I have waited for years to get an actual Gibson Guitar, and so far this SG Modern has not disappointed. Sweetwater has once again lived up to their excellent reputation of delivering top quality gear.

The setup out of the box was nearly perfect, even though I opted out of paying extra for Sweetwater's PLEK setup. The range of tones from the Burstbucker pickups and push/pull coil splitting has been amazing. The only adjustment I've done as been a few millimeters on the neck pickup to balance the amplitude response between the bass and treble strings.

After playing a few hours standing up with my strap, I have found the Modern's positioning of the front strap button to the upper "horn" (vs. behind the neck) has improved balance. I have not experienced any of the classic SG "neck-dive" behavior. I would caution anyone swapping the front strap button (I switched to Fender style strap-locks) because that area is very delicate (my biggest worry when I examined this part of the guitar). Once completed it seemes very solid and sturdy, but I don't plan to test it with too much vigor.

After many yearss of playing many really good Epiphones, including a Les Paul Ultra-II, and my still beloved Epi ES-335-Pro, I am extremely happy with with this SG Modering being my first actual Gibson guitar. I also love the translucent black finish, showing just enough of the wood grain beneath.

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Two part review:

1. Review on this SG. I own two shecters and an Ibanez RG. Decided to go for a new axe with more tonal options. This thing is a beauty. The asymmetrical slim taper neck feels SO comfortable, and the pickups - can do just about everything you need. 2 volume, 2 tone and coil split (decent) will get you so much tonal options and inspire to write your own music. Looks killer, feels home. Only downside is the known "Gibson Quality Control" for a guitar of this price, this is where the part of the review comes into play.

2. Review on Sweetwater service: You'll feel almost guilty giving your business to anyone but sweetwater. This guitar shipped with the nut height all over the place and b strong saddle cut too deep on the bridge. C'mon Gibson!! I've seen guitars with $ range ship in a better shape. I contacted Sweetwater, everything paid for including shipping and fixing and when I got it back, it was setup spot on and as it should. This now feels like a true high end SG that I was expecting when I decided to own this beast.

3.5/5 to Gibson because you might need to spend $ more on setup after owning this. And I can take care of pretty much everything setup wise except filing nuts and saddles.

5/5 to Sweetwater. You guys simply rock!!!

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Although the guitar is absolutely stunning,
Set up was spot on out of the box ..
Personally I'm struggling with the neck and I'm not crazy with the tone of the guitar..
I'm sure I can find great tones through different amps and volumes however if the comfort in the neck doesn't fit, ultimately this beautiful axe is meant for someone else. Bummer!!!!!

The pictures doesn't show the amazing fade swirling

Thanks Joe

This is the first time I have taken the time to send a review that wasn't 100% complimentary about a guitar or amp. I have bought many.I bought this transparent black SG Modern from Sweetwater over a month ago.Although the guitar looks beautiful and plays well I have had to bring this to a local tech 2 times for a wiring problem that results in the neck pickup not working.When the Burst buckers Pro pickups are working they sound very aggressive and pleasing to my ears . The first trip to the tech was a poorly soldered wire. Next time it was related to the push/pull coil tap in neck position. I have not heard back from Sweetwater about any credit for the repair to a brand new guitar. I really think things like this should be sorted out by Either Gibson QC or the 55 point inspection Sweetwater performs.I really like this guitar and I hope I don't need to keep returning to tech.I don't really need the coil tap function so if the problem keeps happening I might just have tech rewire to bypass it . Unfortunate to be discussing this on a relatively brand new guitar .Hopefully this is an isolated issue and others won't be experiencing this because it is a joy to play. A real rocker

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This is the 36 addition to my very nice guitar collection with all different brands and styles. Almost all very high end or unique instruments and this is no exception. What drew me to this SG was the beauty of the maple top, the thickness of the mahogany back and neck, the ebony fretboard, and the push/pull coil selectors. It truly is a hybrid of a Les Paul and an SG, It sounds as such, I have Les Paul's and another older SG so I did compare them. The playability and intonation is spot on out of the box but I quickly replaced to the gauge of strings I use on all my guitars that in 9-42. There was no additional adjustments in bridge or neck that needed to be made which was nice. The ebony boards for me always are slinky to play and I generally prefer them. These are up to players choice of course. There were 2 things I found different from most of the photos and spec's listed on the guitar compared to older pics at the beginning of 2020 no on the Sweetwater and Gibson official site. 1. On my guitar the strap button is just on the base of the neck where it meets the body. I see this may be an update because in all the other pictures and reviews there was a big deal on how it was moved to the upper horn to help prevent "neck dive" a common problem with SG's. So where it is now dose get in the way of my hand with the strap on at the highest frets. 2.The tuners where changed from Tulip locking to simple kidney bean Grover Rotomatic non-locking,. I AM NOT sure why these changes were made? Maybe for cost of the tuners, Maybe horns were breaking off with the strap screw not anchored in as thick a piece of wood. In any event to me these are non issue and the Guitar is Superb with Gibson renewed quality and Shelby's sales manager expertice. I highly reomend for a more seasoned player who wants to explore an SG and a Gibson product. By the way the neck carve with it's slight asymetry is fine and not a big deal for the pro's or con's of getting this guitar

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I had purchased 2 of these from other retailers prior to this summer and both had quality issues and were returned. Sharp fret ends mostly that were actually irritating to the hand and finish issues around the neck joint and headstock. Glad to say that from my experience if you have had this happen, the complaints to Gibson seem to have been heard.

This one I purchased from Nick Graham at Sweetwater seems to have had some spec changes from the pre-Covid ones and is flawless. Frets are perfect, board is smooth and pitch black ebony, neck/shoulder joint is now smooth unlike the standard SG, no finish problems. Oversized strap buttons are in their original place instead of on the "horn", and instead of the old keystone locking Grovers which were heavy and made the SG neck dive worse, this one is with mini Grovers and balances better than any SG I've owned.

Sounds and plays GREAT! Nice thump to it, not all mids like the Standard but still plenty of SG snarl. Very happy, and would recommend checking one out these days.

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I have been a guitarist for 33 years, I have had this guitar for 3 weeks now and I am very pleased with it. I have heard over the past several years of how Gibson's quality has gone down, and I myself have not been impressed with their quality until this guitar came along. With Sweetwaters return policy, I figured I had nothing to loose. I will not be sending this back, this thing rocks! The guitar was set up great and played smooth right out of the case. This is not quite an SG sound since it has the maple top, it has more of a Les Paul sound. I call mine a Les G. SG body with a Les Paulish sound. I have two 1970's Les Pauls that are top notch, I absolutely love them, this guitar is about 3 pounds lighter than those. This is a high quality instrument. The pickups are hot when needed and crystal clear when clean is desired. Push/Pull pots give you plenty of versatility. If I could only take one guitar to a gig to play many different styles of music, this would be the one for sure. Way to go Gibson! I hope you are on your way back to greatness. Thank you Sweetwater for your great customer service once again.

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I ordered the sg modern a month ago. let me start off by saying that I am not an sg fan but this thing is a beast the neck is very les paul feeling and this thing will shred very very happy and the guys at sweetwater took great care of me.