Gibson Les Paul/SG Standard Solid Body Electric Guitar (1962)
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Item # 11623
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Gibson Les Paul/SG Standard Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1962), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 46871, cherry lacquer finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This is a lovely example of an early 1962 SG/Les Paul Standard, one of Gibson's all-time classic solidbodies. With a cherry lacquer finish on its exquisitely sculpted double-cutaway body, this was a very radical-looking and feeling instrument in its day, offering more unencumbered neck than anyone had ever seen! This style "Standard" replaced the original single-cutaway Les Paul just at the end of 1960, a statement of guitar modernism from the often derided as overly conservative Kalamazoo company. While the original single-cutaway Les Pauls roared back to favor later in the 1960s, this slim and supple SG has also now been played for generations. Les Paul himself was not a fan of this design, and his name was removed from the model in 1963.
This second year LP/SG mounts two very hot PAF humbucking pickups. The original pots are topped with new-for-1961-style "capped" back-painted plastic knobs with "tone" and "volume" markings. The hardware is all nickel plated including the original style no-wire Tune-O-Matic bridge with bone saddles and undercut ends, specially mated to the elaborate Gibson vibrato tailpiece with an elaborate "tailfin" cover. This last proved somewhat troublesome in service, and many have since been removed. This one is fully intact with some plating wear and actually works well, at least as well as they ever did!
The bound rosewood fingerboard has trapezoidal pearloid inlay and larger frets typical of the period. The headstock has double-ring Kluson deluxe tuners and Gibson's classic "crown" inlay on the face. The "Les Paul" markings are engraved into the truss rod cover. The neck is quite slim back-to-front "1960 style" but with a nicely rounded feel. The neck heel is the best of several designs Gibson tried, neatly faired into the body and less prone to distress than most.
For connoisseurs, this was a great year for the entire SG series, but particularly the Standard. Despite perhaps being a bit lightly built for the abuses of the road, these early Les Paul-marked SGs with the sculpted mahogany bodies and final PAFs have an aesthetic and sonic character unlike any others. While fairly popular when new they really came into their own in the late 1960s with the advent of high volume amplification (Marshall, especially) unleashed the screaming beast within!
Less than 1500 of these elegantly badass guitars were shipped in 1962, and most have been far more heavily used than this one. The SG Standard in general was and remains a very popular guitar, with good reason. It had a particular heyday in the late '60s and early '70s, a fixture in many heavy Psychedelic bands -- anyone who has seen live footage of Cream in 1967-8 knows what these ultra light and responsive SG/Les Pauls are capable of! One of the classic rock guitars of that or any era, and actually a more versatile instrument than many think.
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is fine playing 1962 Les Paul Standard, showing some use but well-preserved for this particular model. The finish is completely original with no touchup or overspray, The lacquer shows a fairly even fade over most of the instrument, not as deep cherry as it once was but not fully down to rust brown either. The back of the neck has gone the lightest, as is typical. There is some light checking and small dings, scratches and scuffs overall but no major loss. There are some typical dings to the headstock edges, the back of the neck has only a few small dinks.
The heel joint is the major trouble spot on many early SGs, often repaired after being either partially or wholly broken. This one shows no damage or repair; this particular faired-in style heel is the strongest of the pre-1966 designs. There are a few check marks in the finish on the top and sides around the heel but no cracks into the wood at all. The headstock is also completely free of the common cracks. There are some finish checks around the jack but again no cracking into the wood.
All hardware on the guitar is original, inside and out. The PAF pickups have never had the covers lifted and all solder joints appear untouched, with the nickel plated covers cleaner than many. The "Patent Applied for" decal is intact on the base of the neck pickup and mostly flaked away on the bridge unit, with part of "For" still visible. Four of the original bridge saddles are bone, the high E and B strings are Nylon; it is likely these are period replacements but they are spaced and slotted correctly to match the rest. The side-to-side trem unit is intact and functional, with plating wear on the forward piece and the cover.
The neck has been neatly refretted with correct style wire and playability is excellent. One of the original double-ring Kluson tuner buttons (the D string) has been replaced with a correct style repro. This is a real screamer of an early Standard, with the raunchy, singing tone these are known for when cranked. The original yellow-lined black case is fully intact as well with some general wear and a whimsical musical note decal on the lid. Overall Excellent - Condition.
