1970s Tribute

[Angry Tele]

hey SG
people!

I recently got this SG and its pretty sweet!

big headstock

mini-humbuckers

volute!

maple neck-satin poly finish is very slick/comfy. thin-thick profile is nice too

gut shot

small blocks

this thing plays killer, and sounds fantastic. The mini-hums are loud yet stay articualte even with my 5E3 cranked. Lots of top end sparkle. They do Angus to early ZZ Top (on the neck pickup)
the neck has snap, and is more stable than a trad SG neck. the guitar is well balanced and weighs 6.5Lbs.

Pickups measure 6.22K on the neck, and 6.99K on the bridge. They balance out nicely.

I really love this guitar. I know they dont get a lot of love at other forums, but for me this guitar suits my style perfectly.

 

[mikeystool]

congrats! great pics btw..

 

[Tenafly Viper]

With the exception of the paint, this seems to be the one tribute Gibson seems to have outfitted with most of the classic 70's appointments. Some people may not like those specs, but clearly the small block, volute, neck joint, guard and minibuckers are all 70's stuff. Glad you like it. Although I do find it a bit funny that they didn't do the 70's bevels. Which is to say, very little bevel at all.

 

[Col Mustard]

well, what you've got is a 'tribute' rather than a 'replica." To me, that means that Gibson is free to install the best of what they did in the seventies, without needing to rehash the things that gave them a bad rep. Gibson was owned by a (more soul-less than most ) Corporation during the seventies, and they did some messing around with the design of the SG and it's prototype during those times. Many of their experiments seemed pointless at the time, and didn't sell well. But they also made some good guitars then too, and people are finally admitting this and not just regurgitating old prejudices (which we've all heard over and over).

So your guitar looks very interesting, especially to someone young enough to be disconnected from the wranglings of the past. Or to someone with an open mind, like me. I like the block inlays, and the faded finish always appeals to me. I think it's a nice variation on the regular SG. With a PLEK fretboard and a Corian nut, it likely plays and sounds better than any of us old timers might have dreamed back then. Good choice.

Oh and I like the looks of your Tele too. The blond Tele with a black pickguard is THE ONE. That's where it all began, and it's a classic look, especially alongside your SG. An excellent pair that should cover a lot of tones and styles.

 

[Angry Tele]

what I like best is the small blocks (never saw that before), mini-hums (again-never saw that before), and maple neck. Im a Tele player so maple is no brainer for me. Sounds snappy, not as much as a tele but moreso than most Gibsons.

also, being a Tele person I have no experience with Gibson pots, I have to say the stock Gibson-CTS pots have a really smooth, consistant taper-very nice. much like the bourns I have in one of my Teles.

only downside is the volume knob on the lead pickup does not stop turning. I tried bending the shaft outward but this only worked for a few minutes. Now I have some tape shoved over the shaft and the pot on top.

will a new knob fix this, or is it the pot that is broke?

 

[Angry Tele]

The blond Tele with a black pickguard is THE ONE. That's where it all began, and it's a classic look, especially alongside your SG. An excellent pair that should cover a lot of tones and styles.

yes thanks, Teles are awesome.

this one is my 52RI with Fred Stuart pickups. shes a baller!

A tele and sg is the ultimate 1-2 sonic combo punch!

 

[Angry Tele]

oh yeah does anyone know what strings come on my SG? I think they are 10-46 but Im not sure. I play 9-42 on my Teles and would like to approximate the stiffness on the Gibson-whatever is on now does that nicely.

 

[smitty_p]

All I have to say is welcome to the mini-hummed, volute-necked SG Club! I love my '74, with stock minis. Here's my li'l monster, which I've posted before. I also see they put a single-ply pickguard on yours. Ignore my multi-ply truss rod cover. The original was single ply. This also gives you an idea of how the bevels on yours compare to the '70s era.

Very nice axe you got there!

BTW, I play 10-46 on my SG. You don't have to use that gauge, but they work better with the Bigsby than lighter strings.

