jimmiJAMM Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Just curious but why do ya suppose they put an inlay on the first fret of the '78? It seems that on most SG's and guitars in general the first inlay is on the third fret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sok66 Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 That was Norlin-era Gibson. Their standard answer was: "Don't ask why." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninety1vee Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 all about class... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchabalk Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 My '76 Hummingbird has the exact same inlay, probably the same exact fretboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameswithesg Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 all about class... haha, i was just about to post the same thing class baby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike~ Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I have a late 70's Ibanez acoustic which also has an inlay on the first fret. (not the square though its more intricate) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmiJAMM Posted February 7, 2009 Author Share Posted February 7, 2009 I guess as long as we get layed, that's the important thing. Thx, Gibby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 First fret inlay is not unusual at all. Here's 3 from the early to mid '60s. (Pre Norlin). Many Epi's also had them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRV-Zeppelin Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 First-fret inlays are found almost exclusively on CS guitars, though, and always with block inlays. It's not very often that you see them on a Standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike~ Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Here's how it is on mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRV-Zeppelin Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Here's how it is on mine um... Not including acoustics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike~ Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 um... Not including acoustics. jchabalk mentioned his Hummingbird and you didn't say anything about it, so I assumed it wasent electric specific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 First fret inlay is not unusual at all. Here's 3 from the early to mid '60s. (Pre Norlin). Many Epi's also had them. You´re right about the not unusual, but usually with Gibsons it´s mainly on customs and other exclusive versions. It´s not usual with standards, while my 79 "The SG" has dots only, but has one first fret. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 The SG Standard had the block inlay at the first fret from 1972 to 1984. I think it was quite 'usual'. I also have a "The SG" bought in '79, with the dot inlay at the first fret. 1972 1984 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgTime Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Norlin sgs have pretty ugly necks in general, with the inlays and the headstock sharpness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 This SG design came out 2 years before the Norlin takeover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I'm with 80LPC. My '79 "The SG" has the first fret dot. My '07 CS ES-339 does not. Not that I can see the fretboard anyhow. Murph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Well, have a look at Gibsons 78 catalogue http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/gib78.php and decide for yourself what could be unusual and what couldn´t. I´d still say that neither the type of inlay nor the fact that they start on first fret is what Gibson usually did. Of-course they did build guitars like this but they´re not very common. It´s the only ordinary standard in the whole catalogue that has an inlay other than dot on first fret. And the only one with that size/shape inlay. To me this is what I´d call unusual. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 The crux of neogeoriffic's question is that he thought it was unusual to have an SG Standard with the first fret inlay. As I have shown (and confirmed by your link to the catalogue), it is not unusual at all. These guitars were in production for 13 years (inclusive of '72 and '84). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 To me it still is unusual. It doesn´t fit the pattern Gibson followed with other guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 It's interesting. The original question was why is there an inlay at the first fret of my '78 SG. But the answer must lie in the SG re-design that resulted in the 1972 model. Were sales of the SG on the decline, prompting an update ? The SG had of course been around for 10 years, and 'vintage fever' had yet to hit the 60's SGs. Gibson probably felt they had nothing to lose by giving the SG a fresh face. Maybe the extra inlay was to give it a classy similarity to it's upmarket brother, the Custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Maybe the extra inlay was to give it a classy similarity to it's upmarket brother' date=' the Custom.[/quote'] Good point. And maybe the best answer to the original question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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