Incoming NGD Gibson SG-1

[ZEEGLER]

There's something about Christmas!
I just made a deal for this 1997 SG-1. I just gotta go pick it up.


I already own two of these and I've been looking for a third one for a couple of years.


On the left is my 1998, and the one on the right is a 2000

I'll be doing the same mods to this one as with the other two. Added neck pickup and 3-way toggle. I already have a set of Seth Lovers to go in this one.

Why on earth do I need 3 of them? I dunno, they're just fantastic guitars. I love the size and shape of the neck. I like the lack of a pick guard, and I prefer the control layout to the standard 4 knob scheme on other SGs. These also have 24 frets.

According to the SG Wiki, the SG-1 was introduced in 1995 and then in 1998 was re-named the SG-X and at that point Gibson introduced the Summer Beach Series in bright colors and added a pickguard. This one is a 1997, and the seller is the original owner. Included with the guitar is a pickguard that is the same style as the ones on the later SG-X models. It appears that the SG-1s all came with the pickguard, and they left it up to the customer whether they installed it or not. You will notice in the picture above that the one on the right has SG-X on the truss rod cover. That's because it is from 2000, so it's definitely an SG-X. But, still no pick guard! I can only assume that Gibson continued the practice of including, but not installing the pick guard at least on the ones in the standard colors. The other two I own did not come with the pick guard, so I'm guessing they were lost by one of the previous owners. An interesting note; both of my previous ones were bought right before Christmas.

Here's a pic of the 1997 with the pickguard (not installed, just sitting there).


So there you have it. More than you ever wanted to know about the Gibson SG-1/SG-X.

[GuitarBilly]

These are great guitars indeed. I had one in the late 00's. I'd love to buy another if I found a good deal on one. Congrats man!

[Zozobra]

I do find myself liking the idea of a stripped back single pickup guitar. It's not like I use the neck pickup with any kind of regularity anyway

[GuitarBilly]

Yeah I love single pickup guitars.

[ZEEGLER]

It is pretty cool as it is with the single pickup, but I'll be adding the neck pickup just like the others.

[ZEEGLER]

Well, just got it home. This is incredible. It feels and plays exactly like the other two. I gotta say that the late 90s/early 2000s must have been a good era for Gibson. The consistency is astounding. I can't wait to get in the shop and do the necessary mods to this one.

By the way, any of you guys watch Dave's World of Fun Stuff on YouTube?

[valtyr]

Congrats!

Sometimes I watch Dave’s channel.

[ZEEGLER]

Congrats!

Sometimes I watch Dave’s channel.

So, I'm at the seller's house checking out the guitar, and he looks out the window and says out of the blue "oh you probably know that guy". I'm like "huh!". He says you ever watch Dave's World of Fun Stuff? He lives next door. Sure enough, I go look out the window and there's Dave getting into his car. What are the odds?

[RaceU4her]

love these! nice score

[vickno]

I love one-pickup guitars and this SG is gorgeous ! But what is the switch for ?

[ZEEGLER]

I love one-pickup guitars and this SG is gorgeous ! But what is the switch for ?

I'm not 100% sure, but I would assume it's either a coil tap, or series/parallel switch for the two coils of the humbucker. Either way, it's a function that I don't use, and when I add the neck pickup, the mini switch will be replaced by a standard 3 way switch.

[GuitarBilly]

Yeah it's a coil tap.

[Diddlybo]

How do you get the wiring from the neck pup to the control cavity? I think Gibson drills the hole for the wires before the neck is attached, so the angle going to the cavity won't be as steep.

[ZEEGLER]

How do you get the wiring from the neck pup to the control cavity? I think Gibson drills the hole for the wires before the neck is attached, so the angle going to the cavity won't be as steep.

Funny you ask that because the seller asked me the same thing when I told him that I was adding the neck pickup. On most guitars, that would mean using my 1/4" X 12" drill bit and drilling from the control cavity to the new pickup cavity. It's a terrifying thing to do, given that if you drill at the wrong angle, you could drill through the top of the guitar. I've had to do this a number of times, even once on a guitar I built because I forgot to provide a channel before gluing everything together. However, if I remember correctly on the previous one of these that I did, there was already a hole drilled from the neck mortise down through the body to the bridge pickup cavity. So when I routed the neck pickup cavity, there it was. How convenient!

[Diddlybo]

How do you get the wiring from the neck pup to the control cavity? I think Gibson drills the hole for the wires before the neck is attached, so the angle going to the cavity won't be as steep.

Funny you ask that because the seller asked me the same thing when I told him that I was adding the neck pickup. On most guitars, that would mean using my 1/4" X 12" drill bit and drilling from the control cavity to the new pickup cavity. It's a terrifying thing to do, given that if you drill at the wrong angle, you could drill through the top of the guitar. I've had to do this a number of times, even once on a guitar I built because I forgot to provide a channel before gluing everything together. However, if I remember correctly on the previous one of these that I did, there was already a hole drilled from the neck mortise down through the body to the bridge pickup cavity. So when I routed the neck pickup cavity, there it was. How convenient!

Hopefully the channel will already be there on this one as well. I understand the terrifying part. I would have to have a stiff drink before I started drilling into a thin guitar like an SG.