Gibson SG Standard
2005 Gibson SG Standard
The SG is Gibson’s best-selling electric guitar. I remember being surprised when I first heard that. I had always thought of the Les Paul as the quintessential rock guitar, synonymous with Gibson and had just assumed it was their top seller.
I’ve written a little about the history of the SG in a previous post. Originally released as the second iteration of the Les Paul signature model in 1961, the name was quickly changed to SG (Solid Guitar) by 1963. Les Paul himself wasn’t crazy about the design and chose to remove his endorsement. Despite Les Paul’s feelings, the SG was actually very popular when it first came out and has been throughout It’s history.
There have been countless variations of the SG made over the years by Gibson, their Custom Shop and Epiphone. Custom models, Standards, Specials, Juniors, Deluxe models and Pro’s. The list goes on. The U.S.A. made SG Standard has always been Gibson’s “core” model. It has an all mahogany body, mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard, fixed bridge, two humbuckers, a 3-way toggle switch, two volume controls and two tone controls.
It’s easy to understand why SG’s are so popular. For one, they look cool. The double cutaway shape with horns gives it an edgy appearance. The thin carved body, set neck construction and angled headstock give it a level of refinement. The neck feels long and its neck joint allows for access to higher frets which is something Gibson wanted to improve on over the original Les Paul design. SG’s deliver power and warmth similar to the Les Paul thanks to their dual humbuckers, mahogany body and neck, but they definitely sound different. SG’s tend to be slightly brighter than a Les Paul and the neck pickup is usually clearer sounding. They are also lighter guitars due to their thin body.
For decades Gibson has offered U.S.A. production SGs in two distinct styles. The 61 reissue and “The Standard”. The guitar pictured here is a 2005 SG Standard in Black gloss finish.
SG Standards and 61 RI’s are similar. 61 reissues, just like the name suggests are made closer to the original spec from 1961. The main differences between the two are neck joint design, neck thickness, pickguard style, pickups and the tuners used. 61 reissue necks have a flat radius and a thinner, “Slim Taper” profile that widens slightly at the shoulders. It joins the body at the 22nd fret. 61 reissues also use a smaller pickguard and vintage style Kluson tuners. They have vintage voiced humbucking pickups. Gibson currently uses Burstbuckers.
This SG Standard features a larger pickguard that surrounds the pickups. It comes with a 490R pickup in the neck and a 498T pickup in the bridge position. This combo has Alnico II and V magnets giving it a more modern, higher-output sound compared to the 61 RI. The Standard’s neck is a rounded C profile and is on the thicker side. It joins the body at the 19th fret giving it a more stable connection over the original design.
Both The Standard and 61 reissue use a tune-o-matic bridge and stop bar tail piece. The 61 reissue has the older ABR-1 style bridge which is a slimmer, vintage design where the saddles sit directly into the bridge housing without retaining clips. The bridge posts thread directly into the wood of the body. Alternatively, The Standard has a Nashville bridge with separate metal inserts (thimbles) pressed into the body that the bridge posts screw into. It uses retaining clips to keep the saddles from falling out during string changes.
People are often divided on SG’s. Either they love them or hate them. I personally love them and apparently I’m not the only one judging by Gibson’s sales. A good SG just feels right and sounds great to me. I love the feeling of their necks, the light weight mahogany body and the humbucker tones. Artists like Tony Iommi, Angus Young and Robbie Krieger play SG’s as their main axe and others like George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Frank Zappa and Jeff Tweedy have used them to record and perform some of their best music.
This 2005 Standard is an excellent example of a classic SG guitar. U.S.A. production Gibsons like this from the early 2000’s are well made instruments and are often available on the used market for a good price. While I prefer the look of the smaller pickguard 61 reissue, I’m ok sacrificing it for the neck shape on The Standard. Its thicker, rounded profile is just perfection to me. The modern voiced 490R/498T pickups are really good. I like Burstbuckers a little more, but these are highly responsive to rolling down the volume to clean up the sound while maintaining good balance. They do a great job covering the full spectrum of vintage to modern Rock and Blues music. The gloss black finish and chrome hardware on this SG looks awesome. I’ve played SG Standards like this directly through several amplifiers. From Fender’s to Marshalls, Mesa Boogies to Vox’s, and can always get an excellent sound. If you haven’t played one, stop by your local guitar store and check one out. The current (2026) versions of The SG Standard have a slightly less chunky neck compared to the 2005, but it’s still rounded and fuller than the slim taper. Recent Standards also come with chrome Grover tuners instead of Kluson.