Gibson USA is celebrating 2013 as the Year of Les Paul, and is blowing it up big with a new series of decade-dedicated Tribute SGs, each of which honors the artistry and innovation of inventor and guitarist Les Paul by capturing the essence of a great SG equipped with components from one of four different eras. The SG body style was first released in 1961 as a replacement for the original Les Paul, and the new design remained iconic long after the single-cutaway Les Paul returned to the fold later in the decade. The SG ’50s Tribute represents the look, feel, and tone of the set-neck, double-cutaway solidbody as it would have appeared equipped with features of the 1950s. As such, the SG ’50s Tribute carries a pair of screaming P-90 pickups, the fat Gibson single-coil that has been beloved for more than six decades, along with the comfortably rounded neck profile characteristic of that decade. Gibson’s most acclaimed hardware set improves playability and offers precise tuning and intonation. The SG ’50s Tribute looks great in Heritage Cherry, finished Vintage Gloss nitrocellulose lacquer.
Like the greatest SG Standards ever made, the SG ’50s Tribute starts with a foundation of solid mahogany, a tonewood with a long tradition at Gibson. A solid mahogany body is crafted in the distinctive, thin asymmetrical dual-cutaway style, with iconic pointed “horns” and beveled edges to enhance playing comfort. A solid mahogany neck is glued into the body in Gibson’s time-tested tradition and carved to a comfortably rounded ’50s profile that measures .818” at the 1st fret and .963” at the 12th. It is topped with a genuine rosewood fingerboard that carries 24 medium-jumbo frets to maximize this neck’s excellent fret access, and traditional trapezoid inlays. In keeping with the stripped-down ethos of this powerful performer, both body and ’board remain unbound, and there’s no pickguard to obscure the finish. A PLEK-cut nut made from black Corian subtly complements the black top-hat knobs with silver inserts. The traditional back-angled headstock is silkscreened with a gold Gibson and holly logo, and, in a fun touch, stamped with “Prototype” to indicate this as a ’50s-era transition from Les Paul to SG.
The SG ’50s Tribute takes its firepower from a pair of P-90 pickups, some of the most revered tone machines in Gibson history. The P-90s currently made by Gibson USA adhere strictly to the vintage formula, which includes two genuine Alnico V bar magnets per pickup and a coil wound with 42-AWG enamel-coated wire for all the growl, snarl, and articulation that has made the originals legendary. The traditional wiring complement of an independent volume and tone control per pickup, plus a three-way toggle selector switch, allows a broad range of sonic variations. To anchor it all down, Gibson USA loads in a Tune-o-Matic bridge and Stopbar tailpiece, with a set of genuine Grover kidney button tuners, a hardware set that partners up for solid sustain and precision tuning. Put it all together, and the SG ’50s Tribute presents the perfect celebration of Les Paul’s genius and achievement, wrapping it into a great guitar that brings the look, feel, and sound of the first generation of Les Pauls made to the SG body style, putting it all in the hands of players of today at an unbeatable price.
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