why does a SG neck move so much?

[cylon]

i played an 2013 sg standard and the neck moved a little more then a strat if a strat is bolted in a small area why does an sg move so much?

[PunkKitty]

If the neck is moving you have an unstable neck joint. Have it checked out by a luthier.

I was talking to the guys at the Heritage factory that worked on the first Gibson SG's when I visited them last summer.  They hated the SG's and consider the neck joint design inherently flawed. They saw many SG's become firewood to heat the factory because of defective neck joints.

But the SG is such a great guitar when you get a good one.

[DaveAronow]

The technical term for when an SG's neck moves, is called "broken"

[PurpleTrails]

 

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PunkKitty wrote:

 

 

If the neck is moving you have an unstable neck joint. Have it checked out by a luthier.

 

I was talking to the guys at the Heritage factory that worked on the first Gibson SG's when I visited them last summer.  They hated the SG's and consider the neck joint design inherently flawed.

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Pretty much this.  The body extends up 5 or frets on the upper side of a strat, as does the heel, which helps stabilize the neck.  An SG...not so much.

[Radar-Love]

 

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cylon wrote:

 

 

if a strat is bolted in a small area why does an sg move so much?

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Not all SGs have the neck bend problem, only the models that have the original 1961 style neck joint.  The SG body is thin and the neck joint has very little wood surrounding it.  Also, the thin mahogany neck bends on these sort of SGs along with the joint problem.  The hard maple neck on a Strat bends less.  

Later on, Gibson came out with thicker neck profiles, long neck heels, and a slightly deeper mounting tenon on SGs to largely eliminate the problem.  I personally like these later SGs best.  They also have a loud unplugged acoustic sound.  The only downside is that, occasonally, some of these later SGs with fat necks can have a minor neck dive problem when playing them on a neck strap.  

 

[Professor Tom]

I would suggest that with modern SG's especially (and some of the older ones) that wood quality may have something to do with it?

[Knutsaq]

Does sound like there is a problem there with that guitar.  I have beeen GASsing for an SG lately and have played A LOT of them at the local shops in the last few weeks and I can honestly say I have not encountered any problems with the neck joints.  Only problems I have found overall with them have been a few poor setups and one otherwise gorgeous Jeff Tweedy SG that had gotten a sizeable chunk of laquer knocked off the back of the neck (not Gibsons fault obviously) 

[onelife]

It's not just the neck that flexes but the thin mahogany body does too.

 

A strat is generally made of thicker pieces of harder wood.

[JohnyHimalaya]

It has always been my dream to own an SG. I played an Ephiphone SG and played many, many gigs with it without issues, using a variety of string guages. I finally got a real SG as a gift for my birthday in 2011. It is a 60’s faded model with P90’s. I really dig the sound and finish of my Gibson - however - I have had nothing but trouble with tuning instability with the Gibson SG. I got away with playing live shows with the Gibson by swapping it out after a few songs. It became very apparent during quieter songs that it would not hold its tuning as my singer would say something was not right when I played that guitar. I also own two Fender stratocasters and a Tele, so I would use them instead. I have recently decided to take the bull by the horns and really get to the bottom of the issue. My local guitar shop guy recommended graphite on the nut and bridge, so I did that. After exploring the idea of overwrapping the strings, I discovered that by raising the height of the rear posts on where the strings go through, it lessens the angle of string travel. My strings are not slipping out of tune now. Now I have been able to identify that it is indeed the neck moving. Am about to consider putting in a custom neck plate with four screws! (Or just selling this beloved thing)

Johny