1964 Gibson SG Special
I’ve been playing, buying and selling guitars for the last 35 years. About a year ago I decided to become a guitar tech full time and start my own business with the goal of eventually becoming a luthier. I went to school in upstate NY to learn how to repair and restore electrics and acoustics. I work as an apprentice at a local guitar store a couple of days a week. The rest of the week I work on other people’s instruments out of my home workshop. I also sell used and vintage guitars on eBay and Reverb.com. I’ve owned and have played several guitars over the years. Now that I work on them for a living I get to play even more.
People will often ask me, which of your guitars is your favorite? I usually respond with the same answer every time. “I love them all. It’s really hard to say.” This is true for me. No two guitars are the same. Each guitar make and model will play and sound different based on how they are designed. Even two of the same exact guitars made on the same day can sound or play a little different from each other.
Some are better suited for one type of music than others. For example, you can play heavy metal on a Rickenbacker 12 string, but why? There are guitars like the Jackson Soloists that are much better suited for that. Conversely, if I want to get a rich, chimey tone with lots of highs like Roger Mcguinn in the Byrds, nothing is going to get that sound like a Rickenbacker.
That said, there is one guitar that I would bring to a desert island. (Assuming I had an amplifier and an unlimited power source, but you get the point).
It’s this 1964 Gibson SG Special.
SG’s were first introduced in 1961 as the Les Paul model. Designed to replace the single cut away guitar that launched the signature line in 1952. Les wasn’t crazy about the new SG when it came out. He didn’t like the look. It was a much thinner bodied guitar with the double cut away horns. Having a long neck and thin body also made the early models prone to breaks. So he persuaded his friend and president of Gibson, Ted McCarty to rip up his contract. Despite Les removing his endorsement, the guitar design was popular and Gibson wanted to continue to make them so by 1963 they changed the name from the Les Paul model to the SG (SG for Solid Guitar). Similar to the previous Les Paul guitar, Gibson made a Custom with 3 humbuckers. A Standard with 2 humbuckers. This Special which had 2 P-90 pickups and a Junior with 1 P-90 pickup in the bridge position.
The SG Special has gone through several iterations over the years. They still make them today, however these early versions are really something.. They truly are Special! It was made during the end of the golden era of Gibson guitars which was from 1950 - 1965 when Ted McCarty was president. The early SG Customs and Standards came with P.A.F. humbuckers. Those guitars are very hard to find in original condition and go for the price of a car nowadays. P.A.F. pickups are considered by many to be The Holy Grail of all guitar pickups. The SG Specials like this one were a more stripped down, affordable version. Instead of the higher end appointments like a Tune-o-matic bridge or Lyre Vibrola and P.A.F.’s, the Specials came with a one piece wrap around bridge and P-90 pickups.
This guitar has a wrap around and also features a vibrato tail piece. The vibrato was custom order in 64 and became standard in 65. It has a solid mahogany body and 22 fret, set mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard and dot inlays. 2 volume, 2 control knobs and a 3-way switch. The neck profile feels wide and flat, but full with a medium thickness. 1964 was the last year that Gibson used the more desirable 1 11/16” nut width. Around 1965 they changed to a narrower 1 9/16” which I find to be too narrow. In the late 60’s they increased the width to 1 5/8”. The P-90 pickups sound incredible. While not as desirable as P.A.F.’s, players will often say “P-90’s Rule!!”, and when you plug this guitar in you will absolutely understand what they mean. It’s also light as a feather.
I’ve played newer, Custom Shop reissues of the early 60’s SG Specials and while they are nice guitars they don’t hold a candle to the original. This is the only golden era Gibson that I’ve ever owned and prior to acquiring it I always wondered if Golden Era Gibsons were really that good or if it was just a bunch of hype. After owning one, I can say, they are for sure that good. Maybe it’s the materials available at that time.. Maybe it’s the time they were able to take to craft this guitar in the shop back then. I’m sure it’s a combination of factors. Watching my hero’s play SG Specials is what inspired me to seek one out. After seeing Carlos Santana play one at Woodstock and Pete Townshend play one at Leeds I immediately fell in love. No matter how many guitars I play, I always go back to this one as being the best playing and sounding instrument I’ve experienced. I’m lucky enough to have found it a long time ago when they were still somewhat affordable and don’t see myself ever parting with it. So there it is. I hope everyone reading this can find your own desert island guitar someday. Good luck!