Rare SGs

[Zakko]

Would it be possible to send guitars back to Gibson for them to refinish it in a color of your choise, IE that awesome TV Yellow?

[Wyatt]

I have heard people doing that with PRS's. I really don't know if Gibson does factory refinishes anymore.

 

Refinishing is cost-prohibitve in may cases anyway. I doubt anyone will do a set neck for less than $500 (and that would be considered cheap!).

 

If you strip it yourself, you could try finishing it yourself with the TV Yeloow from Reranch.

 

-Y.

[gearnut]

Here's my 2000 SG custom. I guess it's kinda rare since it has factory aged nickel hardware and is a polaris white, not the yellowish-cream that's the usual for the SG customs.

 

[egoelite]

Not rare but customized with new 57s' and angus young bridge.

 

[fantasticsound]

Definitely a '61 reissue in TV yellow, as several have already mentioned.

 

Now... How many here know why there is a TV Yellow guitar and why it's named as such?

[SmelltheGlove]

 

Originally posted by fantasticsound Definitely a '61 reissue in TV yellow, as several have already mentioned. Now... How many here know why there is a TV Yellow guitar and why it's named as such?

 

 

The color was designed, or at least advertised, to look good on TV.

[Wyatt]

 

Originally posted by SmelltheGlove The color was designed, or at least advertised, to look good on TV.

 

 

Close.

 

Early TV lights were super bright and the cameras were primative; and the light would reflect off of anything white and created an undesired halo around it (and sometimes the white object itself would reflect so much light it would completely overpower the camera and dump out to black).

 

So, on B&W TV, everything that was suppose to be white was really "off white"--light yellow, light blue, anything but white. Since it was black and white, you couldn't tell it wasn't really white.

 

This is still done today, if you see a white shirt on Tv or film, it is usually light blue or gray.

 

-Y.

[orourke]

 

Originally posted by Clyde42 Lots of the Specials around, but I have not seen many with the gold hardware. that one is pretty sharp! My first SG was one of those in Ferarri Red with chrome hardware. The cherry finished one appears to be from a bit later than 1969. The large headstock, and the big plastic control plate indicate a seventies model. It also seems to have no bevels in the cutaways, which is also a giveaway that is is a seventies model. It appears to be an SG Deluxe(1971-1972 16 shipped 1973-1974)), but I have only seen them with LP type pickguards, and have never heard of a stock SG with stereo wiring(checked a couple of books even). Perhaps it was a special order, in which case it would be a rarity.

 

 

Hey Clyde, you've got the lowdown on the SG's! The weird stereo wiring on my SG was quite odd. Both pickups worked totally separtley, you needed a Y cord if you wanted to use them in the same input. I bought it, (what I though was) new way back when. The Serial No. 813448

[Clyde42]

 

Originally posted by orourke Hey Clyde, you've got the lowdown on the SG's! The weird stereo wiring on my SG was quite odd. Both pickups worked totally separtley, you needed a Y cord if you wanted to use them in the same input. I bought it, (what I though was) new way back when. The Serial No. 813448

 

 

The sn does fall into the 1969 range, but also 1974-1975. When did you buy it? The features are definitely from the later range. Is the back of the headstock stamped "Made in USA"? That began in 1970, I think. It could easily be a "build out" guitar with experimental wiring and different pickguard to use up the remaining SG Deluxe bodies with no bevels and control cavity on the front.

[orourke]

 

Originally posted by Clyde42 The sn does fall into the 1969 range, but also 1974-1975. When did you buy it? The features are definitely from the later range. Is the back of the headstock stamped "Made in USA"? That began in 1970, I think. It could easily be a "build out" guitar with experimental wiring and different pickguard to use up the remaining SG Deluxe bodies with no bevels and control cavity on the front.

 

 

Yeah, it has "Made in USA" stamped under the serial number. It was my first decent guitar, I was still a freshman or sophmore in high school, so it had to be around '69-'71 when I bought it. By '75 I was a wicked giggin' bar band rocker.

 

 

[Clyde42]

 

Originally posted by orourke Yeah, it has "Made in USA" stamped under the serial number. It was my first decent guitar, I was still a freshman or sophmore in high school, so it had to be around '69-'71 when I bought it. By '75 I was a wicked giggin' bar band rocker.

 

 

Im going with 1971(maybe 1970 as pre-production example) Gibson SG Deluxe with early prototypical wiring and batwing type pickguard, before switching to the triangular LP pickguard.

I suppose there is a slim chance that a guitar shop employee modded it before selling it as new for some reason, but I couldnt imagine why.

 

Gibson serials were inconsistent then, but the USA stamp and physical features(big headstock, neck pickup against the end of the neck, etc.) help date it for us. I checked more thoroughly, and my book lists 700000, and 900000 series as available in 1970-1972, with 800000 appearing in 1973-1975, but I think 813448 was probably made in 1970/71, given when you rember buying the guitar. If it is from 1969, its a pretty friggin' early example of later features!

[orourke]

 

Originally posted by Clyde42 Im going with 1971(maybe 1970 as pre-production example) Gibson SG Deluxe with early prototypical wiring and batwing type pickguard, before switching to the triangular LP pickguard. I suppose there is a slim chance that a guitar shop employee modded it before selling it as new for some reason, but I couldnt imagine why. Gibson serials were inconsistent then, but the USA stamp and physical features(big headstock, neck pickup against the end of the neck, etc.) help date it for us. I checked more thoroughly, and my book lists 700000, and 900000 series as available in 1970-1972, with 800000 appearing in 1973-1975, but I think 813448 was probably made in 1970/71, given when you rember buying the guitar. If it is from 1969, its a pretty friggin' early example of later features!

