Rescued from the tip. What can you tell me about this one?

[Molly]

Bloke at work showed me this SG earlier in the week. His mate picked it up at the recycling centre. Sent a mate a few pics and he confirmed it’s a Norlin-era SG. Pots date to late ’72 so guessing it’s a ’73 maybe. One-piece body and nice neck but the wiring and other bits have really been messed with over the years. Neck pickup is original I think. DiMarzio in the bridge and some home-made single-coil added which has required routing. Also looks to have had a different bridge and maybe a Bigsby at some point.

Anyway, I just liked it. Looks to have had a bit of a story. It’ll never be worth anything but it’s light and once I get the wiring sorted it’ll be groovy.

I’ve had a tetanus jab so am safe to start the clean-up.

 

[DrBGood]

Edit your message and insert the image URL with the little landscape button right by the smiley.

Like this:

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[PixMix]

(images deleted)

 

[Molly]

Thanks for fixing that for me. I'll endeavor to do it on the OP.

 

[Notabot]

I would be getting your personal professor of faith to exorcise that sucker before opening anything. Can never be too careful with this sort of thing...

 

[Molly]

LOL. Yes. It's certainly got, erm, 'character'. :-)

 

[Biddlin]

would be getting your personal professor of faith to exorcise that sucker before opening anything.

'character'

Good character or bad character?
Well, maybe there's a real player under there....Personally I'd,..... nah your axe your call...

 

[plankton]

It doesn't look too bad from this angle.

Still, for free something interesting to play around with.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Good rescue guitar! Here's hoping you can return it to glory.

 

[Steve D]

That's a nutty pickup configuration, I wonder how it even works with the traditional three way switch. I guess they put on a custom pickguard on and it covers all the way to the switch so I'm wondering if they actually routed a channel to the switch in order to wire up that middle pickup? It's weird but the body and neck look to be in good shape and if you've got that the rest is just a matter of preference and some work. I'd say you struck gold in finding that one, nobody you run into is likely have one like it! Now make it your own!

EDIT: oops, just noticed the little toggle switch. The wiring must be pretty interesting. Wouldn't mind seeing inside the electronics cavity.

 

[AngelDeVille]

That a great find!

I would get it cleaned up repaired and playable as it is.

You won’t find another like it.

 

[Clifdawg]

Cool find!

It’ll never be worth anything but it’s light and once I get the wiring sorted it’ll be groovy.

A rescued guitar is always priceless. Who cares about a dollar amount?

 

[PermissionToLand]

What I can see of the neck joint suggests mid-1966 to very early 1969. Can you provide a better picture? The headstock appears to have been replaced entirely.

 

[Col Mustard]

Sorry to sound snarky but this seems like a fake.
Or if not a fake, a totally butchered guitar.

Three screw TRC=Fake
Headstock shape=Fake
Wonky pick guard was never designed or made by Gibson.
Weird pickup inserted between the hum buckers... dumb...
Routing out a thin mahogany body simply weakens it...
Original bridge and tail removed, wrap over bridge by gawd knows who
installed, plugs in the guitar top where the tailpiece might have been...

This thing is a mess. Getting it free seems about right, giving it a Viking Funeral
seems better. The trash compactor is where it belongs.

The worst thing that could happen with this POS is that someone might
be tempted to represent it as a real Gibson, and sell it to an unsuspecting person
who thought they were getting a cool "vintage" Gibson for an "unbelievable price"

That would be a criminal act, on the part of the seller. The legal name for it is Fraud.
The real name is heartbreak... a monstrosity like this could be sold to the loving
girlfriend of an up and coming new guitarist... she wants to support his music
and finds a great deal on a true 'vintage' Gibson... She buys it from the shady
seller, out of the trunk of his car on a moonless night. He disappears, she gives
her true love the guitar she bought for him, and...

 

[bwotw]

What I can see of the neck joint suggests mid-1966 to very early 1969. Can you provide a better picture? The headstock appears to have been replaced entirely.