 

[Col Mustard]

the knobs go onto the shafts of the pots with a friction fit. the shafts are split and if the friction fit seems loose, you can push a flathead screwdriver blade into the split and expand it, and increase the friction. you sound like you already tried this, but maybe you didn't widen the split enough. use gentle but firm pressure, and open the split only enough to make the fit tighter. if you are too rough or too excessive in force, you can break the shaft. then you'll need a new pot.

if you remove the knob, and test the pot, the bare shaft should rotate to its stopping point and stop there, and return to its beginning point, and stop there.
if it doesn't, then it's broken inside and you'll need a new pot. they don't cost much and a good luthier will charge a labor charge to solder them in place. it's something many guitarists learn to do for themselves in order to save these labor charges, but it's best to learn the skill on a cheaper guitar than your new SG. *grins... good luck.

strings are a matter of personal choice. I think that Fender guitars feel better with one grade lighter strings than a Gibson, maybe because of the longer scale fretboard. I use 11s on my SG, but I think more players use 10s than any other size.

 

[dovosk]

Oh, forbidden love!

LOL, great pics - your guitars look fab!

 

[RobV]

I like AT :)

 

[Angry Tele]

sweet...where is the bevel different though? I cant tell

All I have to say is welcome to the mini-hummed, volute-necked SG Club! I love my '74, with stock minis. Here's my li'l monster, which I've posted before. I also see they put a single-ply pickguard on yours. Ignore my multi-ply truss rod cover. The original was single ply. This also gives you an idea of how the bevels on yours compare to the '70s era.

Very nice axe you got there!

BTW, I play 10-46 on my SG. You don't have to use that gauge, but they work better with the Bigsby than lighter strings.

 

[smitty_p]

sweet...where is the bevel different though? I cant tell

Your bevels are cut slightly wider up and inside the horns. It's subtle, but its there. The bevels are slightly more pronounced, accentuating the 3-D appearance of the horns. Certainly not a negative comment, mind you!

I'm glad they did the small-block inlays, as well. It just wouldn't be a '70's tribute without those! And, as I mentioned in my earlier post, I like the volute. Having grown up with the volute, it just seems like home to see that.

It's just interesting to see how many features they reproduced in the tribute guitar from the '70's. Of course, as has been pointed out, this is a Tribute, not a reissue, so there's no need to exactly duplicate the '70's SGs, but I'd say they got much of the look and feel right.

I'd love to play one and see how it feels compared to mine.

 

[Angry Tele]

the neck is killer. its a 60s slim taper up top and fattens out to a 50s higher up.

its light too, 6.5lbs and balanced-I put a strap on in therstore before buying it to be sure. I had a 1990s neck heavy sg-never again!

I wonder if these can be shined up? maybe hit it with some rubbing compound and then finessee it II?

 

[Col Mustard]

just don't use a wax product with silicone in it... that stuff leaves a residue that is very difficult to get off, and luthiers who need to do repairs to finishes just hate to try and deal with it. you might buff it, or use like a 1200 grit 3M sanding sponge if you want it to be shinier. just don't use steel wool anywere near your p'ups or pots... the little steel bits can short your guitar out faster than you can say Henry Juskiewizc... (sp) *shrugs I learned this the hard way, of course.

my faded special, which may have a finish similar to yours, responds very well to lemon oil. It doesn't seem like I've added much to the finish when I use this,
but it does no harm and feels and looks good and smells good. it's good for getting grunge off the fretboard. first some spit (not kidding), then a cue tip gets off the worst of it, then dry it good, then lemon oil.

personally, I really like the faded finish as it is. it's what got my attention the day I bonded with my SG at godforsaken GC and just had to take it home. I did the classic double take... 'wow, that looks great... is that a FADED?" and mine looks even better now, after four years of my arms and hands all over it. people say the faded finish is softer and thinner and damages easier than what's on a Standard, and that's true, but I think that the faded finish handles everyday dings and scratches quite well, these don't stand out as much as they might on a harder shinier finish. they look like a guitar is supposed to look.

the neck seems to kind of yellow out if you play it a lot. but this neck gets no treatment of any kind except an occasional very light rubdown with lemon oil. this SG neck is so fast and comfortable to my hand and playing style, it's like 'don't mess with it...it's perfect." after the faded finish caught my eye, the neck and action won me over and I was lost for an hour in GC's quiet room, playing on the lady I'd be taking home... and she responding so well.

well, I love my SG still, four years later and the honeymoon ain't over. I only have the one, maybe that's why I'm so locked into this. I have other guitars, and they're okay for a fling, but she's the one I come home with.

