No crown on 1973 SG Standard

[73SG]

Looks like pot codes 70028 and 13773XX. Have you seen another '73 Standard without a crown?

 

[Roger Phillips]

I don't know, an anomaly on my brother's ES-325 is it has a crown whereas all histories I've seen show this model without. His is from the same period- early 1970s.
Roger in the S. Lakes

 

[Col Mustard]

Welcome to ETSG!
That's an interesting old warhorse.

If it's got three pickups, it's not a Standard.
I'm guessing that the plate between the pickups covers up a gaping hole where someone removed a pickup. Triple pickup guitars usually
have the truncated diamond inlay.

The headstock looks new, (and so does the nut) so maybe the old one needed so much work that they replaced the headstock veneer. Check the back of the neck to see it there's a repair showing.
Repairing broken off Gibson headstocks is routine work for a good luthier. They can hide the repair really well sometimes.

That tangle of wiring doesn't look like original Gibson work to my eye, although it was a long time ago. And maybe triple pickup guitars do look
like that. I've never owned one.

The fretboard inlays and the lack of beveling on the cutaways says it's
likely mid seventies, as does the harmonica bridge and the Schiller tuners.

 

[shreddy bender]

My guess is a 73 Special routed for Humbuckers. No binding, is it a rosewood finger board? In 74 the Standard had the crown,no binding an an ebony board.

Just a guess I guess.

 

[73SG]

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it. I purchased the guitar brand new in 1973 from a Gibson dealer (Spitzer Music) in the S.F. Bay Area.
I wasn't asking if it was a Standard, only if any of you folks had seen another '73 Standard without the crown. I purchased a DiMarzio SDHP in 1975 and had it installed in the rear and moved the rear pickup to the newly routed center position.

Yes, the headstock has stayed relatively clean compared to the rest of the guitar. The bone nut was installed when I had a refret done in 1991. The only time that the wiring would have been worked on is when the pickup was installed and an on/off switch was added to the pickguard. The fretboard is rosewood. The tuners were installed in 1975 and the bridge is a replacement. As you can see, my sweat ate the original bridge.

Thanks again for the input!

 

[rumstove]

That's a weird one. Multiply pickguard and block inlays of a Standard but no crown like a Special. The '73 catalog/flyer shows the Standard with a crown. I haven't seen one like yours without the crown. I also like that the Schallers are old so they say "Made in W. Germany." Cool guitar.

 

[PermissionToLand]

I have heard from a guy who worked at Gibson back then that when there was a mistake (and the very example he gave was a Special getting routed for humbuckers), they would sell it as a Special with the HBs as a free bonus. Sounds like the dealer that sold it to you was not as honest as Gibson in that regard.

The Rosewood fretboard and acrylic inlays give it away as a Special. The Standard had an Ebony board with MOP inlays.

 

[Will V.]

Super cool guitar. The color of the finish is just perfection.

Side question: How does the switching work on three humbucker guitars? I've actually never even played one.