Why SG Instead Of Les Paul?

[Gary Gretsch]

In the picture this SE looks like an LP to me pretty much? Seems like a thick body and a carved shape that looks similar ...

View attachment 33618

What is that CRAZY Tribute it looks great.

 

[Rusty Chops]

What is that CRAZY Tribute it looks great.

Seems familiar somehow. That grain pattern is distinct. I think I’ve seen this pic before somewhere.

 

[Go Nigel Go]

Not instead of, but in addition to! The SG brings something different to the table, and resides in my stable alongside L.P., Strat, Jazzmaster, 335 style, and a host of other instruments. An instrument that has personality and features I don't currently have is always welcome at my house1

 

[Gary Gretsch]

Seems familiar somehow. That grain pattern is distinct. I think I’ve seen this pic before somewhere.

Yes it seems like a familiar picture. Sure is a cool guitar.

 

[SGBreadfan]

Not instead of, but in addition to! The SG brings something different to the table, and resides in my stable alongside L.P., Strat, Jazzmaster, 335 style, and a host of other instruments. An instrument that has personality and features I don't currently have is always welcome at my house1

Exactly. I have all those you mentioned plus Rickenbacker, Yamaha, Tokai etc. Some players appreciate a nice variety, they all inspire in different ways.

 

[fos1]

This is the best place on Earth to ask this. With the Les Paul and the SG being Gibson's flagship models, we buyers had a decision to make. Why did you go SG instead of the Les Paul? (Or why do you prefer the SG over the Les Paul?)

Me?

I played my friend's Les Paul now and again and I always was put off by the weight and the thick (muddy?) tone. The SG looked cooler and to me it has more trebly bite to it.

In the mid seventies or so, I was a young professional and went to the nicest guitar store in town and purchased my first new guitar. I knew I wanted an electric. I walked through the store and saw this beautiful Gibson SG standard in a luscious cherry red. I picked it up carefully and then nervously gave it a strum. Love at first sight. We bonded. I lost it in 1990. It will always be my best.

I now have a copy and just played it after reading this thread. The SG still moves my heart.

I know, a sappy post but I'm sentimental.

 

[TDA1966]

I like both

 

[Gibbo SG]

The SG gives more of a Fender twang, which I really like. The Lester is a weirder guitar that takes getting used to. You really need both in order to understand. Even if you don't care to understand, you still need both.

 

[Les’s Nemisis]

I love my LP, but the SG is so much easier to play. Light, great upper fret access, it just wins.

 

[Col Mustard]

What I love about my old SG is that there's none of the really insane furniture fetish nonsense you get with LP owners fixated on a specific type of flame or burst color/pattern. I like bursts, but absolutely throw up hearing people blab about how fabulous theirs is, when in truth most are mediocre, a fair % are clumsy and sort of ugly, and only a minority are really special. At least SG players focus on playability and sound -- you know, making music, not winning the antique show blue ribbon for "prettiest maple."

Right on... I am not a Les Paul guy. So I really don't get all of the 'fetish nonsense" ...not only that, I really don't understand
"The Line..." (by which I mean the line that runs down the center of some of the most overpriced and over rated Les Paul guitars.)

I do love to listen to a Les Paul played by a really good player, be it Jazz or Rock or Blues or what.
But I just would NEVER buy one, unless it was an inexpensive model made with no "line" down the
middle. I'll listen to other guys play theirs, because they do sound great in the right hands, and
through the right amp etc.

To me, not only are Les Pauls over priced and over rated, over hyped etc etc... But they are disfigured by
the line down the middle. I've seen a few marketed that DIDN'T have The Line. Those looked great to
my eye. Like this one:

This is the Les Paul faded Special... all mahogany, no line down the middle, no fancy inlays,
(which I don't care for either, and don't want to pay for)... no binding, no nibs, no problem.
This guitar sports Burstbucker 1 & ll and would fit just fine in my guitar rack.
I saw a used one at Music Go Round for $500 some years ago, and didn't buy it.
But I went home and dreamed about it that night.
So I went back the next day, but of course it was gone.

I also think an Epiphone Les Paul would be a really good idea...
Epi and Les were buddies in the forties and fifties, supposedly it was Les
who told Mr. M. Berlin that Epiphone was ripe for a buy out, and might
have been a go-between to arrange the sale. The rest is history.
A Les Paul guitar with Epi's name on it seems right... if it sounds right
and feels right.

