anyone here have any experience with the gibson sg?

i looked into one also they have a really rich deep tone but i hear thats the only sound you can get out of them. on the other hand a jazz i a little more versatile

 

Don't let 'faster' be on your priority list....

 

I like the look, and I consider them a great option bass; in other words, you probably will want another bass of a different type so you can trade off for different sounds.

 

my teacher has a '73 eb-3l (long scale) that sounds amazing, i suggest you at least try one.

 

I don't like SGs, YMMV.

 

I played an SG and thought it had some balance issues.

 

They are cool looking, but for my money, the Thunderbird is the only Gibson bass worth having if you only have one. But not more than a Jazz bass. Don't you hate it when you think you have it figured out, then see something that totally confuses you and then you realise you never really had it in the first place? There are so many good options, it's hard to narrow it down to only one bass.

 

Horn too short, neck dive issues...

 

It bolts on the neck plate. Well, if it had one. We're talkin the real deal here right?

IMHO, I loved how the felt and played but there wasn't enough oomph in the lower notes "ala first couple notes on the E" but then again if I had enough money I could fix that with speakers.

 

I'm pretty sure one farted on me once.

Kidding, but no seriously. Try it before you buy it. I was all jazzed up over the Gibson basses at one time... until I played them. Some people love em, I really didn't like anything about it. Had a shoddy setup, the bridge is uh... not the best design, to put it nicely; and even with the bridge pickup it's hard to get anything other than that farty mudbucker tone. It's a great tone if that's what you're after, but it's definitely not very versatile. Though you're completely right, they do look cool as hell. The bass player in this great new british band "The Mystery Jets" plays one though, and he managed to get some fantastic tones out of it thru a trace elliot head when i saw them a few months back. Just play one and see how you like it.

 

I wanted to buy one (Epiphone EB-3) until I actually tried a few. Didn't like the neck dive or the limited tone. A Jazz bass (i.e., the Geddy) is a better choice IMHO.

 

My basses including a Geddy Lee Jazz among 8 Fenders, a few month old Gibson SG and a Sadowsky. I have played them all quite extensively and can offer the following fairly educated (IMO only, of course) opinions:

- A Geddy Lee Jazz is one of the "fastest playing" basses I have ever played. Likely the fastest. I have very small hands and I can just fly around the fretboard of the Geddy Lee. Faster than my Sadowsky, faster than my P basses and other Jazz basses and absolutely faster than my Gibson SG.

- A Gibson SG is not a good choice if it is the only bass you own and also if you play different styles of music. If you play only Cream or R&B (no funk or slapping) or old time rock & roll, it may work, but it is not a versatile bass by any stretch.

Slapping, Jazz, Metal and many other styles of music suit the Jazz bass much better than a SG. I love my SG but it is a bass to add to your trick bag, not to use as a #1 bass (just my opinion).

- Short scale is an acquired taste. Just because you one has small hands doesn't mean shortscale is for you. As I mentioned, I have very small hands. Much of my playing is on a MIA Jazz V. The neck is like a baseball bat and it is perfect for me. Short scale also does not mean it will be easier to play or allow you to play faster.

- The SG has the worst neck dive I have ever seen on a bass. Seriously. Let go of the neck and the headstock beelines for the ground. Worse that a TBird.

- A Geddy is about 2lbs heavier than a SG bass.

Try them both out before deciding. If you ever need to slap or play really funky stuff and you end up with just a SG, you are going to be displeased to say the least.