After you’ve owned any Gibson guitars for the first time you will appreciate what a high quality, USA made guitar is all about! The Gibson SG classic falls into this category of high end classic reissues that the company is famous for. This guitar sits in my band’s studio as a community instrument for all to play and has been reviewed a lot.
The benefits of owning a Gibson SG classic custom are negligible after you’ve tried the non-custom version. The differences are mostly cosmetic, but, if you’ve got the extra budget for one then you should consider at least trying one out because it is definitely a beautiful guitar with high-end, gold hardware.
Gibson SG classic P90 pickups are the stock electronics on this guitar. The P90s were famous back right up until 1957 when the PAF humbucker was introduced. The P90 still came stock on SG specials through the 1960s and were preferred but legendary guitarist Pete Townsend. The SG classic with the P90s has a strong treble tone that will bite through any mix. They are a lot clearer sounding than other single coil pickups of old.
Like the other models of SG, the classic’s body is a one piece, solid mahogany construction that has the familiar double cutaway horns. The model we have in our studio needed a slight adjust on the action to get it to a lower position but this is standard for any guitar and I would always recommend to take a new guitar for a professional setup. The heritage cherry finish on the Gibson SG classic electric guitar is flawless and it shows the grain of the high grade mahogany beautifully.
One difference on the classic is the neck. Gibson has gone from a thin and fast neck to a chunkier style neck in recent eras but the SG classic has been fitted with a more modern style tapered neck that is fast and comfortable, yet still has some size to it that feels great in your hand. The all mahogany 22 fret neck is set into the body (Gibson is famous for their set-in necks) and has extremely easy access to the highest frets. Nothing fancy on the bound rosewood fingerboard, it comes with dot style mother-of-pearl markers, which do the job just fine. The headstock on the Gibson SG classic has the white tuners I’m sure you’re familiar and has a plastic nut. The nut is the only thing I would replace on this guitar.
Well there you have your Gibson SG classic review. I have owned and had this guitar in my studio with my many other guitar instruments for a while and have been extremely happy with the quality, tone and playability of it. It comes highly recommended by the other musicians from my band and studio as well.