NGD! Finally!

[VXP]

Hi All,

I finally, after 2 months of having lemons shipped to from online, have a HNGD.

It started with a Les Paul Junior from MF, that came with the fretboard not aligned properly with the neck. Sent that back, and ordered an SG 61 Reissue(figured if I upgrade, the fit n finish would be better). That came, all dried out and warped, with the truss rod rattling around in the neck! Sent that back, and they ordered a replacement Reissue from Gibson for me. 2 weeks later, I get an email saying, Gibson is not going to fulfill the order, as its discontinued, and the last ones already shipped...Screw that noise, I took my refund. Tired of online nonsense just to save a few bucks..Anyway, I went into guitar center figuring Ill pick up something cheap to hold me over, and there was a Gibson SG Junior 60's in heritage cherry. $599.99. I check online and MF has the Ebony ones on sale for $479!! I speak to the manager, and they price match and then some, because of an ever so tiny, unnoticable ding on the body.. I got it, out the door for $449!! I know, its a baked maple fretboard, blah, blah! It plays like a dream!! Baked maple, fried maple, poached maple, whatever. The guitar plays, and sounds like it should be at least 3 times what i paid..And it doesnt look half bad, I might add. It seems to be a 2 piece body, with the seam dead center. Heck, It could be 15 pieces for all I care. Its so light and comfortable! It just fits me perfectly! I thought I loved the 61 Reissue, but this guitar is just right for me, even though its the "cheap" Gibson. I'm still learning(picked up guitar, as part of a midlife crisis), but it a hobby thats sticking!. I gave it to a friend whos a great guitarist to play, and boy did it sing! Blew the doors off of his LP..

Finally! I get to play!! I'll take a quick pic with my phone, to show. But I'll add better pics tomorrow in better light..


Woohooooooooo!!!

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Beautiful. Glad things worked out.

 

[Sootio]

I've got to get one of those things. It's a beaut.

 

[VXP]

I've got get one of those things. It's a beaut.

MF has the Ebony for $479.99. You should check em out! I was going to go for that, but I figured, after what I went through, with the back and forth, I better just take this (a bird in the hand)...It just seemed right.. Ive seen nicer ones, with nicely matched pieces of wood. Mine has the grain running two different ways, on either side (straight up and down on the left, and curved grain on the right, but its fine for me. As a matter of fact, the piece on the left, is noticably lighter than the piece of wood on the right..Its very noticeable on the back of the guitar. Its like they accidentally on purpose made a two tone Junior.. Doesnt bother me. Im just happy to have a guitar that plays, and feels great...

 

[Squarewave]

Sweet axe dude, congrats

 

[VXP]

Sweet axe dude, congrats

Thanks man. I should be sleeping. Gotta be up at 4 am for work, and Im cranking this thing through headphones on a Blackstar HT1R....Oh boy, am I gonna regret it in the morning.

 

[Susihukkanen]

Congratulations! Good looking Jr.

BTW, in my opinion there is nothing wrong with the baked maple. It looks good and it is definitely a stable material for the fretboard.

 

[JohnP]

congrats, that's a mighty cool guitar!

 

[Saintjonah]

Fantastic! Quite the journey to find "your" guitar...but there it is.

I love it.

 

[DFLCC]

Hot, hot, hot little babe. Congratulations.

 

[Biddlin]

Lovely, I'd stay up all night playing her ,too .
Congratz. Biddlin ;>)/

 

[sgtbeefheart]

Congrats, it's a beauty.

 

[sgtbeefheart]

I've got get one of those things. It's a beaut.

Here's one, though it's ebony and twice the price,

MINT UNPLAYED Gibson 60's SG Junior Electric Guitar JR LIMITED EDITION | eBay

 

[guzinta]

Hey man. Sorry you had to go through such hassle to get a good Gibson. I kind of freak out about these stories, because I've had good luck, 3 for 3 of the Gibsons I've owned being spot on in quality. 2 of them were mail order and the 3rd I purchased locally. I will say though I've tried some in various shops that did not impress.

