I haven't done a white 1965 #SGSpecial in a while... 😆 . My recent experience with restoring the original vibrato assembly to the 61 #LesPaul Junior (and the subsequent realization that it completely sucked the joy out of playing that #guitar, and the subsequent putting it back to a hardtail as soon as possible!) has got me thinking...maybe this guitar would benefit from being converted to a #wraparound tailpiece too? I have a second vintage SG Special (a 1962), which is a hardtail, and it is so much more lively than this one. Otherwise the two of them are almost identical #guitars, so could it just be the vibrato that is causing the difference between them? Or is the '62 hardtail just a naturally outstanding instrument due to some perfect storm of superior materials and/or craftsmanship coming together on the day it was made? . So here's what I proprose...an experiment, if you will. Dare I try removing the short vibrola from this guitar and see what happens to the sound/sustain/resonance? It's going to leave three gaping holes in the top...but if the results are good it may be worth it? It won't look as cool all mangled, but if taking the vibrato off gets it closer to the sound and sustain my '62 then I won't care what it looks like! . Let me know if you think I should proceed or just leave well enough alone! 😆 . . #gibson #gibsonsg #sgjunior #p90s #maestrovibrola #guitarra #chitarra #guitarre #electricguitar #vintageguitars #vintagegibson #gibsonguitars #tone #guitargear #guitarsdaily #guitarsofinstagram #geartalk #vintagegear #gibsonsofinstagram #guitarphotography https://www.instagram.com/p/CFPn5AsB-fy/?igshid=o738rn98lkz2
My ride for this afternoon. 1961 #Gibson #LesPaul Junior into my 1965 #Fender #Vibrolux Reverb. I don’t know what it is about #wraparound tailpieces. They make a #guitar so resonant and punchy. I have been playing this guitar nonstop since I got it a week ago. #gibsunday #lespauljunior #guitars #guitarra #chitarra #guitarre #electricguitar #vintageguitars #vintagegibson #gibsonguitars #tone #guitargear #guitarsdaily #guitarsofinstagram #geartalk #vintagegear #gibsonsofinstagram #guitarphotography https://www.instagram.com/p/BqlAna_HuMs/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=3fapqk7rkleg
My idea of the ultimate #LesPaul. Not a #reissue. Spotted on my visit to @capsulemusic yesterday. You can see it has had a different tailpiece at one point, but I don't care. #gibsunday #gibson #goldtop #wraparound #gibsonguitars #vintageguitars #vintageguitars #guitar #guitars #guitarshop #guitarshopping #capsulemusic #toronto #guitarphotography
A #guitar does not have to be #vintage to be incredible. This 2009 #Gibson Custom #LesPaul Special #TV #VOS is one of the best feeling, playing and sounding #guitars I have had the privilege to own. Believe it or not, despite the plain #wraparound #bridge, this guitar has perfect #intonation! Seen here with my June, 1965 #Fender #Vibrolux #Reverb, on its @atlasstands #ampstrand. #gibsoncustom #customshop #gibsonguitars #lespaulspecial #tvyellow #guitarcollection #amp #amplifier #fenderamps #vintageamps #vintagefenders #ampphotography #guitarphotography #gibsunday
Tonight's project: put the original #wraparound compensated #tailpiece back on the '62 #Gibson #SG Special. I had been using a modern repro bridge with proper compensation for a plain G, but in the end it didn't make the tuning *that* much better and every time I looked at this #guitar I knew we were just living a lie together. Original parts ftw! 😄😅😆 #guitars #gibsonguitars #vintageguitars #vintagegibsons #gibsonsg #sgspecial #diy #guitarrepair #guitarsetup #guitarcollection #guitarphotography
What about a #LesPaul for a change? 2009 #Gibson #LesPaulSpecial #VOS. I say this a lot, but this #guitar is one of the top 5 in my collection for sound and playability. And if you have concerns about #intonation on a non-compensated #wraparound #bridge, worry not! This simple wraparound has perfect intonation! Seriously...it does! Don't believe me? Come over this weekend and try it out for yourself! 😄😅😆 #guitars #gibsonguitars #gibsonlespaul #lp #tvyellow #gibsoncustom #customshop #guitarphotography
Which one is the real #vintage #SG and which one is the #replica? Before I found my genuine #PolarisWhite 1965 #Gibson #SGSpecial a few weeks ago, I bought this replica, which started out life as a black 2007 #SGClassic. A company on the east coast of #Canada called #LegendCustomGuitars stripped it down to bare wood, filled all the routes, re-routed for a #wraparound #bridge and half-face #pickguard and #refinished the whole affair in #Polaris. The replica #guitar had been on loan to a friend for the last couple of months, so this is the first chance I have had to photograph them together, and I must say that it's much closer to the original than I thought it would be! The only really glaring differences that jump out at me are the steeper bevel angle on the repro pickguard, the un-yellowed #headstock inlay, and the shallower bevels inside the #cutaways. The colour is almost identical to the original...much closer than I thought it would be! PS: the replica is for sale if you live in or near #Toronto and are interested. Special price for IG friends! 😉 #guitars #gibsonguitars #gibsunday #gibsonsg #sgspecial #guitarcollection #guitarphotography
Not #vintage. And perhaps more importantly, not an #SG! 😂 But this 2009 #Gibson #Custom '60 #LesPaul Special #TV #VOS is one of my best playing #guitars. And interestingly, despite the non-compensated #wraparound #tailpiece, has absolutely perfect #intonation. It also the best-looking back-of-a-headstock of any of my guitars, with the *possible* exception of the #ES355 and its super groovy "waffle" #tuners. "Favourite back of a headstock" is a thing, right?? 😂 #guitar #gibsonguitar #gibsoncustom #customshop #lespaulspecial #tvyellow #guitarphotography
