Meanwhile, modern Custom/Historic SGs use a functionally identical design and have not gained a reputation for neck breaks. The design featured a substantial tenon spanning the entire width of the neck, which reached nearly to the back of the neck pickup cavity as well. Also, people seem to assume the early '60s design is weak simply because of how it looks from the outside, without knowing the design of the mortise and tenon. Generally speaking, SGs were not treated with care until they started gaining vintage status in the 1990s, much later than the Les Paul. You wouldn't call a Stradivarius violin 'flimsy'. Simply put, fine instruments are often delicate and are to be treated with care. Headstock breaks are more common, but that still doesn't mean the design is somehow flawed. By the 1970s, heel joints became more standardized.Įditorial Note on the SG's 'Flimsy Heel': The idea that most vintage SGs have at some point had their neck broken is essentially a myth. Gibson redesigned the heel multiple times throughout this decade, although sometimes previous heel designs would re-appear. This is because the heel is an integral part of the body construction and bodies are used immediately and not set aside to wait, whereas parts like potentiometers are dated by the manufacturer before being shipped to Gibson and waiting to be installed, as the large batch is used up over time. One of the ways to date a 1960s SG in particular, is by the design of the heel. This means the guitar was most likely shipped out in the spring of 1961. This means the pots were made by Centralab (134) in 1961 (61) in the third week of the year (03). The code in question will be the topmost string, closest to the guitar's body. Ultimately, it's important to remember that no single feature is the absolute determinant factor in dating, but rather the totality of all features taken into consideration.Ĭentralab pots have their code on the side of the pots, making it more difficult to read than CTS. It is possible that a batch of forgotten pots from 1965 were discovered that year, but the reason is anyone's guess. Most commonly, this seems to occur on 1967 models with pots dating to 1965. In fact, it's not uncommon to find an SG with pots dated several years before it was actually made based on the other features.

However, they can also sometimes take a year or longer to be used. Generally assume 5–8 weeks between production and installation on a guitar. Being produced in large batches, it can be a while before every pot in a batch is installed on a guitar. However, it is important to remember that this date is when the pot was made, which necessarily has to be before the guitar was made. The code on the back or side of a potentiometer can normally be broken down into three main components: the manufacturer, the year and the week of manufacture.

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