Gibson SG Faded Special

[gnosticbass]

I'm getting a little ahead of myself having just started on guitar but I was at my local GC getting some strings and I decided to try one out and compare it to a Les Paul Studio as well as a couple of comparable Epiphone models. I really liked the Gibson SG Faded Special overall. I even tried them out standing up, and again the SG (Gibson) felt the most comfortable. My back really liked the SG Faded Special. I also noticed the neck didn't dip like the Epi's. The price is about what I am willing to spend on my first electric 6-string. I have always liked the sound of Gibson guitars and for a hundred $ less then the Les Paul Studio (Faded Special) the SG is hard to beat. Anyone on the forum own/play one? All thoughts opinions welcome.

[indianDYsummer]

I like the faded SGs too- they seem to be a lot closer to a standard SG than the LP faded is to a real LP. Before I got my current guitar ('72 Fender telecaster deluxe RI) I was deciding between the SG faded and the '72 tele. I liked the tele's neck more and it seemed a bit more versatile so I got it. The faded SG is a nice guitar though! The faded brown is an awesome color.

[bmxbandit]

That was my first real guitar after stepping up from a beginner Ibanez and I loved it. It's so light. Standing up and playing is super easy with it. The pickups weren't the hottest to my liking and I was huge into metal at the time so I put active emg's in it which kind of ruined the tone but still very playable. The way the neck sets back a bit from the body made high notes very approachable. All in all I thought it was pretty quality for the price and sound great.

[xenious]

The SG faded is a great value and solid guitar. The faded LPs were a bit of an odd departure. I ended up getting a faded just for the feel of the back of the neck. The non-fadeds felt a little sticky for my taste.

[gnosticbass]

I like the faded SGs too- they seem to be a lot closer to a standard SG than the LP faded is to a real LP. Before I got my current guitar ('72 Fender telecaster deluxe RI) I was deciding between the SG faded and the '72 tele. I liked the tele's neck more and it seemed a bit more versatile so I got it. The faded SG is a nice guitar though! The faded brown is an awesome color.

The faded brown is the color I'll get when I get mine. I am by no means an expert on Gibson guitars but I did notice a difference on how the Les Paul Studio Faded Special felt even compared to the regular Studio model. Thats not to say the Les Paul Faded was a bad guitar but it was a little different from the other Les Paul models. That said I still liked the SG Faded better.

[Neiloler]

I had a great SG Faded Special (that was extra special because it wasn't faded), and it was wonderful. One of the great guitars-I-sold-but-shouldn't-have mistakes of my life.

[Y0UNGBL00D]

Its my #1. Mine is modded to hell, but it was really fine when I got it. Put a 500t and a p94 in, a bigsby, coilsplit the 500, chicken head knobs, mint guard. They do have a wide quality window. Mine was a love at first sight purchase at gc actually. Happened to be one of the good ones. See sig
Here's a pic actually

[miggs55]

My second guitar was a faded sg. It's one of the first ones they made with the necks from the old gothic series. It has an ebony fingerboard with crescent moon inlays. It was my main guitar for about 2 years. I put Seymour duncans in it. It's a pretty good guitar. I now also have a white 61 reissue. The faded stays in tune better than the reissue and feels more solid, like it can take more of a beating if that makes sense...and the reissue cost 2-3x more! But even with the duncans in the faded, the reissue sounds better to me and it plays better. But my faded was a great guitar, especially for the money.

[Wired]

Its my #1. Mine is modded to hell, but it was really fine when I got it. Put a 500t and a p94 in, a bigsby, coilsplit the 500, chicken head knobs, mint guard. They do have a wide quality window. Mine was a love at first sight purchase at gc actually. Happened to be one of the good ones. See sig
Here's a pic actually

LOL, thats pretty close to what I did to my old SG Supreme


500T bridge, P94T in the neck (had a bit more clarity) but instead of a coil tap I made one of the tone knobs a master tone and the other one was a control knob for one of the coils of the 500T. That way I could "blend" the humbucker in and out, a very cool feature I haven't done on anything else yet.