 

[Tah-lee]

All I have to say is welcome to the mini-hummed, volute-necked SG Club! I love my '74, with stock minis. Here's my li'l monster, which I've posted before. I also see they put a single-ply pickguard on yours. Ignore my multi-ply truss rod cover. The original was single ply. This also gives you an idea of how the bevels on yours compare to the '70s era.

Very nice axe you got there!

BTW, I play 10-46 on my SG. You don't have to use that gauge, but they work better with the Bigsby than lighter strings.

Wow, Smitty, nice pic of your '74!

 

[Angry Tele]

where did you get the wood back cover? I want!

just don't use a wax product with silicone in it... that stuff leaves a residue that is very difficult to get off, and luthiers who need to do repairs to finishes just hate to try and deal with it. you might buff it, or use like a 1200 grit 3M sanding sponge if you want it to be shinier. just don't use steel wool anywere near your p'ups or pots... the little steel bits can short your guitar out faster than you can say Henry Juskiewizc... (sp) *shrugs I learned this the hard way, of course.

my faded special, which may have a finish similar to yours, responds very well to lemon oil. It doesn't seem like I've added much to the finish when I use this,
but it does no harm and feels and looks good and smells good. it's good for getting grunge off the fretboard. first some spit (not kidding), then a cue tip gets off the worst of it, then dry it good, then lemon oil.

personally, I really like the faded finish as it is. it's what got my attention the day I bonded with my SG at godforsaken GC and just had to take it home. I did the classic double take... 'wow, that looks great... is that a FADED?" and mine looks even better now, after four years of my arms and hands all over it. people say the faded finish is softer and thinner and damages easier than what's on a Standard, and that's true, but I think that the faded finish handles everyday dings and scratches quite well, these don't stand out as much as they might on a harder shinier finish. they look like a guitar is supposed to look.

the neck seems to kind of yellow out if you play it a lot. but this neck gets no treatment of any kind except an occasional very light rubdown with lemon oil. this SG neck is so fast and comfortable to my hand and playing style, it's like 'don't mess with it...it's perfect." after the faded finish caught my eye, the neck and action won me over and I was lost for an hour in GC's quiet room, playing on the lady I'd be taking home... and she responding so well.

well, I love my SG still, four years later and the honeymoon ain't over. I only have the one, maybe that's why I'm so locked into this. I have other guitars, and they're okay for a fling, but she's the one I come home with.

 

[Col Mustard]

walnut guitar parts

well, a friend who is a woodworker gave me a piece of walnut... it was about 1/4 inch thick, but wide enough and long enough to make two pickguards. I drew around the pickguard from my SG, and the one from a Jazz Bass I have, and cut out the outline of each one with a jigsaw. I drilled holes in each one where the pickups would come through, screwed it to a piece of plywood and took down the thickness with a belt sander till it was more like 1/8 inch thick. Then I drew in the holes for the pickups and marked the holes for the edge screws. I sawed the holes for the pickups very carefully with a hand saw, so i didn't split anything, beveled the outer edges with files and then sanded them down and finished them with tung oil. There was enough walnut left over to make the back cover for the SG, and the control cover for the Bass.

I'm not a pro woodworker, but I was careful and patient and ended up with something unique. It's perfect for my 2007 Faded SG special, which is just one of thousands that Gibson sells, and so is a fine platform for modifications. Your seventies tribute ought to be left as is IMHO, because it's something more unique on its own, with its own charm and mojo.

But thanks for the good word. I believe that if I can make something like this with ordinary tools and ordinary skills, almost anyone can. I like it because a wooden pickguard is rare, and from a distance it looks cool but people wonder what it is, and come closer. The closer you get, the cooler these things look. If you're curious, here's a link to a gallery of all the things I've done to my SG:
http://www.everythingsg.com/forum/members/col-mustard-albums-my-sg-odyssey.html

I really like your guitar... which is why I keep coming back to ogle your photos (which by the way are excellent). good luck with it, and good music.

 

[TDA1966]

yadda yadda yadda

 

[Mr. Happy]

I'm relly diggin' these 70's Tribute...
Love the faded look, big headstock, mini humbuckers and block inlays... quite unusual look nowadays!

I'd like one in ebony, but I'd change the pickguard for 3-ply black and form a Black Sabbath tribute band!!