Say hello to my new SG 70's Tribute

[Relic61]

Well here she is. The brandy new 2012 70's Tribute SG.

Picked this up from GC after spending an hour on her, put her on layaway & came back with a $100 coupon & a Laney head I wasnt playing as a trade in. She is the guitar that made my heart jump with excitement when I first laid eyes on her from 20 feet away hanging on the wall. It was like that effect you see in the movies where everything around it gets blury but for the tunnel leading to her as you levitate forward and all the noise in the store is somehow turned off. Thats how we first met & that dont happen too often. She has a real pleasing sound, looks beautiful and of course plays like an SG. My only two complaints are they only come with the satin finish & that the bridge pickup is noticeable weaker than the neck despite my adjusting it higher & lowering the neck pup down.

When I bought my Les Paul Jr with dual humbuckers (a factory option way overdue) they smartly offered a $50 option for a gloss paintjob which I gladly would have paid to have this guitar to have it forever encased in that deep reflective shine. I've had Gibson satin paint jobs before & if your not careful, you can wear the paint of on high contact areas. Wether from a sloppy case fit or the spot were the guitar rests on your jeans while you practice sitting on the couch. Granted I've bought these guitars with the wear already done to them with the intention of modding them but seeing that chink in the armor only makes me uneasy about owning a satin finish Gibson.

I also read in the Gibson lit that the bridge pickup was specificaly designed to compensate for a naturaly lower volume from being in that posistion compared to the neck so basically no volume difference should be detected. Well they did a piss poor job. Even though I have the bridge pup as close as possible & have lowered the neck pup as low as I can without tone loss, there is still a great if not dramatic difference in output. It only serves to bother me more because Gibson toots its own horn about how great there redesign balances the pups. pppttt. Nothin a Firebird pup cant fix as soon as the newness passes.

Well there she is fellas in all her goodness & shortcomings. I had to make her mine.

 

[TDA1966]

Awesome SG!

 

[Gillean]

too much beauty to one picture!

but hey, what is that thing on the bridge?

 

[Biddlin]

Awesome !

 

[skeeterbuck]

too much beauty to one picture!

but hey, what is that thing on the bridge?[/QUOTE]


It just a plastic tag that Gibson puts on all their new guitars saying that it equipped with Original Gibson Strings.

Nice guitar by the way Relic.

 

[Col Mustard]

I'm sort of used to the difference in output by now. My SG has the '57 Classic and Classic+ pickups, and these have equalized the difference better than other p'ups, but it's still there. I just set my neck p'up on 8 and my bridge p'up on 11 routinely, and they sound fine to my ear anyway. well, more than fine, my SG sounds growly or sparkly or in between... I love my SG. I had the same kind of reaction to the one I took home. The classic double take. I'm glad you had this joy... you're right, it's rare. The Faded finish I have is thinner and more vulnerable than the harder thicker glossier Standards, but I think it handles dings and scratches better actually. They are there, but they look the way a guitar is supposed to look. IMHO of course.

And I think that yours looks great. Try and keep it from getting scratched, but a seventies guitar that's too pristine just seems wrong... *grins ...In the seventies, we used to carry all our gear in the back of a pickup truck, complete with old tires, beer cans and snow... Sometimes we had a tarp to cover them. we used to lean our guitars against whatever... brick tavern walls, ailing honky tonk pianos, trashed tube amps... we used to carry everything out the back door of the bar, stepping carefully in the frozen greasy snow and slush, trying not to fall down if we'd had a few beers. In the seventies, everybody smoked, the customers, the waitresses, the cooks, the bartender, the big boss, and me. There were ash trays on every table, and the waitresses kept emptying them. The smoke was so thick that your guitar would smell like that the next day... cigarette smoke, popcorn and deep fryer grease, broiler fat, old beer and maybe girl perfume, if you were lucky. What a life. Listen to Bob Seger sing "Turn the Page."

Those are the kind of nights the SG was made for, (especially the 70s SG) so I don't think you should baby it too much. Except protecting the headstock area... you have to baby that on any Gibson. I really like the look of this one. Oh yeah, and Brandy is a good name for a Seventies SG.