This is a lovely example of an early 1962 SG/Les Paul Standard, one of Gibson's all-time classic solidbodies. With a cherry lacquer finish on its exquisitely sculpted double-cutaway body, this was a very radical-looking and feeling instrument in its day, offering more unencumbered neck than anyone had ever seen! This style "Standard" replaced the original single-cutaway Les Paul just at the end of 1960, a statement of guitar modernism from the often derided as overly conservative Kalamazoo company. While the original single-cutaway Les Pauls roared back to favor later in the 1960s, this slim and supple SG has also now been played for generations. Les Paul himself was not a fan of this design, and his name was removed from the model in 1963.
This second year LP/SG mounts two very hot PAF humbucking pickups. The original pots are topped with new-for-1961-style "capped" back-painted plastic knobs with "tone" and "volume" markings. The hardware is all nickel plated including the original style no-wire Tune-O-Matic bridge with bone saddles and undercut ends, specially mated to the elaborate Gibson vibrato tailpiece with an elaborate "tailfin" cover. This last proved somewhat troublesome in service, and many have since been removed. This one is fully intact with some plating wear and actually works well, at least as well as they ever did!
The bound rosewood fingerboard has trapezoidal pearloid inlay and larger frets typical of the period. The headstock has double-ring Kluson deluxe tuners and Gibson's classic "crown" inlay on the face. The "Les Paul" markings are engraved into the truss rod cover. The neck is quite slim back-to-front "1960 style" but with a nicely rounded feel. The neck heel is the best of several designs Gibson tried, neatly faired into the body and less prone to distress than most.
For connoisseurs, this was a great year for the entire SG series, but particularly the Standard. Despite perhaps being a bit lightly built for the abuses of the road, these early Les Paul-marked SGs with the sculpted mahogany bodies and final PAFs have an aesthetic and sonic character unlike any others. While fairly popular when new they really came into their own in the late 1960s with the advent of high volume amplification (Marshall, especially) unleashed the screaming beast within!
Less than 1500 of these elegantly badass guitars were shipped in 1962, and most have been far more heavily used than this one. The SG Standard in general was and remains a very popular guitar, with good reason. It had a particular heyday in the late '60s and early '70s, a fixture in many heavy Psychedelic bands -- anyone who has seen live footage of Cream in 1967-8 knows what these ultra light and responsive SG/Les Pauls are capable of! One of the classic rock guitars of that or any era, and actually a more versatile instrument than many think.
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is fine playing 1962 Les Paul Standard, showing some use but well-preserved for this particular model. The finish is completely original with no touchup or overspray, The lacquer shows a fairly even fade over most of the instrument, not as deep cherry as it once was but not fully down to rust brown either. The back of the neck has gone the lightest, as is typical. There is some light checking and small dings, scratches and scuffs overall but no major loss. There are some typical dings to the headstock edges, the back of the neck has only a few small dinks.
The heel joint is the major trouble spot on many early SGs, often repaired after being either partially or wholly broken. This one shows no damage or repair; this particular faired-in style heel is the strongest of the pre-1966 designs. There are a few check marks in the finish on the top and sides around the heel but no cracks into the wood at all. The headstock is also completely free of the common cracks. There are some finish checks around the jack but again no cracking into the wood.
All hardware on the guitar is original, inside and out. The PAF pickups have never had the covers lifted and all solder joints appear untouched, with the nickel plated covers cleaner than many. The "Patent Applied for" decal is intact on the base of the neck pickup and mostly flaked away on the bridge unit, with part of "For" still visible. Four of the original bridge saddles are bone, the high E and B strings are Nylon; it is likely these are period replacements but they are spaced and slotted correctly to match the rest. The side-to-side trem unit is intact and functional, with plating wear on the forward piece and the cover.
The neck has been neatly refretted with correct style wire and playability is excellent. One of the original double-ring Kluson tuner buttons (the D string) has been replaced with a correct style repro. This is a real screamer of an early Standard, with the raunchy, singing tone these are known for when cranked. The original yellow-lined black case is fully intact as well with some general wear and a whimsical musical note decal on the lid. Overall Excellent - Condition.