LEARN about the Standard Characteristics of Gibson SG Electric Guitar Model: Woods, Bridge, Pickups, Fingerboard Radius…
As incredible as it may seem, the Gibson Les Paul Standard was discontinued in 1960 due to poor sales (it was produced again in 1968). As a result, Gibson focused on its new solid-body electric guitar model: the Gibson SG. This is where the acronym SG comes from: Solid Guitar. And in 1961 it finally began to be sold.
Classic Woods and Pickups Gibson SG
The Gibson SG retains many of features of Les Paul model, but the SG’s pickups typically have a higher output (498T – 490R alnico pickups). These are the characteristics of sound known as Modern Classic.
The fingerboard is 12 inches in radius, and the scale length is Gibson’s typical 24.75 inches. The neck-to-body joint is set-in, and the body and neck wood is mahogany, with a rosewood fingerboard.
Unlike the Les Paul, the body is simply made of Mahogany, without adding the arched flamed maple top typical of LP, to reduce costs in manufacture of new design.
Although when we see an SG only Hard Rock sounds come to mind, this guitar is very versatile and is used for any musical genre.
Gibson SG: Classic Bridge
The SG features a “Tune-o-matic” bridge (Tom), and the neck is angled to body of guitar, just like the Les Paul (see image below). A vibrato that is very aesthetically suited to this guitar model is the Bigsby vibrato.
One thing they wanted to improve was the weight of new guitar. So they focused on making new model as light as possible. For this reason, the SG has a narrower body, with beveled edges and a double cutaway.
The bevelled edges, in addition to giving a decorative touch, lighten the weight of instrument and make it easier to rest the arm on edge of guitar, and the neck of this type of guitar is also usually quite thin.
The sharp peaks of cutaway give it an aggressive touch, unlike the rounded shapes of Les Paul model.
By carrying another cutaway at top of neck, the pickup selector is placed next to volume and tone controls, similar to those on Les Paul guitar.
This double-cut design also allows easy access to the last frets of fingerboard.
The cutaway end is very sharp, so the SG’s strap button is on back of body, which means it loses some stability when hanging, or the guitar may have a tendency to tip forward.
If we have problems with this, we can remove the button, and place it on the back of the tip of cut to prevent the tendency to tip over.
Small Pickguard and Large Pickguard
From 1961 to 1965, the Gibson SG was fitted with a small pickguard, which was replaced by a larger one from 1965 onwards. However, today we can find SG models with both pickguards.
As is often the case with Gibson’s Standard models, it is expensive guitar. But we can save a thousand dolars if we compare it with the Gibson Les Paul Standard.