SG Special Voodoo Review

The SG Voodoo has a swamp ash body, mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard with red pearl Voodoo skull at the 5th fret, black chrome hardware and Black Magic pickups.

Features:	10
Sound:	9
Action:	9
Reliability:	10
Impression:	10
Overall rating:	9.6
Users rating:	9
Comments:	17

Featured review by: unregistered, on january 12, 2004

Price paid: $ 1537.2

Purchased from: Williams Music

Features: Made in 2003 in the USA.

Manufactured in: Nashville, TN

BODY
Species: Swamp Ash

NECK
Species: Mahogany
Profile: Rounded
Peghead Pitch: 17°
Thickness at 1st fret: 0.818"
Thickness at 12th fret: 0.963"
Heel Length: 0.625"
Neck Joint Location: 19th fret

FINGERBOARD
Species: Ebony
Scale length: 243/4"
Total Length: 18.062"
Nut Width: 111/16
Width at 12th fret: 2.062"
Frets: 22
Inlays: Red pearl acrylicVoodoo skull at fifth fret

HARDWARE
Plating Finish: Black Chrome
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Tailpiece: Stopbar
Knobs: Black top hat with red numbers
Tuners: Grover kidney

ELECTRONICS
Pickups: Black Magic double-slug 496R/500T, black/red coils
Controls: Two volume, two tone, three-way Switch

CASE
Exterior: Red Python Hardshell
Interior: Black Plush
Silkscreen: Black/Red 'Gibson USA' logo

STRINGS
Brite Wires .010-.046 // 10

Sound: I play mostly punk, grunge and metal and this guitar is brilliant for them all! I play using a Fender Deluxe 112 plus amd and I am amazed by the clarity and lack of any buzz whatsoever from the pickups, there brilliant! You can get a great range of tones from this guitar, from very deep bass from the neck pickup, to very high tones from the bridge pickup, or pretty much any other tone you can think about inbetween! These pickups are amazing, they are the best pickups I have ever used and would reccomend them to anyone who wants there guitar to sound pro. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: When I got the guitar it was a bit dusty but still perfectly in tune and mark free, the setup of the hardware was perfect. the only flare I noticed was with the case, one locking bracket had been bent and damaged the case ever so slightly, but not the guitar, this im sure I can live with. // 8

Reliability & Durability: i have not had a chance to use this guitar in front of a live audiance yet but I very much doubt there being any problems at all with it, except maybe a snapped string, I would be confident using this guitar without a backup. The finish is top class, im not sure what it is coated with but you get a special liquid to clean it without damaging the finish. However I have noticed a small amount of wear on the bridge from playing it, hardly noticable but this may become more apparent after time. The strap buttons are standard SG ones, ok for my use but you may prefer locking ones. // 10

Impression: this guitar is ideal for the styles of music I play, I couldnt have hoped for a better guitar. I have been playing 5 years now and own an Encore Strat copy, Fender highway 1 showmaster and now this Gibson SG Special Voodoo. If it was stolen I would definitely buy another, if I could afford to! one thing I am a bit unnsure about is the body material, swampash, although a very nice material, it is strange as it is so light the neck outweighs it, this takes a bit of getting used to! When I was looking to buy a new guitar I also looked at the Gibson SG Standard and the Gibson Les Paul but after doing a bit of reading about this one seemed the better, I'm glad I chose this one. I think locking strap buttons would be a usefull addition tho. If your looking for a reliable, versatile, brilliantly sounding guitar then you should seriously consider the Gibson SG Special Voodoo. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on june 24, 2005

Price paid: $ 950

Features: This axe is essentially a standard SG with a baddass black and red finnish, an ebony fretboard, and some really hot, loud pickups. It has a Tune-O-Matic bridge with a stopbat tailpiece (pretty much standard for an SG) and grover tuners. It also comes with a wonderfull hardshell Faux Python skin case and an adjustment sool with a phillips head screwdriver and a hex socket wrench for adjusting the truss rod. // 10

