The Definitive Recreation of the Original "Solid Guitar" of the 1960s
The Gibson SG actually began life in 1961 as the "new and improved" Les Paul. However, Les was not particularly fond of the design which featured a thinner mahogany body with beveled edges and pointed horns, so the guitar eventually got a new name: The SG, which stood for "Solid Guitar." It was actually a big success for Gibson - obviously the right design for the times. Most SGs were finished in Cherry, which was all the rage in the '60s, however, some were produced in White or rarely, Ebony or TV Yellow. The original SG Series addressed two of what Gibson president Ted McCarty saw as major issues with the original Les Paul design, which was the weight, along with somewhat limited access to the upper frets. With a thinner, lighter mahogany body and a neck that joined the body right at the upper limits of the 22-fret fingerboard, the SG was a hit. If you're looking for a historically accurate reissue of the 1961 SG that looks just like it rolled off the production line more than four decades ago, but without the wear and tear, you really need to check out the new Vintage Original Spec (VOS) SG Standard. Play one and you'll understand why this is a design that's survived for almost half a century in an industry that's well known for change.
Related Videos: SG Standard Historic Reissue w/ Maestro VOS - Faded Cherry
- Lightweight mahogany body with dual cutaway design
- Burstbucker pickups with three-way toggle switch
- Authentic ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge and Maestro Vibrola tailpiece
- Solid mahogany neck with long neck tenon and rosewood fingerboard
- Custom Shop hardshell case with certificate of authenticity
Lightweight mahogany body with dual cutaway design
It's hard to believe that by 1961, Gibson decided to discontinue the original Les Paul guitar - or what we now think of as the Les Paul Standard. The motivation is unclear, though it can probably be traced to both weak sales and the urge to try something new. In any case, the first SGs were actually called Les Pauls, but Les himself wasn't in favor of that for a variety of reasons. So, in a bold move, this solid guitar was renamed SG, which stood for, uh, solid guitar. A few years later, Gibson started making the original Les Pauls again, but the SG proved so popular that they kept making them. Though it fell on tough times in later years, there's a renewed interest in SGs today. The reason is easy to understand. It's actually quite a cool looking instrument, delivering the classic humbucker sound for people who don't particularly want or need a Les Paul Standard. The SG is also a much lighter instrument, thanks to the thinner mahogany body and the deeply beveled edges. The Vintage Original Spec SG Standard is a totally spot-on accurate reissue of the original Gibson SG Standard, including the smaller pickguard and the crest inlay headstock.
Burstbucker pickups with three-way toggle switch
When you really want to cook on a solo or deliver some thunderous power chords, you reach for a guitar that's got a pair of humbuckers, right? Forget all those thin "out-of-phase" guitar sounds that the session players overused in the 1980s and (sad to say) right through much of the '90s. That's not for you. Your sound is all about the warmth, punch and midrange complexity you can only get from humbuckers. With that in mind, the Vintage Original Spec SG Standard Reissue comes with a smoking hot pair of Burstbuckers - a Burstbucker 1 in the neck and a Burstbucker 2 in the bridge - for the ultimate in tone along with Gibson's standard layout of two volume and two tone controls and a three-position toggle switch. Lots of players over the years picked up SGs and loved them. Just a few include Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Angus Young, Frank Zappa, Tony Iommi, and most recently, bottleneck prodigy Derek Trucks.
Authentic ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge and Maestro Vibrola tailpiece
One of Gibson's many accomplishments during the 1950s was the development of the tune-o-matic bridge, which allowed for precise intonation of each and every string. The patent for the design, which Gibson designated as the ABR-1, was granted to Gibson president Ted McCarty, a fact that's never been in dispute, though it wasn't until more recently that McCarty's many innovations have truly been recognized. Since then, millions of guitars have been built with variations on that theme. Though for a while, it seemed that the design for those original bridges might be gone, Gibson has brilliantly recreated it for the Vintage Original Spec Series. Since some 1960s SGs shipped with Gibson's unique Maestro Vibrola, which effectively replaced the earlier Bigsbys, the SG Standard VOS Reissue includes it in the line. With an engraved cover and plastic-tipped handle, it worked well enough, though we look at it more today as an interesting part of Gibson's long and storied history which includes a number of interesting design choices.
Solid mahogany neck with long neck tenon and rosewood fingerboard
The early Les Pauls had huge necks, but by 1960 the neck underwent several modifications until it became what's known as the slim-taper design. The SG Standard, which was Gibson's premier solidbody electric after the company discontinued the Les paul line, was produced with the slim-taper mahogany neck, making it among the fastest ever designed. The Vintage Original Spec SG Standard Reissue reproduces that ultra fast profile with the historically accurate long neck tenon. If you like the combination of a fast mahogany neck with the warmth of the traditional rosewood fingerboard plus the nearly limitless access to the upper frets that's an SG trademark, you'll love the SG Standard Vintage Original Spec Reissue. It's fully bound and includes accurate acrylic trapezoid position markers and those distinctive vintage "tulip" tuners.
Custom Shop hardshell case with certificate of authenticity
Naturally, a guitar as special as the Vintage Original Spec SG Standard Reissue will come with a plush-lined hardshell case as befits its lofty status as one of Gibson's most popular - and advanced - models (even if it wasn't apparent back in the 1960s). So this one comes with a really sweet Custom Shop case that will offer the ultimate protection for your investment for many decades to come. The reissue SG Standard also comes with a certificate of authenticity, which proves your good taste, as well as a custom care kit and other assorted "case candy."
- Color: Faded Cherry
- Body Type: Solidbody
- Finish: Gloss
- Neck Wood: Mahogany
- Neck Shape: Slim-taper profile
- Top Wood: Mahogany
- Machine Heads: Vintage tulips
- Scale Length: 24 3/4 inches
- Fingerboard: Rosewood
- No. of Frets: 22
- Position Markers: Acrylic trapezoid
- Pickups: Burstbucker 1 and 2
- Controls: Two volume, two tone
- Pickup Switching: Three position toggle
- Bridge/Tailpiece: Tune-o-matic with Maestro trem
- Hardware: Nickel
- Case: Custom Shop hardshell