 

 

Sounds about right to me, but one last fun fact I should have mentioned. The pickguard is not original, the original was more of a LP shaped pickguard. A few years ago, I was trying to have it somewhat restored and my guitar tech misunderstood the type of pickguard that I wanted for this old SG, so I ended up with this one.

 

Thanks for all the info, your knowlege is impressive.

[DonP]

Originally posted by gearnut Here's my 2000 SG custom. I guess it's kinda rare since it has factory aged nickel hardware and is a polaris white, not the yellowish-cream that's the usual for the SG customs.

 

That is one sweet guitar. Does the middle pickup bother you?

[Bbreaker]

Gibson Custom Shop SG Std.

Not many of these around.........

[timmy210]

Thats cause that one is but ugly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just kidding, its awesome . Would look much better in red though IMO

[DonP]

The pickguard is a bit flashy.

[fantasticsound]

 

Originally posted by Wyatt Close. Early TV lights were super bright and the cameras were primative; and the light would reflect off of anything white and created an undesired halo around it (and sometimes the white object itself would reflect so much light it would completely overpower the camera and dump out to black). So, on B&W TV, everything that was suppose to be white was really "off white"--light yellow, light blue, anything but white. Since it was black and white, you couldn't tell it wasn't really white. This is still done today, if you see a white shirt on Tv or film, it is usually light blue or gray. -Y.

 

 

You know the answer, but what you typed can be summed up in two thoughts.

 

1. All TV lights are super bright, to allow for tack sharp focus. (smaller aperture on the camera lens = sharper image)

 

2. Contrast. Those primative cameras were extremely high contrast compared to later technology. As noted, a white shirt would create so much reflection it literally blinded people, in similar fashion to being "snowblind".

 

Great answers.

 

 

Originally posted by Clyde42 ...Gibson serials were inconsistent then, but the USA stamp and physical features(big headstock, neck pickup against the end of the neck, etc.) help date it for us. I checked more thoroughly, and my book lists 700000, and 900000 series as available in 1970-1972, with 800000 appearing in 1973-1975, but I think 813448 was probably made in 1970/71, given when you rember buying the guitar. If it is from 1969, its a pretty friggin' early example of later features!

 

 

You are correct. Everything regarding early '70's Gibson products is suspect, due to an almost complete lack of records from the Norlin years. Half of what you can learn from Gibson Customer support on models from those years is based on Walter Carter and George Gruhn's research for the Gruhn Guide to Vintage Guitars. The rest is from marketing brochures and anectdotal evidence.

 

Otherwise, only those with a good memory or documentation really know when an early 1970's Gibson product is from. And many instruments were slightly customized at the factory with no records to indicate whether a customer ordered an un-advertised option or if a factory worker or workers were experimenting or simply goofing off by changing a feature of a regular production model.

 

The Made In USA stamp and large headstock are dead giveaways of Norlin/Gibson instruments. As for really early Norlin products, I there is one more identifying feature that can assist in dating the instrument.

 

Does it have a volute? A volute is a hump on the back of the neck, directly opposite the nut. It was designed as an increase in material at the headstock because Norlin dumbed down the manufacture of Gibson guitars in an attempt to cut corners, which backfired in the form of a considerable number of headstock splits. Enough that they added the cumbersome volute to add strength at the weak joint.

 

Volutes are almost universally loathed by Gibson fans, though a number of inexpensive guitar manufacturers have used this feature again, in recent years. (Not Gibson, though.)

 

They were not used on 1969 instruments, and I think most of 1970. The Gruhn Guide has information about the inclusion of the volute.

 

Hope this helps!

[Jkater]

I am not knowledgable enough to state how rare that one is but I sure should have kept it. It had the name Gibson embossed in the pup's and on the Bigsby.

 

[the russ]

uhhh i've got an SG-Z i'm selling. i'll post pics later when i get home.

[DonP]

 

Originally posted by the russ uhhh i've got an SG-Z i'm selling. i'll post pics later when i get home.

 

 

LOL! Make sure you do your research.

[angus_old]

Originally posted by Jkater I am not knowledgable enough to state how rare that one is but I sure should have kept it. It had the name Gibson embossed in the pup's and on the Bigsby.

 

great pic it's like a window into the past

[DonP]

 

Originally posted by Jkater I am not knowledgable enough to state how rare that one is but I sure should have kept it. It had the name Gibson embossed in the pup's and on the Bigsby.

 

 

"Gibson" was put on the pickups only in the 1972 year, although you might find some from 1971 - 1973.

[the russ]

 

Originally posted by DonP LOL! Make sure you do your research.

 

 

i can only guess that this is some veiled reference to me scoffing at how much you were asking for your SG. in which case I said - good luck, and stranger things have happened. I saw how much it went for and was pretty amazed. eBay is just out of control anymore.

[facefirst]

Originally posted by onbongos great pic it's like a window into the past

 

A window that's been smeared with vasoline.

[DonP]

 

Originally posted by the russ i can only guess that this is some veiled reference to me scoffing at how much you were asking for your SG. in which case I said - good luck, and stranger things have happened. I saw how much it went for and was pretty amazed. eBay is just out of control anymore.

 

 

You are correct.

 

What do you plan on selling your SG for?