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Used Gibson '61 SG Standard Electric Guitar - Classic White
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Gibson '61 SG Standard Electric Guitar - Classic White

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Mahogany Body, Mahogany Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, and 2 Humbucking Pickups - Classic White
$1,999.00

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Gibson '61 SG Standard Electric Guitar - Classic White
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The Timeless SG at Its Most Iconic

Part of the company's Custom Color Series, the Gibson '61 SG Standard is ready to rock your world with tantalizing tones and spotlight-ready aesthetics. This guitar was modeled after a 1961 SG, which was the year the iconic model was first introduced. It flaunts a double-cutaway mahogany body, beautifully accented by a 5-ply teardrop pickguard. Its mahogany SlimTaper neck offers extreme playing comfort, augmented by a supple 12-inch-radius Indian rosewood fingerboard. The '61 SG Standard's '60s Burstbucker pickups equip you with a breadth of red-hot humbucker tones, and its 4-knob control configuration is handwired with Orange Drop capacitors, ensuring a vintage-tinged treat every time you plug into your favorite amp. You also get acrylic trapezoid fingerboard inlays, a mother-of-pearl headstock inlay, and a light-catching gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish. The SG Standard stands tall among Gibson's best-selling solidbody electric guitars, and the '61 SG Standard epitomizes the model's timeless, classic design.

Classic SG design

The '61 SG Standard was modeled after what this timeless instrument was like at the time of its introduction in 1961. The '61 SG Standard's mahogany body features a thinner, more contoured shape than its predecessor, the Les Paul, with a double cutaway for easier upper-fret access and a shallower set neck. The '61 SG Standard also includes a bound Indian rosewood fingerboard, acrylic trapezoid fingerboard inlays, and a mother-of-pearl headstock inlay. An ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge, aluminum stopbar tailpiece, and Vintage Deluxe tuners round out this axe's hardware. Finally, a 5-ply teardrop pickguard and a gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish put the perfect, spotlight-stealing visual touches on the '61 SG Standard.

Unleashes patented PAF tone

When it comes to bottling vintage Patent Applied For (PAF) humbucker tone, nothing beats the sound of this Gibson '61 SG Standard's '60s Burstbucker pickups. These magnets — along with period-correct, unmatched windings on the bobbins — capture the subtle historical variations in true humbucker tone. Plug into your favorite amp and experience smooth low-end response, complex midrange crunch, and sweet-sounding highs. While Sweetwater guitarists have found these pickups sound great clean, they can also push your amp into overdrive for the legendary fat, snarling tone you can only get with a humbucker. Under the hood, the control assembly is handwired with Orange Drop capacitors, ensuring you'll hear the mellifluous voice of the '61 SG Standard in all its glory, even when you back down your volume.

SlimTaper neck and Plek'd frets

Comfort and playability were Gibson's primary concerns when designing the '61 SG Standard. You'll be delighted by how this guitar's SlimTaper neck profile comfortably fits your hand just the right way. For your playing pleasure, the Indian rosewood fingerboard is buffed to silky smoothness and bound with rolled edges so that no fret ends impede your dexterity. The frets are dressed to perfection using a Plek Pro machine for optimized playability. Typically reserved for top-dollar custom guitars, this process levels the frets with pinpoint precision, providing you with the most playable fretboard you'll likely own.

Gibson '61 SG Standard Electric Guitar Features:

  • Part of Gibson's Custom Color Series
  • Modeled after a 1961 Gibson SG Standard — the year the SG was first introduced
  • Double-cutaway mahogany body is beautifully accented by a 5-ply teardrop pickguard
  • Mahogany SlimTaper neck offers extreme playing comfort
  • Bound 12-inch-radius Indian rosewood fingerboard offers supple playability
  • '60s Burstbucker pickups churn out a breadth of red-hot humbucker tones
  • 4-knob control configuration is handwired with Orange Drop capacitors
  • ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge, aluminum stopbar tailpiece, and Vintage Deluxe tuners
  • Acrylic trapezoid fingerboard inlays and a mother-of-pearl headstock inlay
  • Light-catching gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish

Why Buy Your Guitar from Sweetwater?

See how Sweetwater goes to great lengths to give you the very best online guitar buying experience. From our online Guitar Gallery that allows you to see and select the exact instrument you want to our 55-point Inspection process and our in-house guitar techs, we take the guesswork out of buying your next guitar online.

