Good morning, I have been trying to find out if regular Gibson issued SG Junior guitars ever came with a single humbucker...everything I have researched says a big no. (P90's only) However I came across a Custom Shop 87 that claims it came with the single humbucker. Can anyone shed some light on whether this 87 might be authentic? I suppose with any reissue any combination would be possible. Thanks once again in advance, you have a great site here. James Green
The Custom Shop has done lots of modified/hot-rodded "reissues" with "historically incorrect" features. It's entirely possible they built that one that way. From that one low resolution pic, everything looks correct for a Custom Shop from that era. If it's a copy/fake, it's an exceptionally good one. I'm not entirely sure of the dimensions of a dog-ear P90 vs a humbucker. If the humbucker mounting ring would completely cover all signs of the dog-ear, it's also possible that it originally had a P90 and someone modified it. But removing the pickup and examining the cavity would show signs of the conversion.
First, thank you all for the updated info and help to try and authenticate this guitar! The seller insists it came from the Custom Shop with a humbucker but the P/U was changed out to a Angus Young signature. Any guess as to what it might be worth? No original, PU, pickguard or tuners, says they were changed out. I am thinking maybe 2000.00
I wouldn't pay 2k for it unless I knew it came with the original parts and could examine inside it etc. You can get 4-5 great SG's for that kinda money.
Early 60's SG Standard headstock Missing dot over the "i" (1969 feature) SG Special neck (bound with dots) Single Humbucker Junior control layout Appears to be legit with the nibs and pinkish cream color binding. The 22nd fret inlay lends itself to possibly being a one-off.
Yes, apparently it was a custom order for someone with the initials MRW. Good spot on the missing i . Thanks for your comments. James
$2k seems a little high, IMO. Why not get a player grade 2 humbucker SG for less money and remove the neck pickup a la Phil X.
in the 80s, gibson had a custom shop where you could make personalised models...this was probably one of those. $2k sounds about there - https://reverb.com/item/27882967-gibson-sg-junior-1987-cherry-custom-shop-one-off
Had an original '63 catalog and an original batwing version that had a humbucker strapped in with electrical tape...no they didn't... Also, it's a Custom (emphasis on the word "Custom") Shop piece...if someone off the street ordered it, it's their order...or the shops'...
The sheer rarity of that guitar would take it out of SG Junior territory into that of an SG Special due to the bound fretboard. Looks like a guitar I would own. I would slap a Bigsby on there, or even a long tail Gibson Lyre tailpiece vibrato. You'll miss that if you let it go.
Well, there wasn't actually a dedicated Custom Shop until 1993, but you could always order custom models for as long as Gibson has been around, if you were willing to pony up. They started putting "Custom Shop" decals on stuff in the '80s, which really just meant that it was either a custom order or a limited run. That certainly seems to be the case here. Funny enough, this just pre-dates the reintroduced Junior for 1991, which had a P-100 (stacked humbucker). https://solidguitar.fandom.com/wiki/SG_Junior#1991_-_1994_Reissue
yes one-offs... i also remember there was quite a period after the 90s where u couldn't order one-offs no matter how much money u had... until gibson introduced recently the Made to measure program... tho this is more of a template mix n match.
