Gibson "The SG" 1979 Walnut/Ebony killer guitar

Col Mustard

Col Mustard

Ambassador of Perseverance
Country flag
All right, some of you have heard about my ongoing G.A.S. attack for
one of these puppies... So I thought I'd start a thread about the instrument.
1979 Firebrand.jpg
T-top pickups, Walnut body, Ebony fretboard... are you salivating yet?
I've seen them pictured with harmonica bridges, and also with Nashville bridges.
I've seen them with visible lines showing more than two pieces of walnut plank.
In spite of being made in the late '70s, these instruments have minimal beveling
in the cutaways, bizarre as that seems now. But I don't care about that.

Gibson made these between 1979 and 1981, under the Norlin regime.
I've seen them for sale on the internet for between $750 and $1050 with
occasional fliers out to $1500. Original retail price was like $500.

The advertisement said: "AN SG, FOR HALF A G..."

That was a lot more money then than it seem like now.
Anyway, these seem like a whole lot of guitar for what they are asking.
Nice looking ones seem to command about $1000, worn ones ask somewhat
less. I believe the prices have gone up recently, but I still look fondly on the
model, and might someday own one. I think it would be extra cool to score
one with an original harmonica bridge. But I'm not one of those who thinks there's
something wrong with the Nashville bridge. To me, the Nashville bridge seems like
a marvel of engineering and design, and all of mine work as advertised.

So I keep going out into internet wilderness 'beyond The Wall..." and looking to see
what's out there. I haven't pounced on one yet. But the twitch is there.

What do y'all think of this Norlin creature? You already know that I admire the beast,
but does anyone have any negatory experiences to relate? Or positive input, that too
is well respected and very welcome.
 
I’m also a fan of this particular model. I’ve had my eyes peeled for one, but I keep running in to “The Paul” models of that vintage.
The bridge pickup in “The SG” was not a T-top. It was a variant called a “Velvet Brick”.
They had side jacks too. They also had those ebony fret boards with the low, wide frets..79was the year of the really visible, multi piece walnut bodies. After that they shifted to mahogany, and started the “fire brand” era.
 
What kind of finish does it have?

Is the body made of mahogany with a "walnut" color stain or is it really walnut?
 
Now that's a nice guitar Col Dijon Mustard! I love the ebony fret board look just like I have on my Gibson SG Special.;)


;>)/
 
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Sérgio said:
What kind of finish does it have?

Is the body made of mahogany with a "walnut" color stain or is it really walnut?
Click to expand...

The finish is Gibson Lacquer. Probably glossy when new. More like a faded after 39 years
of cigarette smoke, grease from tavern kitchens, girl perfume, blood, sweat and beers.
The 1978-1979 models had a body made of real walnut. The ones I've seen online were
made of more than one piece, not that this matters. Some of them have a visible line that
doesn't match, and that bugs me somewhat. Those are cheaper... hmmm...

The 1980-1983 models had regular Gibson mahogany SG bodies, and maybe a walnut stain.
I haven't been looking at those, because I would like to find one of the earlier walnut built
guitars, for a price I can't resist.

The ones I've seen had a three piece neck, laminated with layers of wood going different
ways, for strength. This is an accepted furniture making technique, and very traditional.
Guitarists didn't like this "70s Norlin innovation", and tried to claim it sucks tone. (not true).
Many Norlin Gibson guitars have this feature. Guitarists who see this from a point of view
of ignorant closed mindedness usually react: "WTF Gibson!"

That's why I'm interested in anyone's experience with all this innovation, plus the
'Velvet Brick...'
 
I can’t speak to anything other than the three piece neck.

My ‘74 SG has that. It’s a fine, stable neck. I have no issues with it.

Tone suckage?

Naw.
 
To continue in the vein of Mr Black SG,

Brother Grey Poupon,,,,,,,,,, let me just say, the T Tops SHOULD NOT yield Tone suckage, plus will easily command $300+ of the purchase price of one of these Norlin SG's. In other words, if you were to hunt merely for T Tops like I did to put in my EPI LP, you will find their prices to reflect this.

Then if you manage to find one of these guitars for anywhere between $300 and $1000 +/- I am sure you could find one that would become more than acceptable as an addition to your guitars that speak to you.
In your original picture I see 2 different uncovered pups, the Zebra and the all black.
I personally LOVE those over covered versions. Just my quirk,,,,,,,,,,, HA

Oh yeah, and if you find one,,,,,,,,,,,,, do you plan to stick to the modus operandi and only buy after a personal test drive?
 
Last edited:
Col Mustard said:
sooooooo..... you must not have thought too much of it, if you let it go.
Tell me what you remember about playing it.
Click to expand...

