1974 ebony board Gibson SG Standard in classic cherry red…

As the 70’s set in and the big two settled into their respective periods of corporate ownership, it could be said that the mythology of these great instruments was slowly eroded in lieu of numbers and profit margins. Throughout the decade, the SG started to lose some of its sleek design features to ease production. But even the darkest of times there are chinks of light and there are plenty of Gibsons that will surprise you with these short lived incarnations of the SG Standard with the ebony fingerboard (1973 and 1974 only) being one such example.

Overall this guitar is in excellent condition. The finish has faded but there aren’t too many marks and the finish retains that gloss sheen. 

Similarly the neck too has faded but  retained that gloss sheen. The stunning ebony fretboard is in excellent condition with plenty of life left in the original frets. The heel shows no signs of damage and there are no structural issues, or neck or body cracks anywhere!

The hardware is in good condition with only a little wear to the saddles as is expected. The plastics too are in great condition, with no cracks anywhere. This one is fitted with the really nice and cool factory Bigsby unit.

The correct ‘Tar back’ humbuckers are present with no sign of any disturbance to the solder joints.

Not a touchstone when it comes to vintage Gibson tone but the pickups are wonderfully responsive, yielding the mix of smoothness and bite that you look for in an SG. The neck is comfortable with its ebony fingerboard making it feel very slick and easy to play.

A rarity here at ATB Guitars, this guitar could be your gateway into the vintage market that you wouldn’t mind taking out to a gig and goes someway to showing that not all Norlin era Gibsons are to be avoided.