70s SG I, II, III

analogsystem · 02-13-2009, 03:44 PM

Hello all, I know a lot of people seem to dislike some 70s Gibsons but I have been noticing all these 70s SGs under $1000 lately!

Have any of you had any experience with a SG-I, SG-II, or SG-III? They had mini-humbuckers with black plastic covers.

Here's a really beat up example stolen from the web:

I have my eye on a cheap SG I which just has one bridge mini humbucker.....I think it could be a killer no-frills rock machine....but I don't want to spend $700 on a dud.

I also don't like Gibsons 50s rounded profile neck and the tall frets they use these days.....I heard the 70s SG necks are much smaller?

Thanks!
-Dave

Skynyrdpicker · 02-13-2009, 03:48 PM

I saw a 70's SG II with SD humbuckers (re-routed guitar) for $400 around here recently. I think I posted it here somewhere, but everybody just said to go play it and see how it feels! There's not much out there in terms of info on these, but they look pretty cool!

analogsystem · 02-15-2009, 03:03 PM

Well I've got an SG I coming in the mail now! I sent a "best offer" on ebay that I didn't think for a minute they'd accept but they did! The market is crazy right now. I can't pay my rent but it sure is a great time to get vintage gear!

I don't think I've ever had a one pickup guitar....looking forward to the simplicity, and the mini-humbucker.

I am really hoping it's the same as gibson's regular mini but in plastic instead of metal.

Skynyrdpicker · 02-15-2009, 03:20 PM

Glad to hear you got a good deal! Let's see her when you get her

Congrats!

EEF13 · 02-15-2009, 09:58 PM

I like the look of that SG

slither · 02-22-2009, 12:35 AM

I have a 74 SG Special, which has the mini humbuckers with black plastic covers. It's a really nice guitar. I've had it since 82, it was my first electric, and my main guitar in my breif band period.

I don't know how the neck compares to a 50's neck, but the neck on mine is rounded and pretty chunky, though the frets are low and wide, and kinda worn by now! I hope to snag a digital camera this week and put picks of it up. 70's Gibsons get a bad wrap from some quarters, but the 2 I have are fine guitars. Its like any production year, there will be good and not so good ones.

If you can get to play one first, and it feels and sounds good, and its a decent price, go for it. Little things can be fixed with a decent set up, and then you have yourself a killer guitar. Best of luck.

69GTLP · 02-23-2009, 02:23 PM

My very first electric guitar was a SG II, dark walnut. I paid $400 for it back in 88. While trippin one night painted it with dayglo paint as I listened to Cream. It had a really narrow neck, sounded great thru my Fender Pro Reverb. I sold it two years ago for $475 and it needed a refin, a refret and had scratchy pots. It served me well for almost 20 years. Great guitars for the money.

analogsystem · 02-25-2009, 01:50 PM

Well I received the guitar this morning. I bought it on ebay from a shop in NY I think. They were nice enough to set up the guitar for 12-52 for me. My first impressions are that it plays well and the neck depth / shape is fantastic, thought it is a little narrow, especially towards the nut.

It is completely weightless and with the little tiny neck, it kind of feels like a toy, which I dig....for total manhandling at shows!

It sounds ok unplugged....not exactly vibrant but not totally dead either. The single pickup....sounds like a single coil! I cannot believe it. It has no hum, and I am pretty sure it's a bucker but it really really sounds single coil to me....it has that "throaty" snap that a strat pup, NOT a p90 has....weird. It doesn't seem overly bright as a strat bridge pup would be though. I only tested it through my little practice amp at home so testing it through the big tube amps at my practice space will be the real test....very interesting.

I actually emailed Gibson to ask about these black plastic covered mini-humbuckers with no pole pieces and they said they have no records but the dude who responded guessed that it would be closer to a firebird pickup...ie rails, not bar magnet and screws. Could this account for that single coilishness? It definitely does not take gain the way the bridge on my RI firebird does....that guitar gets nasty and chunky....this one seems better suited for fuzz leads, not chugs and squealies.

More info when I've had a chance to break it in.

Here's a pic from the ebay auction (not my amp):

doublecut · 02-15-2010, 07:37 AM

I've got a Gibson SG II from around 1973.

The stock black cover minibuckers with no screw adjustments are a low output low DC resistance wind and have Ceramic magnets.

