Used Vintage 1966 Gibson SG Special

Sonic Evaluation

Wildwoodians, your mileage may vary because all ears hear differently, but this '66 SG Special is one of my personal favorite vintage guitars we've had in the shop. Judging by how many people came running to examine it themselves after I plugged it in, it seems that the Wildwood staff agrees with me! It exemplifies everything I love about about a P-90 equipped guitar. It has a big, resonant woody that rings out with surprising power acoustically, and that translates to a powerful electric tone dripping with lush harmonic overtones. It's also super dynamic and responsive with excellent articulation, so you can really shape its sounds depending on how hard you hit. When you play softly, it has this gorgeous, sweet, open, warm sound. When you dig in, it really snarls and bites, giving you a lovely crunch and sparkle.

If you're looking for pugilistic P-90 tone and vintage mojo, you owe it to yourselves to check this SG special out!

Condition Report

This 1966 SG has mojo for days, and it has accrued some battle scars over the course of its long, illustrious life. It's also clearly been a player, as evidenced by the many modifications it has undergone. It shows the typical scratches, dings, chips, and areas of checking we expect to see on a guitar of this vintage, and it looks awesome. A previous owner replaced the tuners with aftermarket Grovers with pearloid buttons, and the holes in the headstock have been enlarged to accommodate the bigger tuners. Additionally, there are new screw holes, and one screw has broken off in the headstock.

At some point, someone removed the original vibrola tailpiece and installed a stopbar, moving the bridge posts somewhat inexpertly (it appears the tinkerer used some type of epoxy putting). Nevertheless, it's solid as a rock! The neck pickup is not original and appears to be from the seventies, and the bridge pickup could be original as it is period-correct. However, it is intermittent. It works properly sometimes and measures 7.99k ohms, but will sometimes measure 4.58k ohms as if only half the coil is working.

Beyond that, the frets are original and show some wear, measuring .101 inches by .025 inches. They also seem to have been re-crowned. All the plastics and the pots, caps, switches, and output jack are original. Also, it comes with its original hardshell case.

All in all, this is a killer player-grade vintage guitar that's ready to deliver tons of mojo at an awesome value!