Gibson SG Fusion.

[Bettyboo]

I did an everythingSG search, but couldn't find anything...

Anybody got one or tried one? I like this colour.

http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2017/USA/SG-Fusion-S-Series.aspx

$599, is that good value? Average tuners and nut, Epi Probucker pickups (?), a bridge that needs modding. Is it worth it?


OK, $599 is too expensive, how about a LP for $399?

Anybody tried one or got one? Any good? That's not a lot of money for a Squier made in China nevermind a Gibson USA (made with Epiphone parts and a dodgy bridge?).

http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2017/USA/Gibson-M^2-S-Series.aspx


Now, I'not sure if this is right or not, but a Pelham Blue Standard T?

If it came with the case and was $1200 then that'd be bloody nice indeed...
http://gibzone.pl/artykuly/2017-drugie-uderzenie/

 

[drown]

http://www.zzounds.com/item--GIBSGS17?siid=189914
Two Pelham Blue left. 1299 with case. tempting

 

[Jack Hammer]

I tried to start my review as a new thread but it didn't work, so I'll attempt posting it here.

Reviews for the new Gibson SG Fusion are nearly nonexistent if you've ever tried a web search, so I'll pitch in my two cents for anyone seriously considering one. As mentioned in my welcome post, I walked away from a guitar show recently with this in hand. Most people seem to have strong feelings about an SG. They either love 'em or hate 'em with little middle ground. They've been around since I was two and I must admit, as a teen and budding guitarist, they looked a little odd to me as well until I saw Angus Young playing one. It was my light bulb moment. The moment they became cool. Those poor unfortunate guitarists who never experienced their light bulb moment probably never will after seeing one in a puke green color with a Teisco like pickguard. The recurring images and night sweats could even force some into therapy. For me, seeing this Fusion was akin to that secret crush on that quiet girl at school who never got any attention. I digress.

My review is based on a side by side comparison with my 2012 SG Standard.





The sound - Bright. The sound is actually closer to a Tele with Texas Specials than it is an SG Standard. Gibson describes their DS-C and DS-C+ pickups as having more "bite". This took some getting used to. At first, I considered replacing them with a set of Duncan SH-2 and SH-4's, but decided against it once I discovered the sweet spot with the tone control at about 3 or 4. I like the versatility. Roll it back for an SG type tone or flip to the bridge position and dime it for some serious Don Rich twangin'.

The Feel - Very subtle difference, seems somewhat lighter. The narrow headstock and the mini tuners make it just a bit less top heavy. I prefer the light satin nitro finish of the Fusion neck over the Standard. It definitely makes for a faster, less "sticky" feel. There are some sharp fret ends on the treble side between the 9th and 15th frets. I plan to do a little careful filing in the near future. Don't be misled by those who mistakenly think this is a bolt-on neck. I love the looks of this neck joint.



The Finish - Looks like the body was rough sanded before finishing at best. No grain filler was used. Just a shot of green with a nice uniform shot of gloss clearcoat. Doesn't look like any sanding was done on the clearcoat. It still has that candy like nitro smell.

The Hardware - Nothing much to say here since I haven't removed the pickguard to check out the pots and switch. I do think Gibson could have done a better job of installing the tophat knobs. Lots of wobble when turning. That's nothing that can't be fixed.

The Bridge - The wraparound bridge is a major inconvenience if a string breaks. All strings must be loosened so the bridge can be pulled away from the posts. Not a big deal for me since I haven't broken a string in years. For those who have a tendency to break strings, a $15 tube of Nut Sauce would be a good investment.

Other - The centering of the bridge relative to the neck is perfect on the Fusion when compared to my SG Standard. A few weeks after getting my Standard, I noticed myself rolling off the high E string and deadening out more frequently. I blamed it on the fact that it was the first guitar I had owned with nibs. As time passed, I realized the strings on the high side were much closer to the edge of the fretboard than the strings on the low side. The only way to remedy this was to install new saddles and notch them myself to bring it back into alignment. Notice how far the slots are to the left on the saddles.



Another area where the Fusion shines is the face of the bridge pickup being perfectly parallel to the strings, allowing for a much closer pickup adjustment if you desire it. Why do covered pickups never seem to align with the strings? Note the difference between the Fusion and the Standard.




