Murph Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Who designed the SG? I know Les didn't like it, but I kinda do. But........ If it was, I'm thinking, 1/2" thicker, with a smaller (normal) headstock, it would............................................................................ Murph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FennRx Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 i thought ted mccarty did, but i could be completely wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share Posted December 5, 2008 I dunno why, hell, I played one in a bar in Clearwater Beach Fla. in 1970, and used one in 1998 on the DOUBLE AUGHT cd, and still take one with me weekly for a spare, but never knew the real history. Who's idea was it to replace the Les Paul, who designed it, ect. Murph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpgumby62 Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I had read that Gibson deleted the Les Paul in 1960 because it wasn't selling too well, hard to believe now, I know. The SG was the replacement. I dont know who designed it, but maybe the double cut away, the contoured back of the body was Gibson's response to the stratocaster. Be interested to know the full story behind the SG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermionik Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 . . Ben - didn't Lester himself design it, but not want to endorse it because he didn't actually like it when he had finished. I have a vague recollection of an interview with the Polfus where he implied just that..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Les Paul did not design the Les Paul nor the SG. He "endorsed" the Les Paul and did not care for the SG. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_sg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermionik Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 StiffHand - good call. Seems to be considerable debate to this day..... Some sources say 'a design collaboration between Gibson and Les Paul' whilst others say Lester just 'commented on the finish and the tailpiece'. Gibson did reject 'The Log' prototype in the mid 40's..... and produce the solid bodied LP in the early 50's. Presumably just a coincidence. Note that a lot of the wiki stuff needs citation before we can accept it as gospel. Anybody closer to home (Gibson or Les) care to put this to rest once and for all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I don't think we'll ever know the exact truth...but like dpgumby62 said, the Les Paul wasn't selling and somebody designed the SG to replace it. The main reason was weight and maybe cost, I believe. That's why the first SGs were called also called the Les Paul and why if you buy a Custom Shop SG one of the plastic pieces will have "Les Paul" on it. The historic SG Standard has "Les Paul" on the truss rod cover and the historic SG Custom has it between the neck and the neck pickup. Looking back on it 50 years later, I'm glad things happened the way they did. Otherwise, we the SG may not have been designed at all...which is an iconic guitar in its own right. I was hooked after seeing the Paranoid video for the first time. My SG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flight959 Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 An interesting post... Flight959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flight959 Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 In 1960, Gibson Les Paul sales were significantly lower than they had been in previous years, so in 1961 the model was given a completely new body style that was thinner and had two sharp cutaway horns that made the upper frets more accessible. The neck was slightly heavy, which made it tilt downwards. The neck joint was also moved up about three frets. It was felt the new design could compete with the popular Fender Stratocaster, another benefit being lower production costs than that of the previous model due to the one piece body and flat top. The guitar was advertised as having the "fastest neck in the world", due to its slender neck profile and virtually non-existent heel. The newly-designed Les Paul was popular but Les Paul, whose endorsment was initially carried over from the previous version, did not like the new design and asked to have his name removed from it. Gibson renamed the model the "SG" which was short for "solid guitar". Even though Les Paul's name was officially removed from the model in 1961, the plastic Les Paul nameplates (positioned between the rhythm pickup and fingerboard) were in abundance in the Gibson factory and SG models having these nameplates were built and sold by Gibson up to the end of 1963 From the net guys.. Flight959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Les told me he actually liked the thing, but was going throuogh a divorce (from mary) at the time and didn't want to have to split roffits with her. Or something like that... it's been a long time since the last time I met Les. So he parted ways with gibson so that SHE wouldnt get a dime out of HIS guitars (ok, not his, but they carried his name). Of course I am lying ... c´mon... he didn't tell me that. I read it on a book, don't remember which book it was but it had lots of info on les, the les paul guitar and early gibson electrics (I think the book was about "the les paul". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 The "log" and a Les Paul have very little in common. The log was a semi-hollow, solid center. Les wanted to take it one step further and make the full guitar as a solid body, he wanted it to be all maple too but that suggestion did no fly as the guitar would have weithed about 20lbs. Wikipedia is what it is but they are actually right on this one. the Gibson story I have read in books matches their article. Les Paul had a great idea and concept but he did not design the actual Les Paul, his major input was the trapaze bridge that had to be replaced after a couple of years. The part I have never understood is how Les Paul and Leo where thinking of a similar concept at about the same time also I wonder how Gibson was coming up with the humbucker at the exact same time Gretsch was developing a dual-coil pickup. Parallel thinking I guess but I have never heard an actual explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted December 7, 2008 Author Share Posted December 7, 2008 That's where I wonder how much "Les" is actually in the "Paul", and how much "Lester" is in the S.G. This ain't rocket science. Hmmmmmm...... Murph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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