Gibson SG Special Sparkling Burgundy, 2019 (No Longer Available)

The Gibson SG Special first appeared under that name in 1963, but began as the Les Paul Special in 1955, and was discontinued in 1971.

Construction is pretty straightforward, with a slab Mahogany body and a Mahogany neck with Rosewood fingerboard. Indian Rosewood replaced Brazilian around 1965. For electronics, a pair of P90 pickups were used for the entire production run with a pickup selector, Volume and Tone controls and an output jack on the top. For hardware, Kluson Deluxe tuners were used, and often a stop-bar bridge / tailpiece combo, which later had a ‘stairstep’ ridge for better intonation. From 1962, a short Maestro Vibrola was an optional extra, and the stop-bar bridge was still used.

The SG Special took a prominent role in a number of influential albums. A 1968 SG Special (through Hiwatt CP103 amps) can be found on The Who’s Live at Leeds album from 1970, and several early Black Sabbath albums featured an SG Special with pickups modified by the late John Birch.

This Gibson SG Special example sports was built during 2019 in Nashville and an eye-catching Sparkle Burgundy finish and is in good condition, with some natural lacquer checking on the top and back. It’s light and very comfortable to play and has unrestricted access to all the frets, perhaps the most accessible neck of any Gibson. The ‘Slim Taper’ profile is wider than sometimes narrow 1960’s fingerboards, and quite a bit slimmer than 1950’s necks.

The original P-90’s and stock wiring harness have been replaced with McNelly Soap Bar P-90s and an Emerson harness; the original components are included in the case.

The model designation for this discontinued Gibson SG Special model is “SGSP19VNCH1”, and it was available in Vintage Sparkling Burgundy and Faded Pelham Blue. A Gibson Archive site still – for now – maintains its page which can be found here. The inspection card included with this guitar has a date of 12/13 18, December 13 2018 as a 2019 model.

The original brown, Gibson branded hard shell case is included.