Gibson SG ’61 Reissue

A Cost Effective Alternative to the Les Paul Standard

The Gibson SG ‘61 Reissue and the Les Paul Standard have the classic look & sound of a Gibson electric guitar. The price tag is $2,500. There are times when my GAS (guitar acquisition syndrome) is really bad, and I have to pass some gas by splurging on a new guitar.

But let’s face it, most days of the year many of us are not ready to spend that kind of money on anything. If you start economizing your Les Paul choice by shaving $1,000 of the price, you drop down to Les Paul Studios in an all black finish or maybe an LP Tribute with a Satin finish. Keep shaving dollars and you get down to the Les Paul Specials with the flat top body and the P-90’s. But to be honest, a Les Paul stripped of it’s high gloss finish and burstbucker pickups seems less fun. Why would you spend $1,500 or even $2,000 on a guitar that’s going to be, “less fun?”

I’m going to offer a compromise and take a look the Les Paul’s little brother, the Gibson SG. More specifically, the SG ’61 Reissue. Why did I choose the ’61 Reissue and not an SG Standard? Because the ’61 is a premium non-custom shop guitar that costs less than a Les Paul Standard with a lot of the same features, and it’s still a Gibson. The SG 61 is priced new at $1,799 and this falls right between our hypothetical “less fun” LP price of $1,500 – $2000. That means the cost of the SG 61 is 72% of the cost of the LP Standard. That’s nearly 30% off, and you sacrifice very little when you begin comparing features. The ’61 SG RI is a high end guitar, with classic Gibson tone.

If you’re a tone freak like me, you know there’s a difference between the Les Paul and the SG in a number of areas. One thing I hear from players constantly is that the Les Paul has more sustain. While this is true, that sustain comes with a price. LP’s are heavy guitars. For me, wearing a Les Paul for the duration of a 2-4 hour gig can be exhausting. I think Gibson has lightened the modern LP’s (they call this weight relieved?) so while they are no longer the beasts they once were, they still weight in at 9-10 lbs. For the nights you’re playing from 9:00p til closing time, it’s going to weigh on you (see what I did there).

Enter the Gibson SG ’61 reissue. Coming in between 6 and 7 lbs, this is going to be way more comfortable after the first 2-hours of playing live. A 3 to 4 lb difference does not seem like much, but when the shows over, you’re tired. When packing up to go home you’re going to thank yourself when you pick up that light guitar case. Full disclaimer, the light body creates a “neck heavy” guitar, but in my experience it has never been a problem.

I’m not a big guy, and I don’t feel like luggin a heavy instrument night in and night out. And the sustain? If this thing is plugged into a Marshall and cranked, you get tons of sustain. If you don’t believe me, listen to AC/DC’s If You Want Blood live album. Or maybe tune into some Derek Trucks. They will convince you that SG’s have enough sustain in them. The ’61 Reissue will get you through the gig.

So what do you lose buying an SG ’61 over the LP Standard? As far as playability and tone goes, I don’t think you lose a whole lot. Check out this great YouTube video from the guys at Alamo Music Center for a comparison of the SG’ 61 RI and a Les Paul Standard 50’s. For appearance, well, that’s more subjective and really depends on you. If you decide the following is important to you, maybe a Les Paul is the right choice for you.

The LP has an archtop, and the SG has a flat body. Visually, it makes a Les Paul a beautiful thing to look at. In the tone department, I haven’t been able to decipher a huge difference between the flattop LP models and the archtop LP models. If a flattop LP sounds almost indecipherable to the untrained ear, the SG should also have the classic Gibson tone without needing an archtop. Plus, time is money, and it takes time to shape an archtop, glue it to the flat LP body, route the archtop for the the bidge/tailpiece/pickups/controls, etc.

Part of the LP Standard premium is in the look. If you’re playing music for the glam, then by all means, spend the extra cash. Someone put effort into making the LP Standard a beautiful guitar, and that someone will be proud to see you play it. If you want to save a few bucks, maybe consider losing the archtop.

Another difference between the LP’s and SG’s is where the pickup switch is located. I’ve always been a fan of having the switch be located near the volume and tone pots, so everything is in one spot when I reach to make an adjustment before a solo or between songs. This is the case with the SG. On the Les Pauls, the pickup switch on the opposite side of the guitar, up past the neck pickup. The location here may be handy if you’re strumming.

For finger picking and other right hand techniques, I personally rest the side of my hand just behind the tune-o-matic bridge where the strings span between the tune-o-matic and the tailpiece. This creates a pick position right between the neck and bridge pickups. If playing an LP and you decide to switch pickups and make a volume/tone adjustment, your hand needs to find two locations, make an adjustment , and come back to playing position. Might not be a big deal, but it’s an extra split second, and that could be a turn off for some.