I like the good Doctor's recommendation of the Epiphone Les Paul Ultra...
No line, a belly cut, no excessive weight, it sounds hard to beat.

I'd buy an Epi Les Paul, especially if they are still making the Les Paul Tribute
with Gibson '57 classic p'ups and good wiring installed... AND if I could get one
without The Line. But I don't need one. I'm very happy with my small collection
of unique guitars.

 

[TDA1966]

Mine has no center line and I purposely picked a plain maple version in a color that puts the thumbs in the face of any les paul purist. It does have a deeper tone that my sg's don't and I don't like the ergonomics of the les paul but this thing plays with absolute ease even with my approaching 60 hands. I've never had upper fret access issues with them. This is the only les paul thats ever worked for me, a 2017 classic T with '57 classics and factory hand wired.

 

[pancake81]

Easy for me:

Weight - light and comfortable to play for hours on end

Tone - gets the tone the LP tries but falls short

Looks - show me a cooler guitar

 

[Notabot]

The split top on my R9 doesn't hurt my eyes:

 

[Guithartic]

This is the best place on Earth to ask this. With the Les Paul and the SG being Gibson's flagship models, we buyers had a decision to make. Why did you go SG instead of the Les Paul? (Or why do you prefer the SG over the Les Paul?)

Me?

I played my friend's Les Paul now and again and I always was put off by the weight and the thick (muddy?) tone. The SG looked cooler and to me it has more trebly bite to it.

I only had a Fender Strat for 20 years. I wanted my own electric guitar in 1999 instead of borrowing my brothers cheap Fender Bullet. I wanted a Strat or Les Paul because they were the most popular and recognizable but the price difference made me get the Strat at Guitar Center. In 2019 I decided to get a Les Paul that I always craved so I could have a Strat and a LP. Then I went down the rabbit hole and had to get a Tele and another Strat and a PRS. Then I found a used SG on Marketplace. $900 mint but no case. I was hooked. I just got a Standard 61 with the Maestro Vibrola, and it’s my favorite. The light weight, the location of the neck when I play, the look and sound, the 12-inch fretboard. I still love the Les Paul too. I think someday it’ll be in the collection of only four or five guitars.

 

[Westernrider]

I like both

Is the green guitar a Les Paul Classic?

About a year ago, a local store got a green classic in on trade. Didn't really care for the green finish, however, it is an incredibly nice playing and sounding instrument and I bought it immediately. It has a thin taper neck and weight relieved body so it is good for me. f So, I really hope yours is is every bit as good and a keeper.

 

[Gibbo SG]

If you haven't done so, give the dour old style Les Paul archtops a chance! They may surprize you and show you a side of your playing you never knew before. It was a breath of fresh air for me to step outside my comfort zone and see what all the fuss is about the traditional Les Paul.

 

[realcooldude]

Les Pauls are certainly classic guitars, but SGs have a more comfortable body with better upper fret access and they sound basically the same (some may disagree). I also like the way it hangs on a strap better better with the strap button on the neck heel vs the top bout on a Les Paul. People complain about neck dive and mine will tilt towards the floor if you let go of the neck, but a nice strap eliminates that. Even then it's not some crazy burden to keep your hand on the neck if you have a cheapo strap. I tried the Les Paul thing a couple years ago when I bought a Les Paul Tribute for my birthday, but I never really bonded with it because I already had my SG Special. I traded the LP off eventually and ended up with an SG Standard later.

 

[edselman]

Les Paul’s are too heavy. They have sharp edges and are all around uncomfortable to play. SG’s are better looking, weigh less and are sleek and sexy. Les Paul’s are dumpy and weigh as much as a block of concrete. SG’s are built like an exotic sports car, fast, sleek and a joy to play. What more can I say.

 

[Bradley Scott]

It's like comparing chicken and beef. I like both. We all know that guitars of the same model can sound very different. In general, I like the sound of Les Pauls over SGs, but I have SGs that I like the sound over many Les Pauls, and I change pickups. When it comes to playability, fret access, and weight, then there is no comparison, SGs are better. My SGs don't neck dive and I use suede backed straps, so not an issue for me, but this could be one for some people. When it comes to looks, which are important, then it's chicken or beef. Ultimately, I can cook with either.