2005 Natural burst SG Standard

[Slim Lord]

Hello all, this is my first post- been lurking for awhile. This forum has been so helpful on my search for an SG. I’ve been blown away by the knowledge you folks have shared on this site.

When I was a youngster I owned a cherry 71 standard with the harmonica bridge. That guitar was stolen and I traded a mini Moog for the 59 ES 225 in 1983. Then I fell into playing Strat’s. Recently something told me I needed another SG. when I found this form it got me real fired up. I knew it was the right thing to do.
TODAY! I am so stoked on my literally brand new looking 2005. Just picked it up from the original owner today. Case candy and all.
I’ve just been playing it through my little Vox but I’m loving the tones. Neck pick up is straight bitchin with some tone rolled off. Treble pick up is unique/ fantastic as well. I’m assuming they are 490s?.. whatever they are they sound great. Can’t wait to run her through a real amp.

Hopefully the pics are viewable.


ps i’m not a pic licking cork sniffer, not that there’s anything wrong with that, Jess sayin.

 

[Col Mustard]

Welcome to ETSG and congratulations on an excellent choice.

In '05 the SG Standard (as well as the Les Paul Standard)
and other Gibson premium guitars were equipped with
490R neck pickup
498T bridge pickup.

The 498T was wound hotter than the 490R to make up for the
loss of string movement near the bridge. That's why lots of Gibbies
have hotter p'ups in that position.

The combination of those two is excellent of course. There are literally
thousands of them out there rocking and rolling, in spite of the Gibson
bashers who claim that all Gibson p'ups are no good, and you have to
buy ___________________ (your fave brand here) in order to be cool.

So good wishes to you with your new guitar. And after you've played it for
a bit, return and report, and let us know how it's working into your music
since it's your first modern SG. An SG will NEVER sound like a Strat, thats
why we like to have both of them in the rack. Use them for different songs.
Now let's see some more photos.

 

[Col Mustard]

oh, by the way, that ES-225 is a real prize.
*grins

With those two Gibbies and a Strat or two, you've got a lot
of tonal ground covered.

 

[TheDixiePig]

Before coming to this board I had never seen one of the natural burst SG's before. Within the last 6 months I've seen 3 counting this one. Two were in the wild being played on stage. It's a subtle burst and I like it. Pretty guitfiddle you got there, enjoy it and play the snot out of it.

 

[papagayo]

Welcome, very nice SG I like this finish.

 

[Snake Plissken]

Love that burst!

 

[Slim Lord]

Thank you all for the welcome! It’s really great to share the passion with like-minded peeps.
Colonel, I hear ya on having a couple of Strat’s. The white ‘91 Tom Anderson does some uniquely snappy clean tones and the 1986 Saint blues- It’s just special, very resonant acoustically, and the neck p.u. gushes warm low end. Bought them both new, I could part with the white one but prolly wouldn’t.

I took the SG to my guy for a go through and set up. Hopefully he can figure out what’s wrong with my treb volume pot. When you run it up to 10 it cuts out. Hopefully he can make it go to 11.
I should get it back tomorrow. Can’t wait.

 

[Slim Lord]

The natural Sunburst is difficult to photograph. When I get the guitar back I’ll take a few more pictures. In person it looks like teak. Like you might see on the rail of a boat.
Originally I was looking for a cherry red SG just because that’s the color they’re supposed to be. Then I almost bought a 2017 Pelham blue, love the color but just couldn’t commit to it.
Anyway yes, the natural burst is sweet honey.

 

[MR D]

Hello all, this is my first post- been lurking for awhile. This forum has been so helpful on my search for an SG. I’ve been blown away by the knowledge you folks have shared on this site.

When I was a youngster I owned a cherry 71 standard with the harmonica bridge. That guitar was stolen and I traded a mini Moog for the 59 ES 225 in 1983. Then I fell into playing Strat’s. Recently something told me I needed another SG. when I found this form it got me real fired up. I knew it was the right thing to do.
TODAY! I am so stoked on my literally brand new looking 2005. Just picked it up from the original owner today. Case candy and all.
I’ve just been playing it through my little Vox but I’m loving the tones. Neck pick up is straight bitchin with some tone rolled off. Treble pick up is unique/ fantastic as well. I’m assuming they are 490s?.. whatever they are they sound great. Can’t wait to run her through a real amp.

