Gibson SG Special Solid Body Electric Guitar (1964)
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Item # 9738
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Gibson SG Special Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1964), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 231183, cherry lacquer finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, black hard shell case.
This cherry-finished SG Special was built in later 1964, the last full year of Gibson's great classic electric era. It has had a major heel repair but remains an excellent instrument nonetheless. An oddity on this guitar is a C-profile neck that is slimmer at the nut than the 1 11/16" width generally used until mid/late 1965; it appears Gibson was experimenting with slimming this area in the months prior. The neck itself tapers towards the body with a fairly flat "C" profile and a great solid feel.
The wiring rig is all original, with the pots dated to 1964 and no alterations. Many other features of this instrument -- the old-style neck joint, pickups mounted directly to the body with a small pickguard, and nickel plated hardware -- would all be changed by the turn of 1965-66. This guitar mounts two very hot P-90 pickups, the 60's style "capped" plastic knobs and a Gibson short Vibrola with the "spoon" handle still intact.
For connoisseurs this was the last great period for the SG series, as by 1966 the design was heavily modified to speed production with a large "swimming pool" route to the face of the body and pickups mounted directly to the top-spanning pickguard. This example has the same features as the earlier SG Specials back to 1961, apart from the slightly slimmer nut.
The SG Special was and remains a very popular guitar, with good reason. This one is heavier than some at just over 7 1/2 pounds, with a very solid feel. Exactly 1704 of these slim cherry beauties were shipped in 1964, and the model has long been regarded as a classic Gibson solidbody. Anyone who has seen live footage of the Who or Santana in the late '60s knows what these light and responsive SG Specials are capable of! One of the classic rock guitars of that or any era, more versatile than many think with a "special" sound unto themselves!
Overall length is 40 in. (101.6 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) deep. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This SG has some wear and tear overall and a typical older neck heel repair, well executed but visible on close inspection. This repair is to the entire heel and is very well done; the neck angle is excellent which is not always the case with these vibrato-equipped Specials. The bass side of the neck came out cleanly, there was a piece of the body re-attached on the forward treble side of the heel. There has been topical finish touch up in these spots, well blended in to the original cherry lacquer. This sort of repair is very common on older SG's and makes this one more of a "player grade" piece, which in fact remains an excellent player.
There have not been any other cracks or breaks to the instrument, and all the hardware remains original except the screws securing the pickguard (probably lost when it was repaired) and the trem arm bolt. The plating shows some typical light wear. The finish shows some very heavy checking to both top and back, the guitar was probably left exposed to moisture at some point. The lacquer has numerous small dings and has pulled up slightly in some spots but is solid with no chipping or flaking away from the wood. Beyond this the guitar shows some typical wear with dings, dents and scrapes mostly to the body edges. The original frets are still in excellent shape and this is a superbly playable guitar, well recovered from whatever trauma it once encountered. It resides in a modern HSC. Very Good + Condition.
This cherry-finished SG Special was built in later 1964, the last full year of Gibson's great classic electric era. It has had a major heel repair but remains an excellent instrument nonetheless. An oddity on this guitar is a C-profile neck that is slimmer at the nut than the 1 11/16" width generally used until mid/late 1965; it appears Gibson was experimenting with slimming this area in the months prior. The neck itself tapers towards the body with a fairly flat "C" profile and a great solid feel.
The wiring rig is all original, with the pots dated to 1964 and no alterations. Many other features of this instrument -- the old-style neck joint, pickups mounted directly to the body with a small pickguard, and nickel plated hardware -- would all be changed by the turn of 1965-66. This guitar mounts two very hot P-90 pickups, the 60's style "capped" plastic knobs and a Gibson short Vibrola with the "spoon" handle still intact.
For connoisseurs this was the last great period for the SG series, as by 1966 the design was heavily modified to speed production with a large "swimming pool" route to the face of the body and pickups mounted directly to the top-spanning pickguard. This example has the same features as the earlier SG Specials back to 1961, apart from the slightly slimmer nut.
The SG Special was and remains a very popular guitar, with good reason. This one is heavier than some at just over 7 1/2 pounds, with a very solid feel. Exactly 1704 of these slim cherry beauties were shipped in 1964, and the model has long been regarded as a classic Gibson solidbody. Anyone who has seen live footage of the Who or Santana in the late '60s knows what these light and responsive SG Specials are capable of! One of the classic rock guitars of that or any era, more versatile than many think with a "special" sound unto themselves!
Overall length is 40 in. (101.6 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) deep. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This SG has some wear and tear overall and a typical older neck heel repair, well executed but visible on close inspection. This repair is to the entire heel and is very well done; the neck angle is excellent which is not always the case with these vibrato-equipped Specials. The bass side of the neck came out cleanly, there was a piece of the body re-attached on the forward treble side of the heel. There has been topical finish touch up in these spots, well blended in to the original cherry lacquer. This sort of repair is very common on older SG's and makes this one more of a "player grade" piece, which in fact remains an excellent player.
There have not been any other cracks or breaks to the instrument, and all the hardware remains original except the screws securing the pickguard (probably lost when it was repaired) and the trem arm bolt. The plating shows some typical light wear. The finish shows some very heavy checking to both top and back, the guitar was probably left exposed to moisture at some point. The lacquer has numerous small dings and has pulled up slightly in some spots but is solid with no chipping or flaking away from the wood. Beyond this the guitar shows some typical wear with dings, dents and scrapes mostly to the body edges. The original frets are still in excellent shape and this is a superbly playable guitar, well recovered from whatever trauma it once encountered. It resides in a modern HSC. Very Good + Condition.