The neck profiles between the two are different, but honestly this is also very subjective. I would suggest heading into your local small music shop and picking up an LP Standard (50’s or 60’s) and comparing this to the SG ’61 RI. You may find that one neck feels better than the other, and once you determine what feels best, that’s the guitar for you.

Don’t let anyone tell you to buy something that doesn’t feel good in your hands. We’re all different. I have small hands, so the slim taper SG neck feels like it was made for me. The 60’s LP Standard comes with a slim taper neck too, so these two guitars feel about the same. The 50’s LP Standard has the vintage profile, and it’s a bit too big for me to stretch to the opposite side of the finger board, or let my thumb wrap around to fret the E-string for Hendrix style licks. However, this could be the perfect profile for you. Go find a 50’s vintage profile neck, play it, and tell me what you think in the comments.

The headstocks have small differences. The LP has Les Paul’s signature and the SG has the Gibson crown inlay. I personally don’t need Les Paul’s signature on the headstock to tell me I’m playing an LP, and I prefer the crown inlay. The tuners for each guitar are different as well. The LP Standard 60’s comes with Rotomatic Grovers where the LP Standard 50s and the SG ’61 RI come with Gibson’s Vintage Deluxe tuners. To me both tuners will keep your guitar in tune, and this is purely cosmetic.

The SG ’61 RI is a great guitar in it’s own right

It’s time to go over what makes a Gibson SG ’61 reissue a fantastic guitar all on it’s own. I purchased the ’61 reissue when I was 18 years old, and it my first major purchase (beside my first car) that I ever made. It was my main axe for years! My taste has changed over the years, and the SG does not get as much attention as it used too. The other day I took it out of the case after about 3 months of neglect, and you may not believe me, but she was in tune! Despite being shelved in my closet! Anytime a guitar comes out of a case after an extended period in tune, I have major props for that make and model. And she makes good couch art too. =)

I think the original 1961 SG was produced by Gibson as an answer to Fender’ Stratocaster double cutaway. Sales of Les Paul had lowered in the years leading up to 1960, and Gibson decided to give the Les Paul a make over. Originally called the Les Paul SG, this revamped Les Paul featured a long slim neck profile, matched with a smaller heel joining the body and neck. It also featured the double cut away and slimmer contoured body. The only problem? Gibson developed the SG without involving Les Paul, and Les Paul did not like the new model. His name was dropped from the guitar, and the Solid Guitar (SG) was born.

Gibson’s recreation of the classic and legendary 1961 SG is just awesome. The neck is outlined with a cream binding, the rosewood finger board has the classic SG inlays, and the body and neck are solid mahogany. I love the half pickguard because you get to see more of the Vintage Cherry high gloss finish

When you start playing the ’61 reissue, it immediately feels like a dream. Right out of the box, this guitar had fantastic action and was intonated perfectly. Take a look at where the neck of the ’61 reissue meets the body, and you’ll notice a huge difference between this model and the Standard SG. The SG ’61 RI IS ALL NECK! What I mean by that is, the standard SG has a heel where the neck meets the body. On the ’61 reissue, the neck contour stays the same all the way from the nut up to the 19th fret before the profile tapers to meets the body. This is what makes these guitars truly unique. I’ve never seen another guitar (besides and Epiphone) that gives you better access to the higher register. When they advertised the first SG’s, they called it the fastest neck in the world.

At $1,800 the ’61 Reissue is a steal. And if mine was ever stolen, I’d be buying another pretty quick.

Strings – I play most of my electric guitars with Ernie Ball, regular slinky, custom gauge nickel wound strings, .010 – .046.

Picks – The SG was the guitar that got me to abandon Fender Mediums and transition to Fener Heavy. I like the multicolor versions because they’re easy to find when I drop them on the ground.

Gibson SG ’61 Reissue Ratings (- out of 10, 10 being the best score)

Action – 9. Action is fantastic. I think the only guitar that comes with lower action out of the box is a Les Paul (maybe I’ll add this note to the article above in the future).

Intonation – 10. After I spend $1,800 on a guitar, it’d better be perfect.

Overall Sound – 9. I’m a fan of that big, fat, and warm Gibson sound. I think the best tone I ever had was playing this guitar through a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI with everything on 10. I’ve transitioned to the Telecaster since my days of early mayhem, and the clean Fender sound has become my favorite tone. If I had not fallen in love with the Telecaster, this rating would be a 10.

Mods – I haven’t modified this guitar. If I ever talk about modifying this guitar, please hit me over the head with a frying pan.

Is this guitar the holy grail? If I gave it the title of the holy grail, this blog site’s purpose would be fulfilled. It would be sad to stop making posts for you guys. So no, the SG ’61 Reissue is not my holy grail of guitars. For a long time though, I really thought this was the only guitar I’d ever want. Then another pretty thing caught my eye, and the doc diagnosed me with GAS.

 

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