An All Original Gibson SG Special, And The Argument About What Year It Is

BLAST FROM THE PAST. A guitar that came through our shop at 316 E 84th St, sold, and moved on. This instrument is no longer available.

Here is something most shops would quietly tidy up, and we would rather just tell you.

Our own records disagreed about this guitar. One entry called it a 1961 Gibson Les Paul SG. Another called it a 1965 SG Special. Both were written by us, about the same guitar.

That is not unusual with early SGs, and it is worth explaining why.

What it was, without argument

A cherry Gibson SG Special, listed at $4,500.

• All original, including the frets
• Original solder joints and pots. Nobody had been inside it
• Original knobs
• Finish: lacquer checking throughout, and a chip in the finish on the back of the neck
• Function: no issues whatsoever

Original frets on a sixties guitar is the headline. Frets are consumable. Sixty years of playing normally means at least one refret, and a refret means somebody has had heat and tools on a vintage fingerboard. Untouched frets and untouched solder joints together mean this guitar was played carefully and left alone.

So why is dating an early SG hard?

Because Gibson changed the guitar constantly in its first five years, and because the name itself moved.

The body shape arrived in 1961, but for the first couple of years it was still badged as a Les Paul. That is why an early one gets called a Les Paul SG. Once Les Paul's endorsement ended, the same guitar became simply the SG.

Between 1961 and the mid sixties Gibson also changed the neck joint, the pickguard, the vibrato hardware and the headstock logo, sometimes mid year, sometimes using up old parts first. Two guitars built months apart can look like different models.

What actually dates one: the serial number and the factory order number together, the potentiometer date codes, and the specific combination of hardware. On this guitar the pots were original and unopened, which is exactly the evidence you want, and exactly what we should have recorded properly at the time.

We are telling you this because it is the honest version, and because if you own an early SG and are not sure what you have, this is the sort of thing we work out for people.

Common questions about the Gibson SG Special

What is the difference between an SG Standard and an SG Special?
The Special is the plainer, cheaper model. It uses P-90 single coils instead of humbuckers, has simpler markers and trim, and typically no binding. Many players prefer it, because P-90s in an SG are one of the great sounds Gibson ever made by accident.

Why is my early SG called a Les Paul?
Because it was. The SG body replaced the single cutaway Les Paul in 1961 and carried the Les Paul name for the first couple of years, until the endorsement ended. Same guitar, different badge.

How do you date a vintage Gibson SG?
Serial number plus factory order number, then cross checked against potentiometer date codes and the hardware fitted. Serial numbers alone are unreliable in this era because Gibson reused sequences. If the pots are original and unopened, they are usually your best single clue.

Does lacquer checking hurt value?
Not really, and many collectors like it. Checking is the finish cracking with age and temperature change, and it is a sign of an original nitrocellulose finish rather than a modern respray. It is cosmetic.

Are original frets worth paying for?
On a sixties guitar, yes. It tells you nobody has heated the fingerboard or reshaped anything. The trade off is that original frets are usually worn, so factor in a refret eventually and accept that it will cost some originality when it happens.

Does Bros Guitar Shop identify and appraise vintage Gibsons?
Yes, that is a real part of what we do. Bring it in or send photos. Details below.

Where it went

Sold. Original frets, original solder, checking and all.

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Come see us at Bros Guitar Shop

We are a family owned guitar shop on the Upper East Side, and we do more than sell instruments:

• Buying, trades and consignment on used and vintage gear
• Repairs and setups at our bench
• Appraisals and identification. Not sure what year your guitar is? That is exactly the sort of thing we sort out
• Guitar lessons in the studio downstairs
• Pickup and delivery available for a fee. Give us a call and we will sort it out

Bros Guitar Shop
316 E 84th St, New York, NY 10028
646-559-8771 and brosguitarshop@gmail.com
Mon to Fri 12 to 8, Sat 10 to 8, closed Sunday

Got something in a case under the bed? That is usually how the good ones turn up.