How Does The Gibson SG Special Compare to a Custom Shop SG Special?

Today we're comparing the Gibson SG Special with a Custom Shop 1963 SG Special reissue. Both guitars are fantastic but I do prefer one over.

[BushtralianJim]

Thankyou.
Got what I came for.
Great video.
I could see straight away you were far more naturally comfortable with the custom.

And the feelings you described at the end is what I've been saying for years since I first played a SG Custom.

[Glasshock]

I'm a 53-year-old Brit now living in Canada. I grew up with Weller, The Who, The Kinks etc., and it's SO good to see that old Jam poster I had on my wall in 81. Never seen this in North America and brought back some fond memories. Thanks for that, along with the video. I have an SG standard 61 which is beautiful, (what a neck!) but trying to decide between the P90 versions. This has been very helpful, thanks.

[BostonWhoFan]

I see that Who poster back there. If you own that CS SG Special because of Pete Townshend, then we think alike. I love Pete, especially when he had the SG slung over his shoulder wearing that white boilers suit. 👍

[jcbravo]

Awesome !! Thanks a lot !! The custom is wonderful!!

[toborexperiment]

The SG special is Robbie Krieger and the Doors. That's it. The P90s shine like no other.

[tomthumb]

Cool tune at the beginning and nice playing also greetings from Bonnie Scotland sir

[johnkadell]

Fantastic video. The ‘63 with proper bridge placement wins hands-down. And LOOKS KILLER in the VOS. Thanks for posting.

[leekthomas]

did you find that there was a difference in sound with the custom shop with the bridge being so much farther back than the sg special? I'd imagine that the sg special might have a bit more twang?

[Panigale]

Interested in this video as i have a 63 Custom Shop M2M Special in TV Yellow P90 and also a cherry red classic and pelham blue Special with 90's

[edwardsmith]

Great video, always wondered why the pickup spacing varied between the two guitars?

[simonsmith]

Sometimes yes sometimes no.. My ‘64 335 A/B with standard 335 was no comparison. I sold the factory standard and kept the CS.. I say if its your number one, go CS if its not, and you want a work horse that can take the beatings, production is fine for most things. CS is better, but never pay retail for a CS. If I wanted a special in a round neck, I would have no choice but go custom shop I think the ‘64 is the round neck. Thanks for your opinion. I like to hear other players perspective.

[AngelMartinez-qscf]

I have the SG '61 Re-issue (Humbuckers of Course) and I love it! I am debating whether to get the P90s in Ebony. What are your thoughts between the SG Standard '61 Re-issue and the SG Ebony with P90s? Thank you for posting this.

[littvay]

That's what everyone says. Can't explain it. Just better :)

[pdbordelon]

Thank you for this video - great information and I learned some things I didnt know. I have a 2022 Gibson SG Special in black like in the video and love everything about it except one thing....and its a big one: The guitar is hard to play standing up. It not only neck dives but the position of the strap button makes the guitar lean forward. So its natural position is forward and neck down. :( The result is you are constantly fighting the guitar to try to keep it in a comfortable position and I find playing it standing up Im often pulling the strings out of tune because Im trying to get the damn thing balanced. It's awful. Ive added some small weights I found on Amazon to the electronics cavity which helps with the neck dive but the guitar still leans forward and is inherantly uncomfortable. Whats needed is a strap button on the upper horn but Im not about to start drilling into an expensive guitar like this. Frustrating. Still I love this guitar for recording and playing at home but for live gigs I use my Fenders, USA Schecters, and recently a Reverend. The difference in comfort with these guitars standing up compared to the SG is day and night. Any suggestions?

[haroldbelfast]

I had the 2021 special and I loved it except for two things: the neck was advertised as "slim taper, " but it was super fat compared to my 61 sg standard and my 2013 es-335. Im a thin-neck guy so I didn't like how chunky the SG was. The other thing was, the bridge pickup on the 2021 special is SO close to the bridge that it's almost touching! That definitely took away both from volume and warmth on the bridge p90...less growl and more twang, which was disappointing.
On the plus side, it had the best frets/ fingerboard I have ever played on any guitar, ever; smoother playing than any other new gibson (I've had a few over the years).

[josephfemoyer]

Alan, THE most important fact of the Gibson custom shop 63 SG special was left out, the 63 reissue cust shop has the long neck tenon which is a vast improvement over vintage and USA non custom shop SG’s.long neck tenon increases sustain, enhances tone and increases neck stability.i own one, would never part with it.please demo guitars without effects so viewers hear the natural tone without masking it

[dwightbrooks]

Greatly enjoyed your video and cool playing. One question: why is there never any hard list of what you get in a custom SG as opposed to a standard? This is major redflagsville to me, and the implication hovers that there is no difference between custom and standard. Fine people one after another advert to magical commentary on the customs; all subjective delight about intangibles. To me this makes good oldGibson a snake oil salesman and me; well I'm saving up for a custom sg just kicking myself for not letting it go and buying the standard. Hard data is what we ordinary people need, because glowing impressions may promise extra or somehow finer engineering that isn't there. Thanks for reading and for your video.

[jcwoodstl]

I bought the regular Gibson SG special because the custom shop was so much more expensive. I honestly think the custom is worth the money but I hate seeing big chunks leave my bank account. $1600 is a great deal and a no-brainer. If it was my only guitar and I wasn’t a “I need one of everything” guy I would definitely go custom shop

[spekenbonen]

Customshop P90's vs Bridge distance...
THAT is the difference. The distance bewteen the bridge and the bridge P.U.
If you want an SG Special, with the CORRECT bridge specs (distance) buy an epiphone...

[BlueberryStinkFinger]

No body wants Gibson anymore..Epiphone is the only way to today and all day long