SG Classic questions

[Slip Kid]

Hi,

I am new to SG's and this forum. I recently bought a '08 SG Classic and am hoping someone might be able to answer a couple questions. The first has to do with the sweep range on the volume pots. Mine reaches full volume by 4 and there is not much of an increase beyond that. Is this typical of this model or does it have something to do with the wiring? My only other 2 pickup - 4 control guitar, a Heritage 575 Custom, does not do this (or did a '00 ES 335 Dot I previously owned). This guitar does not have the PCB board, btw.

The second question has to do with the tuners. Mine are the "Gibson Deluxe" with the little white buttons. I was having some tuning issues at first which seemed to be caused by loose nuts on all 6 tuners. Tightening all 6 nuts has cured most of the tuning issues but sometimes it still gets a little shaky. Are all "Gibson Deluxe" tuners created equal? I have a '98 J200 that also has "Gibson Deluxe" tuners with the fancier tulip style plastic buttons. I've never had any tuning issues with them. I'm probably going to change the SG tuners out for the tulip style anyway for aesthetic reasons but am still curious. I am also not ruling out that a decent set up may help a little as well.

Overall, I am totally loving this guitar. I am mainly a Fender guy (and frequent the Tele forum) and have stayed away from SG's. This was due to the one experience I had in the late '80's with a college guitar buddy's early 60's SG that belonged to his father. It had the sideways vibrola, numerous headstock repairs and, of course, PAF's. I had only been playing a few years by that point and it felt weird in comparison to my Strat. I couldn't appreciate the PAF's either due to my solid state amp. This Classic, though, is a keeper. It plays great, I like the fuller neck shape (am not a fan of the thin profile), love the P90's and am having a hard time putting it down. My FSR '52 Tele RI (which dethroned my '93 PRS Custom) and my Heritage 575 have shared the #1 spot but the SG has made it's way in to the club!

 

[cerebral gasket]

Welcome!

SG Classics are my favorite.

Unless the tuners are really loose or broken, most tuning issues are caused from strings binding in the nut slots. Some graphite from a pencil can help with that in addition to having the nut slots properly cut for the string gauge that is being used.

I changed my tuners to the keystone buttons for aesthetic reasons. Grover 135N have the keystone buttons, are a direct replacement and at a fraction of the cost of the Big G brand.

If you don't care for the sweep range, try a different Volume pot. They are available as either linear or audio taper (log). You can also get pots with a custom taper.

My 2004 and 2006...

 

[Slip Kid]

Welcome!

SG Classics are my favorite.

Unless the tuners are really loose or broken, most tuning issues are caused from strings binding in the nut slots. Some graphite from a pencil can help with that in addition to having the nut slots properly cut for the string gauge that is being used.

I changed my tuners to the keystone buttons for aesthetic reasons. Grover 135N have the keystone buttons, are a direct replacement and at a fraction of the cost of the Big G brand.

If you don't care for the sweep range, try a different Volume pot. They are available as either linear or audio taper (log). You can also get pots with a custom taper.

My 2004 and 2006...

That’s a nice pair! I’m thinking about getting a second one sometime down the road to set up for slide. My crappy attempts at slide sound less crappy on the SG for some reason!

Thanks for the info on the tuners. I like that look and will definitely look in to those.

Is there a specific pot value you recommend?

Thanks again for your suggestions.

 

[skelt101]

Is there a specific pot value you recommend?

500k audio taper, all around. I like the turn resistance and smoothness of a flat back CTS with brass shaft.

 

[fuzbuzz78]

Your tuning issues have nothing to do with the tuners. You need to take your guitar to a luthier and have them file the nut. Personally I love the white button tuners. I have them on a couple SG juniors, classics and specials. Wouldn’t change them for anything.

 

[PermissionToLand]

Yeah, they used linear volume pots on those. You want audio taper, which ironically sounds more linear to the human ear.

The value though, is up to you. Gibson typically uses 300k for P-90s because they're brighter than humbuckers. So if you want to keep the tone the same, I'd stick with what you have, which I assume is 300k.

 

[Col Mustard]

Welcome to ETSG, Slip Kid

And congratulations on an excellent choice of guitar.
IMHO the SG classic is one of Gibson's best, and can take its place onstage
next to guitars costing much much more, and not give up a thing.
SG with P-90s is one of the best classic tones...raw and rebellious, pure
rock an roll.

