GIBSON SG -LES PAUL JUNIOR, 1962

The SG version of the Les Paul Junior, featuring the typical pre-compensated wrap-around bridge and the single black-plastic dog-ear P90. Les Paul’s signature is here still on the headstock, from which it will be dropped shortly after, leaving the guitar only the SG name.

Body and neck are mahogany, mother-of-pearl dot inlays on a rosewood fingerboard, silkscreened gold Gibson logo.

The guitar is in very good condition, sporting all its original parts, except for the tone cap. Pots are both marked 32nd week of 1962. All plastic parts are in good condition (knobs, pickguard). The guitar has had a few parts replaced over the years, but the original parts were fortunately kept and later reinstalled. In particular, the single-line 3x3 Kluson tuners had been replaced with individual Kluson-type ones. Reinstalling the original tuners has covered every sign of the others, with the exception of a tiny mark at the body end of each of the tuner’s plates, as clearly shown in the pics below. The front of the headstock shows a touch-up spot near one of the tuner’s bushings.

The second mod the guitar had undergone was the replacement of the pickup. In fact, as can be seen by removing the now-reinstalled original P90, there is a slight widening and deepening of the pickup cavity, made to fit a humbucker. This reshaping is totally hidden by the original cover of the P90 in place, the only signs being two barely visible plugged screw-holes for the humbucker’s mounting ring, on the side between the P90 and the bridge. The pics show all this in detail.

This SG Les Paul is extraordinarily light, perfect as regards both luthiery and electronics, with a really great sounding pickup. The neck-body joint, a typical weak point on this model, is here perfectly sturdy and solid. Action is perfect, making for really easy playing. The rosewood fingerboard shows some wear, but this can not be felt, thanks to the frets in great condition. Finish is in good overall condition, with the cherry red still rather bright on the body, only slightly faded on the neck, and no worn-through areas. A few dings and bumps, the most evident of which is on the back edge by the control cavity, as shown in one of the last pics.

As one may guess from the pics and the history these tell us, this guitar belonged to a "real" musician, for whom the quest for the sound came before the obsession of having to keep an instrument in its original condition. This said, here all the parts were wisely kept, in times when the concept of "vintage" applied to guitars was yet to come, and often replaced parts simply got tossed. This mindfulness has allowed to get the guitar back to its original condition. Every inch of this guitar screams "live performance": buy it to play it, not to hang it on a wall, and be sure you will be taking home a guitar that is "right", sound and original, spending 30% less than what you would for an identical but "mint" one… but which, make no mistake, would not play like this baby.

The guitar lacks its original HC, but will ship in a good quality Gibson gig-bag, and expertly packed.