I know they have Ceramic magnets because I took one apart (they are not made to be taken apart unlike Duncans etc) and did a metal conductivity test on the magnet with a signal tester and a ohmeter and a Alnico magnet will beep when the signal tester probes are put on it at different places indicating that it's a conducting metal like a wire is and a Ceramic magnet will not beep when the signal test is done indicating that it's not a conductive metal.

A ohmeter will show a steady normal resistance value with a Alnico magnet and with a Ceramic it won't or the reading will not be steady with a digital ohmeter.

I did the same tests on a Seymour Duncan SM-3b minibucker Alnico 5 magnet and it showed that it was a Alnico magnet.

The body wood of the SG II seems to be Mahogany and seems to be a 3 piece body and the whole guitar weighs around 5 and a half to 6 pounds.
They came in Walnut and Cherry finishes.
Same goes for the SG I.
The SG III has a Burst type finish.
The Volume pots etc are on a control plate.

1972
SG-III $299.50
SG-II $279.50
SG-I $249.50

1973/74
SG-III $310
SG-II $290
SG-I $259

http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/SGtimeline70s.php

I've replaced the stock Ceramic black minibuckers with a Seymour Duncan SM-3b minibucker 12.5K DC resistance Alnico 5 in the bridge which is hotter than a PAF and a GFS FAT 7.5K Alnico 5 minibucker in the neck which is very good and sounds PAF like and the GFS FAT 8.6K Alnico 5 bridge is very good as well and sounds PAF like.

damndirtyape71 · 07-25-2010, 08:09 PM

I've got a 74 SG-II. It's neck is so small it's silly. It's got oodles of mojo, and while I'm not invited to the vintage club with it, it's a great sounding guitar. Check it out -

YouTube - 1974 Gibson SG-II thru JS-8

02-13-2009, 03:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
analogsystem Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Seattle Posts: 680 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	70s SG I, II, III Hello all, I know a lot of people seem to dislike some 70s Gibsons but I have been noticing all these 70s SGs under $1000 lately! Have any of you had any experience with a SG-I, SG-II, or SG-III? They had mini-humbuckers with black plastic covers. Here's a really beat up example stolen from the web: I have my eye on a cheap SG I which just has one bridge mini humbucker.....I think it could be a killer no-frills rock machine....but I don't want to spend $700 on a dud. I also don't like Gibsons 50s rounded profile neck and the tall frets they use these days.....I heard the 70s SG necks are much smaller? Thanks! -Dave __________________ www.wahwahexitwound.com

02-13-2009, 03:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
Skynyrdpicker Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Montreal Posts: 3,863 Thanks: 79 Thanked 24 Times in 12 Posts	Re: 70s SG I, II, III I saw a 70's SG II with SD humbuckers (re-routed guitar) for $400 around here recently. I think I posted it here somewhere, but everybody just said to go play it and see how it feels! There's not much out there in terms of info on these, but they look pretty cool!

02-15-2009, 03:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
analogsystem Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Seattle Posts: 680 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: 70s SG I, II, III Well I've got an SG I coming in the mail now! I sent a "best offer" on ebay that I didn't think for a minute they'd accept but they did! The market is crazy right now. I can't pay my rent but it sure is a great time to get vintage gear! I don't think I've ever had a one pickup guitar....looking forward to the simplicity, and the mini-humbucker. I am really hoping it's the same as gibson's regular mini but in plastic instead of metal. __________________ www.wahwahexitwound.com

02-15-2009, 03:20 PM	#4 (permalink)
Skynyrdpicker Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Montreal Posts: 3,863 Thanks: 79 Thanked 24 Times in 12 Posts	Re: 70s SG I, II, III Glad to hear you got a good deal! Let's see her when you get her Congrats!

02-15-2009, 09:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
EEF13 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Panama City, Panama Posts: 8,406 Thanks: 307 Thanked 656 Times in 260 Posts	Re: 70s SG I, II, III I like the look of that SG

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02-22-2009, 12:35 AM	#6 (permalink)
slither Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Shire (aka God's Country), Sydney, Australia Posts: 1,250 Thanks: 31 Thanked 8 Times in 4 Posts	Re: 70s SG I, II, III I have a 74 SG Special, which has the mini humbuckers with black plastic covers. It's a really nice guitar. I've had it since 82, it was my first electric, and my main guitar in my breif band period. I don't know how the neck compares to a 50's neck, but the neck on mine is rounded and pretty chunky, though the frets are low and wide, and kinda worn by now! I hope to snag a digital camera this week and put picks of it up. 70's Gibsons get a bad wrap from some quarters, but the 2 I have are fine guitars. Its like any production year, there will be good and not so good ones. If you can get to play one first, and it feels and sounds good, and its a decent price, go for it. Little things can be fixed with a decent set up, and then you have yourself a killer guitar. Best of luck. __________________ Minds, like parachutes, only work when they are open. Guitars 2009 PRS Howard Leese Golden Eagle #88/100 2010 PRS McCarty Shootout #12/50 2003 Les Paul 1957 Reissue Brazilian (Goldtop) 2007 Les Paul 1959 Reissue (Washed Cherry) 2007 Les Paul 1958 Reissue (Iced Tea) 1978 Hamer Sunburst 1974 SG Special (Cherry)

