SG standard
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OK, I know neck dive can be a contentious issue here – so let me just say I’ve no wish to upset anyone, and I’m not telling anyone they should do this or that. But over the Christmas break I decided to get the drill out & try a drastic, permanent solution to the neck dive that I get with my SGs.
Sure, some people never experience neck dive on an SG – if you’re lucky enough to be able to say that, great. Those who do experience some degree of neck dive tend to suggest several solutions:
1] A thick strap with plenty of grip. This works fine for mild neck dive, but the stronger the dive the more that grip results in T-shirt drag, and the neck starts to go down. So sometimes this is only a partial fix.
2] Hold the neck up with your left hand. I guess, if you’re mostly playing open chords & not moving your hand much, that’s fine. But I believe your hands are best off playing, rather than supporting, an instrument. (But if it works for you: Great).
3] Clamp the body of the guitar to your side with your right arm. This probably works best if your right hand isn’t moving too much, perhaps finger picking, but again I see it as a restriction in the way you’re interacting with the guitar.
4] Add weight to the guitar. This should work perfectly, but I’ve never tried it – I don’t want to turn a light SG into a weighty LP if I can avoid it. The SG Diablo I used to have had neck creep rather than dive, but it came at a price: the heavier maple cap.
I guess I’ve ended up doing a combination of the first three when playing, after all, you have to stop the neck from diving, or else the guitar is soon in an unplayable position. But having decided my white Standard is definitely a keeper, and one I’m perfectly comfortable to modify to taste, I decided to move the lower strap button:
I may even move the other button to the back of the upper horn – where Gibson have put it on my ’16 SG HP, as that seems to reduce the tendency for the face of the guitar to lean away when standing – it’s subtle & I hadn’t noticed it until I had the HP, but it’s a more comfortable position. However, I’m not planning to make this mod to my ’17 HP or SG Standard Bass, even though they need it just as much. I’ve no idea how long I might end up keeping them, so for now, I’ll keep using methods 1 to 3.
Incidentally, I noticed Gibson used off-centre strap positions on the Explorer in it’s original ’58 form, and I recently saw the reintroduced Hagstrom H3 has twin lower strap buttons; presumably the upper one gives better balance & the lower one enables it to lean against an amp like a Flying-V. Not a bad idea.
Sure, some people never experience neck dive on an SG – if you’re lucky enough to be able to say that, great. Those who do experience some degree of neck dive tend to suggest several solutions:
1] A thick strap with plenty of grip. This works fine for mild neck dive, but the stronger the dive the more that grip results in T-shirt drag, and the neck starts to go down. So sometimes this is only a partial fix.
2] Hold the neck up with your left hand. I guess, if you’re mostly playing open chords & not moving your hand much, that’s fine. But I believe your hands are best off playing, rather than supporting, an instrument. (But if it works for you: Great).
3] Clamp the body of the guitar to your side with your right arm. This probably works best if your right hand isn’t moving too much, perhaps finger picking, but again I see it as a restriction in the way you’re interacting with the guitar.
4] Add weight to the guitar. This should work perfectly, but I’ve never tried it – I don’t want to turn a light SG into a weighty LP if I can avoid it. The SG Diablo I used to have had neck creep rather than dive, but it came at a price: the heavier maple cap.
I guess I’ve ended up doing a combination of the first three when playing, after all, you have to stop the neck from diving, or else the guitar is soon in an unplayable position. But having decided my white Standard is definitely a keeper, and one I’m perfectly comfortable to modify to taste, I decided to move the lower strap button:
I may even move the other button to the back of the upper horn – where Gibson have put it on my ’16 SG HP, as that seems to reduce the tendency for the face of the guitar to lean away when standing – it’s subtle & I hadn’t noticed it until I had the HP, but it’s a more comfortable position. However, I’m not planning to make this mod to my ’17 HP or SG Standard Bass, even though they need it just as much. I’ve no idea how long I might end up keeping them, so for now, I’ll keep using methods 1 to 3.
Incidentally, I noticed Gibson used off-centre strap positions on the Explorer in it’s original ’58 form, and I recently saw the reintroduced Hagstrom H3 has twin lower strap buttons; presumably the upper one gives better balance & the lower one enables it to lean against an amp like a Flying-V. Not a bad idea.
