2022 SG Standard 61 upgrades

[papagayo]

Why would you pay that kind of money for a Gibson that didn’t have what you wanted and then spend even more on so called “Upgrades?” Or are we talking about an Epiphone?

The ABR-1 bridge with Faber® iNsert™ studs is really an upgrade, here is the link if you want : https://www.faberguitar.com/iNsert-...uds-7mm-6-32inch-BRASS-nickel-plated-glossy_1
Other modifications are cosmetic, but that make the difference.

 

[Mitchey75]

Okay, if you want I see that... Where is the wide bevel pickgard, the ABR-1 bridge, etc..?

Picture is without the wide bevel pickguard (have to look for other pix), these were the parts I have ordered and installed:

ABRN-NA ABRN Bridge, Fits Nashv studs, Aged Nickel, Brass saddles nic, 57,00 €

Faber® ABRN Bridge Gloss Nickel, For Gibson® with Nashville & Heritage® with Schaller bridges Perhaps the most vintage correct replacement bridge available

www.faberguitar.com

TP-59NA Faber TP-'59 Vintage Spec ALU Stop Tailpiece, Nickel, aged, 40,00 €

Faber®“ Aluminium Tailpiece Correct Vintage Style Vernickelt, extrem leicht und in glänzend poliert oder „aged“ Ausführung erhältlich Es ist nicht erforderl

www.faberguitar.com

"Art of Aging" CAB Black Reflector Heads Goldface

the worlds finest selection of Customparts

www.crazyparts.de

 

[papagayo]

I will install a Faber ABR-Historic on my Ebony '61 Reissue, the stock ABR-1 is fine when strings are on the guitar but without retainer wire the saddles are free, very easy to loose.

https://www.faberguitar.com/ABRH-NG...-1-Gloss-Nickel-Brass-saddles-nickel-plated_1

 

[Mitchey75]

Okay, if you want I see that... Where is the wide bevel pickgard, the ABR-1 bridge, etc..?

Here's onewith the wide bevel pickguard...

 

[papagayo]

Picture is without the wide bevel pickguard (have to look for other pix), these were the parts I have ordered and installed:

ABRN-NA ABRN Bridge, Fits Nashv studs, Aged Nickel, Brass saddles nic, 57,00 €

Faber® ABRN Bridge Gloss Nickel, For Gibson® with Nashville & Heritage® with Schaller bridges Perhaps the most vintage correct replacement bridge available

www.faberguitar.com

TP-59NA Faber TP-'59 Vintage Spec ALU Stop Tailpiece, Nickel, aged, 40,00 €

Faber®“ Aluminium Tailpiece Correct Vintage Style Vernickelt, extrem leicht und in glänzend poliert oder „aged“ Ausführung erhältlich Es ist nicht erforderl

www.faberguitar.com

"Art of Aging" CAB Black Reflector Heads Goldface

the worlds finest selection of Customparts

www.crazyparts.de

If you want to install a Faber ABR-N bridge consider Faber® iNsert™ studs, with those studs you eliminate the adapters. Better sustain, more vibrations...

Faber® iNsert™ with Gibson ABR-1 bridge, the perfect conversion.
For your SG Standard '61 you only need the Faber® iNsert™ studs, 6-32inch upper threaded version : https://www.faberguitar.com/iNsert-...uds-7mm-6-32inch-BRASS-nickel-plated-glossy_1

 

[PermissionToLand]

A wide bevel pickguard and truss rod cover is a super easy (and reversible) mod that makes for a nice aesthetic upgrade, IMO. That's the number 1 mod I'd recommend for a '61 Standard.

 

[MeHereNow]

I always round the fretboard binding edges to get a broken in feel.
Scraping with an sharp blade, sand with fine grit, and then a little buffing compound.
Feels smoother and that's the way I like it.
Take the saddles out, carefully sand the top and sides and buffing them smooth.
Feels better on the right hand palm.
I did this to all of my gibsons:

2001 SG Classic
2018 LP R8
2020 SG 61 Standard

Maybe in the future some cosmetic mods on the 61 as done by many, but for now, it's perfect for me

 

[Snake Plissken]

Hi all;

I just bought a 2022 SG Standard 61 Vintage Cherry. What if any upgrades would you do? Or would you leave it as is?

Thanks...

What don't you like about the guitar? What makes you curious about upgrades? Why did you buy the guitar if you are already asking about "upgrades'? Why not buy the exact guitar you wanted in the first place?

Not trying to be snarky here, jsut asking valid questions so we can better gauge what you're trying to accomplish.