This. Fretboard looks exactly like my old '69 Special. And I don't think they made bound boards with dots in the mid-70s SGs, right?

 

[njpaulc]

Here's the problem, everything except the headstock says '69 or '70 SG Special. The neck joint, the carve, the patched holes for the maestro all add up. The pots could have been changed when the P90's were removed, new pickguard with the new pickups. Need to see the back of the headstock, and under the pickguard, but it's a real puzzle.

 

[Robus]

... The real name is heartbreak... a monstrosity like this could be sold to the loving girlfriend of an up and coming new guitarist... she wants to support his music and finds a great deal on a true 'vintage' Gibson... She buys it from the shady seller, out of the trunk of his car on a moonless night. He disappears, she gives her true love the guitar she bought for him, and...

...and the rest is rock and roll history.

Sounds like a cool story actually.

 

[Biddlin]

That a great find!

Well, it's a find I guess....

I would get it cleaned up repaired and playable as it is.

I'd wipe it down and try to set it up. I wouldn't spend any dough on it, though.

You won’t find another like it.

I certainly wouldn't look.

giving it a Viking Funeral
seems better.

Sorry to sound snarky but this seems like a fake.
Or if not a fake, a totally butchered guitar.

My thoughts, too. I'd like a look under the TRC just in case some industrious gremlin didn't have the correct TRC and decided to put that one on, but honestly, I'd any restoration to someone who has the skill, time and inclination/inspiration to do a lot of work.

the patched holes for the maestro all add up

Evidence of more monkey business. Actually the "patched" holes are for a stopbar. The three tiny open holes once held a short vibrola.

What may once have been a "Gibson SG" is now a white elephant, imho.

 

[cerebral gasket]

I'm not a horns or bevels purist, but just as an observation, I find it odd that from looking at the top of the guitar, the carve on the horns are typical of early 60's style, yet the backside of the guitar has a late 60's control cavity shape.

Factory headstock logos that are either silkscreened or waterslide decals are usually smooth underneath the clear with no raised edges. This one does not appear to be done at the factory.

In addition, by 1970 the headstock logotype was changed to block style and had a closed "b" and "o", where this one clearly does not.

--------

A TRC with three screws on a genuine Gibson LP or SG is usually a red flag for a possible fake unless someone swapped out the TRC and prefers said style of TRC.

A TRC with three screws on a Flying V has been the norm for decades, yet for some reason on the "Flying V History" model that was released a few years ago, a smaller TRC was used with only two screws instead of three which makes it look like a fake even though that's how they are shipped from the factory.

Pictured below

Left: Flying V History
Right: '67 Reissue

Back to the SG, I would just clean it up and give it a proper setup and play it for what it is. As far as its perceived worth is concerned, if it makes you happy when you play it, then it is priceless.

 

[PermissionToLand]

This. Fretboard looks exactly like my old '69 Special. And I don't think they made bound boards with dots in the mid-70s SGs, right?

Yep, the fretboard rules out anything past 1971.

I'm not a horns or bevels purist, but just as an observation, I find it odd that from looking at the top of the guitar, the carve on the horns are typical of early 60's style, yet the backside of the guitar has a late 60's control cavity shape.

Factory headstock logos that are either silkscreened or waterslide decals are usually smooth underneath the clear with no raised edges. This one does not appear to be done at the factory.

In addition, by 1970 the headstock logotype was changed to block style and had a closed "b" and "o", where this one clearly does not.

A TRC with three screws on a genuine Gibson LP or SG is usually a red flag for a possible fake unless someone swapped out the TRC and prefers said style of TRC.

The beveling is not out of line for a '66-68 model. It didn't start getting really shallow until '69.

Here's a 1967:

The original logo for a Special should be a MOP inlay. That, the TRC and the whole shape being off suggests the HS was broken off and just rebuilt from scratch.

I've seen people restore much worse guitars, but he'd have to be willing to spend a decent amount of money. With the current vintage bubble, it could be worth it if it doesn't burst first!