NGD! Well, sort of... 1968 Gibson SG Special

Cadorman

Cadorman

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Well, here is my 1986 Gibson SG Special. I bought it in 1986 for $200 at some little shop in Davenport Iowa. I was a 20 year old moron, so I replaced the original witch hat knobs and strung it lefty. Gave it to my brother a couple years later when I got my first Les Paul. Anyway, he just gave it back to me and I intend to restore it to stock. The pickguard is obviously home hacked and was done to put in the humbuckers. That is going to be replaced and going back to P90s. I'm also going to try to find an original style bridge and witch hat knobs. Also replace the knut as it has been destroyed by going right/left/right stringing. I'm leaving the Grovers on it. I like Grovers.

Questions:

Any recommendations for P90 pickups? And how do they mount?

I need the hardware to attach the whammy. Any clues as to what that should be?

And does anyone know what kind of bevel is accurate in 1968 on a batwing?
 
Cadorman said:
View attachment 111109
Well, here is my 1986 Gibson SG Special. I bought it in 1986 for $200 at some little shop in Davenport Iowa. I was a 20 year old moron, so I replaced the original witch hat knobs and strung it lefty. Gave it to my brother a couple years later when I got my first Les Paul. Anyway, he just gave it back to me and I intend to restore it to stock. The pickguard is obviously home hacked and was done to put in the humbuckers. That is going to be replaced and going back to P90s. I'm also going to try to find an original style bridge and witch hat knobs. Also replace the knut as it has been destroyed by going right/left/right stringing. I'm leaving the Grovers on it. I like Grovers.

Questions:

Any recommendations for P90 pickups? And how do they mount?

I need the hardware to attach the whammy. Any clues as to what that should be?

And does anyone know what kind of bevel is accurate in 1968 on a batwing?
Click to expand...
Might you remember the shop in Davenport? I lived about 45 minutes south of Davenport and hit a few shops on both sides of the river.
 
iblive said:
Might you remember the shop in Davenport? I lived about 45 minutes south of Davenport and hit a few shops on both sides of the river.
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I don't. It was so long ago. It was a really small shop down close to the river on the Iowa side. Couldn't have been much bigger than 500 square feet in the show room.
 
Cadorman said:
I don't. It was so long ago. It was a really small shop down close to the river on the Iowa side. Couldn't have been much bigger than 500 square feet in the show room.
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I’ve probably been in it back in the 70s. There was also a Hobby Shop downtown Davenport not too far off the river that I used to go to. Griggs Music was out on the north side of town on one of the major east west streets. Played a $10K Martin in there once. That was fun.

Edit: Griggs is also the store I bought a packet of medium Fender picks. Maybe a dozen picks in the package. Sometime in the 80s. I still have 4 or 5 left that I still am using today.
 
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Cadorman said:
Any recommendations for P90 pickups? And how do they mount?
Click to expand...
Now that you’ve revealed the pickup routes, they look kinda like humbucker routes. I don’t know if you’re going to be able to mount P90s without some wood removal. On second glance looks like they may be P90 routs for the pickguard mounted P90s. A pic with a ruler showing the long side measurement, shoulder to shoulder, would be helpful…if you don’t have a soap bar P90 to drop in for confirmation. Some pickup winders will build them for you, if you contact them about it. The difference between soap bar type, and pick guard mount is that the pickguard mounted P90s have a dogear P90 base plate (but a soap bar pickup cover)that’s been flipped upside down. There will either be threaded holes drilled, or clip nuts in place for the mounting screws to go through the pickguard and a couple of springs…for adjusting height.
So technically, you’d be able to convert a pair of dog ear P90s if you’re handy enough…you’d just need clip nuts, springs, and adjustment/mounting screws…maybe a couple of wood spacers iirc.
 
From google AI:

Gibson "Tarback" pickups, also officially known as Super Humbuckers, are legendary 1970s Gibson humbuckers designed by Bill Lawrence. Named for the black epoxy poured into the back to pot them, they are highly sought after for their articulate, crunchy, and booming vintage tone. [1, 2, 3]

What Makes Tarbacks Unique
  • The "Tar": The signature black epoxy on the bottom of the pickups was used by Bill Lawrence to prevent microphonics and withstand the higher amplification volumes of the 1970s. [1, 2]
  • Design: They feature T-Top bobbins mated with strong Indox 7 ceramic magnets (unlike the Alnico magnets used in other Gibson models). [1]
  • Resistance: Tarbacks are notorious for low DC Resistance (DCR). Neck pickups typically read around 5.2k Ω to 5.5k Ω, while bridge pickups read around 7.4k Ω to 7.6k Ω. [1, 2]


Tone and Legacy
Despite their low resistance, the ceramic magnets give Tarbacks a lot of bite, a clear top end, and an aggressive, punchy midrange. Users in the Gibson Forums note their smooth, creamy, and open-sounding presence that excels at driving amplifiers hard without getting muddy. [1, 3]

Guitars Equipped with Tarbacks
During the "Norlin Era" of the 1970s (specifically from late 1972 to 1985), Gibson loaded these pickups as stock equipment in several iconic models: [1]
  • Gibson L6-S
  • Gibson S-1 and Marauder
  • SG Custom (often with three pickups)
  • '76 Explorers and Flying Vs
  • ES Series [1, 2, 3, 4]
 
Cadorman said:
View attachment 111109
Well, here is my 1986 Gibson SG Special. I bought it in 1986 for $200 at some little shop in Davenport Iowa. I was a 20 year old moron, so I replaced the original witch hat knobs and strung it lefty. Gave it to my brother a couple years later when I got my first Les Paul. Anyway, he just gave it back to me and I intend to restore it to stock. The pickguard is obviously home hacked and was done to put in the humbuckers. That is going to be replaced and going back to P90s. I'm also going to try to find an original style bridge and witch hat knobs. Also replace the knut as it has been destroyed by going right/left/right stringing. I'm leaving the Grovers on it. I like Grovers.

Questions:

Any recommendations for P90 pickups? And how do they mount?

I need the hardware to attach the whammy. Any clues as to what that should be?

And does anyone know what kind of bevel is accurate in 1968 on a batwing?
Click to expand...

Congrats!

I have a set of Gibson P90s I'm willing to part with if you want to go with Gibson. I personally like a hot bridge P90, but I play hard rock and metal with it. For that I recommend the SD Custom P90 that was recommended to me by @syscokid and he wasn't wrong.

As for mounting the P90s, I looked up pics of a '68 Special and it looks like the original P90s would have been mounted to the pick guard by those screws off each end of the pickups.

xHGMhGt.png


For that you need special mounting brackets like in the link below. In fact you may want to go ahead and grab a couple because the last time I looked for some there were none to be found. Their pics only show mini hbs, but ignore that. Those 2 inside holes are for mounting the P90 to the bracket, then the 2 outside holes are to mount them to the pick guard just like any other pickup. The 2 bigger holes won't be used.

www.eyguitarmusic.com

P90 American Deluxe Mini Humbucker Mounting Bracket Plates-P

www.eyguitarmusic.com
 
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