A #P90 and a #wraparound are all you need. 2009 #Gibson Custom #LesPaul Special TV #VOS. #guitar #guitars #gibsonguitars #gibsunday #gibsonlespaul #customshop #lespaulspecial #guitarcollection #tvyellow #guitarphotography
Here's one from the ol' #guitarcollection that doesn't get a lot of noise but is a truly great and rare instrument: it's a 2009 #Epiphone 1962 #Wilshire #USA #Reissue. Only 100 of these were built (by the #Gibson #CustomShop in #Nashville), 50 in #vintage #cherry and 50 in #AlpineWhite. It's super light at roughly 6 lbs, and plays incredibly well. I looked for one of these for 3 long years, and finally ended up finding this one at @rumbleseatmusic in #Ithaca, #NY in late 2014, on my way home from a guitar shopping mini-trip to #NewYorkCity. One day I'd love to add a #vintage early '60s #Coronet (the single #P90 & #wraparound #tailpiece version of this guitar) to the collection... #guitar #guitars #epi #epiphoneguitars #vintageepiphone #guitarphotography
Macro Thursday? Another look at the cleverly stealthy compensated #wraparound #bridge/#tailpiece on my '61#Gibson #LesPaul #SG #Junior. #guitar #guitars #gibsonguitars #vintageguitars #vintagegibson #lespauljunior #sgjunior #guitarphotography
So I removed the weird, but original, #Maestro #Vibrola #tailpiece from the '61 Les Paul SG Junior, because I could not figure it out! People kept saying "just #topwrap it!" but since the #strings loaded from the back instead of the front (as they do on other models of this #vibrato system), it was not possible to top wrap. so I wimped out and made it back into a #hardtail. HOWEVER, rather than going back to the plain #wraparound - or the original "#lighningbolt" #compensated #bridge (which is compensated for a #wound G string) - I installed this modern take on the #compensated wraparound. Very subtle, isn't it? Unless you look closely you don't even notice it's not a regular, uncompensated wraparound! This actually does improve the #intonation over the plain wraparound. Although the plain wraparound is quite good, I found the G (that pesky g string again!) was not close enough and would bother my ear whenever playing above about the 10th fret. On my 2009 #LesPaul #Special, the plain wraparound has PERFECT intonation - as good as a bridge with adjustable #saddles. Not sure why that would be different on this guitar...but it is! #guitars #gibsonguitars #vintageguitars#vintagegibsons #gibsonsg #sgjunior#lespauljunior #lespaulspecial#guitarphotography
To quote Bart Simpson: "work was hard, so we quit". I could not figure out how to string the weird #Maestro #Vibrola properly on the 1961 #Gibson #LesPaul #SG #Junior...and the internets weren't any help at all, so I magically transformed the #guitar back into a #wraparound #hardtail. Now it's fun to play again! ;) #gibsonguitars #vintageguitars #vintagegibsons #gibsonsg #sgjunior #lespauljunior #diy #guitarrepair #guitarphotography
I removed the #wraparound #tailpiece and reinstalled the original #vibrato on my 1961 #Gibson #LesPaul #SG #Junior. Now I am trying to wrap my head around it! The #strings are anchored in the back of the tailpiece, so they go underneath and up over the #lightningbolt #bridge, but this has the curious effect of raising the #pitch when the arm is depressed and lowering it when the arm is pulled up - precisely the opposite of EVERY OTHER VIBRATO EVER INVENTED! I am convinced I am doing something wrong in the way I'm stringing it, but I can't see another way to do it, and there is pretty much zero information about this vibrato on Internets. HELP! #guitar #guitars #vintageguitars #vintagegibsons #gibsonlespaul #lespauljunior #sgjunior #guitarphotography
Another view of the funky original #vibrato system that came with my '61 #LesPaul #SG #Junior, but I had removed to convert it to a regular #hardtail with a #wraparound #tailpiece. Later models of this system had "#Maestro" engraved on one side of the leading edge and the #strings loaded from the front and wrapped under, around and back over the tailpiece, unlike this model where the strings load from the back, go under the tailpiece and up over the bridge. This has the curious effect of raising the #pitch when you push down on the arm, and lowering it when you pull up! Or...maybe I am not installing the strings correctly. This is more likely actually... ;) #guitar #guitars #gibsonguitars #vintageguitars #vintagegibson #gibsonsg #sgjunior #gibsonlespaul #guitarphotography
15 days ago I posted a shot of my '61 #Gibson #LesPaul #SG #Junior that showed a triangle-shaped set of three holes in the top behind the #wraparound bridge left over from removing the original and unusual #Maestro #Vibrola. At the time I promised @danlacek that I would put it back on the guitar and post a shot so he could see what this unusual #tremolo assembly looked like! Well I haven't put it back yet...but on the plus side I found a shot taken in 2013 that shows the #vibrato on the day I bought it. So you can see that it is a completely different system than the more common "short" Maestro that you sent a lot on SG Specials. From what I have seen, Gibson used this trem only for a couple of years in the early 60s, and if you look hard enough you can find photos of other SGs and even an #Epiphone #Coronet or two that have this system. #guitars #gibsonguitars #vintagegibsons #gibsonsg #sgjunior #lespauljunior #vintageguitars #guitarcollection #guitarphotography
"Reflections of...the way life used to be..." - D. Ross, 1967 The bottom of the #wraparound #bridge on my 60s #SG Special #replica reflecting nicely in the #guitar's shiny top. #dianaross #thesupremes #reflections #motown #guitars #gibson #gibsonsg #gibsonguitars #sgspecial #guitarcollection #guitarphotography