Play it before you buy it, and then you're more sure to get what you want. Gibson Maple necks are great IMHO...
Good Ol' Col, always taking the time to write up a proper review for folks. I always appreciate seeing the effort and time you put into your reposnses. I try as well, but I admit you have me beat Sir. The Col has some great points. A lot of that extra $500 is going to labour and material. Binding, inlay, MOP headstock, etc. It's all good stuff, and to many folks it's easily justifiable. To some, it doesn't make sense to not spend the extra to get the royal treatment. To others, it is unnecessary. Most of those are just trimmings that are "nice to have". Binding is a personal prefernce. Some folks like it, some hate it. Same for NIBS (binding over frets). Personally, I love both binding and NIBS, but that is only because that's what I am used to. TO not have it feels foreign. Not bad, but noticeable. So I have always opted to save a little longer and get the model I prefer. No wrong answer here. To use an analogy, once you buy a car with heated seats, you look for that feature when you go to replace it. Sure you could live without it, but you like it. For me, it's all about searching for the right guitar, enjoying the hunt and then enjoying it for a long long time! Please, keep us posed
he's right you know... keep us posted. and remember our motto here at ETSG: PICTURES, OR IT NEVER HAPPENED
I voted for Tribute model but i think you just didnt write why do you want another of the 3 models in the poll other than the different colour of the finish. So you dont seek for the different tone? Are you satisfied with the sound of the Standard you have so you want the backup guitar for it in the different colour? Then buy the Standard If you want to explore other tones and feelings the guitar can offer, i would definitely went for the p90 model. Tribute has some very fine satin finish, which is very good on the touch and overal feeling on the neck will be comfortable too. Dont stick to the maple vs mahogany neck..... Maple is great. Tribute is not as fancy as the Standard. Thats all. You need to think about what you really want this new SG for and then try different models, you will know right away if you will find the ONE.... Good luck and post pictures when you buy it
Col. I was surprised when you said your Silverburst has a Satin finish. For some reason I always invisioned that guitar with a high gloss finish. Either way, you have to love a good silverburst. As usual, you were ahead of the game. To me, Silverburst was always a unique color option that everyone admired, but not a lot of people purchased. Skip ahead to 2021 and it seems to be a premier color like pelham blue.
As far as the different tone, I usually find that a little eq tweaking on my Rockerverb can minimalize the difference if I'm going for the same sound. My vintage (avatar) has mini-hums. My Custom has a Wolfetone Marshallhead in the bridge (alnico 5). So really looking for that alnico 2 SG sound we know and love. Actually played one of the LP tributes and liked it enough...for a Les Paul I guess haha. I adore that upper mid bite that SGs have over LPs. P90 jr is intersting but not sure it suits our sound much. Not a metal guy but in the realm of hard rock (hence the Rockerverb MKIII). LOVING the responses, great info to work with!
Normally, bein' a STANDARD Fan, I would say 'Get the SG Standard', but in this case....IDK....if $500 is a lot for you to consider...then I'd go w/Tribute because w/both guitars you are still getting a Soft-Shell Case and 490 Pickups ! With the $500 you save you could get a suitable Hard-Shell Case, and if you get a used Epiphone G-400 HSCase (just spray paint over the logo !) for $75, yes? You could swap out the 490's and get some better pickup's in it and still have $200+++ left for some SUDS/BUDS/Movie w/Sweetheart for the weekend ! NICE ! FFS, This was not the norm for quite a while...IMO GIBSON USA has some nerve putting their cheapest Humbucker Pickup's in a USA Line STANDARD Model Guitar. In the Good News Dept.: ***********If you buy direct from GIBSON you will save TAX and Shipping************** So a new USA Line SG Tribute for $1199 is about as good as its gonna get in these inflated price times (In comparison, the 2017 SG Standard was $1299 ALL-IN: w/'57's, Rolled White Neck Binding and a Hard-Shell Case ! FFS, I wish I'd bought 3 of 'em !). I've yet to play one of these Tributes BUT I have heard good things about this particular SG Tribute, and it is a GIBSON after-all, u kno? and w/all the above considered, especially the CA$H part, I'd have no problem going with the SG Tribute this time around!!! It is good enough to be Captain Sensible's #1 and I would bet you will be over the Moon with either one you end up with !!
It's not that $500 really makes or breaks the bank, but as you mentioned having the same pickups and no hardcase is tough pill to swallow for a Standard. Especially like you said, 3 years ago they were substantially cheaper, better pickups, AND hard Case. God damn if they aren't gorgeous though haha! Nice reference to Capt Sensible too, love The Damned!
I don’t understand this talk of “cheap” Gibson pickups. As far as I know, all their pickups are made from similar materials, and any difference in cost to produce them is probably negligible. The MSRP is simply what the company thinks the product will sell at. Sure, they sound different. But that speaks nothing of the quality.
Bro, Let us know what you decide and post some pics...Players seem to dig the NGD pics !! I bought a 2020 SG 'Modern' Standard, BUT, that was only because I got a dealio on it (enough to get the GIBSON HSCase thrown in)...and, more importantly I had a set of '61R&T pickup's ready to swap out the 490's with as soon as I got it. Other-wise I'd have passed on the guitar. The more I think about it, the TRIBUTE is the way to go here. I'm totally with ya on the HSCase being absent on a FRIKKIN USA Line STANDARD, WTF GIBSON ??
Well put, cheaper not necessarily being the right word for the 490T pickups. I actually like them well enough, more than the 57s but a 57+ in the bridge rips. I'm starting to sway a bit more towards a Tribute given I'd probably end up swapping the pickups potentially the pcb too, but not urgent. Even with the changes would come out ahead price wise. There's just something about the Standards though, am I right?!
Ah, yes, nice additions to the list and probably some major factors in the $500 outlay. I was just going off the specs on Gibson's website of which those things you caught weren't factors in their description. Bound fretboards are nice, you don't have to monkey with filing down sharp fret edges.
Agreed, the 490, 498 and 500 are the same price and the 496 is less than those three. Marketing is names like Burstbucker, Dirty Fingers, 57 Classic…
