What’s this, a 1974 Gibson SG Standard in super rare factory black?

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.

This is a super rare factory black finish, we have had one Custom from this period but this is the first Standard we have had, or seen. Overall this guitar is in excellent, near MINT condition and is all correct to original, even down to the frets. There is hardly a mark anywhere to be seen and the finish retains that gloss sheen.

Similarly the neck too retains that deep gloss sheen with only a  minor mark from a guitar stand to be seenThe 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.

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 wonderful responsive, yielding the mix of smooth and bite that you look for in an SG. The neck is comfortable with the new fresh giving it that reassuring feel of a new guitar.

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.

We love the rare stuff here and this is a stunning example...