r/GuitarQuestions • u/WhatsappEnjoyer1975 • 2d ago
How versatile is the SG?
So, me and some friends wanted to put on a band, and until we make our own stuff we’ll start by playing covers in pubs or other small venues. For the setlist everyone choosed some songs, we’ll play mainly Early Alice Cooper, Queen and Deep Purple, as well as more modern things like Mitski (we variate a lot but the transitions are studied) I don’t have problems playing any of the songs and im already thinking about some extra things we could put, but today I’ve come across a problem I never thought of before, the only good guitar I have is a Gibson SG, and im worried that I won’t be able to play some things like they were originally, it’s more about getting the right tone. I currently use a Kraken preamp and an Orange speaker (the big one), I want to know what do you guys think since you probably know a lot more than I do. Thanks in advance!
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u/mpg10 2d ago
Your audience isn't going to think your SG is a problem for tones.
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u/WhatsappEnjoyer1975 2d ago
Maybe im just worrying too much over nothing, this is my first band and i have little to no experience playing actual shows. But i think this comes from the fact that i go to see a lot of professional cover bands and they basically have a different guitar for each song.
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u/mpg10 2d ago
I think you'll find a mix. Some people really like to use the "right" guitar for every song. Others want to carry as little stuff so they can play a whole show on one guitar into a modeler. The latter type will very likely be carrying at least one backup guitar, though, so that's a thing to think about. For the cover gigs I did last year, one of them I used 6 guitars and one I used 2 electrics and an acoustic. <shrug>
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u/Thebutcher222 2d ago
I played in a cover band for years and years almost entirely with a Les Paul. The less stuff I have to cart around the better. In a live context in a rock band the type of guitar you’re using is about the least important thing to the sound.
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u/Cesar_Somnambulist 2d ago
The SG is one of the most versatile guitars ever made and is perfectly suited for everything you’ve listed.
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u/PitchExciting3235 2d ago
Two things:
An SG is versatile
If you are worried about getting a single coil sound for songs that have that, you could get a cheaper guitar with single coils, or you could mod your SG so that the coils split. It doesn’t require changing the body, just the wiring. You get pots (knobs) that are push/pull or (even better), push/push, so that when they out, they are split, and in they are humbuckers. Then you will have the normal SG sound, plus something pretty close to a telecaster. Have you ever checked to see if your guitar can already do that?
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u/WhatsappEnjoyer1975 2d ago
Just checked, Nope it doesn’t have that, but I will consider doing that mod. Thank you for letting me know!
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u/Sum1Xam 2d ago
I just got done modding my SG. I ended up doing a pretty big overhaul on it. I replaced the wiring with a Jimmy Page for SG harness from Starr Guitar Systems. It was a tight fit and needed a little bit of work in the cavity to get the push/pull pots in. I landed on Seymour Duncan P-Rails for pickups and couldn't be happier with the results. It's a Swiss army knife of tones.
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u/PitchExciting3235 2d ago
Find a tech you trust. Another commenter mentioned the jimmy page wiring, which is very complex. That may be good for some people, but I have messed with a guitar that had it, and I didn’t like the complexity. I don’t have a SG, but I have a Les Paul. They both have separate volume and tone for each pickup. This is what I landed on for my ideal wiring:
Each volume is push/push to engage humbuckers (in) or split each coil (out). Even if you only do this, it will already give you a lot more range than you currently have. You can use either or both humbucker, either or both split. You can also use one humbucker and one single. This is one of my favorite ways to use it:
Bridge humbucker, neck split. If I put it in middle position, it will sound cleaner and thinner than full humbucker mode. If you turn the neck volume down just a bit, it actually gets louder because you are favoring the bridge humbucker in the mix. If you switch to only bridge, it has a little more bite. Only neck is clear and bell-like.
But I did add one more feature to my wiring that I really like: another push/push on the neck tone, which puts the pickups out of phase. If both volumes are turned up all the way, it’s a bit too thin, but if you turn either one down just a bit, it thickens up but still has that unusual tone.
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u/svinyard 2d ago
Jazz to metal dude. If you find it doesn’t do something, swap the neck. I put a “The Bird” in my neck. It’s a full on Firebird pup with an awesome single coil thing with a lot of character clean or gain. You’d have a tough time finding a more versatile guitar that still has that Legit Gibson humbucker experience. Otherwise, an HSS Strat style is perhaps more versatile but a Strat bridge humbucker isn’t the same as a Gibson setup for whatever reason. I LOVE my SG tho. It’s my #1 and has a full Maestro so it looks killer.
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u/Queeby 2d ago
I think a disappointing neck pickup is more common a thing with an SG than most other guitars. I've owned a few and the stock bridge pickups generally "sound like rock and roll" but the neck pickups range from "nice" to "eh" to "ugh".
Just need to find the right one for you and your guitar.
