What's The Difference? Gibson Custom 1961 Les Paul SG VOS VS Gibson USA SG Standard 61

[@tonyhills2112]

Thanks for the comparison! I ended up picking up the Standard ‘61 for less than half the price but I can appreciate the Custom is a beautiful instrument. I upgraded mine with Lollar Imperials, 50’s wiring with better pots & caps, the double ring Klusons and yes, the Les Paul truss rod cover! Not quite a custom shop but maybe somewhere in between and saved a few $. Looking forward to the sound comparison!

[@artotian]

honestly both sound great. i had a gibson sg 61 standard - traded it with 2 more guitars for an r9.. been missing one ever since. now have a custom on its way to fill the void haha.

[@leadstrat]

I really enjoyed your video. I ordered my CS 61 several hours before I watched and now that I have it, I agree. It is the best playing SG I’ve ever played. I got a ridiculous deal on it and am very impressed with it. It’s so balanced. And light. It’s only 6 lbs 5 oz and it does not neck dive. Which is a first for me. It’s probably the least expensive way to enter the Gibson Custom world, but it truly an exceptional instrument. I haven’t seen the first bad review on it.

[@Crypticmaskguitar]

Congrats!! The '61 along with the '64 are BY FAR the best SGs I have ever played! The VOS stuff is just a completely different level! Cheers -Ryan

[@TommySG1]

Hey man, I dig your feeds, very cool stuff. I’m an SG guy, I love them and I currently own three of them. None are a custom shop and I love all three of them, I’ve checked out a handful of the customs and sure, they were nice. For me, it just wasn’t enough to justify the CS cost. I’m not saying I’ll never get one either, maybe one of these days but the Standards and the Special I own now just play real nice so I’m good 🤙

[@Crypticmaskguitar]

That’s the point. You don’t need a custom if you bond with the Gibson USA. That’s awesome! Cheers -Ryan

[@TommySG1]

@@Crypticmaskguitar precisely man 🤙 And thanks again for the cool feeds.

[@bryancollins6796]

The cherry on Custom Shop will fade in sunlight to brown as the originals did. The USA version won't fade out like that. Some USAs do have single piece bodies, but that's more of an exception.

[@Crypticmaskguitar]

Yes, that is part of the charm of VOS finishes. The 58-59 Bursts were technically all the same colour but faded differently depending on sun exposure and type of sunlight. Single piece bodies are a rarity for USA Models... most of the "Single Piece" bodies are actually 2 pieces, but, Gibson is ridiculously good at hiding seams. But they certainly do exist. I might have one in my Maestro Standard... but I'm not totally convinced. Cheers -Ryan

[@MikeRay1978]

I mess with my switch and dials. But I always end up bridge pickup on kill eventually lol

[@SisGuitarGAS]

Great video - thank you! I’m currently restoring a Gibson USA 1992 61 reissue that somehow sits between the two (it has a one piece mahogany body, a fairly deep red colour and lovely dark rosewood board but otherwise the specs are very similar to today’s USA standard). Lovely guitars

[@SisGuitarGAS]

Oh and I too clearly need to get a LP truss rod cover as I too am a nerd

[@Crypticmaskguitar]

Nice! The 90s SGs were quite nice! Most usually had the wider horns as well. Most USAs even then were 2 piece mahogany, but I have a USA Maestro that I cannot for the life of me trace the seam. Gibson USA are experts at hiding seams. Cheers -Ryan

[@samnewton5959]

Nice video, well done! One thing you did not seem to go into is the difference in the sound of the pickups (Custombuckers vs Burstbuckers)

[@Crypticmaskguitar]

Yes. As stated in the video… I’m a nerd haha! Cheers -Ryan

[@Crypticmaskguitar]

You changed your comment completely. My response doesn’t make sense haha. I have a Sound Comparison video that I had done separate from this one. There I show 5 Different Amps/Settings and then at the end I talk about the differences between the two guitars feel and sound wise, including the pickups. Cheers -Ryan

[@samnewton5959]

@@Crypticmaskguitar Sorry about that, I realized later on you noted you had purchased the aftermarket bell cover. I will check out your other vid. Thanks!

[@oscarvestee]

Is it worthy to pay the extra $$ for a custom shop??? I do have the Gibson USA 62 Marstro vibrola and very happy with it! I do use the volume knobs a lot.

[@Crypticmaskguitar]

It’s all up to your preferences. I find the differences night and day. To me and for me it is well worth the money. But everyone is different. Cheers -Ryan

[@parandersson6541]

A young Robert deNiro?

[@user-pu5sk1zc8s]

The difference in appearance is like how cookie dough looks in an oven after a minute. The VOS BEVELS and horns look slightly melted and rounded. I have owned both.

[@birdman316]

man you had me fooled haha!!! i was sure the darker fingerboard one was ebony... they both are sweet guitars tho! i got a epiphone SG traditional pro in gold on sale for 329USD....reg price 500USD...traded a couple of minty/new strat style ones plus a bit o cash...took a bit of a pounding on the trade value but emerged bight-eyed bushytailed n happy! wild thing is the amp i chose to check the SG out on was a nice marshall tube one yay yaaa!!

[@Crypticmaskguitar]

That’s awesome! Yeah the dark rosewood can be a bit deceiving at a distance. Cheers -Ryan