I bought a '61 Standard with the Maestro Vibrola and all I added were knob pointers because I like to ride the volume and tone knobs and have a reference point. Other than that, the guitar needs nothing. I get that some like to make cosmetic changes like a wider beveled pick guard, maybe some "vintage correct" knobs, etc. Those are all easy and reversible, but it really makes no sense to me to tart doing anything else to a perfectly good, brand new guitar before you've even out it through it's paces.

Swapping out bridges and saddles and adding locking tuners, etc. are all wastes of money IMHO. Dare I say, the overwhelming majority of us here will change these things out simply because the internet told them they had to in order to achieve tonal bliss, which is all just rubbish, when most of us here probably can't even play worth a darn to even have those changes make any discernible difference.

My suggestion for the best mod is to jsut practice and become a better player. That's the one thing that will make all of our guitars sound better.

Get a proper set up and some new strings and play it for a few months and only then decide if it even needs anything and be honest with yourself. Swapping a bridge or whatever isn't going to make you a better player. I find when people are looking to mod or change something but have no idea what mods or changes to make it usually means they ae bored and/or have money to burn. You have a brand new, awesome guitar. Instead of asking us what mods you should do to your guitar you should be playing it and deciding for yourself, and in most cases it probably needs nothing aside from a setup, which any production, off-the-rack guitar will benefit from.

 

[MeHereNow]

Mod whatever you feel necessary on said guitar.
You can make it a model that isn't for sale with the specs you want, and make it unique to you.
A lot of people do aesthetic mods to make it look more vintage or modern etc.
A wide bevel pickguard will not "improve" anything, but if it makes you feel more satisfied with the guitar than it's a good mod.
You will play it more once it's totally to your liking.
Some are satisfied with stock and play the hell out of it, some will need aesthetic mods or electronics/ hardware mods to make it feel "theirs"

 

[Decadent Dan]

Get a big nail and scratch your name into the front of it so nobody will want to steal it.

 

[Daphne Gruntfuttock]

I prefer to buy a second hand that is completely stock, so I don't
fit any "upgrades" to my guitars. I replace used or broken parts with identical Gibson or aftermarket parts.
A Bigsby or a coil tap on a guitar that wasn't meant to have one makes my OCD eyelids twitch.

 

[Westernrider]

"Why would you pay that kind of money for a Gibson that didn’t have what you wanted and then spend even more on so called “Upgrades?” Or are we talking about an Epiphone?"


I've got to stand up for Epiphone.

First off, this is a $450 guitar. It aint Gibson, It is a cheap guitar made with Computer controlled manufacturing methods. The finish is very plain. This is a no frills guitar. For you old timers, the 60's student guitars were an entirely different world compared to the Gibsons and Fenders of that era.

Epiphone | SG Special P-90

The SG Special returns to the classic design that made it relevant, played and loved -- shaping sound across generations and genres of music. This early 60's style SG Special has the vibe and sound heard on countless classic rock recordings. The Epiphone SG Special P-90 from the new Inspired by...

www.epiphone.com

Yesterday, I just tried one of these P-90 loaded Epi SG's at the store. After 10 minutes or so, there was nothing that I felt needed changing, swapping, or invoking the Great Guitar Gods to give this guitar some serious mojo at this point in time.

The neck was a real thin taper - yes; fret ends - smooth; tuners - may have to go; pots - they'll go eventually; pickups - depends on how they would sound in my rig. I would seriously play the guitar a couple of months and then see what needs to be done.

This is really a nice guitar. Plain! Fast and smooth neck! Bridge pickup - had some body! Very comfortable to play standing and sitting. And it sounded great - notes were alive and bends sounded strong.

And I was plugged into one of them Boss Modeler amps, while switching between clean and crunch.

And some of the other Epiphone models will hold their own, especially considering the price point.

Yeah, I know, haters will hate. This is relative to the price of the guitar.

 

[Col Mustard]

Let's face it, modding guitars is fun. And that's okay.

Some of us have our own favorite things to do on a guitar that
actually doesn't need anything. That's okay too. We enjoy working
on our guitar, doing things we know how to do.

On this forum, many times we've seen guys write in after buying
one of the best guitars in the world, a Gibson SG standard or
'61. What can I buy to improve my new guitar?

ETSG consensus seems to be a setup job (which includes new
strings)... I agree wholeheartedly with that.

Comments you can ignore will be about how terrible
Gibson tuners are (false) and about how terrible the Gibson
Nashville bridge is (false) and how terrible the Gibson stock
pickups are (false)... Guys say these things because they
heard it somewhere on the internet.

Play your guitar after you get it set up properly, and make up
your own mind.