NGD: Gibson USA 2014 120th Anniversary SGJ

[Gary1953]

The Gibson SG has always been one of my favorite electric guitars for recording through a processor into the board. I haven't owned one for a few years and had been watching for one one to pop up that I could afford. I had even considered buying a used Epiphone if a good one were found.

So, I was in my favorite used guitar store the other day and noticed a new addition hanging on the wall. It was a sunburst SG. I looked and it had a $395 price tag on it and asked to see it. It was definitely used and I nicely asked if they would give this regular customer a little discount. The salesman said he could do $315 out the door. Then he said the manager may be able to do a little better. He went into the office to ask. He came back and said, "How about $225 with a gig bag?" Sold.

I took it home and plugged it into my Peavey Encore TransTube amp. What a nice sound! The strings were 10's and sounded dead. But it was very woody and had a great 50's rock and roll vibe when played clean. Unfortunately, the neck pickup volume pot was cutting out. At full volume, there was no sound. I sprayed some cleaner/lube in it to no avail. Because the pot is mounted to a PCB, it would be difficult to replaced as it's soldered in with tin. These PCB mount pots are not stocked locally and I decided to return the guitar.

At the store, I explained the problem to the manager and difficulty of repair. Then I asked for a refund. But because he would have to send it out and pay for someone to repair it, he offered it to me for... $145 OTD with the Gibson gig bag. Sold again. I took the guitar back home and disassembled the PCB electronics and popped the cover off the pot. There was a human hair inside, interfering with the wiper. After removal of the foreign object and reassembly, everything works as good as new.

Review

The first thing you notice is the baseball bat neck. It is described as a 50's style. But I find it very comfy without significant neck dive. The fretwork is very good and the nut is cut properly. With bends, it went a little sharp. So I replaced the strings with a new set of Gibson Brite Wires 10's and lubed the nut slots. That cured that and adjusting the intonation cured the tuning stability problem.

The 2013 model had 490 alnico 2 pickups. The 2015 model had robo tuners and a metal nut. This 2014 year has standard Gibson Kluson tuners and Burstbucker pro A5 pickups with zebra coils. The pickups are clear, articulate and very dynamic when playing soft. They sound woody on this mahogany bodied, 24 fret maple neck guitar, where smoky jazz tones are easily dialed in by rolling back the controls. With dirt, it screams. It has large strap buttons that are not Gibson's small, standard fare. The body appears to be three pieces of mahogany.

For less than an Epiphone, it's a great guitar!

The SGJ moniker stands for "SG Junior". It was Gibson's low end SG. More information here: The 2014 Gibson SGJ

A good representation of what it sounds like:



Before news strings and a cleanup. You can see a small chip in the thin finish. But for $145 OTD, I'm not complaining.

[Dru Edwards]

$145? Wow! That's a fantastic deal even with the electronics issue.

I have that same guitar guitar, same color. 2014 SGJ. BTW, it has '61 pickups, not burstbucker pros. The 2018 SG Standard also has the '61 pickups.

It's a great guitar. I hope you're able to fix it and play it. May be easiest to remove the PCB stuff and just wire everything up the old fashioned way. Wouldn't cost much.

[Gary1953]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

$145? Wow! That's a fantastic deal even with the electronics issue.

I have that same guitar guitar, same color. 2014 SGJ. BTW, it has '61 pickups, not burstbucker pros. The 2018 SG Standard also has the '61 pickups.

It's a great guitar. I hope you're able to fix it and play it. May be easiest to remove the PCB stuff and just wire everything up the old fashioned way. Wouldn't cost much.

Hey, Dru! You're right about the pickups. The ad copy says "Electronics: New ™61 Zebra Humbucker". Also the frets are described as "Cryogenically Tempered, 24". That must be some kind of hardening as there is no fret wear on mine.

Do you find the finish on yours to easily wear and chip?

[muscmp]

great deal on a great guitar. and, great work on the repair.

play music!

[PTony]

Like it! Good find!. It’s one that I’ve let slip away. If you ever decided to sell it I call dibs. I’m being serious

Not that you would part with it...but, I also understand we all can suffer from G.A.S. So if that day comes please remember me.

Nice work on the easy fix also. Enjoy your NGD. Play in good health friend.

[The Growler]

Wow! What a deal. Were you wearing a mask?

Congratulations!

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Gary1953

Hey, Dru! You're right about the pickups. The ad copy says "Electronics: New ™61 Zebra Humbucker". Also the frets are described as "Cryogenically Tempered, 24". That must be some kind of hardening as there is no fret wear on mine.

Do you find the finish on yours to easily wear and chip?

I have a shiny spot just below the strings and pickup from where my pinky must rest, lol. And yes, the paint chips/scratches easily. It makes for great character. The guitar itself sounds and plays great.

[maxtheaxe]

Nice score! At that price it would make a great platform for mods/upgrades if you cared to tinker with it...pickups, Bigsby, et al.

I put a Bigsby on my SG Classic and I swear it made the guitar sound better, both the high end crispness and the low end punch. I used a V5 Platemate to install it, so no extra holes had to be drilled (so, easily reversible) and it seemed to add needed mass.

[Livingston]

Beautiful guitar and fantastic deal! Congratulations!

[KY000]

Congrats. Nice guitar at an amazing price. I have a faded cherry version I bought new. It plays and sounds great.

[Steve DeRosa]

IME Gibson's low-end models represent an unbeatable value - especially so in your case...

Use it well, often, and LOUD...

[billyboy1962]

I bought a used SGJ in 2015 with exactly the same finish but with ‘61 pickups. Amazing for the price. Sold her to help fund my Les Paul Custom Shop ‘58. Would have hung on to her if finances, wife etc allowed