To tell the truth I wore it out and my guitar tech at the time said it would cost more to replace the fingerboard and frets than it was worth at the time
Back in the 1980'S our band would play 6 sets 10:00PM to 4:00AM three nights a week.
 
A Ringing endorsement for the guitar in question!!!!
67plexi said:
To tell the truth I wore it out and my guitar tech at the time said it would cost more to replace the fingerboard and frets than it was worth at the time
Back in the 1980'S our band would play 6 sets 10:00PM to 4:00AM three nights a week.
Click to expand...
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
To continue in the vein of Mr Black SG,

Brother Grey Poupon,,,,,,,,,, let me just say, the T Tops SHOULD NOT yield Tone suckage, plus will easily command $300+ of the purchase price of one of these Norlin SG's. In other words, if you were to hunt merely for T Tops like I did to put in my EPI LP, you will find their prices to reflect this.

Then if you manage to find one of these guitars for anywhere between $300 and $1000 +/- I am sure you could find one that would become more than acceptable as an addition to your guitars that speak to you.
In your original picture I see 2 different uncovered pups, the Zebra and the all black.
I personally LOVE those over covered versions. Just my quirk,,,,,,,,,,, HA

Oh yeah, and if you find one,,,,,,,,,,,,, do you plan to stick to the modus operandi and only buy after a personal test drive?
Click to expand...

I like the cover on the neck pick up and no cover on the bridge pup look on my Gibson SG just like Jimmy does with his LP's.:wink:

LP_Page_2.jpg



;>)/
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
let me just say, the T Tops will easily command $300+ of the purchase price of one of these Norlin SG's.

Oh yeah, and if you find one,,,,,,,,,,,,, do you plan to stick to the modus operandi and only buy after a personal test drive?
Click to expand...

I had no idea the p'ups were so desirable... And thanks '67 for giving me your endorsement. I figured there might be
players on these boards who had owned one at some time.

And I'd love to go on a guitar quest, looking in all the coolest guitar shops until I found somebody who had a '79 The SG
for sale. That would be fun, and my girl would likely enjoy the road trip. (I'd make sure she did...) She'd find what I was
looking for quickly and without fuss, and punch up the GPS with the correct coordinates, so we wouldn't have to be blindly
sniffing about like mice in a corn maze.

But if I saw one of these for sale online from a reputable dealer at a price I could afford, AND which didn't show three
different colored walnut planks TOO obtrusively, I'd be tempted to whip out my master card and just order it.
I know I usually caution our colleagues here never to do that.

But in my case, the ban doesn't apply. I'm perfectly comfortable ordering a guitar like this on line without playing it because:

1. I already know that I want it. Not wishy washy at all, so there isn't much that would disappoint me or turn me off, short
of an outright swindle. (like finding Epiphone pickups where the T-tops were said to be). Or if the neck was Warpo Marx...

2. I'm the kind of guitar buyer who doesn't make a move until I'm sure. When I'm sure, then it's mine and I'll take responsibility
for putting it into playable shape for my style. So I would never expect perfection from buying something blind. I would expect to
take the instrument right away to my favorite luthier, and have him check it all over and set it up perfectly for me. I'm usually able
to keep it that way after getting one pro job done.

3. I'm no crybaby. If I bought a guitar that turned out to be less than I expected, I would blame only my fool self and the lying
bastard who cheated me. And then, since what I want is that Walnut guitar with the Ebony Fretboard, I'd likely take it on as
a restoration project and try to put it back to factory... (spending not just too much money, but way too much). *shrugs
Have you ever seen a crybaby post from me? ...complaining that I bought a guitar that turned out to have a hairline crack in the
finish OMFG... WTF Gibson! How could they do this to me... There's a DIMPLE in the lacquer on my brand new Les Paul
Standard Custom Traditional Slim Neck Premiere Figured Tribute HP Hogwarts Limited Edition...

No. No crybaby stuff. If I have a problem with a guitar I bought, I just fix it. So I can freely venture out into
cyberspace, and boldly go where others fear to tread. So I'm still looking, and dreaming.
 
BlackSG91 said:
I noticed the neck pick up is closer to the fret board than on regular SG guitars because lack of bevelling on the horns. I bet it has a more bluesy tone to it.

1979-firebrand-jpg.10744



;>)/
Click to expand...

Col says: Now you begin to get it... That's one of the interesting features to this instrument...
Gibson doesn't make 'em like this any more. Watch for the 2019 Gibson "The SG" Re-issue with
a modernistic harmonica bridge and a 40th year anniversary medallion behind the headstock.
...only $2750... chainsaw case included

Oh yeah and, Jimmy Page gives me the creeps. I was never a Led Zep fan.
baby baby baby baby...
 
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