Gibson SG-250 on Reverb

Quantum Strummer

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Note that I have no connection to this particular guitar. But I do own an SG-250. It's a fantastic playing & sounding instrument! Gibson made 527 of 'em total, all in 1972 (the Reverb listing is wrong on the date), and shipped all but three that same year. The 250's siblings, the SG-100 & 200, were made in greater numbers and mostly in 1971.

https://reverb.com/item/2133250-rar...ups-pro-setup-hardshell-case-1971-white-refin

The listing also quotes from Tony Bacon's recent SG book. I've learned a fair bit about various guitar brands and models from his books, particularly in the period prior to the WWW really taking off, but his comments on the playability & sound of the 100/200/250 series guitars are, shall we say in the interest of politeness, condescending and seemingly uninformed by actual experience. The guitars are really just updated Melody Makers. It saddens me to see such stuff get published and then quoted as authoritative. OTOH it probably helps keep prices down!

So if you can deal with "high action over the body" (which clumsily refers to the neck plane relative to the body plane and has nothing whatsoever to do with the guitar's action, which is low & easy) and the "thin & tinny" pickups (utter BS, unless you consider Tele & Strat pups "thinner & tinnier" still), give these guitars a spin should you happen to get the chance. You may be pleasantly surprised by some of what Gibson actually made during the Norlin Dark Ages.

-Dave-
 

Sal

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My second electric guitar was an SG Junior, perhaps a 100 but it had a P90 in it. It had that same pick guard and an unusual black plex panel under the controls. It played and sounded great but it was neck heavy. Yes, fine guitars!
 

kakerlak

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I actually really like the funky stamped steel hardware on these -- very "Fender meets Gibson." I really like the ES-320s, too. I just can't get along with the ultra narrow early '70s SG nuts. I wonder why Gibson did that, and primarily to just SGs, too. They all got a little narrower towards the early '70s, but some SGs are just silly. I had a '72 or '74 (can't remember) SG Custom that was a wonderful guitar, but just couldn't get along with the neck.

Anyway, back to these things... If you approach them from the mindset that a '61 SG is "correct," then these things are about as extreme a deviation as you could find and do a woeful job of "being a '61 SG." If, OTOH, you just view a '61 SG as a "neat guitar," then this has an opportunity to be one, too.
 

Quantum Strummer

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Yes, the narrow nut/neck width is a genuine comfort & playability issue for some (even lotsa) folks. I'm fine with it but my fingers are on the thin side. I have a '72 SG Deluxe with a neck I'd describe as "proto-shredder." Not just narrow but thin, and flat on the bottom. Much to my own surprise I really like it. :surprise:

The more hands-on experience I get with these "lesser" '70s SGs the more aware I become of the broader agenda peddling at work in much of the guitar literature, which in turn gets recycled in online discussion. "Golden Age >> Decline >> Purgatory >> Rebirth!" I suspect it's the claimed latter of these four stages driving how the third stage is presented. ;)

-Dave-
 

JimmyD

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I had one of those SG's in the late 70's called The SG (they also had a The Les Paul)....walnut body with those T-top pickups and harmonica bridge. That thing just killed....great cool sound. Rock on.....
 

Quantum Strummer

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Yeah, I like the harmonica bridge. There was some head-scratching at first re. how to properly adjust the saddles—it's best to loosen the retaining nuts first, and they can be quite tight—but once I "got it" all was good.

I also like the Bill Lawrence-designed Super Humbuckers (aka "tarbacks"). Different sound to PAFs or T-tops, a bit mid-scooped despite being higher in output. In my '72 SG Deluxe (also currently have a '71 Deluxe with T-tops) they really bring out the guitar's acoustic quackiness in the "both pickups" setting. Through the right amp the bridge p'up can twang too! I think this guitar is a keeper.

-Dave-
 

Quantum Strummer

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Here's a link to another SG-250 (misidentified as an SG II) on Reverb:

https://reverb.com/item/2213846-gibson-sg-ii-1972-cherry-sunburst-electric-guitar

Check out the pics of the guitar's top & back. Most of the body seems to be made of whatever the back is (poplar of some kind? limba?) while the top is a thinner layer of plainer wood (maple, I think). My own 250 looks very much like this. Given how light the guitar is relative to its thickness I wonder if there's chambering involved. ??

Also note the parallel neck/body geometry, and how high the neck plane sits above that of the body. Very Rickenbacker-ish. I'll say again that my 250 is an easy player and sounds fantastic. My S-100s, with their relative lack of neck back-angle and similar fret profile, have much the same feel. Nice!

-Dave-
 
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