Alexandre Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Just got this SG Special yesterday and I'm trying to figure out what it is exactly. It's a Gibson SG Special which I believe was made in 1997. It has an Ebony fretboard, acrylic dots. Pickups have been changed, so no idea what they looked like before. Not sure about the color? Could it be a white which has yellowed so much since 1997? A yellow TV - Worn Yellow - faded yellow - cream... ???? I've seen info on special runs, etc, but I really have no idea what this is, especially with the ebony fretboard. The serial number is 91477453 I took the picture with my 2010 Artic White LP Studio (also with an Ebony fretboard) to give you an idea of the actual color. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sellen Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Guess it is special ldt. Looks great. Same color like this one, beautiful color cream. heres a link to the best sg site on net sg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandre Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 According to the info on the site, the Speical Ltd would have had Gold hardware and Rosewood fretboard. This one however has chrome hardware and an Ebony fretboard. The finish is glossy and not satin, but due to its age, I can't really tell if it was a a worn finish (it's worn now, but was it made like that or is that a result of its age...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandre Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 I'm still looking.. oh boy, this is confusing. The closest I see would be an SG Special Faded Worn Yellow. I've seen a few with an Ebony fretboard, so I'm guessing it's possible. The finish is glossy, but I guess it could still be considered faded. I opened the back cover and it's the same colour inside, so it hasn't been aged, but did come this way (al least, that would be my guess). Also, my truss rod cover is one ply black with an SG on it (it's not a 2 ply white and black). Were those only used on specific models, since most SG special seem to have that 2 ply cover. One thing is for certain, that guitar is not a common one. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevoT Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Looks like you have a guitar ;D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandre Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Looks like you have a guitar ;D Looks can sometimes be deceiving Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I'm still looking.. oh boy, this is confusing. The closest I see would be an SG Special Faded Worn Yellow. I've seen a few with an Ebony fretboard, so I'm guessing it's possible. The finish is glossy, but I guess it could still be considered faded. I opened the back cover and it's the same colour inside, so it hasn't been aged, but did come this way (al least, that would be my guess). Also, my truss rod cover is one ply black with an SG on it (it's not a 2 ply white and black). Were those only used on specific models, since most SG special seem to have that 2 ply cover. One thing is for certain, that guitar is not a common one. Any ideas? It's a classic white SG special and the finish has aged to a cream color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandre Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 It's a classic white SG special and the finish has aged to a cream color. I opened the back plate and colour inside is the exact same color (more cream - yellow) than white. Would this aging process simply be related to the finish, since I would have tought that it would have then been whiter in hidden parts. Most SG Specials from this period appeared to have 2 ply truss rod cover instead of a one ply black one, hence why I suspected it may have been a Faded model instead (which apparently also have Ebony fretboards). Regardless, this guitars really plays well and sounds awesome. I'm very happy with it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I opened the back plate and colour inside is the exact same color (more cream - yellow) than white. Would this aging process simply be related to the finish, since I would have tought that it would have then been whiter in hidden parts. Most SG Specials from this period appeared to have 2 ply truss rod cover instead of a one ply black one, hence why I suspected it may have been a Faded model instead (which apparently also have Ebony fretboards). Regardless, this guitars really plays well and sounds awesome. I'm very happy with it so far. Special fadeds didn't start production until 2002, the large majority of classic white finished SGs have had ebony boards. The TRC could have come from a different model as those are easily interchangeable. My Classic White hasn't had enough time to age so I can't speak from personal experience but I think the yellowing of the finish is just age. The control panel probably isn't completely airtight, if you look under the pickguard it may be whiter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69 Son Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 The TRC being single-ply is interesting. The limited run SG special I have also has the single-ply... I would call Gibson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandre Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 Classic White hasn't had enough time to age so I can't speak from personal experience but I think the yellowing of the finish is just age. The control panel probably isn't completely airtight, if you look under the pickguard it may be whiter. I'm still curious, so I removed the pickguard this morning, and it really isn't much whiter underneath... perhaps a tab bit, but nowhere close to full white. TRC appears original, and since even the pickguard hasn't been changed (all is original except the pickups which