The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model that was introduced in 1961 (as the Gibson Les Paul) by Gibson, and remains in production today with many variations on the initial design available. The SG Standard is Gibson’s best selling model of all time.

Origins
In 1960, Gibson Les Paul sales were significantly lower than in previous years. The following year, the Les Paul was given a thinner, flat-topped mahogany body, and had a double cutaway which made the upper frets more accessible. The neck joint was moved by three frets to further ease access to the upper frets. The simpler body construction significantly reduced production costs, and the new Les Paul, with its slender neck profile and small heel was advertised as having the “fastest neck in the world”. Although the new guitar was popular, Les Paul himself did not care for the new design (nor did he have anything to do with it), and requested the removal of his name from the new model. He remained under contract to Gibson, however, and he was photographed with the new model several times.

Gibson honored Les Paul’s request, and the new model was renamed “SG”, which stood for ‘Solid Guitar’. Les Paul’s name was officially deleted in 1963, but the SG continued to feature Les Paul nameplates and truss rod covers until the end of 1963.

In the early-to-mid 1960s Gibson’s parent corporation, Chicago Musical Instruments, also revived the “Kalamazoo” brand name for a short time. Later models of the Kalamazoo KG-1 and KG-2 featured a body style similar to the Gibson SG, effectively creating a budget-line model until the brand was dropped in the late 1960s. Gibson currently releases lower-cost, internationally sourced versions of the SG through their present-day subsidiary, Epiphone.

Because of its popularity and vintage heritage, the body style of the SG is often copied by other manufacturers, although much less frequently than the Les Paul and the Fender Stratocaster.

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