(see rating details)

Well, it looks like the other reviewers were right about this Guitars overall quality control. I read what they had to say and ordered it anyway, because I really love me a TV-Yellow SG. So I gambled that I would be the guy who got the one they finished properly. Nope!! My SG came with some crooked screws around the pickguard, and a weird "haze" on the pickup plates, maybe from the polish they now use? Minor stuff, but not cool for a $2k slab-body production unit. Anyways I (do) love the 60's Burstbuckers. They didn't disappoint with that rich vintage growl.They scream and whisper equally well with lots of gain or when dialed back. The play is pretty solid, but here again is where Gibson clearly let someone unskilled file the fretboard. It's wildly uneven with tons of marks.Bottom Line: I like the guitar more than I don't, but I'll prolly trade it off for something else in a few months. What I do need to rave about is zZounds! They absolutely deserve the recent accolades they've been getting.Everyone involved with my research and subsequent purchase of this instrument made it a pleasure. And thank the guitar gods for zZounds easy payment plans!!!

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

What is so difficult about getting the finish right on these TV Yellow SG's? This will be the 2nd one I've tried, (the first being from another online retailer).This SG was more competently finished but still had some small but glaring factory flaws in the finish. The headstock has a 1/4-inch spot on the corner with no black veneer/paint. And the scraping around the headstock is pretty sloppy, with uneven TV Yellow & black mixing around the edges.That's about it, and although these little defects were not enough for me to return this SG...I still feel compelled to make note that a $2000 guitar left the factory as a B-stock, and was sold/listed as a pristine model. I dunno.Maybe I'm too critical, but then again I absolutely didn't have ANY finish or quality control issues with the Epiphone Adam Jones model for hundreds of dollars less and made in China.What the heck Gibson.All that said, how does this play/sound??I can honestly report that the guitar performs as it should. Tones are very SG in nature and ultimately what a player would expect from a rock n' roll machine like this. The '61 buckers have a nice vintage vibe that's rings a little fatter than the standard SG.And the neck is a wee bit chunkier too.The playability and overall versatility ultimately made me wanna keep this one.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

The SG has always been a fantastic guitar for rock, & this '61 Standard is no exception. The neck is slim, but not too thin, and there's little to no neck dive, The upper fret access is exceptional, and the action is sweet n' slick. This particular model has a wonderful marriage of vintage style tone, mixed with just enough modern rock flavor. It sounds good whether I'm running it through a $900 EVH 5150 or a $4k handmade Magnatone.However, when it comes to the fit and finish, at least on my TV yellow model, this is not Gibson's finest hour. There is more than one spot on this guitar where the grain filler is absent or oversaturated with paint, and the headstock was sloppily scraped. Is this a big deal? Nahhh not for me, at least not enough for me to want to return it and risk getting one that's even worse.I like the way this particular Guitar plays enough to overlook small defects. But the lapse in detail just reaffirms what everybody says about Gibson, in that they're not really trying that hard to blow fans away. Instead, it seems like they're banking on a lot of players, trusting the name-brand. So shame on them.Properly finishing out a guitar only takes a little longer than not doing it, and then somehow the finish flaws also got past quality control inspection.It just feels a little lazy.And that's why, in good conscience, I could not give this instrument. Perfect marks.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

My new '61 SG looks gorgeous(from 7 feet away). But upon closer inspection it's got some nagging issues with the "custom color" finish and not the best fretboard filing either. At least it plays nice and sounds like a classic SG. I know that nobody from Gibson will EVER see or hear about this review, but I wish they would because this 61 SG could have been an awesome instrument from top to bottom if only Gibson USA's QC was tighter.How much work goes into really checking these units before boxing?Because the quality control person that "okayed" this guitar needs to be fired.I'm definitely disappointed but not devastated.I'll keep it since I was on the fence, and now I just went past the return window.

Musical Background:

Musical Style: