Gibson SG Guitar

Gibson SG - In The Beginning

The Gibson SG is one of the more popular models of the solid-body electric guitar introduced in 1960’s.

In 1960, the sales of the Gibson Les Paul were considerably lower than its sales in the previous years. So immediately in the next year, the model saw a major overhaul. The body of the guitar became thinner and the upper frets were made more accessible. Gibson also renamed the guitar model as the SG, which means solid guitar.

The new Gibson design can compete with the Fender Stratocaster, the more popular guitar during that time. It also requires lower production cost than the Les Paul guitar model. The new Les Paul design was equally popular, but Les Paul himself didn’t like it. So he requested that his name be removed from the model.

But even if the Les Paul name was technically removed in 1961, the nameplates that bear his name weren’t removed at all. In fact, there were quite an abundance of them in Gibson’s factory. The SG models have carried the nameplates until 1963. Standard SG guitars continued to have Les Paul’s engraved bind rod cover until early 1963.

The guitars were advertised to sport the fastest neck all around in the world. And this is primarily due to the guitar’s slim neck profile and a heel that is virtually non-existent.

Standard SG guitars have the same the traditional control layout and pickup as the Standard Les Paul. Physically, Les Paul has a deeper body than the SG. Therefore, the latter is lighter than the former. The guitar’s neck profile is considerably deeper too, although the actual design differs each year.

The most striking difference between the two is the fact that the SG is more of a double-cutaway guitar than the Les Paul. The Gibson SG is popularly known for its cherry finish. It also comes in shades such as natural, mahogany, walnut, black, white, and others.

With the exception of the Swamp Ash SG Special that is walnut bodied, the SG’s body is purely made out of mahogany. It also doesn’t have the angled section of the maple top as shown in the previous designs. It doesn’t have the normal body binding either.

Since 1961, there were many variants and models that were given the SG trademark. The models created from 1961 to 1965 carries the classic small pickguard. By 1966, the guitars were redesigned a little to sport a larger batwing pickguard and a special neck joint. This new type of pickguard later appeared on the guitar models of 1967.

By then, the SG guitar models had returned to its old designs and style. The current versions also returned to the construction and style using the larger pickguard. This type of pickguard wraps all around the pickups found on the body of the guitar.

Gibson has many finishes and variations on the traditional SG body design. They also continued the manufacture of special editions, such as Special, Supreme, Tommy Iommi Signature SG, Angus Young Signature SG, 1961 Re-Issue, SG-R1, Menace, and Gothic, including the VOS replicas of the 60’s Custom and SG Standard.

The following tailpieces such as the Lyre Vibrola, Bigsby vibrato (tremolo arm), and Maestro, Lyre Vibrola and Bigsby vibrato had appeared as primary options. Several newer models were even introduced carrying this design. Examples are the low-end SG-100 as well as the single coil dual pickup Gibson SG-200 guitar. Still included in the list are the luxurious SG Deluxe and SG Pro guitars.

The Gibson SG Special guitars were introduced right after them and they featured the tremolo arm and the P-90 pickups. The model had appeared once again and they are called the SG Classic. On the other hand, the more recent SG Special is released with two open humbucking pickups.

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