were replaced by Seth Lover), I do not believe that it was changed. I emailed Gibson earlier this week and haven't received a response yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69 Son Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I've seen a few cream specials. Around 1997 also the special runs, i.e. SG-X, Z all had ebony fretboards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trapdoorspider Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I actually have FIVE of these (thanks to a bad case of G.A.S.), from 1999 to 2001, and according to the everythingsg.com website, they were called "SG Special Limited Edition." They are all slightly different. All are finished in a CREAM color, not Classic White. I have some Classic White Gibsons and it's definitely a different, darker color. They have NOT faded, or only a tiny bit, since they are basically the same color beneath the pickguard and even the tuners. Features: They all have ebony fretboards with dot markers, and the regular "batwing" pickguards. The strange thing is that a few of these have chrome hardware, and a few have gold, so I guess that was an option, even though the everythingsg folks say they only came with gold. One of them came with gold hardware, but had chrome pickup covers. And the oddest one of all came with all-gold hardware AND a gold Bigsby, which (hard to believe) seems to be original, since the original holes for the bridge posts are filled with cream-colored paint! I can't make sense of all the variations, but here are a few pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandre Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 I actually have FIVE of these (thanks to a bad case of G.A.S.), from 1999 to 2001, and according to the everythingsg.com website, they were called "SG Special Limited Edition." They are all slightly different. All are finished in a CREAM color, not Classic White. I have some Classic White Gibsons and it's definitely a different, darker color. They have NOT faded, or only a tiny bit, since they are basically the same color beneath the pickguard and even the tuners. Features: They all have ebony fretboards with dot markers, and the regular "batwing" pickguards. The strange thing is that a few of these have chrome hardware, and a few have gold, so I guess that was an option, even though the everythingsg folks say they only came with gold. One of them came with gold hardware, but had chrome pickup covers. And the oddest one of all came with all-gold hardware AND a gold Bigsby, which (hard to believe) seems to be original, since the original holes for the bridge posts are filled with cream-colored paint! I can't make sense of all the variations, but here are a few pics: That would probably be it. I never received a response from Gibson. Used the online form, but... Is there an actual email address I could use to confirm the model with them? One thing for certain is that it is one sweet guitar. Amazingly light and plays and sounds awesome. Upgraded with SD Seth Lovers pickup, that guitars gets more play time than my SG Standard, or any of my other guitars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Pretty neat specials you guys have there, I haven't seen the cream finish until you two posted them. Gives it a slightly aged look, very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevoT Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 It sorta looks like a norlin era guitar. The singer from wolfmother has a similar guitar in tobacco burst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdelling Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Just got this SG Special yesterday and I'm trying to figure out what it is exactly. It's a Gibson SG Special which I believe was made in 1997. It has an Ebony fretboard, acrylic dots. Pickups have been changed, so no idea what they looked like before. Not sure about the color? Could it be a white which has yellowed so much since 1997? A yellow TV - Worn Yellow - faded yellow - cream... ???? I've seen info on special runs, etc, but I really have no idea what this is, especially with the ebony fretboard. The serial number is 91477453 I took the picture with my 2010 Artic White LP Studio (also with an Ebony fretboard) to give you an idea of the actual color. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks I just picked this up from a friend. It is cream with ebony finger board. The balance is amazing! Not sure on modifications, but appears to be mostly stock except for Grover locking machine heads. Mine was built in the Nashville Plant July 15th, 1996. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson SG Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 It looks like an sg special that faded out to cream. After all it is 14 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson SG Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 It looks like an sg special that faded out to cream. After all it is 14 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfa Sprint Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 In 1997 Gibson made those ivory SG Special with ebony fretboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xarls Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 On 1/3/2011 at 7:08 PM, Alexandre said: According to the info on the site, the Speical Ltd would have had Gold hardware and Rosewood fretboard. This one however has chrome hardware and an Ebony fretboard. The finish is glossy and not satin, but due to its age, I can't really tell if it was a a worn finish (it's worn now, but was it made like that or is that a result of its age...) Hi ...The info On WHAT site? I'm finding really difficult to get info about the 1996 Special "limited edition" SG Run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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