If you can find an older SG Special Faded they at one time had an Ebony board instead of the rosewood models the later ones do. These were smooth like butta! Sounded a bit brighter, and were much better made than the later runs. Most of these things just needed a good fret dressing to be amazing though.

If I buy another SG (which I always tell myself I will because really... aren't they awesome) it will be a faded, and it will be loaded with the 500T/P90T load out.







And now I wanna put a bigsby on it too... but mine'll be red with no pick plate.

[ironlung40]

My faded brown SG is my #1. I also own a 61 reissue in all of the SG glory, but I prefer the faded for playing out. The worn finish gives it that used feel, and is really smooth and quick on the neck, whereas the 61's finish is a bit sticky feeling, depending on the humidity, etc. . I like the more classic look of the 61', but as far as playability, the worn special is not too far behind it, add to that the price, and it is a real winner. You can change the pickups out if you want, later as well, but I love the 57 classics in my 61, and I found that the 490's are close enough, that I chose not to change em'. I think the 57's sound better for cleans and crunch, but not in a huge way. I mainly play distorted tones, so the 490's do well for me. They're pretty versatile, but keep an older school vintage vibe to them as well.

If you do buy a faded, pay extra close attention to the neck, frets, nut, and action of the guitar. I've seen several with issues there. Mine, was near perfection, but it was not the first one I tried either. I tried another one, that had bad fret-buzz. I was told a set up was all it needed, but I loosened the strings and noticed that the fretboard had came loose. (this was after the luthier set it up, so he may have overtightened the truss-rod, causing this) either way, just play it first, before you buy, and you should be fine. If you do buy online, unseen, just be sure you can return it if it has any issues. I guess in my experience, you could say that there seems to be a wide margin of quality with these guitars. Maybe, it's was just my luck, but the one I actually bought is superb.

Another thing I love about em' is like stated above, they seem really close in quality to a regular standard, but with the worn finish, I'm not afraid to play it out. With my 61' I tend to baby it too much, worrying with dings in the finish, etc. but with the faded, they wear really well, so I tend to just focus on playing it, instead of protecting it.

Ironlung

[gnosticbass]

Thanks for all the info. Now I gotta learn patience and get caught up on the bills. It sucks being an adult just about all of the time LOL.

[ironlung40]

Thanks for all the info. Now I gotta learn patience and get caught up on the bills. It sucks being an adult just about all of the time LOL.

I hear ya. I waited until I was 30 years old before I bought my Rocker 30 and Jcm 800. I waited a long time to buy proper gear, but that's what you do when you're not rich, or don't have rich parents. I've went a bit overboard now, though. It was like breaking a seal, once I bought some good gear, I ended up buying too much. Now i've got several amps, and I need to thin em' out.

[drewfromutah]

I have one with the crescent moon inlays and ebony fretboard. Mine is much heavier than most others but I don't really mind. I gigged with it for a year or so before I bought my SGX pictured below.

[indianDYsummer]

Thanks for all the info. Now I gotta learn patience and get caught up on the bills. It sucks being an adult just about all of the time LOL.

I hear ya. I waited until I was 30 years old before I bought my Rocker 30 and Jcm 800. I waited a long time to buy proper gear, but that's what you do when you're not rich, or don't have rich parents. I've went a bit overboard now, though. It was like breaking a seal, once I bought some good gear, I ended up buying too much. Now i've got several amps, and I need to thin em' out.

I feel like this will happen to me, too. I'm about a week or two away from having a nice paying big-boy job, and its going to make my GAS really awful... or awesome.. whatever.

[Ddjembe Mutombo]

I have one of the old SG faded specials with the ebony fretboards and crescent moon inlays. I bought it new in '02 or '03... can't remember. It is a great guitar. I have played a few of the current ones and they are all lemons in my opinion. Kind of a bummer if you ask me.