Mystery 2001 worn SG

[David Parker]

Hi All!

I just picked up a great little SG at the Asheville Guitar Show. SN indicates it was built Nov 11, 2001. It's a worn walnut finish, I'm pretty sure an ebony fretboard, covered humbuckers, but it has only the SG Goth 12th fret inlay (moon and star) and no others, the silkscreen headstock logo in black, but chrome hardware (not black), and as I said, a worn walnut finish. I don't think it can be an SG Goth, but I can't find any good info on it. Anybody seen something like this?

 

[Biddlin]

Anybody seen something like this?

All I can see says "Goth" but then you don't show much, do you? The fretboard and headstock overlay are 2000 Goth the tuners are Grover Chrome buttons as for the rest, I'd need to see the body front and back and the whole neck etc.

 

[David Parker]

All I can see says "Goth" but then you don't show much, do you? The fretboard and headstock overlay are 2000 Goth the tuners are Grover Chrome buttons as for the rest, I'd need to see the body front and back and the whole neck etc.

I shall accede to your reasonable demands, but not tonight- thanks, though-

 

[pancake81]

I don’t think it’s the goth model. I don’t recall the goth model having any inlays at all. Just blank fret board

 

[Biddlin]

I don’t recall the goth model having any inlays at all.

The Gothic Morte had no inlays. The Goth had the star and crescent moon.

 

[David Parker]

I don’t think it’s the goth model. I don’t recall the goth model having any inlays at all. Just blank fret board

I think the first run of Goths had the inlay (@2000-2002) and then the subsequent one (@2009) didn't?

 

[Biddlin]

2001 Goth...........................2011 Gothic Morte

 

[pancake81]

And so the wave of knowledge washes over me

 

[pancake81]

 

[David Parker]

I have returned to bother Brother Biddlin for his vast knowledge. More pics:

 

[Biddlin]

Yeah, looks like someone took the black finish down to the wood and sealed it with something. That's natural mahogany. The chrome hardware looks like Gibson parts. They also swapped capacitors in the electronics, no clue what the pickups might be, but could be originals with covers. That is a nice guitar.

 

[David Parker]

Yeah, looks like someone took the black finish down to the wood and sealed it with something. That's natural mahogany. The chrome hardware looks like Gibson parts. They also swapped capacitors in the electronics, no clue what the pickups might be, but could be originals with covers. That is a nice guitar.

Wow- thank you so much! It plays great, although we had to build a couple of the nut slots up to get it playable (I'll get a new nut this month). The neck had a little back bow, but there was a guitar tech doing evaluations and setups at the show, so she got it all squared away. It sounds great. I don't know what the pickups are either, and now I feel like I'm going to have to check them out! These would normally be 490 R&T, right? The pots are CTS, which I assume is the normal spec. Thanks again for the benefit of your wisdom!!

 

[skelt101]

Yes on the pickups. All of your factory specs are pretty much covered at the SG Wiki page here:
https://solidguitar.fandom.com/wiki/SG_Gothic

 

[David Parker]

Somebody put some work in on this one! They replaced tuners, hardware, knobs, and pickguard (currently multi-ply), in addition to the afore-mentioned capacitor swap (and they either added pickup covers or swapped pickups). I think it's great- I wouldn't have bought the original murdered-out edition, but the star and moon along with the natural wood give more of a 70s hippie/wizard vibe. I dig it.

 

[sazista]

Haha, yeah, 'hippy/ Wizard vibe". That is exactly what I think about my 2002 with the moon inlays. I imagine it being with someone in YES, or Uriah Heep! :) I like them for their uniqueness, but not of how they look for my style.

 

[Go Nigel Go]

I remember seeing these in catalogues back in the day, but promptly forgot about them as they were obviously "made for someone else". Not that there is anything wrong with that, just not my cup of tea. That said, it also never occurred to me how nice they might look with the paint stripped to bare wood. I don't think I will go find one to strip, but if I ever find one for sale that is already done like this one, we may have to talk price.

 

[Wes Store]

I think the Crescent inlay thing commonly associated with the goth series, isn't actually its full story. Troglys guitar channel on Youtube once mentioned Orville Gibson had used these inlays in some of the first builds Gibson ever produced.

 

[Kyle Lanning]

Whatever that thing is and however it came to be the way it is - I would've bought that thing in a second. I was in the car about to head to Asheville but decided I didn't wanna fight the crowds. Good find man!

 

[brazosguitar]

There is a lefty one of those for sale in Chicago which is similar, but has multiple crescent moons…. Is this a Goth variant? But the dude but won’t mail it…so it has sat on Reverb for a very long time unsold….

Reverb 2003 left handed faded cherry Gibson SG

tried to post a link to it on Reverb….but it won’t let me????

 

[Biddlin]

Is this a Goth variant?

No, SG faded cherry Special. Goths are a Special variant.