Sadler Vaden on his new Gibson signature SG Standard

The Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit guitarist reveals how his signature model was inspired by the instrument that was a lifesaver when his equipment was stolen, and shares sage advice about choosing guitar tones to serve the song

As anyone who has seen Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit live will testify, guitar sidemen don’t come much more accomplished than Sadler Vaden. A stellar guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer in his own right, Sadler’s electrifying slide guitar playing is heavy in atmospherics and a sonic highlight of any 400 Unit show. Now, Gibson has announced a collaboration with Sadler on his first-ever signature guitar: the Gibson Sadler Vaden SG™ Standard.

Inspired by the 2005 SG Standard he relies upon night after night and handcrafted in Nashville, Tennessee, the Gibson Sadler Vaden SG Standard features a distinctive Natural Burst finish and a set of Sadler Vaden Signature humbuckers™ with exposed zebra coils and Alnico 2 magnets. In celebration of this milestone release, we caught up with Sadler to get the skinny on the all things SG, find out about the theft of his original number one, and more besides.

How did you get into the SG in the first place? Was it because of a specific artist or simply because it’s really well suited to slide playing? 

“For me, wanting to play an SG came from seeing Pete Townshend play an SG in the Woodstock movie. And then seeing Zappa play an SG—those were the two inspirations for me wanting to play an SG. I was such a big Who fan, and I really liked Frank Zappa’s guitar playing as well. That was really the inspiration for me to get one. 

“When I first got an SG, I was probably 16. When you are that age, the reason you want a guitar is typically seeing one of your heroes play one. Realizing that it was a great guitar for slide came a lot later. But I always loved the shape of the body, I liked that it was fairly lightweight, but a solidbody. Then it just became this guitar that felt so good in my hands—I got it and was like, ‘This is it. This is the perfect guitar for me.’ And still today, pretty much any SG I pick up is giving me what I want.”

What was the first SG model you owned? 

“My first one was a Faded series SG Special in Cherry from the early 2000s. But that guitar was stolen later on, on the road. It was a great guitar, I loved it. My heart was broken when it got stolen in Philadelphia. I never found it, never recovered it. Pretty much all the guitars I used were taken. I call Philadelphia ‘The Home of Sadler’s Guitars!’ My band at the time was working with this producer named Paul Ebersold in Memphis, and my guitars getting stolen happened in the middle of making trips to Memphis to make a record. At that point, both my parents had passed away already, there was nothing; I had no tools, I couldn’t do anything without having a guitar. 

“Paul and a buddy put some money in a pot and got me a guitar—and that’s the guitar this signature model is based on. It’s an SG Standard. They found it at a place called Martin Music in Memphis. They bought it and gave it to me, and I loved it from the minute I touched it. The pickups in it were fantastic, but at some point something happened and they stopped sounding so good, so I put the zebras in. That just totally changed the guitar for the better. And I just thought it looked so cool with the uncovered pickups and zebras. 

“It’s had a few modifications over the years of playing, but it’s just always been a solid guitar and the neck is really good on that one in particular. I think it’s a 2005 in Natural Burst. At the time, I remember bands who were in the punk and hardcore scene playing those guitars, but I never saw a lot of them. Maybe it was just the circles I was in. But it’s a really cool color and when you see one, you remember it.”

Do you have any tips for dialing in sweet spots using the SG’s controls?

“It’s really dependent on what song it is, and what guitar and tone Jason is playing as well. Especially live. That’s when your job turns into what it is—you’re in a band, serving the song and trying to contribute to the sound and the right frequencies you need to be taking up. Say if Jason takes a solo, and he’s on the bridge pickup and he’s set to stun, I might go to the neck pickup for a more Dickey Betts or Slash-style tone—a milky, creamy sound. 

“With slide, a lot of that is dynamics. On ‘Cover Me Up,’ when I come in, it hasn’t yet reached the climax of the song, so I want it to sound sweet. I’ll use the middle setting, with the neck pickup volume rolled down just a little bit. That’s this nice bright, but almost pillowy sound. I call it the glass tone! To me it’s really chimey and glassy. The second time around, he’s hitting that chorus, there’s more instruments coming in, the bass is coming in, the drums are coming in—I’m on the bridge pickup at that point, ’cause I’m gonna add a little more drama. I’m always thinking in terms of what’s happening in the song. If I’m ever touching the controls it’s because I’m reacting to something.” 

Finally, what do you hope fans get from your signature model? 

“There’s going to be a certain amount of people that are fans of me and the band and want it as a collector’s item, but aside from that, I really wanted to have something out there that’s a great instrument. That’s what that guitar means to me. My SG was a gift to me, to keep things going, to take on the road—it’s a tool. 

“What I hope is that someone buys this guitar—whether they are a fan of me and the band or not—and they pick that thing up and are like, ‘This is a great guitar! This sounds good! I can take this on the road and in the studio.’ It’s a workhorse guitar. Say a producer in Nashville needs an SG and they pick that thing up, this thing will do anything they want it to do. I wanted it to be an inspiring guitar.” 

Find out more about the Gibson Sadler Vaden SG Standard and shop now. For more on Sadler Vaden, visit his official website. Shop Gibson SGs and learn more in our official Gibson SG buyer’s guide.