Sound: This has a slightly darker louder sound than your average SG which I attribute to the different pickups. I play mostly punk rock and some older metal and it suits those just fine. The only problem I've had with the sound is that in order to get clean tones you have to turn down the volume quite a bit on the guitar which slightly shortens the sustain. But overall this guitar has a huge sound that should work for all types of music. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The action was set perfectly at the factory as was the intonation. Hell it was almost perfectlyin tune when I got it out of the box. The only problem was that the bridge pickup was set way too high but that was easily corrected. I also had to add pickup mounts (the guitar came with the pickups mounted directly to the pickgaurd, which I though looked kinda cheap) doing this also angled the neck pickup which made it sound better. The finish is very attractive and was flawless. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is made for live playing (as all good guitars are). The hardware is excellent as (of course deppending on how much you move around locking strap pins may be a wise addition) and looks like it will last a lifetime. I would definitely depend on this guitar but would never play any guitar without a backup (hey random bad stuff happens) but I'm sure this axe could pull through if I had too. As I stated before the finish appears like it will last probably for the life of the guitar with proper care. // 10

Impression: This is a good match for punk and metal as well as most forms of rock and blues. I have been playing now for several years and have gone through several guitars (this and an early '80s Epiphone Strat copy are currently the only two guitars I own) and I can easily see myself playing this far into the future. I love this guitar for its sound and the only thing I dislike about it is its moderate tuning stability problems (which I plan to remedy eith locking tuners) If it were stolen I'd try to find another one (they don't make theese anymore and I got one of the last ones ever produced). I got this as a gift so I didn't get to do much comparison shopping but this is one of the best axes I've evr had the pleasure of owning, the only thing that would make this better would be a Vibrola tailpiece and locking tuners. // 10

Comments

[hippie_punk]

Very nice guitar

[Justice_Fish]

It's funny to see that the Voodoo Les Paul is pure crap and Voodoo SG is one of the best guitars.

I wonder if the SG is Discontinued as the Explorer, V, and Les Paul.

[Mahoru]

Yes, this is a very good guitar. I only changed the pickups for a pair of EMG 81-HA cause I wanted a more agressive sound.

[Mahoru]

And unfortunately, is discontinued, like the Gothic series.

[thunderinblack]

why do gibson always discontinue there better models it stupid

[kaptink]

thunderinblack wrote:

why do gibson always discontinue there better models it stupid

They tend not to sell as well, most people would rather shell out for the classic LP's and SG's.

[metal maniac69]

this guitar is so sweet! if only i could find one and have enough money for it!

[Kirdy]

is it worth that much? carnt u get it for cheaper?

[mjj4]

im debating between the sg voodoo or sg standard :S what do you all think??

[Tubyboulin]

The Voodoo is discontinued so go for a new standard, better than used probobly.

[leonkennedy74]

yea theres one on guitar center web site its in hollywood but they wil ship if u want it, its 700. i just bought a gibson '91 sg standard for 400$. does anyone know how to get a paint job like the voodoo?

[leonkennedy74]

mjj4 wrote:

im debating between the sg voodoo or sg standard :S what do you all think??

voodoo

[will-loves-zep]

leonkennedy74 wrote:

yea theres one on guitar center web site its in hollywood but they wil ship if u want it, its 700. i just bought a gibson '91 sg standard for 400$. does anyone know how to get a paint job like the voodoo?

have u ever seen tony iommi's sg, its kinda silvery purple. he left it in a hot car for hours and the paint got ****ed. i would love to try it but don't have the money. but if your crazy enough go for it!

[ksmash5]

I found one for $500 bucks.. the headstock was cracked but was "professionally fixed" it's pretty worn down in some spots too.. Think it's still worth it? will the headstock being broken and then repaired affect the sound any?

[JuanesLaNegra]

F***IN BEAUTY

[gibson-sg-rocks]

that looks terrible. I'm sure it sounds good though, its a gibson. I played an SG special, and it wouldnt hold tune at all. and it sucked balls. so i got an SG standard instead, only a few hundred bucks extra, and a completely different sound. My strings can withstand the temperatures of the sun. i am just amasing. lol.

[tknott]

Will trade voodoo sg for sg standard [e-mail]