 

[Biddlin]

".In the seventies, we used to carry all our gear in the back of a pickup truck, complete with old tires, beer cans and snow.."
Jason Newbone used to help me strap my Mosrite, a Fender P bass, and a 60 watt Yamaha amp to the sissy bar and rack on a BSA 650, a forty watt bass amp to the tank and we hit the road, with it hitting back occasionally . A cop pulled us over on I-80 at 3:30 one morning, in the days before in car computers, and couldn't figure out what to write me up for , everything was secured and we were both sober, but he followed us from San Francisco to the Milk Farm, quite a way .

 

[Relic61]

Yeah, Brandy, she's a fine girl. In honor of the carefree days that it is a tribute to, should I permanently carve her name into the backside like someone did to that 71 SG I'm holding in my right hand? According to her permanent tatoo her name is 'Belladonna'. I guess she meant a lot to somebody & so much so that a name befitting her percieved personna had to foerever be afixed. Hey it allowed me to pick her up for a song because of that care free engraving. Later on I found the pup covers lifted off & found the neck pup to be the older pre T-Top post PAF type with the patent sticker. This ended up to be a noticeable different sound than all the other T-Tops I have and closer to the PAF sound with some high end bite to it. Thanks lover of Belladonna. Often I wonder the story behind that name & how it ended up getting to me, all because of that tatoo on her backside that speaks to me. Maybe I will have to take a pic of that someday & start a new thread.

Ah the 70's...I was still under age but playing at the bar that was owned by the keyboard players parents. Man those days were the best. My guitar was one of those 3 pickup George Jetson looking Airline fiberglass bodied guitars with a Bigsby & I practiced & played on that baby until the frets were literally falling out of the fretboard. That persuaded me to trade it in for a MusicMan Stingray II & buy a 100 watt MusicMan RD. Boy was that a sonic upgrade. Funny part was by the time I was able to drive I had gone completely sober while those around me partied it up smokin & drinkin while I allowed myself the vice of balancing multiple girlfriends. Boy it just drives a woman nuts to be told you dont want to be tied to one girl. Almost like it drives them to go out of their way to win you over. A little lesson for your younger fellas that got your whole life ahead of you. But the 70's were different days so filled with the promise of possibility. And To look back at the whole smoking everywhere (even in hospitals) scene seems sureal & though I felt our freedoms were being chopped away at by insurance companys I think we can all breath a little easier since getting the smoke outta there.

I almost feel sad for kids growing up today. They have such high anxiety & no decent soundtrack on the radio to carry their cares away like my days in the 70s listening to 77 WABC 100 miles away in NYC on my smart little Panasonic transistor radio (that still works). God how every song seemed so special & full of magic.

I remember Mom kissing me goodnight as I lay in the room I shared with my brother with the radio playing the songs of my youth & as she says goodnight I tell her 'Mom, this is what I want to do when I grow up right here". She had no idea what I was talking about so I said "Mom, just listen, listen to this part right here for a minute" as the lead breaks through for 'Let it Be' and I said "that Mom! That! Did you hear that? Did you feel that when he played that guitar part? Did it make you feel funny too like the hair on you arms standing up? Man wasnt that cool?" "Go to bed you silly nut" she said with a smile & a happy laugh as she shakes her head like I'm a kooky kid & walks out of our room with a singsong 'Goodnight...".

Those were the wonderful days that started it for me. Man if I had this guitar back then I now darn well I would have carved her name in it & given her a nice deep finish myself just like I did to my 22 rifle.

 

[mikeystool]

Yeah, Brandy, she's a fine girl. In honor of the carefree days that it is a tribute to, should I permanently carve her name into the backside like someone did to that 71 SG I'm holding in my right hand? According to her permanent tatoo her name is 'Belladonna'. I guess she meant a lot to somebody & so much so that a name befitting her percieved personna had to foerever be afixed. Hey it allowed me to pick her up for a song because of that care free engraving. Later on I found the pup covers lifted off & found the neck pup to be the older pre T-Top post PAF type with the patent sticker. This ended up to be a noticeable different sound than all the other T-Tops I have and closer to the PAF sound with some high end bite to it. Thanks lover of Belladonna. Often I wonder the story behind that name & how it ended up getting to me, all because of that tatoo on her backside that speaks to me. Maybe I will have to take a pic of that someday & start a new thread.

