NEWS

Gibson Announces Guitar Of The Month #1 :: SG Diablo

Thu, Feb 14, 2008

Gibson-Sg-DiabloWow… this thing sure is gaudy ;)

Apparently not ready to repeat last year’s rather “love it or hate it” Guitar Of The Week program (we gear hounds sure can be picky, can’t we?) for 2008 Gibson has slowed custom guitar production a bit and will instead be offering the Guitar Of The Month.

First up, the blazing gold and red beasty pictured here––the aptly title .

Forget all those slightly beveled SGs, the Mahogany body on this thing has apparently been heavily carved (front and back) to accentuate the instrument’s already curveaceous lines, and the whole thing is decked out in a Metallic Red Nitrocellulose finish… not to mention gold hardware across the board.

Gibson has also eschewed the standard 22-fret neck for a full 24-fretter (still 24 3/4“ scale length,) giving you access to just a little more high-end fretboard real estate, and controls have been simplified down to just a single tone and volume control, plus the traditional 3-way pickup switch.

To top it off, the volume knob has been moved closer to the bridge (possibly dangerously close depending on your playing style,) to make for quick and easy volume swells, and the SG Diablo is outfitted with a pair of Burstbucker pickups with old-school ”unmatched“ bobbin windings and Alnico IIs––just like vintage PAFs from the heyday of rock and roll.

Other features are pretty much standard to the species… production is limited to just 1,000 guitars, and Gibson’s asking an MSRP of $3249. Ouch.

Posted Under: Gibson, Guitars, Music, News

11 Comments For This Post

  1. Bob Brancato Says:
    February 14th, 2008 at 12:57 pm

    PRS for me instead. Or, 2 Strats and a Tele!

    Nice site.

  2. Franck Says:
    February 14th, 2008 at 1:00 pm

    Hey Cary,

    Nice to see you back !

    And the SG Diablo looks like a hell of a guitar ! ;oP

    Franck

  3. josh Says:
    February 14th, 2008 at 2:24 pm

    it’s good to see you back in action.

  4. Stratoblogster Says:
    February 14th, 2008 at 4:50 pm

    Wonder how last year’s Guitar of the Week did for Gibson overall??

    Good to see a post from you!

  5. dbell Says:
    February 14th, 2008 at 9:53 pm

    Gaudy is a very apt word.

    Nice to have you back.

  6. Cary Says:
    February 15th, 2008 at 12:08 pm

    Thanks guys… I guess the Prozac’s finally kickin’ in ;)

  7. Tom L Says:
    February 15th, 2008 at 4:45 pm

    I’m going out on a limb and admitting it — I love this guitar! Click on the Sweetwater link and look at the close-ups. This guitar screams rock and roll.

    Of course, I wouldn’t pay $3 grand to own one… but I definitely give the Diablo a thumbs up.

  8. Snooby Says:
    February 16th, 2008 at 8:50 am

    Thank you, Thank you. Now I will know what’s going on. Thank you.

  9. Gibsonerfender Says:
    February 16th, 2008 at 9:28 am

    Cary - great to have you back!

    I like the diablo but would like to see other color/hardware combinations along with a more realistic price.

  10. Gibsonerfender Says:
    February 16th, 2008 at 9:40 am

    First Quality Music has some detailed images of this guitar:

    http://www.firstqualitymusic.com/itemdetail.asp?item=SGDBR1GH1

    I don’t know if I like advertising the content on the case…

  11. Rich Says:
    March 14th, 2008 at 5:33 pm

    I’ve played the SG Diablo recently. It is a gorgeous SG, esp. in the white plush interior case. I wouldn’t call it ‘gaudy’ - it’s like an exotic sports car - very curvaceous. The metallic finish is very ‘automotive’ and suits the carved body, in my opinion. The one I played was surprisingly heavy (maybe a denser piece of mahog.). Tonally, it has a very bright top end while still maintaining a thick humbucker foundation - but almost Fendery in tone. It definitely sounds different than my ‘61 reissue (burstbuckers vs. 57’ s). 24 frets gives a huge span of fretboard to play with. I liked it enough to consider trading in my ‘61 reissue. The price is nowhere near Gibson list.

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