GIBSON SG

The Gibson SG is a popular model of solid-bodied electric guitar that was introduced in the early 1960s. In 1960, Gibson Les Paul sales were significantly lower than they had been in previous years, so in 1961 the model was given a completely new body style that was thinner and had two sharp cutaway horns that made the upper frets more accessible. The neck was slightly heavy, which made it tilt downwards. The neck joint was also moved up about three frets. It was felt the new design could compete with the popular Fender Stratocaster, another benefit being lower production costs than that of the previous model. The guitar was advertised as having the "fastest neck in the world," due to its slender neck profile and virtually non-existent heel. The newly-designed Les Paul was popular but Les Paul, whose namesake was carried over from the previous version, did not like the new design and asked to have his name removed from it. Gibson renamed the model the "SG" which was short for "solid guitar". Even though Les Paul's name was officially removed from the model in 1961, the plastic Les Paul nameplates (positioned between the rhythm pickup and fingerboard) were in abundance in the Gibson factory and SG models having these nameplates were built and sold by Gibson up to the end of 1963.
Since its initial introduction in 1961, there have been numerous models and variants that carry the "SG" name. In addition to a "Standard" and "Jr" model, there was the top of the line "Custom". The 1961-1963 Custom models did not say 'SG', but they did, however, have a Les Paul signature between the neck pickup and the edge of the fingerboard where it joined the body. The "Standard" had a Les Paul engraved truss rod cover from 1961 to early 1963. Models produced between 1961 and 1965 have the original small pickguard; in 1966 the guitar was redesigned slightly with a different neck joint and a larger, semi-symmetrical "batwing" pickguard appearing on 1967 models. This design held until roughly 1970. In 1971 Gibson released a version with a floating "Les Paul" style pickguard and a front-mounted control plate, no doubt as a cost-cutting measure. "Maestro", "Lyre Vibrola" and Bigsby vibrato (tremolo arm) tailpieces appeared as options and several new models were introduced with this design, such as the low-end SG-100 and the fat single coil dual pickup gibson SG-200 guitars, and the more luxurious SG Pro and SG Deluxe guitars.
Gibson has offered many variations and finishes on the basic SG body style and continues to manufacture special editions, including models such as the Special, Supreme, Tony Iommi Signature SG (model discontinued), Angus Young Signature SG, 1961 Re-issue, Menace, and Gothic, as well as the premium-priced VOS replicas of the sixties SG Standard and Custom.



Gibson SG Custom Review:

Features : 10 1969 SG Custom. Made in USA. Forget how many frets. Definitely solid top. All freaking controls present.Triple gold-plated humbuckers. Gibson called this thing white but it was more like a custard yellow with black pickguard. No tremolo or tailpiece. All abalone and mother of pearl appointments on fretboard and headstock. All original including Grover tuners.
Sound : 9 I bought this axe in 1981 from a guy who had been in a country band. I was into punk and new wave shit back then, along with some ska. However, it also worked well with blues. What a beautiful, full sound this thing would give - I still dream of it today. Absolutely an extremely versatile instrument, and if I hadn't given my left nut to cancer, I swear I'd give it today to have this guitar back. I paid $450 for it and sold it in 1984 to get a Fender Musicmaster bass to play in one of the area's top local bands at that time. We broke up after a year, and I've yet to see another Custom like mine - what a shame...
Action, Fit, & Finish : 10 Flawless quality on this one. No complaints whatsoever. Beautiful apppointments.
Reliability/Durability : 10 A helluva good looking instrument on stage. I had really wanted a Les Paul, but they were too damn heavy - and expensive for my budget. I was only 17 when I bought my SG. One solid, yet lightweight guitar, and lightyears better than the Ibanez Custom Tele knockoff I'd played for the previous four years.
Overall Rating : 10 I'd been playing for about 6 years when I bought my SG and kept it for three years. Since then, I've owned the aforementioned Musicmaster, a few acoustic-electric 12-strings, and an Alvarez classical. I currently have a Strat and a 68 Baldwin semi-hollowbody. The Strat is so versatile, but I love the edginess of the Baldwin. But, I miss the hell out of my little old SG. My oldest son plays drums, and it sure would be fun to find one like it to jam with him!