re: Humbucker Guitar comparison: Les Paul and Gibson SG.

Straight from the man himself ...

Les Paul's thoughts on the SG

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There were some efforts made by obsessive folks to figure out which Gibson worker worked which shifts during which periods, because each worker had a certain style, some wound hotter pickups, other wound cooler - FWIW I think the hotter ones didn't last as long, IIRC

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That is hilarious!

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Straight from the man himself ...

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So Les Paul himself says that the Gibson SG neck is so badly designed and manufactured that it will break in your hands while playing, if you try to bend the neck a little bit for vibrato -- and he's talking about the Gibson product during the "Golden Age" of Gibson quality the very early 1960s!

Bump for evening crowd.

What?? On this Music Board we don't get plenty of participation in a thread talking about the devices which made some of the best music ever?

There are SO many high quality amps and effects available these days.

That's why the early days of rock n roll are so fascinating.

Thanks for the kind words, C. Where in west Louisiana are you?

I agree that LP probably had a general resentment towards the SG but he makes some valid and some understandable ones.

* On the cutaway issue, pull some YouTube videos of Les performing back in his prime. I don't know if it's the physical size or the way he grips the neck (left hand pinky often extended), but he appears to have pretty huge mitts haha. I don't think his sig guitar's design and its massive neck/body joint is going to slow him down too much. Those pointed SG cutaways, however ... watch him play in the 60s and you can understand how his style had him banging into the SG's bat wings.

* On the sustain thing, keep in mind there were no effects, particularly pedals - at least nothing readily available - in the 50s and early 60s. Chasing sustain via guitar construction was one of few solutions that existed. That's why LP's early solidbody prototype ("the log") and what became his sig guitar are massive in the purest sense of the word.

* On the "weak and would break," he's likely referring to the neck joint. It's undersized by necessity and poorly jointed compared to traditional LP construction. Even Gibson realized this after the fact.

Here's the original SG neck/body joint design ... this joint is more prone to breakage and guitars with this joint are more often in need of neck resets during their lifespan. Notice in the photo how much of that neck tenon will have to be removed once the neck is installed in order to make room for the neck humbucker. Very little actual wood will be left when it's done.



... the joint was revisited in the mid-60s and the revision continues today. (that's a more modern maple capped body, but the joint design is the focus here, the tenon ... "tongued" like a LP)



* Found these clips on YouTube that sheds a little light on what I was talking about on LP versus SG sound-wise and the presence/absence of that massive maple cap. Even through small computer speakers, you can hear the SG is more midrange dominent/focused compared to the capped LP. Notice the difference is very subtle and the test is not in a rock band trio format with a Marshall haha.

Demo 1

Demo 2


If anything, the clips tell me you're not missing much in a band context, or in a controlled environment for that matter.

Actually you are missing something important with the SG in a band scenario - weight and player comfort. My personal Les Paul is a monster player and righteous tone machine, but if I played that heavy girl on stage for three hours I'd be in rehab on my couch all the following day.

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Actually you are missing something important with the SG in a band scenario - weight and player comfort.

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No less than Angus Young (think how awesome it must be to play the same music, over and over, have your singer sing different lyrics, call them different songs, and make millions, right?) famously said:

"I'm a little guy. I tried a Les Paul once, but the SG was more balanced."

Plus - the devil horns.

Interesting that when they were young and broke, his primary guitar was a SG, Malcom played a Gretsh and they shared a spare - a Tele with a humbucker at the bridge. If Angus broke a string, he could play the bridge pickup on the Tele - if Malcolm did, he could use the Tele neck pickup.

Again, I love these crazy stories about these guitars.

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you can hear the SG is more midrange dominent/focused compared to the capped LP.

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Thanks for the post. I am very interested in this stuff.