Maestro or stop tail on a historic SG? Need the facts jack.

[8ohms]

I'm ready to open the wallet on an historic SG in aged heritage cherry. I think I like the look of the Maestro better than the stop tail. I've played both, but one was the 61 reissue the other was the Angus model. Obviously neither was the custom shop version and unfortunatly I didn't play them through an amp. I liked the feel and resonance of the reissue alot better than the Angus model. I'm not sure if this was the guitar itself or just do to the tail piece. I don't want to drop the cash on the Maestro model only to find out I got looks but no tone. The tone is paramount to me and the looks are second. How much tone loss can I expect from the Maestro if any? Thanks for any knowledgeable input.

 

[Neill MacInnis]

I just picked up a 61 RI (the production model) w/ the maestro. I played this against a Historic w/ the same specs and a USA w/ the stop tail. First of all I noticed no difference between the historic and the USA except the lighter finish and slightly better cosmetics on the historic. The price on the historic is not justified IMO.

W/ respect to the stop versus maestro, due to the maestro having more metal parts it sounded a little brighter. The difference was minimal but still noticeable. I noticed no difference in sustain or any other characteristics of the guitars' sound. For me it ultimately came down to looks. It is also surprising how much I use the vibrola bar. It really comes in handy. I personally would recommend the maestro but thats just IMO.

 

['s mel gibson]

IMO SG's just don't look right without a vibrola bar. Any kind of bar. And like the other guy, yeah, I find myself using it a lot.
As for tone loss, I don't really notice any in a big way.
As for being a bit brighter, I like it and have never had any inclination to use the tone control to clip any highs off of the sound of the bridge pup. Mine BTW is a '61 SG/LP Custom with Bigsby, 3 paf's, gold parts, Ivory coloured, Ebony board and the Custom appointments. She's a beauty, and I love her.:wail
Her brightness is not as bright as my '03 Firebird VII, or my two '70's Strats, or my two Rickenbackers. I don't think there's a janglier guitar than Rickenbacker, correct me if I'm wrong.:hmm
Lately I've been thinking of an SG with a fully functional whammy bar, which Gibson has never offered on the SG. Electraglide didn't slam the Stetsbar, but yes, it is expensive & ugly.:tri So in this case,a black SG with a black Stetsbar attached to the stopbar posts with no cutting or drilling needed. And maybe the Stetsbars ugliness disappears into the black shineyness of their finishes.
Voila!:fattyMay the force be with you.:yoda

 

[Litcrit]

I've owned and played many SGs over the years, with Maestros (long and short) and some converted to stops. The Stop TP is more stable, stays in tune better and sounds A LITTLE bit better (most noticable when you're playing loud). The Whammy's give you what whammy's give you. I like having both kinds. BUt for pure tone, I've got to go with the stop (or wrap tail on SG Specials where you have that option).

 

[aaron0602]

Dude, go with they maestro. It's got way more mojo on an SG than a stopbar. For cryin out loud, they didn't even put stopbars on Les Paul/SG's until the late 60's! it's all about the maestro. Just ask gary rossington.