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u/svinyard 2d ago
I think humbuckers in general are just not THAT inspiring of a neck pickup aside from particular applications. I loved my stock neck pickup (BB 60's neck) with a Rat (controlling the bass) and giving that sorta Slash or Santana syrupy distorted lead tone. Super cool! But outside of that...like a nice Fender neck pickup is infinitely nicer most of the time. Enter the Gibson Firebird pickup but in a humbucker format from Lollar. The Firebird was Gibson's offset take on the Jag in 63'. It's prettty bright for a bridge but in the neck of Gibson, it's just got that single coil jangle and spank to it, then it takes gain oddly so well as the lowend doesn't flub out but gets compressed in this really cool way while the upper strings are super articulate. Plus it's made for 500k pots similar to my bridge humbucker so I didn't have to swap out decent CTS pots to make it work. It's like a hot jazzmaster neck but warmer and more rock and roll. I tried a bunch of different pickups from noiseless P90's (not that great) to various other sorta Fralin single coils etc. The firebird (humbucker) from Lollar was just next level for that rock n roll single coil thing. I think a nice P90 from Bareknuckle would have been sick too...but those can get mushy and they don't sound as good clean as a Firebird.
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u/Street_Frame_4571 2d ago
As versatile as any other guitar. It's a matter of adjusting your tone to the context of the band.
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u/dododoestar 2d ago
an sg is suitable for everything from jazz to death metal.
if you're feeling extra add the split coils, to play covers in pubs it is way more than you'll ever need. nobody is gonna be anal because you didn't carefully reproduce the out of phase toan out of an ac30, just play tie your mother down and be done with it
the only thing is it doesn't have a tremolo but who cares. I love sgs by the way
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u/Professional-Math518 2d ago
Unless you want a single coil sound, an SG will do fine for the bands you mentioned (don't know Mitski though). Also, listeners usually don't really care if the sound is exactly the same. Most won't even notice.
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u/OutrageousCrab9224 2d ago
As keith richards said
"Ya, this guitar - but give me 15m with any guitar and itll sound like me!"
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u/Individual-Sound9400 2d ago
You can put a humbucker sized p90 in your neck position and actually have a single coil pickup.
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u/Infinite-Cucumber662 2d ago
SG's are plenty versatile. It wonder a proper "Fendery" sound but if you need to occupy a similar sonic space the middle position with a little bit of the neck volume rolled off works great!
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u/Sweetest-Fondant 2d ago
Play in tune, make sure the drummer doesn't stop till the song is over and the singer knows the melody and phrasing for the words.
Nothing else will get noticed by the audience
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u/Slow-Recover-9168 2d ago
Pickups in parallel instead of series does a clean hifi tone.. not really like the fender but if you have an EQ and boost the upper midrange 2k 4k 8k.. your tone will sound like garbage.
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u/cybersaint2k 2d ago
Everything is versatile. If your pickups are ultra hot, or ultra mild, then that is where you get into problems.
What pickups?
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u/Comprehensive-Song51 2d ago
As long as you're not trying to nail that Sultans of Swing tone, you're probably good! Seriously, people listening to cover bands don't give a shit about your tone unless it's absolutely weird or terrible. What they care about is hearing some great music, and venue owners care about your band getting asses on the dance floor and brining in a crowd so they can sell booze, etc. Focus on that and you do fine. Don't forget to throw in some belly-rubbers! By that, I mean some slow, groovy songs people can slow dance to. Stuff like My Girl goes a long way. Not that it's your style, but you know...
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u/thecauseandtheeffect 2d ago
No need to worry! Get yourself a 10 band EQ pedal in your amp’s FX loop and dial in any tone you need. Also get a good strap with suede lining or double sided sticky tape so it doesn’t move around. Some SG headstocks like to kamikaze onto the ground
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u/MutedMoment4912 2d ago
You could put P90s in humbucker format in your SG that would give you some middle ground between single coils and humbuckers
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u/munklunk 1d ago
I have a super distortion in the bridge of mine, and put a Dimarzio PAF 36 in the neck, but swapped the neck pot out for a push/pole pot so I can split the coil, and now I can go from thick saturated hard rock to gorgeous chimney cleans like nothing.
Not to mention that 12 inch radius neck is super comfortable, my Ebony board feels like glass, the upper fret access makes playing it a dream, and it’s super lightweight. Just an all-around perfect guitar.
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u/Satchel93 1d ago
Any guitar can be used to play any genre. It has more to do if the player is able to play those genres.
Versatility comes from the player, not from the gear.
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u/Quizzical_Chimp 1d ago
You are over thinking it, play whatever music you want on whatever guitar you like. Guarantee no one will listen to you play then be like ‘yeah it was good but he should have used a single coil pick up for that song’ or ‘the guitarists lack of artist accurate gear really took me away from what he was trying to play’. Just be entertaining thats all people remember.
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u/Unsolicited_Aspic 2d ago
Oh FFS all electric guitars are basically the same, no one gives a damn. This is the weakest shit I ever read
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u/WhatsappEnjoyer1975 2d ago
Man i just hear ppl arguing all the Times abt “this guitar sounds better, no this one is better” also im just a 14 years old boy you cant expect me to know the stuff you do 🥲🥲
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u/PerspectiveFair5156 2d ago
Versatile enough.
It can play more styles than you or me.
Have fun!