Gibson experts... help needed!

Kerouac

Kerouac

weird musical dildo
I'm helping a lady go through her deceased husband's guitars; she wants to save a few for their daughters and other family members and the rest of them she wants me to eventually clean up and sell for her. After going through and cataloguing everything earlier today, she asked me if there was one I'd like to take as payment. He was a tinkerer and had quite a few instruments in various states of completion, and this one was tucked back into a corner. I had picked it up earlier and even in it's condition it just felt like it had some sort of mojo, so I picked it.

Let's start with some pics:
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I am no expert,but where is the serial # ?
Any date on the back of the pups?
 
It's obviously been refinished and in the process they covered up the serial... I can kinda feel it under the finish, but I can't quite make it out.

Current pickguard and cavity is wired up with Alpha pots and StewMac Golden Age pickups. I also have the "original" black pickguard too. No other hardware.

One of my biggest concerns at the moment is whether or not the truss rod works, followed by the condition of the fretboard and the frets. I'd really like to get this fixed up and turned into a great player, because like I said, there's something very cool about it mojo-wise. But it might cost too much to make it worthwhile... I dunno.
 
Bone nut, get a set of Grovers for it... See if the pups work... Bridge and tone bar... From pics the frets don't look too badly worn...needs to have some 0000 steel wool taken to them... Can't tell if the neck is straight from the pics... Certainly needs some cleaning up. Can you seed a serial number?
Did he spray it?

I don't know, I'd fix it up and see where it goes... Could be one hell of a player.....


PS, ah someone beat me to it as I was typing lol
 
it looks like a contemporary SG special. 90s or more recent. i had one a while back and it was a fun guitar. i'll bet it will be a great player with a little TLC. not worth much dollar-wise. i certainly wouldn't invest a whole lot into it. just get it playable and then go nuts.
 
GreatDane said:
it looks like a contemporary SG special. 90s or more recent. i had one a while back and it was a fun guitar. i'll bet it will be a great player with a little TLC. not worth much dollar-wise. i certainly wouldn't invest a whole lot into it. just get it playable and then go nuts.
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Yeah, I wouldn't be too keen on dumping much cash into this project. If you have the spare hardware laying around and the desire for a project, sure....otherwise, I'd probably pass it on.
 
Andy and I spoke a couple of times last night about this guitar, and yeah, it's definitely a 90s or early 00s SG Special. I think he should set it up and make sure it plays alright. If it does, refin in some crazy color, and go to town. It's not really worth anything but would be a fun project.
 
Find a good straight edge and check the neck as best that you can. If it's flat or has just a hint of backbow that's even from the high string side to the low string side, and you dig the guitar enough, I'd roll with it. Get a good look at the headstock all around the nut to the first fret to see if there's any signs of a break. The finish might be hiding it.
 
Now...it might be stained, but that fretboard sure looks like ebony to me, that would narrow the model down quick.
 
Yeah, thats a nasty refin, but I dig the abalone(?) pg, and you have the basic parts for a fun player, provided its structurally sound, per tele911's advice.
 
It looks a lot like my 2000 SG Special. The ebony board with dot markers were key identifiers for that model. Great guitars.
 
Kerouac said:
It's obviously been refinished and in the process they covered up the serial... I can kinda feel it under the finish, but I can't quite make it out.

Current pickguard and cavity is wired up with Alpha pots and StewMac Golden Age pickups. I also have the "original" black pickguard too. No other hardware.

One of my biggest concerns at the moment is whether or not the truss rod works, followed by the condition of the fretboard and the frets. I'd really like to get this fixed up and turned into a great player, because like I said, there's something very cool about it mojo-wise. But it might cost too much to make it worthwhile... I dunno.
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The truss rod is the big question. If that's okay the frets can be crowned and the fret board can be cleaned. This might be a good candidate to experiment with a Reranch refinish. I think I have a slightly used set of Grovers that I can send you.
 
Ebony board. That may have been alpine white when new. That'd look killer in white with a black guard.
Those golden age pickups are supposed to be quite good. Probably better than the 490/498 set they replaced.
 
Elias Graves said:
Ebony board. That may have been alpine white when new. That'd look killer in white with a black guard.
Those golden age pickups are supposed to be quite good. Probably better than the 490/498 set they replaced.
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Aren't the Golden Age pickups made in the same factory as GFS?
 
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