While it will always seem incongruous to modern eyes, the first SG-shaped twin-humbucker electrics Gibson made were, of course, originally badged as ‘Les Pauls’ before Lester’s name was removed in 1963 and the model became the SG proper. Gary possessed a notably clean example, Steve Clarke, Bonhams guitar expert, explains.
“This is a lovely guitar,” he says. “You’ve got [Patent Applied For pickups] on it. The bridge pickup is 7.53k and the neck is 8.45k. Really nice nickel plating [on the covers], by the way. It’s also got the retaining wire on the ABR-1 bridge [first introduced in 1962] and I also made a note that the bridge is showing signs of dipping in the middle, so that would need straightening.
“I have straightened [old ABR-1s] a few times; it’s a bit tricky. You’ve got to be careful it doesn’t crack – and it’s a chance you take. I’ve not broken one, but you still hold your breath! But yeah, this one’s got the dip in the middle.”
Steve says that among the often heavily modded guitars of Gary’s collection, this SG-shape Les Paul is in clean, relatively original shape.
“It’s got a long neck tenon and none of the solder joints [on the pots] look like they’ve been changed. They’ve not come off, which is another nice thing to see. Plus those pickup covers have never come off. That was another thing I noticed.”
Not quite everything is bob-on original, though, and at least two very common mods that made the guitar more usable in the line of professional duty have been made to the guitar.
“It’s had a refret and the current frets are 2.64mm wire. The tulip-button Klusons are repros, too.”
Steve adds that the weight of the SG-shape Les Paul is a feather-like 2.8kg (6.12lb) – and conjectures that this light weight and the desire to avoid the infamous neck-dive sometimes experienced with this model might partly explain why repro plastic Klusons are fitted on this guitar, rather than the chunky (and relatively heavy) Grovers that Gary sometimes favoured when fitting replacement machineheads.
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