The Gibson is considered by many, as the most important electric guitar maker of all time. After releasing in the early 1950s, the Les Paul, they have since produced countless models over the years. Gibson has also had a tendency to switch up the specs of specific models year-to-year, resulting in a mind-bogglingly diverse pool of guitar model variations to sift through if you’re trying to buy the best guitar for you.
On that, let’s take a look at two great guitar models from Gibson, the SG Junior and Les Paul Junior, and see how they both compare!
| Features: | Gibson SG Junior | Gibson Les Paul Junior |
|---|---|---|
| Price: | £1,089 ($1265) | £1,249 ($1451) |
| Frets: | 22 | 22 |
| Pickups: | P-90 Dog Ear | P-90 Dog Ear |
Gibson SG Junior
When the SG initially debuted back in ‘61 it was considered pretty radical for the time. With its thin body and no-nonsense styling, its clear vision was raw power and playability. It didn’t take long to become a fan favourite with players like Pete Townshend. The Gibson SG found itself a permanent member of the Gibson roster. Gibson’s SG Junior is a stripped-back younger brother to the original SGs.
With the SG Juniors classic, all mahogany and super slim design, it is the same tone machine we all know and love. It has a Slim Taper Mahogany neck which is topped with a lush rosewood fingerboard. Unlike normal mahogany guitars, the SG Junior is super light thanks to its thin line profile and simplistic design.
With a single Gibson P-90 pickup, it offers more bite, a sweeter single coil tone and a more versatile overall sound. It’s perfect for players that want greater control over their tone. Gibson’s P-90 pickups are hot, raw but perfectly rounded pickup choice. It sounds as smooth as it is gnarly.
Design
It’s pleasing to know that Gibson can still cut it with the best when it comes to neck profiles, as handling the neck of the SG Junior you will notice its soft, vintage-style shoulders. The SG Junior feels very vintage, in the best sense, and that impression is reinforced when the frets are viewed from the sides.
It has that wide-but-low look of old wire, but they’re plenty high enough for bending strings and you don’t get that ‘speed bump’ feel as your fingers slide along the fretboard.
Sound
The SG Junior’s unplugged tone is nothing short of astonishing – strum any chord and vibrations can be felt through the body and neck.
Its tonality is bright and chiming, while things get woody through the mids and there’s plenty of bass depth. The sustain greatly impresses and, with its perfect playability and sublime neck profile, the playing experience is much like playing a flawless vintage model.
There’re no real surprises when plugging it in, as the P-90 is hot without being over the top, it gives a strong midrange push, growling lows and plenty of bite in the upper mids and treble for articulation.
Gibson Les Paul Junior
The Les Paul Junior holds a special place within the wide variety of vintage guitars from the past. First launched as a student model in the 50s, the single pickup is a minimalist design that made its way into the hands of guitar legends that built a legacy in blues, classic rock, and punk.
The Les Paul Junior is an iconic model, its simplicity making it unique both in design and tone. With only a single P90 bridge pickup, it features a super lightweight body, and short-scale, easy-to-play neck. This guitar is perfect for rock, blues, and country.
Design
After the success of the Les Paul Gold Top in the 50s, Gibson immediately started working on expanding its line of guitar models. The first guitars released were the Les Paul Custom Les Paul TV model along with the student-oriented Junior.
Les Paul Juniors were initially designed to offer maximum playability with the least costs possible. With only one P-90 pickup on the bridge, one tone, and volume control in a single-cutaway solid body, the guitars at that time were as simple as they could get.
Sound
The most critical element of the Junior is its Single P-90 bridge pickups that give a ton of bite and attack but can easily clean up nicely to sparkling clean.
Gibson’s P90’s were so widely used for blues and rock that the term ‘P90 tone” was born to describe their characteristics. It’s a single-coil pickup with as much output as a humbucker due to the many coil turns.
This is between the nature of the P90’s, which gives it its tight-aggressive tone and makes it capable of handling high gains giving a tight, articulated, almost aggressive tone. The tone is not as warm as a Les Paul Custom or SG, although it’s somewhere in between that and a Stratocaster.
If you’re a rock, blues, and anything in between player, the tone from a P90 will make you happy. Although you just need to make sure to place the pickups as close as you can to strings compared to a Strat single-coil; it doesn’t have the same magnetic pull.
The main reason you should go for the Les Paul Junior is the tone. While other guitars at this price point offer more features, although not with this particular tone. Many argue that it’s not only its pickups and body but also the lack of the neck pickups that makes the strings resonate differently. Other than the Gibson’s Les Paul Junior, not many other guitars offer that.
Conclusion
So, which one is right for you?
Well, to be honest, both the SG Junior and Les Paul Junior are great guitars from a great brand. The big decision will come down to your own personal preference.
While the Les Paul Junior overall is a fun guitar. The SG Junior has two pickups, making it more versatile. If the guitar that you choose will be your only guitar, then perhaps the SG Junior would be the better option simply due to the versatility of having the two pickups.
However, if you’ve got other guitars, then the Les Paul Junior is amazing and you’ll love to get the sounds available from the p90 sounds.