Hopefully the pics are viewable.


ps i’m not a pic licking cork sniffer, not that there’s anything wrong with that, Jess sayin.

Like I said to the Chick at the Bar last night....

"NICE PAIR YA GOT THERE !"

 

[Slim Lord]

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I took the SG to my guitar tech for a tuneup. When I got it back he had strung the strings over the tail piece and it’s nice! I’m sure you guys know what I’m talking about but you can see from the photo. For sure the string angle to the bridge is more natural. He said he tightened the tail piece firmly down to the body. It seems to have more resonance and with the intonation dialed in, this guitar is exactly what I was looking for.
Is this a pretty common thing to do? Makes me wonder why it didn’t come from the factory strung like that.
-He also asked if I was interested in selling. Nope!

 

[Col Mustard]

*laughs... be careful, you'll open a can of worms on this forum!

technical term: top wrapping

I am a fan of the wrap-over style, but not everybody is.
Some guys claim that it increases tonal quality and sustain, and they might also say this
about screwing the tail piece right down to the deck.

Others will say nonsense!... You get more overtones when you raise the tail piece off there.

I say listen to your own guitar through your own amp and signal chain and make up your
own mind. Some of us may give you our own opinions.

Here's mine: This method is perfect for SOME guitars but not all. I tried top wrapping on my
first SG and the tone is so beautiful that I've never looked back. I don't want to change anything
more, it's perfect for me. Love the feel of the strings when top wrapped. I don't screw it tight
down, but raise the tail piece very slightly off the top of the guitar. And I have the bass side of the
bridge slightly higher than the treble side.

I have another SG and tried top wrapping that one, and for some subtle reason I didn't like it.
So next string change it went back to factory style, and I've kept it that way. Cain't really articulate
why, so I just say there is no general statement that means anything. See what you think.

Here's a hint: On some bridges, the wrapped part of the string end can protrude through the tailpiece
bar far enough to bend around the tailpiece as it wraps over the top. This can cause breakage...
or buzzing or other undesirable effects.
the cure is to save the round beads from your old strings in a medicine bottle. Slide an extra bead
down the string before installing it, and it acts like a spacer. See the bead ends of my strings
sticking out, instead of being down inside. This keeps the wrapping from getting bent over the
tail piece. Peace in the family. Your guitar is probably fine the way the luthier did it. But it's
something to be aware of. Maybe some strings have more wrappings at the bead end. *shrugs

Other members have used this extra bead idea for guitars with whammy bars.
I don't know about that, because I don't use one. But it sounds good to my thinking.
I've also used it on an acoustic with very worn bridge holes, and bridge plate under
the top. It keeps the string from sliding too far up in the hole and choking the acoustic
tone, or allowing the wrapped part of the string to touch the bone bridge saddle.
(In the end you have to get your acoustic's bridge plate repaired, but that's expensive).
The extra bead will keep you playing more gigs to save up the money for the
bridge work. *grins

 

[Slim Lord]

Col, i’m absolutely blown away by your knowledge and your willingness to share it. So cool. Thank you!

 

[papagayo]

I don' t like to wraparound the stopbar but this is not important, I adjust the bridge to have the same string angle at the nut and at the bridge. Simple and it looks good. The stopbar is a little higher at the bass side.

 

[Slim Lord]

It’s nice to know good results can be had either way. Thank you for helping me realize the possibilitys.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Welcome to ETSG and congratulations on an excellent choice.

In '05 the SG Standard (as well as the Les Paul Standard)
and other Gibson premium guitars were equipped with
490R neck pickup
498T bridge pickup.

The 498T was wound hotter than the 490R to make up for the
loss of string movement near the bridge. That's why lots of Gibbies
have hotter p'ups in that position.

The combination of those two is excellent of course. There are literally
thousands of them out there rocking and rolling, in spite of the Gibson
bashers who claim that all Gibson p'ups are no good, and you have to
buy ___________________ (your fave brand here) in order to be cool.

So good wishes to you with your new guitar. And after you've played it for
a bit, return and report, and let us know how it's working into your music
since it's your first modern SG. An SG will NEVER sound like a Strat, thats
why we like to have both of them in the rack. Use them for different songs.
Now let's see some more photos.

Gball has much experience with Gibson's as well as other brands. He concurs with saying that where others are quick to condemn this or that pickup and to swap in the whiz bang next best thing. He also has had very pleasing results from his LP's with 490's and merely taking time to dial them in adjustment wise.