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Gibson SG Standard '61 Maestro Vibrola - Vintage Cherry Certified Open Box

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Mahogany Body and Neck, Rosewood Fretboard, 2 Humbucking Pickups, and Vibrola Tailpiece - Vintage Cherry
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Item ID: SG61VVENHd2
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Gibson SG Standard '61 Maestro Vibrola - Vintage Cherry
Gibson SG Standard '61 Maestro Vibrola - Vintage Cherry

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Condition Notes:

There are scratches on the treble side of the bridge pickup. There are scratches on the body around both strap buttons. There are other fine scratches on various parts of the instrument that are not photographed. These scratches do not show well in photos, if at all. Comes with the adjustment wrenches, a polish cloth, and a guitar strap.

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.

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Gibson SG Standard '61 Maestro Vibrola - Vintage Cherry
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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 takes you back to the first model year of the legendary solidbody electric guitar — small pickguard, vintage cherry finish, and all. The SG Standard ’61 is spec’d with a pair of toneful humbuckers; a fast, comfortable SlimTaper neck; and a bound, Plek’d 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 Maestro Vibrola - 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.

SlimTaper neck carve and Plek’d frets for optimized playability

Comfort and playability were two of Gibson’s primary concerns when they were designing the SG Standard ’61. You’ll be delighted by how comfortably this guitar’s fast, early-’60s SlimTaper neck profile fits your hand. For your playing pleasure, the rosewood fingerboard is buffed to silky smoothness and bound 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’re likely to own.

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 Solidbody Electric Guitar Features:

  • Comfortable, lightweight, iconic doubled-horned mahogany body
  • Fast mahogany SlimTaper neck with rosewood fingerboard and 22 frets
  • Plek’d frets for effortless playability
  • 24.75-inch scale length; 1.695-inch-wide Tektoid nut
  • Pickups: 60s Burstbucker (neck), 60s Burstbucker (bridge)
  • Aluminum Nashville Tune-o-matic bridge
  • Maestro Vibrola tailpiece
  • Classic black top hat knobs
  • Vintage Deluxe tuners with keystone buttons
  • Nickel-plated hardware
  • 2 volume, 2 tone controls; 3-way toggle pickup selector

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!

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Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

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  • 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
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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 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 GraphTech
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic with Maestro Vibrola
  • 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: SG61V00VENH1

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!

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Reviews

4.9

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Reunited!
The Gibson SG happened to be my first solid-body electric guitar, on which I played my first gigs from 1965 until late 1970, when I traded it in for a Les Paul Custom. I had missed that SG Standard for the longest time. Decades later, I finally succumbed to the temptation when Gibson reissued the early sixties model, originally named the Les Paul but by 1965 re-christened the SG. I ordered the SG Standard '61 Maestro Vibrola, with a standard setup by the Sweetwater shop. It arrived a week later in superbly playable condition! Clear as a bell, with an effortless, smooth fretboard, it is a gorgeous guitar. I feel like I've been reunited with a long-lost love.

Kudos to Darius Beatz, who has taken good care of my orders for about 10 years now, and to the setup team at Sweetwater's shop. This guitar rocks!
by William Barnes from Hope, ME on
Music background: Professional
A beautiful SG- my best Gibson yet and service great as always from Cristian Good and Sweetwater!
Anyone following Gibson for some time will know that they have perhaps had consistency problems at times. I can't say for certain that they've worked it all out now, but the all-great reviews here led me to believe that they had at least worked out any such issues for this particular model. I am not at all disappointed! I have had a few Gibsons now, Les Pauls and SGs, including some more expensive ones. Quality-wise, this one is easily the best! And as always, buying from Sweetwater is an excellent experience made always even more so by my rep, Cristian Good, who always does me solid. Thanks Sweetwater and thanks Cristian Good!
by Rockandrollero from Winchester, VA on
The Ultimate 61 SG Experience
Shame on me for waiting so long to play and own one of these... This is my second Gibson, and first SG. I hear a LOT of people complain about the Maestro Vibrola staying in tune but I'm not sure why. I've done what my guitar tech told me to do and I've had 0 issues with it. Make sure your tuning keys are tightened correctly and REALLY stretch your strings out. I've had two sets on here to test what I'm going to like playing on it and I've stretched each set 5 to 6 times and it stays in tune just as good as any Strat I have with a floating trem bar.

If you are hanging on getting this version of the SG with the Vibrola, don't. It's worth it's weight in gold, plays incredibly well, the Vibrola hardly adds any weight to it, looks beautiful and keeps its tune when you set it up correctly.

The pickups are so smooth, incredible cleans, beautiful distortions and paired with a good amp, the dirt rolls right off when you take the volume down as intended.

I have 0 things to say bad about this guitar. If your not working towards making this your next guitar, I can't imagine why...
by Jon T. from SURPRISE, AZ on
Not a Gibson guy, but if you are, this is really good
I've been a Tele player for my whole life, and I've honestly avoided buying Gibsons for many years due to the poor quality over the last 2-3 decades. However, if you are a fan of what Gibson used to be, this is a truly fantastic guitar. They've really gone back to their roots with the new CEO in place and they left Henry's "RoboTuning" era behind. I will say, I wasn't super impressed by the stock pickups, they're a little muddy for me, but that's just my preference, so I wired it up with some '57 Classics, and some bumblebee caps, and it's by far the best modern SG I've ever played. Granted, I already sold it, as I bought an American Original 60's Tele that won my heart over, but nonetheless, if you're a Gibson or SG fan, look no further, this is a good one. The neck is great, the build quality is good, and…..IT STAYS IN TUNE!!!
by Brian S from Phoenix on
Music background: Couple decades of playing, building and repairing guitars for a living
Amazing guitar
Gibson quality is back. Guitar is perfect from finish to playability! Sweetwater is also great. Will never consider ordering from any other online music store.
by Eric from PORTSMOUTH, RI 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