GIBSON SG HISTORY: THE FIRST TWO DECADES

The Gibson SG design, officially launched in 1961, was a radical departure for the solidbody guitar, almost as if a sculptor had been at work rather than a guitar maker. The body was a stylish blend of bevels and points and angles, and the relatively lightweight instrument invited players to reach its topmost frets with ease and speed thanks to a pair of pointy cutaways. It was unlike anything any company had produced before – even if the shadow of Fender was evident across some of its ideas.

Gibson’s motivation to introduce this new design seems almost beyond belief in retrospect. The idea was to replace the original single-cutaway Les Paul. That’s correct. Managers at the firm saw sales dipping, so to them the solution was obvious: ditch the earlier Les Paul design completely and bring in a new Les Paul design. And that’s correct, too: a new Les Paul design. Because at first, most SGs were called Les Pauls. Confusing, isn’t it?

“Gibson’s motivation to introduce this new design seems almost beyond belief in retrospect. The idea was to replace the original single-cutaway Les Paul”

We’ve hit on a major headache for anybody interested in the story of the early SG, so let’s get it out of the way before we proceed. The fact is that, despite the big switch to an almost entirely different guitar, Gibson kept the Les Paul name for the first few years on many of the new SG-design models. To understand how this unfolded, we have to consider the three broad changes leading up to the introduction of the new SG design.

First, the budget Les Pauls were changed from their original single-cut style to a rounded-double-cut style (not the SG shape). The Les Paul Junior and TV moved in ’58, the Special in ’59.

Second, Gibson gradually renamed ‘Les Paul’ models as ‘SG’ models. The company started