SG II restoration project

This weekend I picked up my mates Gibson SGII that had been drowned in the floods a few years back to finish off the restoration for him, all of the bits are there so it's only a matter of a refin and rewire to get it humming again.

The serial suggests it was build 70-72 or 74-76 in Kalamazoo, but he was playing it in 1972 so it has to be the earlier build window.

The pickups are the much unloved Gibson single coils so we'll see how it sounds when finished, the only non original bits are GOTOH tuners that are identical to the broken Gibson original that he couldn't get genuine branded replacements for.

The originals are marked Gibson Delux on the gear covers and this is the only detour

Attachment 28695

Once this one is sorted he has a 73 Tele Delux that suffered the same drowning and needs the same help

Never seen one of them before.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wazkelly

Never seen one of them before.

---

Looks I have the model name wrong it was an SG 200

There was also an SG 100 which had a single pup in the neck position.

This SG 200 belongs to Wes the guy who plays pedal steel for us and back in the early 70s when he and Max were a duo Max had the SG 100 so I'll see if I can get a pic of the two guitars side by side

A link to a bit about them and some pics
http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/t...-odd-71-72-sg/

Just found more info, the SG250 that I just named and then removed was a cherry burst whereas the 100 & 200 were single colour.

The SG originally had P90 style pickups and these single coils were a carry over from the discontinued Melody Maker and the design wasn't popular because the body was bigger than the original SG and the pickups were weedy & thin sounding.

The SG 100, 200 & 250 were discontinued in favour of the newly launched SG 1, 2 & 3 which featured HB pickups

Not the prettiest thing to look at.

More info here that I quoted from above, looks like it could be worth something over a grand if Wes wanted to sell it and a buyer was looking for one.

The one in the article is a factory 2nd which this one is not, however it will be a refin with non original tuners and no bridge cover

https://www.premierguitar.com/articl...e_Gibson_SG200

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NzQdWx3U74

Very Straty sounding. You've just got to treat it as a different guitar to an SG, that just happens to be SG shaped.

Time to start thinking about the finish.

Wes has used Wattyl Mulberry wood gel interior stain which is about the right colour but it's a bit patchy so a rub back will be required, I'll see if I can find a bit of similar coloured mahogany at the local joinery to test some finish options on.

I'm thinking Tru Oil over the stain is going to be the go but open to suggestions

Just ordered a set of Kluson 3 on a strip tuners as per the original to use instead of the GOTOH tuners.

Period correct Klusons and headstock decal turned up in the mail today, better get on with the finish I guess

After moving house and what seems like a lifetime of inaction and fighting with the stain I have finally reached the stage where I have one more coat of Feast Watson wipe on poly to go and then I'll let it sit for a week prior to cutting, buffing and rewiring.

Much to my surprise it has come out an almost identical cherry red to the Gibson original colour, except for a couple of lighter spots on the front of the headstock ( naturally ), definitely not a glue issue the stain simply wouldn't darken right up.

Given that the SG 100 & 200 came with either body colour or black headstock I suggested to the owner that we should go black but he was adamant that it had to be the same cherry colour so it is what it is.

Watch this space

Attachment 39534

I actually really like the look and sound of this guitar, I guess it appeals because of the sort of Tele/SG cross over which I attempted myself with my SGT

Done and dusted as far as can be at the moment, the headstock decal in gold was on a black background for a black headstock so I have ordered a new period correct black on clear decal

Wes had wanted gold, but hey ho, now it will be period correct rather than what he visioned.

A couple of odd reflections in the morning light but I think it has come up rather well

Attachment 39847Attachment 39848Attachment 39849Attachment 39850Attachment 39851

The pickups look like the same as I have on my 72 LP Recording. Great pickups, lots of tones, designed and used by Les for years. Also sound great through a Marshall with plenty of gain too. Great job Dave.

Good to see a genuine "guitar rescue"!

The pickups are single coils I thought the Recording had stacked HBs but I am often wrong (just ask my wife)

My mate Geoff Barnes had a Recording back in the day and played through a Marshall Major goes without saying it sounded huge and did indeed have great tone and a lot of voices.

Apparently, they are low impedance single coils. Ideal for recording straight into a desk...so Les sez,

Although similar in appearance I remember the pups on the Recording as being much wider but not quite as wide as a P90

The ones on the SG200 are more Strat size

My memory is not as bad as my wife thinks it is ;)

The SG200 had Melody Maker SC pickups and the Recording had "Low Impedance humbucking pickups that were stacked and angled."

Cool looking SG guitar, never seen one like that before, so it's a new one on me.