In 1961, Gibson killed the Les Paul in favor of a more angular, slimline guitar with more fret access and a big metal tremolo that was notorious for not working. The "SG," as it was called after Les Paul demanded his name be dropped from the new design, was reasonably well received, but by 1969 both guitars were back in production due to demand. Nevertheless, even with the replaced tremolo design, by the end of the decade, the SG had garnered a reputation for being a "hard rock" guitar thanks to bands like Black Sabbath, and Gibson seemed to lean into the design, adding a larger "batwing" style pickguard and changing the heel joint to be even sleeker.
This example from 1969 is an incredible piece of Gibson history. The original Cherry finish has faded to a reddish brown, and is aged to a perfect level, with bumps and dents here and there that definitely mean this guitar has had a long and active life. There's a good amount of checking and a pretty even coating of dings that span the whole guitar. The plastic is in good condition, with some of the corners cracked as to be expected. The hardware is still nice and shiny, and is all original except the pickguard screws and the Maestro cover screws. The electronics are mostly original, except for the output jack, which has been replaced.
The most noticeable thing is a hole drilled in the top, presumably previously having housed the output jack to reposition it. This guitar plays great and sounds even better, having been set up by our expert techs. Serial #560554 comes with the original hardshell case.