With all that said, congratulations on a very sweet SG!! You have a love for life when you find the right guitar and 5 yrs from now it will be just as hard to put down!

The P90 pup will blow your mind and be surprisingly versatile. I have a 2012 SG Std/P90 with the "baked maple" and I absolutely love it. Not a detractor at all to me, and on the contrary, if Gibson stops using the baked maple the value of these guitars could go up...but then again who cares...I aint selling mine. Gonna play the hell out of it instead. Enjoy that new axe!!

 

[Saintjonah]

Here's one, though it's ebony and twice the price,

MINT UNPLAYED Gibson 60's SG Junior Electric Guitar JR LIMITED EDITION | eBay

FWIW GC still has them. Ebony for $479. Obviously, the end-of-run leftovers at GC are going to be a crapshoot...but at that price who could complain!?

Glad I'm broke or I'd be buying one

 

[VXP]

Thanks for all the well wishes! Can't wait to get home and plug in!

Yeah MF and GC have en at $479.. I was almost gonna go for the Ebony because they have allot left and thought chances were better of getting a ” good” one. After ask this cherry one was one of 3 left hanging on a wall in GC's entire system.. Had me thinking something must be wrong, and who knows how many jamooks handled this thing. Then I read an article about leslie west saying, his best juniors came out of a pawn shop, and probably could never be refretted, because they would fall apart, they were so used and abused.. The one I have has some dings, and the trip sides, don't match, but I think its coo how the grain of the wood curves on on the right side, almost following the exact line of the pick guard.. To each their own, and I'm guilty of getting caught up in the whole thing about the pick guard not being the right shape, and the knobs being relocated, baked maple, blah blah..Only after reading the comments on the forums though. Before that, I was in love with this guitar when I saw out, but avoided it, based on comments..Then I thought, but this isn't a vintage guitar, or a historic reissue, what's the fuss? Back in the day, our beloved $10000 tv yellow juniors, were unwanted stepchildren. And leslie west bought crap guitars out of pawn shops, because they sounded great, and john lennon rerouted his to add a pup, ooooh, but wait! Its no longer a junior with an extra pup..lol

 

[3 Headed Moses]

Nice! I've been lusting for one of those too!

 

[Col Mustard]

well, I think you did this right... you go and play them, and pick the one that calls to you, or you allow one to select you. *grins At that point, all the little cosmetic things that guys mistakenly obsess about... these get knocked into perspective. Because if you find yourself staying up later than you should because you are loving your guitar, then you selected the right guitar. If there are any flaws in the guitar you bond with, you will fix those and rock on.

Because it comes down to something that can't be measured with a caliper, or weighed on a scale. Or by how much you paid (or didn't pay). When you have an emotional bond with a guitar, it shows onstage. The audience can see it, and certainly feel it in your tone. None of the other stuff matters, if there's a scratch on the finish, or if it's made of more than one tree... or it has a baked maple fretboard, nobody can see that from five to ten meters away. But when you are playing a guitar that you are fond of, you play better and differently to some extent. Can't measure it, can't prove it, but it's there. Verify this by watching other performers.

There was just a lot of discussion about a video where Prince plays quite well and sounds great, and then at the end of his song, he takes off the guitar (a borrowed one it turns out) and flings it straight up in the air, turns his back before it comes down and walks off as the guitar crashes to the floor with a sickening sound, on national TV.

A disgusting display of something (also intangible)... I had a few hard words to say about it, as you might perceive from the way I write about bonding with a guitar. I've also said that a good pro player can sound like himself on any guitar (and I still believe that). But give a good player a guitar he or she cares about, and something else happens. Even PRO football is a game of emotions (and inches) and we've all seen where some intangible factor made the difference between winning and losing, also on national TV. The extra effort that made the first down and kept the scoring drive alive and ensured the victory.

That's what you want from your SG. And that's why it doesn't matter if it's a white one or a black one. or a used one or a new one that was marked down. If it pulls that extra bit of performance out of you, it's a winner. If it doesn't, trade it in on the one that does. Just my humble opinion on a Saturday morning, before cartoons.

 

[BlackSG91]

Good deal for $449!