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape SG Standard '61
  • Body Material Mahogany
  • Body Finish Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer
  • Color Classic White
  • Neck
  • Neck Material Mahogany
  • Neck Shape Slim Taper
  • Neck Joint Set Neck
  • Radius 12"
  • Fingerboard Material Indian Rosewood
  • Fingerboard Inlay Acrylic Trapezoid
  • Number of Frets 22
  • Scale Length 24.75"
  • Nut Width 1.694"
  • Nut Material Graph Tech
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic & Aluminnum Stop Bar
  • Tuners Vintage Deluxe with Keystone Buttons
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup Gibson 60's Burstbucker Humbucker
  • Bridge Pickup Gibson 60's Burstbucker Humbucker
  • Controls 2 x volume, 2 x tone
  • Switching 3-way toggle pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings Gibson, .010-.046
  • Case/Gig Bag Hardshell Case
  • Manufacturer Part Number: SG6100CWNH1

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Customer Reviews

Write your review
Rated 5/5

Great guitar

I absolutely love this guitar, everything about it!! The neck is perfect for me. Sounds great thru my Marshall. Could not be happier!!
Rated 4/5

Gibson 61 SG

Playability out of the box : 5/5
Fit and Finish: 4/5
Interaction with Sweetwater : 5/5
Overall 4.5/5

I was extremely satisfied with how Greg gave me quick feedback to help me make a decision on buying the Gibson '61 SG. The order was shipped quickly and arrived in good shape. I was impressed that the guitar had no blemishes, and was relatively in tune out of the box. The only thing I noticed off was one of the tone knobs was at a different height vs the other tone/volume knobs (3 knobs 1/8" off the body, 1 almost flush). I fixed this myself. Everything else - no sharp edges on the fretboard, good action, tone pots have good range, smooth tuning keys and beautiful finish - was great.

Guitar strap forces fretboard away from me - probably a good thing :) and I am not sure what the whole neck dive thing is about. No more than my strat.

Love how this guitar growls vs my strat (that I love). I was looking for something different and this fit the bill. Really enjoying playing it. Love the white.
Music background: Year 4.5 of guitar, 20 years flute
Rated 2/5

Gibsons QC strikes again.

First impressions were great but after a week of playing you start to notice things were missed.
Action was completely off, neck was never set. Intonation was terrible having the stings a mile off the board was the obvious problem.
The wiring was the biggest surprise to me. I noticed the back plate wasn't flush and after taking the plate off and seeing how they jammed the wire over the input jack, I can see why. The guitar would cut out going to the bridge pickup. Still not sure if it's the input jack getting pushed out or what.
I realize these are things that can be fixed and I do like the guitar otherwise. My 2021 gibson es335 and 2022 gibson les paul are amazing and had zero issues. I really thought gibson had this terrible QC problem behind them. I was wrong.
Music background: Touring, recording since 2004
Rated 3/5

Nice Guitar But......

I have had the guitar for about two months.... Here are likes and dislikes

Likes:
Pickups sound nice
Neck Profile is comfortable
Body contours are nice
Case is very nice

Issues:
The Gibson deluxe tuners are not that great. The B string tuner has a dead spot in it.
The bridge saddle were slotted way too wide and too deep which caused the B string to resonate in a very odd way and totally killed sustain on the upper register frets. New saddles fixed both these issues.

So I had to spend additional money on a set of Grover tuners and new bridge saddles. If I didn't know how to diagnose and fix these problems I would have had to spend more money then I did.

I still really like the guitar and play it a lot. It is my 6th Gibson SG.
Music background: Part time - weekend gigging guitarist

From rockers to jazz cats, there are generations of guitarists right here at Sweetwater who swear by Gibson guitars. Not only do they make many of the most iconic solidbody electric guitars of all time - the Les Paul, the SG, the Flying V - but they also produce classic hollowbody and semi-hollowbody models and some of the most iconic acoustic guitars on the planet. We play them all! Our close relationship with Gibson often allows us to stock exclusive models and rare finds, and we're always happy to turn players and collectors on to the gems in the Sweetwater Guitar Gallery. We also have access to all the latest Gibson hardware, and the Sweetwater Guitar Repair Shop has upgraded countless guitars with their top-of-the-line humbuckers, classic P-90s, and more.

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