Overall - The Fusion is not an SG Standard, but it doesn’t have the features and the price of one either. It's like comparing apples to oranges and may not be for everybody. From a quality standpoint, it equals or surpasses my Standard. Less in some ways, more in others. The factory setup has suited me perfectly without adjustments. Hats off to the tech who set it up. I can only speak for this guitar. Someone else may have a completely different experience with another one. It may be advantageous if anyone is considering one to check it out at a local dealer where you can play it first as opposed to an online warehouse. I've noticed that some online sellers are using "Limited Edition" in their titles. Who knows how long these will be around or how much they will appreciate or depreciate, but for the $360 I paid along with the trade of 3 small practice amps, I felt like I got a jewel.

 

[cerebral gasket]

Why do covered pickups never seem to align with the strings?

Neck to body angle causes pickups (covered or uncovered) to sit uneven with strings when the pickups are mounted directly to large guard without pickup mounting rings.

Pickup mounting rings are wedged-shaped, taller in back to offset the neck to body angle.

If you don't want to install mounting rings on large guard, place foam shims under pickups to level them or bend the pickup legs to offset the angle.

Watch the rig rundown for Angus.
The batwing SG's have pickup mounting rings installed in the bridge position only.

I prefer the Angus method.

If you choose to install mounting rings, keep in mind the ones for bridge are taller than the ones for neck.
You don't have to drill holes in the large guard to use mounting rings.
The tension from the spring on the pickup height adjustment screw is enough to keep the mounting ring tight against the guard.

 

[PelhamSG]

About the Pelham Blue SG, there is a 2017 in PB. It's an exclusive/custom color for AMS.com and zzsounds. I love mine

 

[Tonerider]

I like this dark wine red finish. With a nice looking bridge and open covers this Gibson SG will be awesome .

 

[dub-setter]

just read that they
come with a mahogany body and the neck is maple...

interesting price, though the reviews tending more to
"cheap instrument,poorly set up,non gibson standard (quality)"


hmmm...???




like the color though in Bettyboo s first post..:)

 

[Jack Hammer]

Thanks for the info, Cerebral. The Standard does have quite a bit more neck angle. I may experiment with the pickup ring someday.

 

[Everdying]

so thats what they're calling it now? fusion?
retail at $699? damn...thats like expensive

 

[Didds]

I've heard these things are absolutely terrible. You'd be much better off buying an Epiphone. All you're paying for here is the Gibson prestige

 

[Bettyboo]

$699? damn...thats like expensive

You'd be much better off buying an Epiphone.

Yeah, I can't see any reason to buy this over a $300 G400 1966. Or, if you have $600, SG faded NOS can be picked up easily and they are blindingly good.

Having said that, for, say $349(?) maybe these fusions can make an interesting punk guitar after a few tweeks... The cheapest I've seen a new one is $500, but you'd presume they'd be blowing these out a few hundred dollars less than that in a few months; I can imagine these being at a few places at $249 before the end of the year - that'd be a great buy.

 

[DCCable]

Ladies and gentlemen keep you eyes and ears open, I to suspect theses things will not be a huge seller and at some point Gibson and the GCs, Sweetwaters, etc. will be blowing these things out at decent prices considering what they are and the above mentioned issues.

And yes, that green is god awful, however the wine red is livable. My guess is that with a good set of pickups, and setup, these things are a pretty good entry level Gibson.

BTW what's the neck profile and the nut width like?

The bright cherry color is available for $469 at two of the online sellers today with free shipping.

 

[jtcnj]

There was a clearance run on amazon for these and the similar LP model (it may have only been one or the other but they are from the same series) for like $189. or $229 of something cheap last fall. Most that got them on another forum said the overall quality was disappointing for a Gibson, even at the $599 price point.
But, at the cheap price worthy, maybe with a few upgrades.
The only real "bad" was poor bridge posts / studs / bridge fitment allowed the wraparound to really tilt forward a LOT. The rest was reported as usable and not bad - for a sub $250. guitar.

I almost grabbed one but had just gotten or was waiting on another purchase (Blakewright PRSish double cut P90 - I love this guitar!)

