The Gibson SG

In 1958, Gibson Les Paul sales were significantly lower than they had been in previous years. The following year, the Les Paul was given a thinner, flat-topped mahogany body, and had a double cutaway which made the upper frets more accessible. The neck joint was moved by three frets to further ease access to the upper frets.

Production costs fell significantly due to the simpler body construction, and the new Les Paul was advertised as having the "fastest neck in the world" due to its slender neck profile and virtually non-existent heel. The new Les Paul was popular, but Les Paul himself did not care for the new design, and requested the removal of his name from the new model (however, he was photographed with the new model several times).

Gibson honored Les Paul's request, and the new model was named "SG", which stood for 'Solid Guitar'. Even though Les Paul's name was officially deleted in 1961, the SG featured Les Paul nameplates and truss rod covers until the end of 1963.

Due to its popularity and vintage heritage, the body style of the SG is often copied by other manufacturers, although much less frequently than the Les Paul and the Fender Stratocaster; a notable example is the ESP Viper.

The SG generally has a solid mahogany body, with a black "bat-wing" pickguard. The 24.75" scale mahogany neck joins the body at the 19th fret. The SG's set neck is shallower than the Gibson Les Paul's, but features the traditional Gibson combination of two humbucking pickups and a Tune-O-Matic bridge assembly (or vibrato tailpiece, depending on the model).

Angus Young of ACDC's Gibson SG

The Gibson SG Standard features white trapezoid fretboard inlays, as well as fretboard binding and inlaid "Gibson" logo; the Gibson SG Special omits these features, instead using cheaper white dot inlays and a silk-screened logo. The Standard has a volume and a tone control for each individual pickup, and a three-way switch that allows the player to select either the bridge pickup, the neck pickup, or both together. The SG does not include switching to coil tap the humbuckers in stock form (with the exception of the Guitar Center-exclusive SG Standard), although this is a popular player modification.

Some models use body woods other than mahogany; examples include the Swamp Ash SG Special and SG Voodoo, the 2009 Raw Power, and some walnut bodied 1970s models. High-end models occasionally sport decorative maple caps, carved tops, and gold hardware. [source : Gibson SG]