Here we have a great example of a guitar that defies all of my expectations. I’m not a huge fan of SG’s generally. The whiplike neck and fragility always was a bit of a turn off to me, but I know that there are a lot of SG devotee’s out there. This example came across our door here at Queen City Guitar recently and it may have turned me into a fan.

This instrument has obviously been places. The pickups have been changed out, but they seem correct for the late 80’s. They certainly sound amazing. Rock and Roll is a better place because of guitars like this one. Plugging it in and powering up my trusty Champ clone is enough to give me Angus fantasies for days. This thing growls, howls, crunches and grinds just like I would imagine I would, if I were Angus.

The cosmetics are exactly what you would expect from an instrument that has been worked hard, but nevertheless cared for properly. The neck is not the whip-like slim 60’s profile I tend to dislike, and not only gives the guitar a more solid feel, it seems to wake up the body and get it vibrating like a body should.

As a collector, I imagine the unoriginal pickups can’t be great selling point, but as a player, this is the most desirable SG I’ve come across. Apparently ’87 was the last year for the original spec SG reissues, and so has inherently more value than any current iterations according to Vintage Guitar Magazine’s and Reverb.com’s Price Guides.

All in all, a rootin’ tootin’, rock and rollin’ son of a gun!