New Fender Vintera III Guitars & Basses

Gibson SG Standard '61 Electric Guitar - Vintage Cherry Certified Open Box

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Mahogany Body, Mahogany Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, and 2 Humbucking Pickups - Vintage Cherry
Write your review
Share
Item ID: SG61VENHd1
Building your custom Guitar Gallery
Gibson SG Standard '61 Electric Guitar - Vintage Cherry
Gibson SG Standard '61 Electric Guitar - Vintage Cherry

Certified Open Box Savings!

Save $199.90 What is Certified Open Box?

The price below reflects your savings.

Savings: $199.90

New for $1,999.00

Condition Notes:

There are scratches on the headstock face, and on the back of the lower bout. There are also scratches on the pickguard. There are other fine scratches on various parts of the instrument that do not appear in our Guitar Gallery images. Comes with adjustment tool, and Gibson strap and polish cloth.

This item was thoroughly inspected by our factory-authorized service team and is backed by Sweetwater's exclusive 2-year warranty. These images are of the exact item advertised, and provide as accurate a representation of its condition as possible. If you need further information, please call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700.

! 5 people have this Certified Open Box item in their cart. Order now before it's gone!

Add to Cart
Sales engineer photo
Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

(800) 222-4700
What is a Sales Engineer?
Gibson SG Standard '61 Electric Guitar - Vintage Cherry
In Stock!
Add to Cart
Add to list
Skip to Description
Most Popular Accessories & Related Items
Certified Fit

Cases and Gig Bags

No more guesswork! Cases with this logo are hand-tested and guaranteed to fit this Gibson SG Standard '61. See how we do it | Visit the Guitar Case and Gig Bag Buying Guide

Back to navigation
Gibson & Co. 48-month Special Financing*

Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

Be the Next Guitar Hero with the Gibson SG Standard ’61

Immortalized by Santana at Woodstock and smashed onstage by Townshend, the Gibson SG is a rock icon. Gibson’s Nashville-made SG Standard ’61 reissue takes you back to the first model year of the legendary solidbody electric guitar — small pickguard, vintage cherry finish, and all. The Gibson SG Standard ’61 reissue is spec’d with a pair of toneful humbuckers; a fast, comfortable SlimTaper neck; and a bound rosewood fretboard with action that’s almost nonexistent. The SG’s lightweight mahogany body delivers great sustain and no pain, even if you play all night. And the worn nitro finish looks and feels great while enhancing the tone of this legendary rock machine. Own your piece of rock history: the Gibson SG Standard ’61.

Related Videos: SG Standard '61 Electric Guitar - Vintage Cherry

Burstbucker pickups deliver timeless humbucker tone

When it comes to capturing that classic Gibson tone, nothing beats the sound of '60s Burstbucker pickups. You’ll love the tight low end, complex midrange, and sweet highs you’ll get out of these pickups — it’s everything you expect when you pick up a Gibson! That’s because '60s Burstbucker pickups were designed to re-create the sound of original 1960s-era humbuckers to perfection. So if you want the iconic tone of a classic Gibson SG, the SG Standard ’61 is the guitar for you.

Comfortable SlimTaper neck carve

Comfort and playability were two of Gibson’s primary concerns when they were designing the SG Standard ’61. You’ll be delighted by how well this guitar’s fast, early-’60s SlimTaper neck profile comfortably fits your hand. We love burning up the SG Standard '61's rosewood fingerboard here at Sweetwater; it's buffed to silky smoothness and bound so there are no fret ends to impede your dexterity.

Nitro finish for the look and feel of a classic

The SG Standard ’61 wears a gorgeous gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Nitro finishes — standard back in the day — are significantly thinner than today’s polyurethane finishes, allowing the guitar to “breathe.” Nitro finishes not only look vintage-y wonderful, but they also enhance the instrument’s tonal qualities. This guitar has the look (and feel) of a lovingly cared-for classic — one that will only improve with age.

Gibson SG Standard ’61 Features:

  • Comfortable, lightweight, iconic doubled-horned mahogany body
  • Fast mahogany SlimTaper neck with rosewood fingerboard and 22 frets
  • '60s Burstbucker pickups deliver authentic '60s-era PAF tones
  • Handwired control assembly with Orange Drop capacitors
  • Graph Tech nut, ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge, aluminum stopbar tailpiece, and Vintage Deluxe tuners with keystone buttons
  • Classic black top hat knobs and gleaming nickel-plated hardware
  • Spotlight-stealing 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.

What is Certified Open Box Gear?

At Sweetwater, we're so picky that what we call "Certified Open Box" is actually better than what most music retailers sell as "new" gear! Our gear hasn't endured hundreds of people a week plunking away at all the keyboards, fumbling through Stairway to Heaven on every guitar or playing with every fader and knob on a mixer or control surface.