Ah the 70's...I was still under age but playing at the bar that was owned by the keyboard players parents. Man those days were the best. My guitar was one of those 3 pickup George Jetson looking Airline fiberglass bodied guitars with a Bigsby & I practiced & played on that baby until the frets were literally falling out of the fretboard. That persuaded me to trade it in for a MusicMan Stingray II & buy a 100 watt MusicMan RD. Boy was that a sonic upgrade. Funny part was by the time I was able to drive I had gone completely sober while those around me partied it up smokin & drinkin while I allowed myself the vice of balancing multiple girlfriends. Boy it just drives a woman nuts to be told you dont want to be tied to one girl. Almost like it drives them to go out of their way to win you over. A little lesson for your younger fellas that got your whole life ahead of you. But the 70's were different days so filled with the promise of possibility. And To look back at the whole smoking everywhere (even in hospitals) scene seems sureal & though I felt our freedoms were being chopped away at by insurance companys I think we can all breath a little easier since getting the smoke outta there.

I almost feel sad for kids growing up today. They have such high anxiety & no decent soundtrack on the radio to carry their cares away like my days in the 70s listening to 77 WABC 100 miles away in NYC on my smart little Panasonic transistor radio (that still works). God how every song seemed so special & full of magic.

I remember Mom kissing me goodnight as I lay in the room I shared with my brother with the radio playing the songs of my youth & as she says goodnight I tell her 'Mom, this is what I want to do when I grow up right here". She had no idea what I was talking about so I said "Mom, just listen, listen to this part right here for a minute" as the lead breaks through for 'Let it Be' and I said "that Mom! That! Did you hear that? Did you feel that when he played that guitar part? Did it make you feel funny too like the hair on you arms standing up? Man wasnt that cool?" "Go to bed you silly nut" she said with a smile & a happy laugh as she shakes her head like I'm a kooky kid & walks out of our room with a singsong 'Goodnight...".

Those were the wonderful days that started it for me. Man if I had this guitar back then I now darn well I would have carved her name in it & given her a nice deep finish myself just like I did to my 22 rifle.

ah the days of transitor radios..and as the great Ramones sang, "do you remember lying in bed, with the covers pulled upover your head, radio playing, so noone can hear..."...im from NJ, and use to listen to wabc as well, in the early to mid 70's...HArRY HarisISon!!..everytime i watch Midnite Cowboy, and that busride scene into NYC with Joe Buck and his transitor radio to his head blaring wabc, brings it all back..:)

 

[Col Mustard]

gimme the beat, boys an free my soul/i wanna get lost in yer rock an roll
an drift away...

I don't think you should feel sad for young people now... they will figure it out. I believe that it's harder to be that age than it was, but it wasn't easy for me to be 16 in 1964. I've said it before, but I believe in the human spirit, and that's what will enable young people to overcome all hazards and dangers and shape the world. and the music... prolly on instruments that haven't been invented yet.

but your seventies SG now... a new classic. Gimme Shelter... Don't fear the Reaper.... Ain't but one way out... but I ain't goin' out that door. There's a man down there... might be your man, I don't know.

 

[Biddlin]

My kids, now in their late twenties and early thirties, are firmly planted in the present because of their strong connection to the past . My punk rocker daughter and son in law are more conversant with Buddy Holly and early Beatles' tunes than am I ! My son writes about string theory and uncertainty compensators while he listens to archival collection of Grateful Dead and Black Sabbath . In the meantime I still surprise 'em with a few things . Such as:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFTXBGj45T8&feature=related"]Mimi and Richard Farina - One-Way Ticket - YouTube[/ame]

Richard died in a motorcycle crash in 1966 . Mimi rejoined him in 2011 . I miss them both terribly .

 

[Lhvr]

My father (63) was watching a Black Metal concert (together with a classical orchestra) while I (36) am listening a lot to Pink Floyd and old German Kraut Rock from the 70ies these days ... When he told me about it, I was totally shocked. ;-) (because this is my music and I am listening to his music).

 

[Col Mustard]

Mimi Farina was Joan Baez sister...
and who's Joan Baez, all the rockers want to know (or not)... but that's interesting to see on this forum.

And I'm glad to hear Lhvr talk about listening to old music while his father, who is my age is listening to something radical and new. That's good. That's the way things ought to be. Who would have guessed that a thread on a 70s tribute guitar could end up here?
Very cool, and one of the best things about this forum.

