1965 Gibson SG Custom
$14995 USD
($22042.65 CAD)
For more details contact us at info@folkwaymusic.com or 855-772-0424.
Gibson’s 1963-65 SG Custom featured a gleaming white finish and thin mahogany SG body, full-length neck access, three patent number humbuckers with unique wiring, ebony fingerboard, Maestro Vibrola, fancy appointments, and gold hardware. Following Gibson’s temporary ending of its association with Les Paul, the Les Paul Custom was renamed the SG Custom in late 1963 and there were only about 275 SG Customs built before the large redesign of the model of 1966.
This example is largely all original, doesn’t have any neck breaks or repairs, sounds fabulous, and looks incredible. It’s light, too, weighing in at 7.9 lbs. Original pickups and wire harness, with one visible pot code dating 29th week of 1965; original hardware throughout except for a few replaced saddles in the bridge. The nut has never been out, the original frets play fairly fairly well despite being quite low, original Grover Patent Pending Rotomatics work perfectly, and the original finish has a beautiful patina. Factory second stamp on the back of the headstock correlates with a factory-repaired finish flaw on the treble side of the headstock (just the side, and it’s almost invisible without blacklight).
The guitar’s white finish is evenly worn but not abused. There is lacquer crazing all over the instrument and chipped finish along the edges as would be expected. The pickguard has one cracked corner as can be seen in the photos, and the gold plating has been mostly worn off of the pickup covers and much of the tailpiece.
Set-up in our shop, this SG plays well with high-ish action of 5-6 64ths and fairly low, small original frets. We’d like to refret this guitar with big modern fretwire in order to maximize playability but, due to originality concerns, we’re leaving that option to the buyer. The nut measures 1-9/16” but the neck’s rounded and fairly deep carve make the nutwidth less noticeable. The first fret neck depth is .842”.
These are rare guitars that don’t show up all too often, but we suspect you already know that!
With original hardshell case
This example is largely all original, doesn’t have any neck breaks or repairs, sounds fabulous, and looks incredible. It’s light, too, weighing in at 7.9 lbs. Original pickups and wire harness, with one visible pot code dating 29th week of 1965; original hardware throughout except for a few replaced saddles in the bridge. The nut has never been out, the original frets play fairly fairly well despite being quite low, original Grover Patent Pending Rotomatics work perfectly, and the original finish has a beautiful patina. Factory second stamp on the back of the headstock correlates with a factory-repaired finish flaw on the treble side of the headstock (just the side, and it’s almost invisible without blacklight).
The guitar’s white finish is evenly worn but not abused. There is lacquer crazing all over the instrument and chipped finish along the edges as would be expected. The pickguard has one cracked corner as can be seen in the photos, and the gold plating has been mostly worn off of the pickup covers and much of the tailpiece.
Set-up in our shop, this SG plays well with high-ish action of 5-6 64ths and fairly low, small original frets. We’d like to refret this guitar with big modern fretwire in order to maximize playability but, due to originality concerns, we’re leaving that option to the buyer. The nut measures 1-9/16” but the neck’s rounded and fairly deep carve make the nutwidth less noticeable. The first fret neck depth is .842”.
These are rare guitars that don’t show up all too often, but we suspect you already know that!
With original hardshell case