Certified Open Box (also known as a demo) means we’ve had it out of the box for our YouTube channel, displayed at events, tested in our studio, or maybe it was in a customer’s hands for a few days and isn’t ‘factory fresh’ as a result. Every Certified Open Box item we sell has Sweetwater’s 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ warranty and has been tested and verified up to ‘new’ specs by our factory-authorized technicians to make sure it’s in perfect working order before we ship it to you.

When you buy a Certified Open Box item at Sweetwater, you get:
  • 2-year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty™!
  • Products inspected and tested by our factory-authorized techs, guaranteed to function like new (or better)!
  • FREE shipping on most items
  • Equipment that will MEET or EXCEED your expectations!

Click HERE to browse our current inventory of Certified Open Box equipment. Purchasing Certified Open Box gear from Sweetwater is a smart and safe way to save!

Resources

Electric Guitar Buying Guide

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

  • Save money with FREE parts and labor
  • Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
  • Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department
Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
2 Year Total Confidence Coverage
Back to navigation

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 Vintage Cherry
  • Neck
  • Neck Material Mahogany
  • Neck Shape Slim Taper
  • Neck Joint Set Neck
  • Radius 12"
  • Fingerboard Material Rosewood
  • Fingerboard Inlay Acrylic Trapezoids
  • Number of Frets 22, Medium Jumbo
  • Scale Length 24.75"
  • Nut Width 1.695"
  • Nut Material Graph Tech
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic with Stopbar
  • Tuners Vintage Deluxe
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup Gibson 60s Burstbucker Humbucker
  • Bridge Pickup Gibson 60s 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: SG6100VENH1

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

(800) 222-4700
Contact Your Sales Engineer
Back to navigation

Reviews

4.8

Write A Review

Customer Photos & Videos

This product doesn't have any review media yet!

Flawless Classic
I've had a bunch of SGs over the last 30 years, mostly 1990s-2010s…
This one stacks up with all of them, better actually because it's brand new, and the neck and fret work are flawless,low fast action just shreds.

I heard lots of horror stories of bad Gibson Quality Control, and guitars being shipped with major flaws in fit and finish etc…. I can say the one I got is perfect and impossible to put down. Mine came Plek'd which Gibson offers as a standard now so maybe that's why it plays so good.

This SG is an absolute ripper, and a keeper.
by James Rickenbaugh from Union, KY on
Music background: Professional Punk Rock Ripper
The Best Guitar I’ve Ever played.
This was my first Gibson guitar and boy did it live up to the hype. It sounds incredible. It feels incredible. Hell it SMELLS incredible! If you're on the fence don't hesitate to grab this masterpiece. Went with the plek setup and it plays like butter. Stays in tune great with perfect intonation. Shout out Hunter, best sales rep in the biz!
by Taylor Smith from PONCA CITY, OK on
Gibson SG 61” standard
Boy! Gibson sure got this right! The follow up to the iconic Les Paul, this guitar will deliver all your needs! Love the slim taper neck like the 60's LP but no weight to speak of. Would highly recommend if a lighter guitar is needed, pick ups scream with tone and this guitar has it all!
by David Havens from VIRGINIA BEACH, VA on
Music background: Garage band hacker “Big Sandwich”
Gibson’s best offering in decades!
I've happily owned this guitar for over a year now. I truly believe that this is the best guitar at this price point that Gibson has released in a very long time. Mine looks and feels like Custom Shop quality at a fraction of the price in my opinion. For some reason these guitars in particular seem to come out of the Gibson factory perfect 99% of the time. These really feel special, handmade, and worthy of being a life long companion for any guitarist.

The finish and grain patterns on these SGs can vary by quite a bit which makes each one feel unique. Mine had a deep dark cherry with a swirling grain pattern, while others I've seen can be brighter or with a tighter grain. The 61 Burstbuckers are fantastic and in the lower output end which gives them a more airy and expressive sound. This is the best neck I've felt on any guitar, it's wide and on the rounder side of slim and it fills out my hand nicely. The fretwork on mine is perfect, I couldn't find any blemishes or tooling marks. All frets have been dressed nicely and the neck binding was scraped cleanly.

Sweetwater was wonderful. This is the first guitar I've bought from here and also the first guitar I've ever received through the mail already setup perfectly right out of the box. I appreciate you folks, you clearly care about your work and your customers.
by Shelby from TX on
Music background: I’ve been enjoying guitar and occasionally gigging for 24 years now.
Unbelievable!!
Gibson, I am giving you a 5 star on my SG standard 61. I can't believe how it came. Action is perfect. I have no tuning issues and came out of the case flawless. This guitar is amazing.. I play it through a
Marshall DSL 40 and it just blows me away.

Sweetwater never fails me. Thanks Jimmy for taking care of my needs, you guys are awesome.
by Dave from Charleston WV on

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.

See also: Solid Body Guitars, Gibson, Gibson Solidbody Guitars