02-23-2009, 02:23 PM	#7 (permalink)
69GTLP Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: MPLS MN Posts: 441 Thanks: 2 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Re: 70s SG I, II, III My very first electric guitar was a SG II, dark walnut. I paid $400 for it back in 88. While trippin one night painted it with dayglo paint as I listened to Cream. It had a really narrow neck, sounded great thru my Fender Pro Reverb. I sold it two years ago for $475 and it needed a refin, a refret and had scratchy pots. It served me well for almost 20 years. Great guitars for the money. __________________ Chris Tom Petty Junkie

02-25-2009, 01:50 PM	#8 (permalink)
analogsystem Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Seattle Posts: 680 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: 70s SG I, II, III Well I received the guitar this morning. I bought it on ebay from a shop in NY I think. They were nice enough to set up the guitar for 12-52 for me. My first impressions are that it plays well and the neck depth / shape is fantastic, thought it is a little narrow, especially towards the nut. It is completely weightless and with the little tiny neck, it kind of feels like a toy, which I dig....for total manhandling at shows! It sounds ok unplugged....not exactly vibrant but not totally dead either. The single pickup....sounds like a single coil! I cannot believe it. It has no hum, and I am pretty sure it's a bucker but it really really sounds single coil to me....it has that "throaty" snap that a strat pup, NOT a p90 has....weird. It doesn't seem overly bright as a strat bridge pup would be though. I only tested it through my little practice amp at home so testing it through the big tube amps at my practice space will be the real test....very interesting. I actually emailed Gibson to ask about these black plastic covered mini-humbuckers with no pole pieces and they said they have no records but the dude who responded guessed that it would be closer to a firebird pickup...ie rails, not bar magnet and screws. Could this account for that single coilishness? It definitely does not take gain the way the bridge on my RI firebird does....that guitar gets nasty and chunky....this one seems better suited for fuzz leads, not chugs and squealies. More info when I've had a chance to break it in. Here's a pic from the ebay auction (not my amp): __________________ www.wahwahexitwound.com

02-15-2010, 07:37 AM	#9 (permalink)
doublecut Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 379 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 3 Posts	Re: 70s SG I, II, III I've got a Gibson SG II from around 1973. The stock black cover minibuckers with no screw adjustments are a low output low DC resistance wind and have Ceramic magnets. I know they have Ceramic magnets because I took one apart (they are not made to be taken apart unlike Duncans etc) and did a metal conductivity test on the magnet with a signal tester and a ohmeter and a Alnico magnet will beep when the signal tester probes are put on it at different places indicating that it's a conducting metal like a wire is and a Ceramic magnet will not beep when the signal test is done indicating that it's not a conductive metal. A ohmeter will show a steady normal resistance value with a Alnico magnet and with a Ceramic it won't or the reading will not be steady with a digital ohmeter. I did the same tests on a Seymour Duncan SM-3b minibucker Alnico 5 magnet and it showed that it was a Alnico magnet. The body wood of the SG II seems to be Mahogany and seems to be a 3 piece body and the whole guitar weighs around 5 and a half to 6 pounds. They came in Walnut and Cherry finishes. Same goes for the SG I. The SG III has a Burst type finish. The Volume pots etc are on a control plate. 1972 SG-III $299.50 SG-II $279.50 SG-I $249.50 1973/74 SG-III $310 SG-II $290 SG-I $259 http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/SGtimeline70s.php I've replaced the stock Ceramic black minibuckers with a Seymour Duncan SM-3b minibucker 12.5K DC resistance Alnico 5 in the bridge which is hotter than a PAF and a GFS FAT 7.5K Alnico 5 minibucker in the neck which is very good and sounds PAF like and the GFS FAT 8.6K Alnico 5 bridge is very good as well and sounds PAF like. Last edited by doublecut; 02-15-2010 at 10:21 AM.

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