The new SG-style Les Paul Standards had thin, 1 5/6" contoured-edge bodies made with lightweight mahogany. The double-cutaway design allowed easy access to all 22 frets. The new, similarly contoured version of the Les Paul Custom had the same-style ebony fretboard, gold hardware, and split-diamond-inlay headstock, but was given a striking new color: “gleaming white," rather than ebony black.
Les Paul chose not to renew his original contract with Gibson in 1962. By 1963, Gibson dropped the Les Paul designation entirely, and the model became known as the SG.
Like the Les Paul Custom models that came before, this SG Custom has three humbuckers and is a “fretless wonder," to borrow Gibson's terminology at the time.
The 1965 SG Custom pictured this month has the features typical of 1963 through 1965 SG Customs. These are outlined in the 1964 Gibson catalog: “Ultra-thin, hand-contoured, double-cutaway body, gold-plated metal parts. New extra-slim, fast, low-action neck—with exclusive low frets—joins body at 22nd fret. One-piece mahogany neck, adjustable truss rod. Ebony fingerboard, deluxe pearl inlays. Adjustable Tune-o-matic bridge. Three powerful humbucking pickups with unique wiring arrangement. Two sets of tone and volume controls. Three-position toggle switch. New deluxe Gibson vibrato."
This model sports Gibson's then-new deluxe vibrato arm, tucked behind a Tune-o-matic bridge. Note the contoured upper bout, which was part of Gibson's effort to compete with Fender's thin-bodied guitars.
The last year for the classic small pickguard that this instrument sports was 1965. By the next year, a large pickguard surrounded the pickups on all sides. A great example of that later look is the 1967 SG Custom played by Jimi Hendrix on The Dick Cavett Show in September 1969. The original list price for a '65 SG Custom was $480. The current value is $10,000.
Contributing to this model's elegant look are a split-diamond-inlay headstock, ebony fretboard, and gold hardware.
The amp behind this month's guitar is a 1964 Gibson GA-19RVT Falcon. It has two 6V6 power tubes pushing 15 watts through a 12" Jensen C12R speaker. The Falcon's original price was $214.50. The current value is $500.
Sources for this article include Gibson Electrics: The Classic Years by A.R. Duchossoir, The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy: 1915–1963 by Robb Lawrence, Gibson Guitars: Ted McCarty's Golden Era: 1948–1966 by Gil Hembree, and Gibson Amplifiers-1933–2008: 75 Years of the Gold Tone by Wallace Marx Jr.
This era-authentic pairing—Gibson and Sunn—blends humbucking output with 40 watts of EL34 amp power and a pair of 12" speakers.
The bar-style combination bridge allows horizontal and vertical adjustment and includes a mute before the bar.
The 1962 EB-6 pictured has the features typical of the two-pickup edition. These include a cherry red contoured SG-shaped solid mahogany body, a 30 1/2"-scale 1-piece mahogany neck joining the body between the 17th and 18th fret, a 20-fret rosewood fretboard with dot inlays, and two standard guitar humbuckers. On this example, the neck pickup is still a PAF. The nickel-plated parts include large-button Kluson tuners, a bar bridge/tailpiece, a metal hand rest between the pickups, and a string mute. The original price was $325. The current value for one in excellent all-original condition is $7,500.
The neck humbucker in this guitar is a vintage PAF. The original solidbody EB-6 had just one pickup, in the neck slot, like its semi-hollow ancestors.
The amp behind the bass is a 1967 Sunn Solarus combo. Two EL34 tubes push 40 watts of power through two 12" speakers. It has bright and normal channels with controls for treble, bass, and contour along with knobs for the vibrato and reverb. The current value for the amp is $750.
Note the classic early Gibson headstock profile as well as the nickel-plated large profile Kluson tuners.
Sources for this article include Gibson Electrics: The Classic Years by A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Guitars: Ted McCarty's Golden Era—1948- 1966 by Gil Hembree, and Gibson Shipment Totals: 1937-1979 by Larry Meiners.
This 1958 Gibson EB-1—serial number 82933—has a mysterious past. How did it get a factory-installed pickup
that wasn't available until 1959?
The 1956 Gibson catalog reads: “With 20 frets on a scale length of 30 1/2", the Gibson Electric Bass has the same range as the standard bass 'fiddle'—and the same pitch. The Gibson Electric Bass has an adjustable end pin, and also a shoulder strap, and thus may be played either in a standing position or like a guitar."
from the Precision.
The Electric Bass had one very large single-coil pickup in the neck position, which delivered strong, deep tones. Even though it was reasonably priced, the Electric Bass did not sell well and was discontinued during 1958 in favor of the semi-hollow EB-2 (1958), and the double-cutaway solidbody EB-0 (1959).
The bass pictured here has most of the typical features expected of an EB from between 1953 and 1958. These include, as stated in the 1958 Gibson catalog: “Solid mahogany, violin-shaped body and carved top. Mahogany neck with Gibson Adjustable Truss Rod construction. An important factor in the outstanding performance of this instrument is the Gibson-designed metal bridge, adjustable for string height and lengths."
To accommodate two different playing positions, the solid mahogany body sports both a strap button
and retractable endpin.
The headstock has a Gibson logo set in pearl inlay and two banjo tuners on each side. The only unusual characteristic is that this bass with a 1958 serial number has a factory stock humbucking pickup—not used until 1959. The pickup was developed by Seth Lover to be used on the EB-0 and EB-2. It was the same size as the original enormous single-coil, but was split into two coils. A possible explanation is that this bass was nearly finished and stamped in 1958, but for some reason, not completed until at least 1959. The Gibson Shipment totals for 1958 indicate that 45 EB-1s were shipped that year. It's difficult to know whether this bass is one of those, or one that slipped through later without being counted.
The EB-1's banjo tuners give the headstock a sleek look when viewed from the front.
The 1958 list price was $235, plus $45 for a hardshell case. The current value for one in excellent all-original condition is $5,000.
Sources for this article include: Gibson Electrics—The Classic Years by A.R. Duchossoir, The Fender Bass: An Illustrated History by J.W. Black and Albert Molinaro, Gibson Shipment Totals 1937-1979 by Larry Meiners, and Gibson's 1956 and 1958 catalogs.