# Gibson SG 61 RI vs Gibson SG worn brown



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

I got 2 SG's from Long&Mcquade on loan for the night. Both are used at a good price. The 61 Reissue and one they said was a roadworn. The worn brown has upgraded Burst bucker pro's. I never heard of them but then I'm not really a Gibson guy. But I've always wanted an SG. 
I play more roots type music such as Country/Blues/Old Classic Rock such as the stones, etc. I'd like some opinions on what the community would think would be the better guitar.
Of course I'll be comparing them on my rig tonight. But for feel I really like the neck on the worn brown. Its big and fat like my Nocaster neck. I don't know what these burst bucker pros are like but if they are hotter I may not like that.
If I decide to go with the worn brown its half the price. But I won't be making my decision based on price.


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

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## Emohawk (Feb 3, 2006)

I have to agree with you regarding the neck on the Special/Faded (same guitar with different finish). It seems a touch fatter than the Standards. I have both & prefer the Special's neck over my Standard. I really like the "natural" feel of the neck finish on the worn brown, BTW. 

The '61 neck has a slightly thinner profile, if memory serves. I'm not in love with it, but I prefer fatter/rounder necks in general. It also has '57 Classic pickups I think. More vintage tonally than the burstbuckers. I haven't heard the BB's in a SG, but I do prefer the old 490R/498T over the BB's in Les Pauls. The BB's probably are hotter than the stock 490R/T in the Special.

There's a few other differences between the two. I prefer the smaller pickguard on the '61, and I found them slightly less prone to microphonics - maybe because the pickups are mounted to the body with a ring instead of the pickguard mount on the newer SG's? Not sure. That shouldn't be an issue for you with the stuff you play. The neck joint is the old "weaker" version on the '61, but unless you're into "neck vibrato" that's not a worry either. The other differences are cosmetic really (inlays, binding, inlaid Gibson logo, etc).

They're both nice guitars in their way. If the "worn brown" special plays well it's a nice axe for a nice price. That's what I actually wanted but there were none available in the country at the time (seriously). I bought a wine red Special instead (love it!).


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Curious..what are the prices?...the roadworn or fade, are like 650$ used, and a 61 reissue is twice that minimum. so REALY not in the same ball park guitarwise..in anycase, the 61reissue hand's down


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

al3d said:


> Curious..what are the prices?...the roadworn or fade, are like 650$ used, and a 61 reissue is twice that minimum. so REALY not in the same ball park guitarwise..in anycase, the 61reissue hand's down


Thats exactly it. The worn brown is $650 and the 61 RI is $1,200. And I just played them both for the past hour and the 61 RI is hands down the much better tone for me. Much fatter. The worn brown seemed to have a lot less volume and didn't break up near as much.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

guitarman2 said:


> Thats exactly it. The worn brown is $650 and the 61 RI is $1,200. And I just played them both for the past hour and the 51 RI is hands down the much better tone for me. Much fatter. The worn brown seemed to have a lot less volume and didn't break up near as much.


Good choice....i LOVE the 62 reissue...i've been hunting one down myself


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

al3d said:


> Good choice....i LOVE the 62 reissue...i've been hunting one down myself


The only thing I don't like about it is the frets seem a little high. But it doesn't really bother me till really high up the neck. Sounds great with slide which is one of the reasons I'll probably buy it.
So do you think $1,200 is a good price for it? It looks pretty much brand new. I didn't even know it was used until I looked at the sticker on the back of it that said it was used.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

guitarman2 said:


> The only thing I don't like about it is the frets seem a little high. But it doesn't really bother me till really high up the neck. Sounds great with slide which is one of the reasons I'll probably buy it.
> So do you think $1,200 is a good price for it? It looks pretty much brand new. I didn't even know it was used until I looked at the sticker on the back of it that said it was used.


dude...JUMP on it...they are usually between 1500 and 1700$ used.


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

al3d said:


> dude...JUMP on it...they are usually between 1500 and 1700$ used.


I think they're starting to come down. Gibson lowered the prices on SGs across the board earlier this year. There's a '61 RI on the Toronto CL that hasn't sold at $1295 and the seller dropped the price to $1250 recently. It's really tempting!

As for the BB pickups, they're not really hotter than the 57s, just different. The 57's certainly are fantastic pickups though.


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

hollowbody said:


> I think they're starting to come down. Gibson lowered the prices on SGs across the board earlier this year. There's a '61 RI on the Toronto CL that hasn't sold at $1295 and the seller dropped the price to $1250 recently. It's really tempting!


You're right but I think that's still an excellent price for a '61RI right now.
I mean, come on, I've seen used Standards for that much.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Yeah, standards are even more tempting! They`re starting to show up for $1000 and even $950, which is a just plain stupid low price for them. I`d love a nice SG!!


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

hollowbody said:


> Yeah, standards are even more tempting! They`re starting to show up for $1000 and even $950, which is a just plain stupid low price for them. I`d love a nice SG!!


And there's just something about them - I originally bought my SG to be my "3rd Guitar", after my LP and Tele. Her weight. playability, and tone have since turned her into the guitar I pick up first.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

allthumbs56 said:


> And there's just something about them - I originally bought my SG to be my "3rd Guitar", after my LP and Tele. Her weight. playability, and tone have since turned her into the guitar I pick up first.



Yes I'm buying the SG to be my third guitar behind 2 tele's (and soon a third tele) I doubt very much it will ever replace the tele as my main guitar but its going to be a great addition for rock and slide.


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## bcmatt (Aug 25, 2007)

BurstBucker Pros are actually what come in the Les Paul Standards these days.

They are supposed to be higher-end sounding and more articulate (and more vintage Les Paul sounding) than the 490 and 498 that come in Les Paul Studios now days but not as hot as the 490 and 498.

I think the Burstbuckers sound great. I haven't tried 57s though. 
But, when it comes to an SG, I haven't heard of them using burstbuckers. I thought they typically went with the 490 and 498. I'd be tempted to mix a P-90 and maybe a 500T for an SG if I was trying out stuff.

However, I imagine the 57 classics are what are meant to be used for the 61 reissue, and it sounds like you got the tone you are after with them. I'd like to try some of those out some time too.


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## pattste (Dec 30, 2007)

The '61 Reissue SG is one great guitar. The faded doesn't stand a chance, in my opinion. As for the pickups, I have 57's in my 335 and BurstBucker Pro's in my LP and even though they are different, I like them equally.


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## hag99 (Mar 2, 2009)

There are some attractive prices on used SG Standards in the classifieds these days, in the range between the faded and the 61RI. That's a good price on the the 61 if that's what you prefer, but go try some standards before you make your final decision.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

I was lucky enough to pick up an SG on this Forum. It's a 61 reissue. It has it's issues but overall, I'm lovin' it. Wasn't sure I would, but wow what a great guitar.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Stratin2traynor said:


> I was lucky enough to pick up an SG on this Forum. It's a 61 reissue. It has it's issues but overall, I'm lovin' it. Wasn't sure I would, but wow what a great guitar.


What issues does yours have? I just went up to L&M and paid for mine today. It doesn't seem to have issues. But I didn't really critique it as hard as I did my other guitars. But my SG has a specific purpose with limited play. I'll play my Teles about 80% and the SG about 20%. I mainly have it for slide guitar and some of our rock songs.
Overall I really like this guitar and for the next few days will probably play it alot.


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