 

[Jack Hammer]

There was a clearance run on amazon for these and the similar LP model (it may have only been one or the other but they are from the same series) for like $189. or $229 of something cheap last fall. Most that got them on another forum said the overall quality was disappointing for a Gibson, even at the $599 price point.
But, at the cheap price worthy, maybe with a few upgrades.
The only real "bad" was poor bridge posts / studs / bridge fitment allowed the wraparound to really tilt forward a LOT. The rest was reported as usable and not bad - for a sub $250. guitar.

I almost grabbed one but had just gotten or was waiting on another purchase (Blakewright PRSish double cut P90 - I love this guitar!)

Please post a link when you see these for $189 again. I'll buy their entire entire inventory and bank the profits.

 

[SG standard]

Overall - The Fusion is not an SG Standard, but it doesn’t have the features and the price of one either. It's like comparing apples to oranges and may not be for everybody. From a quality standpoint, it equals or surpasses my Standard. Less in some ways, more in others.

Thanks for taking the time to provide such a detailed review. I think the fact that it compares so favourably with the Standard really reflects the extraordinary quality that's now available in many budget guitars. And also, how little 'extra' you get as you start spending more money.

However, I can' get away from the fact that these are made with USA labour costs, which means, for Gibson to hit this price point, they have to have saved costs elsewhere compared to other price-point competitors - it's unavoidable. That always made me think Gibson had misjudged it - buyers on a tight budget would predominantly shun these models in favour of higher spec'd price equivalent guitars; getting all they can out of their budget rather than 'buying the brand'.

Now I'm thinking Gibson got it right - but they were doing something quite different. I think these are the marketing department's response to 2015. That year the buyers stayed away (from the changes and price rises), until they were sold off at clearance prices & they flew out of the warehouse. Why? Well, most guitar buyers already have a guitar collection. For Gibson to sell me another expensive guitar, they've go it get it exactly right, else I'll pass & wait until they do. Trouble is, we've all got different tastes, so Gibson can't get it 'exactly right' for everyone. (I'm waiting for a Pelham SG with slim taper neck, dot inlays, P-90s, Maestro vibrato, small pickguard, no nibs.... what are the chances!). But if we see a bargain... well, OK, it's not my favourite colour, but look at the price, I can't let this go!

SO... If we find something so cheap we barely have to think about it... plus it's 'different' to anything we already have.... There's a good chance we'll jump on it, and add to our collection:
"Wow, a real USA made Gibson for $xxx! And it's kinda funky, that bright xxxx colour is kinda cool.... I bet I could mod that up a treat... Wait, it's a limited edition... bet these'll disappear fast... I might just keep it stock... could be an investment... what have I got to lose...?" And so on... Perhaps Gibson have got it right!

Just my thoughts.

 

[dan_vacant]

I want the lavender one. And put a Seymour Duncan slug in it. Mmm. I'm just waiting for people to get sick of them and sell them for about $200 and I'll grab one or two.

 

[cerebral gasket]

I think an ebony one would be great.
Not a fan of that guard, so to make it disappear, replace it with a solid black one.

The Leo Quan Badass style bridge is ok, but appears really close to pickup which would make this guitar sound really bright. The maple neck will also add a little extra snap as well.
I prefer my SG's to have their more natural midrange frequency range and not too bright so that it does not start approaching icepick territory.

 

[Biddlin]

I played one of these "Nod to Norlin" SGs recently and was kind of impressed, actually. I would concur that the price is too high, but the guitar did have a lot going for it, tone and weight wise. Aesthetically, it is a nightmare. I hate the plain neck and found myself intentionally looking away from the neck joint, but it played very well and the pickups aren't too different from 490/498s.
I wouldn't buy one, but I probably wouldn't buy a real Norlin, either.
BTW- The 24 fret neck and fingerboard could have been cut on the same jig as my 13 SGJ and that's a good thing.

 

[Biddlin]

The Bridge - The wraparound bridge is a major inconvenience if a string breaks. All strings must be loosened so the bridge can be pulled away from the posts.

My first thought was "Why the hell didn't they use a lightning bar?"

 

[Biddlin]

I want the lavender one.

You mean the Arctic Ice? That's the color I played. Pretty bold, but it might fade a little with time, lol, but I like it much more than Pelham Blue, tbh.