2013 Gibson SG “Future Tribute”

Continuing a tradition of birthday guitars, I received my new Gibson SG this week. This is the 2013 “Future Tribute” model.

Let’s get one thing out of the way, right up front.  “Future Tribute” is one the most ridiculous guitar model names I’ve ever heard.

Seriously, before I even received the guitar, I ordered a replacement truss rod cover blank (Gibson part #PRTR-010), so I won’t have to ever see that all-caps “FUTURE” on my guitar 🙂

While I love both my Les Paul’s, they’re really heavy – over 9 pounds – which gets a little tiresome during long rehearsals and gigs.  Even with the weight relief in my 2013 LP Studio, it can’t complete with this featherweight champ- this SG weighs in at only 6.1 pounds.

While I love the appearance of my Les Pauls, this SG is more of a mixed bag aesthetically.  The SG has never been my favorite body shape.

The asymmetric devil’s horns and completely flat top always struck me as a bit plain.  That said, I do like the Vintage Sunburst finish over the mahogany.  As Angus says, when it comes to SG’s, brown is the only color!

The body is unadorned- no pick guard, no bindings.  Just simple brown mahogany.

The neck is Gibson’s new asymmetrical shape – .8” at the 1st fret and .875” at the 12th.  The inlays in the rosewood fretboard are perfectly cut.

And hey, there are 24 frets (that’s two more than I’m used to!)

At first, I was a bit skeptical of the Steinberger gearless tuners. They make the headstock look goofy without the traditional side-facing tuning knobs. But in use, they work great – super smooth, and the knobs on the back of the headstock are actually easier to use than side knobs.

This model has ’57 Classic pickups, which are just awesome. Beautifully warm and bell-like in the neck position, and cutting and ferocious in the bridge.  Not sure about the Zebra styling, but I think the lack of metal covers adds to the bright, raw sound.

Taking a look inside the control cavity, there’s a PCB just like in my 2012 Les Paul Studio. I guess that’s the new normal with Gibson. Everything looks neat and tidy, and rock-solid.

The pots are full-size Gibson-stamped- 500k tone, and 280k volume.  The tone caps are tiny ceramic .022μF.

The guitar came with a black Gibson USA logo gig bag. It’s extremely simple and minimal. I don’t really plan to use it- the SG happens to fit in my G&L ASAT hard case, so that’ll do until I get a proper SG hard case.

Aesthetics and nitpicks aside, I absolutely love this SG.  It feels great in the hands (and on the shoulders!)  Upper fret access is incomparable.  It sounds amazing – there have been moments, playing through my Blackstar Stage 60, where I have been shocked and surprised by how awesome my rig sounds!