+1 on the comments that relate tuning problems to the nut rather than the tuners.
The white button tuners ought to work perfectly, given good setup. Lube the nut, and the
bridge saddles. I use a home made mixture of vaseline and powdered graphite. This lube
is excellent on Fenders too, under the string tree, in the nut slots and at the point where the
string comes through the body and turns toward the bridge. A tiny dot on a toothpick is
plenty for a nut slot, or a bridge saddle. A tablespoon or so of this mixture, kept in a
prescription bottle, is a lifetime supply.

If you decide to swap your tuners out for aesthetic reasons, you still ought to get your guitar
set up by the best luthier you can find or afford. That should improve your Gibson experience
all out of proportion to the money you spend on it.

I believe that 500k audio taper pots work best with either P-90s or humbuckers.
I went through this issue myself with my Epiphone ES-339 P-90 pro, and got
the 500k audio taper, and love the tone, as well as loving the P-90s.

You could get this done at the same time as the setup, and then forget about this issue.
You won't regret it, after you pay off your credit card.

 

[Slip Kid]

Thanks for the info everyone. I'm definitely going to invest in a set-up before swapping out the tuners. I can live with them asl long as they work and would rather get it playing and sounding its best before spending the money on aesthetics.

Welcome to ETSG, Slip Kid

And congratulations on an excellent choice of guitar.
IMHO the SG classic is one of Gibson's best, and can take its place onstage
next to guitars costing much much more, and not give up a thing.
SG with P-90s is one of the best classic tones...raw and rebellious, pure
rock an roll.

+1 on the comments that relate tuning problems to the nut rather than the tuners.
The white button tuners ought to work perfectly, given good setup. Lube the nut, and the
bridge saddles. I use a home made mixture of vaseline and powdered graphite. This lube
is excellent on Fenders too, under the string tree, in the nut slots and at the point where the
string comes through the body and turns toward the bridge. A tiny dot on a toothpick is
plenty for a nut slot, or a bridge saddle. A tablespoon or so of this mixture, kept in a
prescription bottle, is a lifetime supply.

If you decide to swap your tuners out for aesthetic reasons, you still ought to get your guitar
set up by the best luthier you can find or afford. That should improve your Gibson experience
all out of proportion to the money you spend on it.

I believe that 500k audio taper pots work best with either P-90s or humbuckers.
I went through this issue myself with my Epiphone ES-339 P-90 pro, and got
the 500k audio taper, and love the tone, as well as loving the P-90s.
View attachment 43903
You could get this done at the same time as the setup, and then forget about this issue.
You won't regret it, after you pay off your credit card.

Your home made mixture sounds good. I'm going to give that a try. BTW, I love that Epiphone 339. I've only played a few Epi's but they have all played great. In fact, when I was researching SG's the $450 Epiphone hanging on the store wall that anyone could grab played better than the $1500 Gibson SG hanging behind the counter.

 

[Col Mustard]

Epiphones have their own section on this forum... they are built to a lower price point
and are generally serviceable right out of the box.

Me, I've been a Gibson fan since I bought my first Gibson (used) in 1967.
There's been a lot of ups and downs with the brand, but even more so with Epiphone.
IMHO the newer Epis are quite well made (with some exceptions)...
Epi fans on this site will tell you that certain years were made in certain places and are
the preferred ones.

Me, I feel that the Epiphone guitars I've modded and played have been excellent, and that
they respond very well to upgrades. I'm very attached to the ES-339 in my previous post,
the Gibson version cost eight times what I paid for mine and they are both plywood guitars.
Go figure. I reluctantly sold the Epi Wilshire in the picture above to a good friend, who still has it.

But I also own three Gibsons (all relatively low priced Gibsons) and I wouldn't give those up
for anything. Not till they pry my dead cold hands off them. I believe there's a place in the
world for both, and so do the guitar buying fans apparently. Epi guitars sell by the container-load
worldwide, as do Squier guitars. So lots of great music is played on them as issued.
Lucky us here in USA to be able to buy fine upgrade parts for our Epis, chasing that sound
we hear in our heads.

 

[Buffalo SG Dude]

Hi,

I am new to SG's and this forum. I recently bought a '08 SG Classic and am hoping someone might be able to answer a couple

Grab some Big Bend's Nut Sauce for nut binding. You'll be shocked how much better that is. Even if you don't think it's binding. Can't tell how many times people have been convinced there's no binding until they lube their nut and the problem just goes away. It's almost always nut binding.

Replace the pots. My favorites right now are Bourns PDA241.