Which SG should i buy? HELP!

[pete12string]

I'm torn between these two SG's. Which one is the better deal? Which one would you go with?

2012 Gibson SG Standard mint condition with Creamery pickups. $850 shipped.


2013 Gibson SG Standard excellent condition - all original. $925 shipped.


SG gurus - HELP!!!

Thanks,
Pete

[jumbomumbo]

Both are great but pretty much different beasts. I'll only address construction differences since electronics are much too personal and subjective of an area to compare, except for the cork sniffers of Gibsonia.

1. The 2012 has the beefier 50's profile neck and a slightly wider nut.
2. The 2013 has the much slimmer 60's profile

3. The 2012 has the sturdier late 60's neck joint which only slightly slows upper fret access.
4. The 2013 has the original early 60's neck joint which is not as sturdy but will suffice unless you are brutal on your axes.

5. The 2012 Std. Limited has the baked maple fretboard, which regardless of the cork sniffers, is a GREAT fretboard thats even harder than ebony and will last for eons. Your posted 2012 may have the single slab rosewood though and not yet the laminated version.

6. The 2013 has a laminated rosewood fretboard because of the brewhaa over importation laws. Some have indeed complained that this method interferes with the seating of frets, but the cork sniffers of Gibsonia will scream otherwise. This issue seems to be that the fret tang is seated directly where the lamination is, I have seen threads elsewhere that have demonstrated loose frets and further inspection showed the tang shredded the lamination area.

You may also want to consider the pickguard of the 2012 causes the pickups to be at an angle and not perfectly horizontal to the strings, it bothers some folks, I've not noticed any major difference in tone with my 2012.

I'd say the 2012 is a better value and a more solid build. YMMV.

My 2012 std. ltd. is a very playable beast:

[pete12string]

That was an excellent post! Thank you for the details on the differences between the two guitars. The 2012 was a dealer exclusive and based on the serial number, Gibson says it has a rosewood fingerboard. I did not know the 2013 had the laminated rosewood fingerboard, and I have heard about some problems with the frets due to that.

Thank you very much!
Pete

[jumbomumbo]

Glad I could help. The smaller neck joint SG's (2013) tend to have more neck flex as well. I've VERY RARELY seen a long joint SG come apart and have seen oodles of the original small joint break right off...something to consider. I can't say with certainty that all the 2013's still had the laminated fretboards...probably most , maybe Gibson knows. 2012's were all solid slabs, especially the dealer exclusives like GC, etc...

$850 shipped on the mint condition 2012 is quite a good price!

[otis66]

The 2013 SG might have a Layered/Laminated fretboard.