1963 Gibson Les Paul Standard (SG)
It may seem unbelievable today, but players in 1960 felt the original single cutaway Les Paul Standard had outstayed its welcome and that year Gibson dropped it from the catalog. Today, the final variation of the Les Paul Standard (the legendary Sunburst, as we now call it) is one of the most highly coveted vintage guitars in all of stringdom. Its replacement, a sexy double cutaway, hasn’t reached as wide acclaim as its predecessor but in many ways it has become more popular in contemporary music.
In designing the new guitar, Gibson was undoubtedly influenced by the California competition, as the SG not only featured a dual cutaway design, but also comfort contours on the body, and the majority were built with a standard vibrato, all features that appeared on the Stratocaster. Originally the new model was called the Les Paul, and today’s Catch still sports its original Les Paul truss rod cover. But in 1963, Gibson’s endorsement deal with Les Paul ended and as he didn’t really care for the new design, he insisted Gibson drop his name from it. In late 1963 Gibson renamed the model the SG.
With a solid mahogany body and neck, the SG may lack some of the treble snap and sustain that a maple capped Les Paul produces, but the distinctive midrange growl and cutting power of the SG has been heard on countless rock n roll, psychedelic, punk, alternative and indie recordings for as long as the model has been available. Some great examples of SG tone is in the Monterey Pop film (where seemingly every other band has at least one SG on stage), as well as many of George Harrison’s more aggressive moments on The Beatles’ Revolver and White Album. The SG is also the signature guitar of AC/DC’s Angus Young and Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi.
Another plus for many players is that the Les Paul/ SG is also a guitar that is significantly lighter in weight than most Les Pauls.One negative aspect of the SG is that the thin body with its shallow neck joint was prone to breakage. Happily this example has remained intact, and it’s even more unbelievable that it appears it has been living in its original chipboard for fifty years! 1963 is also late in the game for PAF stickered pickups, as Gibson began using stickers with the patent number as early as 1962. This guitar is priced at $12,000 and it is for sale at Elderly Instruments.
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Les Paul did play the new style for a while but from the expression on his face, he doesn’t really seem to be that happy about it.
