Originally Posted by: catboyThanks. Yeah ive played a sg in the store and loved the sound. Its just theres so much bad press about its life expectancy and how fragile the neck is. Does the sg special sound the same and is it a bit more durable with a bolt on neck? The other option is a lp studio, im guessing it sounds pretty similar to the sg.

the way I see it is, the special is just a stripped down version of the standard. much the same way a lp studio is a stripped down version of the standard. it's just got less cosmetics, but the same sound. the paint job used is much cheaper, and thinner, thus lowering the price of the guitar ALOT! but it's still the same guitar. same kind of wood used, same neck pickup, the bridge pickup used is a bit different, and in fact I don't like the bridge pickup on the special, but this isn't too expensive of a fix.

as for it being fragile. mine hasn't broken on me, or even come close. I think that for normal wear and tear, it can withstand as well as any guitar. but if you were to lean it against an amp or something, and it got knocked over, it wouldn't withstand as well as another guitar might. but mine hasn't broken. as long as you buy a hardshell case (the special only comes with a gig bag) for transporting it, and you put it on a guitar stand when not in use, then it will be just fine! I gig with mine, and it has held up perfectly for me. and in the rare circumstance that the neck does become unglued, I'm sure it wouldn't be too expensive to take it to a luthier for a reglue. but in all honesty, unless you are throwing the guitar across the stage, then it will hold up fine.