I love SG's but Gibsons are SO inconsistent -

Depends on what you want from your SG in a PRS.

The discontinued Standard 24 has an all Mahogany body same as a SG. They feel very different though due to the neck offset of the SG and the sound is worlds apart due to the pickups.
 
As a guy who's owned one great SG since the 60s, the closest is the Mira. The bonus is that the Mira is actually a better instrument in many ways.

I've also owned a Mira. The SG lives at my brother's place, since I've only been playing PRS for quite a while. As you might imagine, I don't miss the SG.
 
Last edited:
Felipe said:
A STD 24 594 with 58/15 LT would be THE perfect SG.
Click to expand...

Not really. The pickup/wiring cavity with the pickguard creates a certain resonance that is unique to that style of guitar. It's subtle, but it's part of the vibe of both the SG and the Mira.
 
Agree with others that the Mira is the closest. Owned an SG. Nice guitar that I never played. Did have fun tinkering with it, though. My current Mira X is a nicer (IMO) version of that guitar.

The SE Standard 22 might also be in that realm.
 
I too love SGs. I ordered a new white one just a couple years ago and the quality was awful. The fretboard was rough. The cavity routes in the body were cut rough and was not sanded. It looked like it was cut out with a sawzall. The inlays in the headstock was not inlaid properly and the edges of the headstock (the black top layer) was not glued down flat.


The weight as perfect though... no neck dive... and it sounded like an SG. I was so disappointed when I had to send it back.

I'd say the Mira is similar to the SG.
 
I got a KL-33 instead of an SG, I agree the a Mira ( and the Mira 245 if you like p-90 ) in a nice option I would also include a Starla for feel but mine has Lollar pickups in it and a good look at a Santana should be in your future





 
Rider1260 said:
I got a KL-33 instead of an SG, I agree the a Mira ( and the Mira 245 if you like p-90 ) in a nice option I would also include a Starla for feel but mine has Lollar pickups in it and a good look at a Santana should be in your future





Click to expand...




Yes. Santana definitely knows how to roll with an SG, but these days I see him playing the PRS. He is and has been associated closely with PRS and the man himself. A Santana model would definitely be very cool.
 
After this thread popped up, I decided to give the SG some playtime. Mine has no real QC issues and is a great player. According to the wife it is the "meanest sounding" guitar I own. The '57 Classics in a SG body just work extremely well and have a certain grit to them that none of my other guitars have. My PRS Bernie with Mules has a similar, but more polite sound. The Bernie with SE 245s and the Standard 24 with HFS Vintage & Bass pickups both sound more modern. I don't expect my PRS guitars to sound like SGs, so I am fine with that.

So, if you have a PRS you love, consider getting a second (or similar) one, and just upgrade the pickups. With some experimentation you probably can get close to the SG sound while having a familiar guitar to play with.

Edit: @Barquentine: I see you already have a Bernie with a set of BKP Abraxas. Are you finding their sounds to be so different that you need a SG?
 
Last edited:
Guess I'm in the minority here. Never been able to stand SGs. Too thin and small of a body, too heavy of a neck, just a very dull sound imo. That being said, I'd say the Mira would be the closest. All hog, similar double cut shape. I much prefer the Mira to an SG though. Once you get one, you won't pick up an SG again ;)
 
drdoom8793 said:
Guess I'm in the minority here. Never been able to stand SGs. Too thin and small of a body, too heavy of a neck, just a very dull sound imo. That being said, I'd say the Mira would be the closest. All hog, similar double cut shape. I much prefer the Mira to an SG though. Once you get one, you won't pick up an SG again ;)
Click to expand...

Funny, I just acquired a 1974 SG Special, from when they were doing the plastic-cover mini humbuckers. Everything about it screams "Norlin era cost cutting!!!" Whereas my Mira is, despite its low-budget-by-PRS-USA standards origin, is a no-question professional-quality guitar.

Regardless, the SG totally goes toe-to-toe with the Mira, sound-wise (what it gives up in dynamic range it makes back in clarity and a high-end that is sweet and not a touch harsh as the Mira can be) and when I picked up my slide, damn it sounded sweet. As in killer slide tone that would cut it on any gig.

The first real USA-made guitar I owned was a 1972 SG Standard, by most measures a nicer guitar than this '74. The whole time I owned it I hated it for not being what I really wanted, which was an ES-175D. (Or even a good Les Paul!) I've carried that prejudice around ever since, going on 40 years now. This new-to-me SG is a great lesson in humility. Maybe it wasn't the SG back then, it was the player. (Some friends tried to tell me that at the time and I wasn't listening)

OK, it might have been the amplifier, too. ;)
 
kingsleyd said:
Funny, I just acquired a 1974 SG Special, from when they were doing the plastic-cover mini humbuckers. Everything about it screams "Norlin era cost cutting!!!" Whereas my Mira is, despite its low-budget-by-PRS-USA standards origin, is a no-question professional-quality guitar.

Regardless, the SG totally goes toe-to-toe with the Mira, sound-wise (what it gives up in dynamic range it makes back in clarity and a high-end that is sweet and not a touch harsh as the Mira can be) and when I picked up my slide, damn it sounded sweet. As in killer slide tone that would cut it on any gig.

The first real USA-made guitar I owned was a 1972 SG Standard, by most measures a nicer guitar than this '74. The whole time I owned it I hated it for not being what I really wanted, which was an ES-175D. (Or even a good Les Paul!) I've carried that prejudice around ever since, going on 40 years now. This new-to-me SG is a great lesson in humility. Maybe it wasn't the SG back then, it was the player. (Some friends tried to tell me that at the time and I wasn't listening)

OK, it might have been the amplifier, too. ;)
Click to expand...
Everyone thinks that norlin era gibsons are terrible. Sure they're not like the 50's originals, and Gibson did make some "innovative" flops during the norlin time, but there were still some decent guitars that came out of the factory.
I own a 77 custom and it absolutely kills despite all the "cost cutting" features.
I bought it for a song by today's prices.

It has some balls weighing in over 10 lbs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top