baysinn420 Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 So i just recently purchased a gibson sg pro from 1971. Its all original except that it didn't come with pickups or tuner keys. It has the original bigsby thats labled with Gibson instead of bigsby, but the arm was missing. it is in really good shape with no cracks or scratches. i just bought some gotoh vintage tuners and i replaced the bigsby arm. Now i am troubled with the pickups. the original SG pro had P90s with pickup rings. im not sure what size pickup rings i should get, 1/8 or 3/8... i know that P90s dont usually get installed with pickup rings, but this model did. I really dont know too much at all about this guitar and i cant seem to find any information on it. it was only manufactured from 1971 to mid 1972, so its making it harder to track info on it. does anyone know about my sg? or how much its worth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 I can't help you, but I wish you a merry cristmas =] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baysinn420 Posted December 24, 2008 Author Share Posted December 24, 2008 haha thanks. merry christmas to you as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameswithesg Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 lets see some pics eh.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baysinn420 Posted December 24, 2008 Author Share Posted December 24, 2008 I'll post them after Christmas. I currently dont have a camera, but when i get home I will update it for sure. If you go on google images and search "1971 gibson sg pro" its the first image link. its not much of a picture, but its the only one that looks like mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameswithesg Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 just looked it up, sweet axe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynadude Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 Here's the catalog pic from 1972. http://www.everythingsg.com/catalogs/1972%20SG%20Pro.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baysinn420 Posted December 24, 2008 Author Share Posted December 24, 2008 yeah thats the exact guitar. so would i need those exact p90 pickups from 71? or could i just get new p90s and some new pickup rings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynadude Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 yeah thats the exact guitar. so would i need those exact p90 pickups from 71? or could i just get new p90s and some new pickup rings? The new P-90s are really close to the first designs, so I wouldn't bother paying for vintage ones. And I would think that any SG P-90 pickup rings would work. You could get some that are custom wound. The difference in cost is minimal, and you can have them wound hotter or milder. I have a set that is 10% overwound for the bridge, and 5% underwound for the neck. It gives it a great sound with either pickup, but the best is with both. You get a completely different tone than you would with two stock pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baysinn420 Posted December 25, 2008 Author Share Posted December 25, 2008 http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g252/franks_bucket/5ca428ddf35a.jpg http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g252/franks_bucket/6339760d0e70.jpg http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g252/franks_bucket/c61d6549bfaa.jpg here it is lemme know if you can give me more info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameswithesg Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 it looks like you could probably put some gibson mini humbuckers like the old firebirds have, that might sound pretty sweet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 I'd go with the p-90s And I would go further, I would measure the pickups holes and talk to Jason Lollar and see what magic he could work for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baysinn420 Posted December 25, 2008 Author Share Posted December 25, 2008 how would i get ahold of jason? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 how would i get ahold of jason? You can just call the man =) You can find his number here: http://www.lollarguitars.com/contact-us.htm Regards EDIT: By the way' date=' I love that kind of relationship where you can call a guy that is almost a legend in pickups and see what you can work for your guitar. I think that Jason Lollar is THE name about pickups today... I might be wrong, though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baysinn420 Posted December 26, 2008 Author Share Posted December 26, 2008 thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyduggan-smith Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Hello '71 SG Pro! I just finished reverse engineering a '71 SG Pro that was given to me about three months ago. It had sat in a closet for 25 years unplayed because of the classic broken neck/body joint. I had had a '71 SG Deluxe (similar set up with humbuckers) when I was 20, bought in NYC from a pretigious guitar shop. In the end I traded it a few weeks later for a larrivee and then got a job building with larrivee! Since then I've made a lot of guitars both alone and with some great other makers. Anyway.. knowing the issues that I had with the SG originally - uncomfotable neck set that always felt 'wrong when you played it, Body routed dangerously thin on pickup cavities (why they crack in the same place) and the less than attractive control plate in the top - I decided to turn the guitar (using existing body and neck) into the best SG it could be with none of the issues it was created with. This meant plugging all cavities including the control cavity with mahogany - matching grain configuration, taking off the neck, thickness planing the top of the guitar down 1/4", gluing on a thicker mahogany top plate (to add an extra 1/8" to this overly thin body and make the neck area super strong), blending all edges from front and back to look stock (including adding the standard cutaway details not used in this model), re-routing pickup cavities in a conservative fashion (I decided to go with humbuckers since I had the choice). I routed the controls from the back and ditched the plastic plate, I also addressed the neck set issues. The joint itself was excellent, I just wanted to lower the neck into the body and pitch it back a couple of degrees. This to my mind makes a way better guitar than the new ones that are set into the body so far that the neck pickup is flat to the top while the bridge pickup is cranked as high as it can go. Those necks seem to be pitched back 4-5 degrees and I find them as uncomfortable to play as this one was originally. So lastly the guitar was finished in TV yellow (forget the original walnut!), the original controls and knobs were re-used, a 5 ply small pickguard made, rear control plate made, the heads were replaced with the open backed waverly style gotohs (oval black knobs - not dissimilar from the original chrome knobs), a pair of the nickel Fralin P 92's (single coil/hum cancelling hybrid) dropped in and "Bob's Your Uncle - Vintage clunker becomes vintage classic - that never was!" I am telling you this because at the heart of your SG is a good guitar. Most of the necks are excellent. The problems are design/manufacturing boo boos, hence the guitars being dropped so fast from the SG line. As I mentioned before, aspects of the neck joint were great on this model - just not the height and pitch. This guitar feels great to play now, feels really solid and rings beautifully. The neck pickup cavity was so badly routed that the sound that normally runs through the neck into the body just died there originally. SO. First of all I have no interest in doing this work for you!!!!!!!! Financially it isn't worth your while to pay someone like me to do it. It is a labour of love, although I ended up with a serious instrument. However if you have woodworking skills and you didn't invest a lot in the guitar you could make it a project for yourself. I looked at your pictures and the finish looked a little rough so that's one less thing to stress over - scratching! Maybe you have a friend with skills you could barter with? If you want to see pictures you can contact me through my website contact info and I'll be happy to give you some advice if needed. GOOD LUCK http://tonyduggan-smith.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sangandongo Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 First off, Tony Duggan-Smith is a buzz kill. Secondly, I just picked up a '71 (I'm guessing based on pot codes) SG Pro yesterday. Near mint condition. The control cavity appears never to have been opened since it was purchased! I got it from an old man for a sum of money I just can't disclose for fear the gods will strike me down. It was a classic bedroom sleeper, hidden under a bed. I'll post pictures of it soon. This guitar plays like a dream, sounds like growly butter and looks like a devilish lady. I love it. -- j.k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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