I imagine that the 70s tribute is much more guitar than we had to work with back in the day. That PLEK thing is a really worthwhile innovation, and after all these years, Gibson is able to look objectively at the guitars of the period and recreate what was best about them, at the same time correcting their faults. Hard to beat. Relic's axe seems like a very desirable thing. Great thread.

 

[rockerbilly58]

I've been watching one like this on Aussie ebay. They go for around $1299 here but crikey they're gorgeous !

 

[Tah-lee]

Yes, I am loving your tribute SG. And, I would love to see a pic of the Belladonna inscription.

 

[Relic61]

You know, once I forever 'expose' the Belladonna by documenting that carving on her backside with a picture on this forum, she will forever be known as the 'Belledonna Guitar' well beyond my immediate circle of friends & people I play music with. And That means I will never be able to sand that inscription out to make it blend in with the buckle rash as I had once planned prior to resale.

Now that Im writing about it and thinking about why I havent done that yet, I'm understanding that I dont think I could get myself to take that name off her because for some weird undefinable reason it feels wrong. Like it is her name & identity. Someone loved this guitar & felt such attatchment that they tried to define what it was they felt about her with a name that conjures old world Italian beauty which in turn sets up a perceived personna that preceeds & surrounds the guitar. Everybody knows when I take it out of the case what her name is and I am sure to hear "oh you brought Belladonna out tonight". So, on that level, who am I at this point to sand over that name in the hopes of someday selling her for a little more. I never was one to be moved by the temptation to do things like that in the hopes of makin a few greenbacks anyway so, after thinking this through, sure I'll post a pic.

I guess inside I'm a sentimental fool that finds more value in the naming of that guitar & the mystery that name brings. My mind enjoys thinking about this guitar & the relationships she's had & what she's meant to people. The time spent daydreaming about it always brings a smile to my face. Now isn't that all worth more than a couple hundred bucks that sanding that name off might bring???

In fact, when I have the time, I'm thinking I should not only take a picture but start a thread for her that she deserves to see if we can find the true story behind her mysterious name and how she ended up getting that 'Belladonna' carved into her.(and why her powers have preserved it all these years) Hmmm....Now that sounds like fun. I'm sure many a story will get put out there but to find the real one would be the challenge & rightious reward. What do you guys think about all that??

 

[Mr. Happy]

Great looking SG you've got there...
Post some more "in detail" pics, if you would.

Cheers!

 

[Lhvr]

And I'm glad to hear Lhvr talk about listening to old music while his father, who is my age is listening to something radical and new. That's good. That's the way things ought to be. Who would have guessed that a thread on a 70s tribute guitar could end up here?
Very cool, and one of the best things about this forum.

Btw I love my Woodstock DVD!

My father was always keen on career while his brother was the Blues man. One day in 1989 he let me play on his bass (!) guitar and some days later my father bought me my first electric guitar ...

And I love my 70s tribute firebird but didn't find the time to write about it. But time will come. Now it's like this: I am thinking 'should I write about it or play on it?', the answer is clear. ;-)

I also think that Gibson took the typical good things about that time and paid tribute to this time (which I was born in).

 

[Relic61]

My father (63) was watching a Black Metal concert (together with a classical orchestra) while I (36) am listening a lot to Pink Floyd and old German Kraut Rock from the 70ies these days ... When he told me about it, I was totally shocked. ;-) (because this is my music and I am listening to his music).

That is way cool. My Dad used to tolerate some Aerosmith & Jeff Beck getting play time on the 8 track player during family excursions in in our Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon (the original Family Truckster) back in the day (70's). Its Silly but it never dawned on me that there may be such a thing as 'old German Kraut Rock'. Rock on!

 

[Lhvr]

@Relic61:
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one particular scene, style, or movement, as many krautrock artists were not familiar with one another. BBC DJ John Peel in particular is largely credited with spreading the reputation of krautrock outside of the German-speaking world.
Largely divorced from the traditional blues and rock & roll influences of English and American rock music up to that time, the period contributed to the birth and evolution of electronic music, ambient music, alternative music and New Age music. Key artists associated with the tag include Can, Amon Düül II, Ash Ra Tempel, Faust, Popol Vuh, Cluster, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Neu!, and Kraftwerk.