it's such a nice guitar, it sounds and feels great, and they make the special faded cheaper because it doesn't have all the flashy stuff. for example, mine has dot inlays instead of trapezoid, it has no pickups covers, and the finish is "cheaper" (though, on my guitar it actually looks better then the higher end SG's) other then those three things, I don't think there is any difference between my guitar and a standard sg. and those three things only affect looks, so, my guitar still sounds just as good as a sg standard, and still looks good (better in my opinion) here's a pic for you:
see? ain't she pretty? you know, gibson also makes a les paul for $650 too... you might want to look into it.
