tripleskillet Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Does anyone have one of these guitars? Walnut tone wood, ebony fretboard grover tuners. I see these for sale often for around 5 or 600 dollars. Granted they are not the prettiest looking SG's in history but the tone is really sweet. It looks like Gibson was in a big hurry and quality control was lower (aesthetically) than usual. They still dont offer up a pretty penny the way other SG's do. I have one the gold Gibson logo long gone on the headstock, but serial number remains. This one was not taken very good care of before it ended up in my hands. Seems to have been painted and stripped a couple of times, poor thing. And it has a really cool dot fret marker in the first fret. Anyway just trying to start a thread about this particular model. I am sure if some famous guy was seen using one the price would go up. Anyway it is more about the sound than collector value. Right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIANTRobOT420 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 The Murph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmiJAMM Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 You're welcome to your opinions but you might wanna do a bit more research on the subject first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripleskillet Posted October 6, 2009 Author Share Posted October 6, 2009 what ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripleskillet Posted October 6, 2009 Author Share Posted October 6, 2009 "You're welcome to your opinions but you might wanna do a bit more research on the subject first." Â Huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 My '79 is hangin' on this wall. It was my #2 when I bought it N.O.S in 1993. My #1 was a '72 Recording Les Paul. The frets on the Lester were wearing out after some 14 years of bar gigs from Arizona, to Louisiana, to Illinois, and the SG became # 1 as I quickly realized what a great player it was. I had to get a Strat for some reason, and the two of them were used on the "DOUBLE AUGHT" (cdbaby.com) CD in '99. The SG was used in 8 out of 12 songs. Â The Strat is gone, the SG remains...... And it will have been to well over 100 gigs this year. Â Just sayin...... Â Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 There have been a couple of threads about "The SG" / Firebrand series. They were a while back, so might have escaped the great message cull that darkened the forum recently. The finish was a cost-cutting move in the face of Japanese competition such as Ibanez and Yamaha. When it was introduced in 1979, the full retail was £360 in the UK. You could buy a very similar sounding high quality Ibanez (with great pickups) for around £130... I bought one of the early ones - my first 'real' guitar, and it sounded great through my Marshall.  It was made to a high standard - beautiful ebony board, fantastic neck joint (still perfect after all these years) and attractive walnut figure. The necks are 3 piece giving a much stronger headstock. I refinished mine in gloss lacquer in the early '80s. Mine has the Schaller long travel 'harmonica' bridge. Every other "The SG" I've seen has a Tunomatic but as I said, mine is an early one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmiJAMM Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Granted they are not the prettiest looking SG's in history but the tone is really sweet. It looks like Gibson was in a big hurry and quality control was lower (aesthetically) than usual. Â Huh? What? Â Beauty's in the eye of the beholder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 I think Walnut is a beautiful wood, and the tone on my SG will kill Bears through a good tube amp. (even Chicago bears)..... Â Fit and finish on mine is perfect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmiJAMM Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Agreed, Murph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Agreed' date=' Murph My '78 Walnut is "aesthetically" one of the finest examples of an SG I've ever laid eyes on and the tone is truly incredible.  A real "quality" instrument.[/quote']  Walnut has always been used for gunstocks, because of it's stability, and beauty......  I think it's use as a tonewood works really well.....  I'm sure Gibson made some 335's with Walnut.....  "Notes" might have more insight on that...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 The SG has always been one of my favorite guitars...... Â Just sayin'....... Â Murph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripleskillet Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 Yea Murph that is a beauty. Like I said my is truly a beater but I never think of getting rid of it. Has a lot of character. The varnish or stain has worn off the back of the neck, and I see this a lot with this model. This is my first guitar with an ebony fret board. I now understand the difference. Thanks for sharing your The SG info and pics. I will try to post a few pics of mine. Â 1979 "The SG 1980 Les Paul Standard Epiphone EJ300 Acoustic Parker P38 Many various tube amps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max2343 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Â TGA Super? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max2343 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Â Super Hot Velvet Brick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS44 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Â worlds most expensive hat rack... or hat strat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripleskillet Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 Thanks for posting both of those ads. I have seen them on the web. My big question is about the pickups, i.e the velvet bricks. My 1979 SG has chrome covered pickups, and when I pulled them during a cleaning/ restringing I found no serial or ID numbers. Does anyone else have one like this? Mine sounds super duper sweet but just wondering if Gibson put them out like this (chrome pickup covers) or are they after market? I pulled the covers and its just an old ceramic or resin block in there. The pots and switch seem to be original. By the way Neogeoriffic this may get me banned from this forum but dont think that I have not noticed your passive aggressive b.s. towards my postings. I just wanted to learn a bit of history about this guitar. After viewing all your postings I feel that if you played a little less Dungeons an Dragons and pickup your guitar instead of poking at folks on this forum you may find yourself a bit happier in the end. I know your type. Mister know a little about something thinks he knows everything. Never argue with an idiot—they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience" This must be a warning about you. ******bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruliosis Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I would kill for a Walnut SG...seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 The neck p/u should be an open T top, and the bridge a Velvet Brick. The name was inspired by the Red Rhodes 'Velvet Hammer' which was a hot replacement pickup at the time. It was a nifty piece of marketing. Claims of a super hot, 'specially wound' pickup should be taken with a pinch of salt. From memory, both my pickups had a similar DC resisitance of around 7K. This is on the low side for humbuckers, but if it's tone you are after, look no further. They have a wider frequency response than true 'super hot' pickups and clean up really sweet when you roll off the volume. Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Very nice 80LPC... very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarshallLaw666 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 do you guys have any idea what neck profile the Firebrand SGs have? Â I'm considering an online trade, my Gothic V for a 1980 Firebrand SG... my only concern is the neck profile. The neck on my V is a bit too thin for me, but i love the fat, round 50s necks on other SGs ive played. The slightly thinner neck on the '61 reissue is nice too. I just want to make sure it's going to be comfortable before going through with the trade. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiz Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I think Walnut is a beautiful wood' date=' and the tone on my SG will kill Bears through a good tube amp. (even Chicago bears).....[/quote'] Â Haha. That's awesome...and probably true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 do you guys have any idea what neck profile the Firebrand SGs have? Â If it's anything like my '79 "The SG" (which was the slightly earlier version of the Firebrand), it won't be a '50s profile. Â The neck is pretty slim near the nut, but tapers to fairly chunky near the body. This is because (certainly on mine), the neck has more than the usual one 10th of an inch taper- the difference between the neck thickness at the first and 12th frets. Â Gibson necks always vary slightly due to hand shaping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 If it's anything like my '79 "The SG" (which was the slightly earlier version of the Firebrand)' date=' it won't be a '50s profile. The neck is pretty slim near the nut, but tapers to fairly chunky near the body. This is because (certainly on mine), the neck has more than the usual one 10th of an inch taper- the difference between the neck thickness at the first and 12th frets. [/quote']  Ditto mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Same on, 79 "The Paul". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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