'Faded' Gibson SG's

I don't usually plug merchants or manufacturers, but I think this may be of interest to you guys. Guitar Trader (888-448-4828) is offering 'faded' Gison SG guitars in Brown or Cherry. The online list price is $577, but according to their newsletter, these guitars are being sold over the phone for $499!

I haven't been tracking Gibson prices, but that sounds very good. And these things look just like my old '62, except that the neck pickup is a little further away from the neck joint, so it should be stronger.

Comments?

It's a really good price. The last guy I heard who bought one of them bought it for around 700$ US.

I got a '74 and love it. They are really good guitars.

It's a little odd that the models don't appear on Gibsons website?? I may be wrong here..

If you're on the US side of the pond -fantasic value.

I'm Jealous :)

Why the heck cant we get similar deals in the UK (I know you can ship a guitar US to UK for about $40- so bulk shipping must be loads cheaper)

UK Dealers shaft punters - shock horror!! *whinges into beard about waffleheaded overpriced buttreaming "luxury" goods price gouging* :(

****.. I'm from sweden.. It's much more expensive over here..

Originally posted by James8831
It's a little odd that the models don't appear on Gibsons website?? I may be wrong here...

The online price is higher than the price given over the phone due to some bitching from Gibson. My guess is that these faded SG's were a bulk purchase, and Gibson is worried the low price may cut into factory/dealership sales.

They could possibly be factory 2nds, but they're still worth the price, I had a 78 Les Paul Special that was a 2nd and I couldn't see a single thing wrong with, I think Gibson has a strict quality control program, and these "Faded" guitars might not have made the grade. Whatever it is, sounds like someones getting a good deal!

Just noticed the Crescent Moon fretboard inlays, Wow, cool guitars at a steal price

Originally posted by johan1985
****.. I'm from sweden.. It's much more expensive over here..

Yeah, it seems you can pay £600/$850+ for an LP Junior in Sweden..now THAT makes the UK look cheap.

Johan have you tried ThomMann in Germany for gear? They have great prices and a standard postage charge (it seems) of £12/$18 on most items.

http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann

This seems to be the closest we come in europe to such good deals.

cool! thanks man, I'll check it out!

Would this be a good or easy guitar to learn on?

Yeah, its a good guitar. Good enough that 'better' would be pretty much a subjective matter of taste rather than quality. And I guess it would be about as easy to learn on as anything you could get. At the price, you could recover most of your money on resale if you decided you didn't like it.

Thanks for the reply! I keep pouring over the ads on the net and can't figure out what to get to start out with. Too many choices! Would a Behringer GX112 amp be a good choice to go with it? Or I was thinking about waiting for the new twin for a few bucks more. Sorry, I know this question is kind of off the thread topic. Thanks.

if you can afford it as a first guitar.

SGs seem to have nice low actions[string height low=easier to fret] generally,great necks and are damn fine instruments.

Their scale length (all Gibsons) means the strings are less "tense" than a Fender/Squier and easier to bend.

But us "old fogies" may say it's better start off with a clunker ,as :

A.) Having a guitar which is tough to play strenghtens the hands [and builds character].

B.) You have more money for amps/leads etc

C.) We had to start on cheapies -why should beginners have all the luck these days. :D

As for Amps the new little Marshall MGIII series look quite good.

Thanks James, points well taken. Money isn't that much of an object within reason. I'm sure my arthritic fingers are softer than a baby's behind. I'm 48 and thought that going with something really easy to play and with an amp big enough,and one that I can fool around with and get some different sounds out of, would keep me more interested. Any comments on what you feel would be the easiest overall guitar to learn on short of the $1K plus models.

fmarty I thought you may have been a youngster trying to get his folks to fork out

:)

This SG should be a fine guitar for you to advance on, I recently got a low end gibson [The Paul] and it's got a fine neck,most SGs i've seen do as well. Gibson pickups are excellent for a wide range of sounds. I love my Gibson, despite a couple of minor faults [mainly the pickup selector switch] and think you would find this an excellent guitar which will,hopefully, keep you happy for years.

Up to 1k, I'd look at Yamaha S(B)Gs or AES models,Esp [EC]300/301s,Most Gibson Electrics,Gordon Smiths (if you can find them), Tokais,Dillions and Raven.

Laney and Marshall [I'm biased,I'm British too] make some damn fine amps in the 30 to 50 watt range, and i like the sound of most of those...but i know little about amps as such.

Hopefully you can get an excellent guitar from any of those makers and a nice amp for under $1000.

Good Luck.

I have a gibson SG which I strongly recommend. They are great guitars. But quite frangile. Mine as the neck broken and I know a couple other people that happen their guitar as well.

I far as playing it, I got that guitar real early and had to learn with it. It's easy to play, I never found another guitar that had that feeling on the fretboard. I guess you should try one if you have a dealer nearby. Bought mine used for close to nothing but the deal in this post seems real good.

I also have a Yamaha RGX 420S. Those are really good, not too expensive guitars. Got mine for 700$ CND (something like 400$ US I guess). Narrow fretboard, good for playing. Easy to bend strings, even thought they get high off the fretboard around the 15th string. Got a nice Floyd Rose Tremolo if you'r into that. You can have a descent range of sound since it's a 5-way switch.

As far as amp goes I have a small 15-watt-room-amp :)

It's a Roland DAC-15XD with build in effects. There's a Delay, Chorus and a flanger. I started with that amp because I didn't want to buy a multi-effect pad (those things cost an arm and leg). I just bought a used distortion pedal by BOSS and I had a descent equipment for not too much money. I don't know If they make that amp anymore but It was really cool to play around with effects.

Anyway that's it, hope this can help.

Thanks for the info on the SG's and amps. I think I may snap one up at that price. At least I should be able to sell it at a decent price if I decide I'm not musical enough to catch on.
I appreciate info from those who can play. I just want to get into it for something new to learn and occupy my time. I can practice at work and will get a small amp for that purpose.(might as well get paid to practice) I plan on getting a bigger amp for home use. Don't have any plans to play in a band or anything like that. Will probably take some lessons to get started and then see how it goes. If anyone has any good advice for someone like myself please feel free to email me at: fmarty@doa.state.wi.us Thanks again!

Pardon my Gibson ignorance... what does the "SG" stand for?
Thanks!

Originally posted by fmarty
Pardon my Gibson ignorance... what does the "SG" stand for?
Thanks!

Solid body Guitar

Good to know I have one and never questionned myself.

Didn't know there was a meaning behind it. I'll go to sleep less stupid tonight I guess :)