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SG Case Year Identification

Andyoz

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May 6, 2016
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Ooopps!:## (I sure did)


This would HAVE to be a transitional case from that period..and only one of a handful I've EVER seen...
because other than the lining material, it is IDENTICAL to my '71 case..

I've never seen a brass latch case with a Gibson lid stencil, and have not seen a Gibson plaque on a nickel latch case..(YET?!? Doubtful, but as we ALL know, NOTHING is absolute from this time frame!)

OK, that sort of explains why I started the thread. The case lining didn't seem to fit in with the other dating cues I was seeing in all the pictures of other cases on the web...
 

67SG

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Jun 5, 2004
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Then I think your case is early to mid 70s. :)

Hi Tom, thanks for the info. The case was actually in better condition than the guitar was. I had a mercy refin to lefty - :peace2 Can you tell from one of the pickups on a year from the guitar itself. Sorry for the hijack guys...... See below.



 

Reno_1ted

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Sep 21, 2014
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665
Ooopps!:## (I sure did)


This would HAVE to be a transitional case from that period..and only one of a handful I've EVER seen...
because other than the lining material, it is IDENTICAL to my '71 case..

I've never seen a brass latch case with a Gibson lid stencil, and have not seen a Gibson plaque on a nickel latch case..(YET?!? Doubtful, but as we ALL know, NOTHING is absolute from this time frame!)

That was my thought also, a pretty rare case then really. :salude
 

Kris Ford

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Hi Tom, thanks for the info. The case was actually in better condition than the guitar was. I had a mercy refin to lefty - :peace2 Can you tell from one of the pickups on a year from the guitar itself. Sorry for the hijack guys...... See below.




Not year specific, but I can say that is what SG P90s looked like from 1967-1972. (The odd SG Pro used these as well, with large surrounds.):peace2
 

67SG

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Not year specific, but I can say that is what SG P90s looked like from 1967-1972. (The odd SG Pro used these as well, with large surrounds.):peace2

Thanks Kris. I had that pickup tested before I moved back to the Chicago area by a wonderful Michigan tech - Mike Koontz. That is his writing on the back.
 

Kris Ford

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Thanks Kris. I had that pickup tested before I moved back to the Chicago area by a wonderful Michigan tech - Mike Koontz. That is his writing on the back.

Oh yeah, I used to live on the block over from Mike's shop in Ferndale, MI..and have been there more than a few times! :spabout
He dropped what he was doing to rewire my old '69 EB-3..great guy!
 

Monroe

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Mar 11, 2008
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Great guy and superb luthier/tech. He does all my refrets, and I recommend him highly.
Last time I was there, there was a really cool 57 Strat on his bench that was sent to him by a certain famous Aussy.
 

67SG

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Thanks Tom, will do that.

Well still using my crappy camera phone, but from what I can make out on the pot it says - R 13786. Could be 13785. It might not tell me much as the luthier cut both sides and moved the controls over to make it lefty. Maybe he used modern ( around 1988-90, foggy memory ) parts. Any way, if someone knows what these are, because I really do not - thanks in advance.







 

67SG

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That would be 1986 [or 1985] for the date of the pot with that code number.


Thanks Tom, that makes sense. I bought it around 84. Had a hand painted finished, bent white plastic tuners. Really a crap deal, but I saw potential and took a chance. My first guitar was a 63/64 Epi - Coronet with bat wings and the neck was sublime. This is equal or better, but has the skinny neck near the nut. Leads are butter, but playing chord work is not it main forte. Whatever year it is, being a lefty suck and I tried many times going righty. It was sort of like trying to sing and play guitar for me at the same time - not gonna happen.:laugh2:

I thank you for taking the time to help and to the OP for the highjack.

I did take a pic outdoors getting gas, so the phone seems to like the outdoors better.



 

moonweasel

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Jan 20, 2004
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Never would have predicted an SG case thread would go two pages!!! hahah

Awesome.

I am very late to the party, and not an SG case expert. Curious to see if "LSLP Case dating logic" applies to SG cases as well. I would have guessed VERY late 69 but most likely 1970. (orange lining + a logo on the outside of case)

Kris, how did I do? :)


Also,

When did the "faux stitching" go away on Gibson case handles? Here are pics from my 68 style LSLP case (labeled A), and an early 1970 purple lined LP case. One of the first things I noticed on the OP case (besides the shiny latches that everyone else noticed and have already solved) was the lack of "stitches" on the handle. Maybe a different handle was used on SG cases?

casecomp4.jpg
 
Last edited:

Tom Wittrock

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Aug 2, 2001
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42,567
I have always suspected that minor details on guitar cases varied from batch to batch, based on the convenience of manufacturing. If a certain part [like a handle with stitching] wasn't immediately available, they likely substituted other handles to get the product out the door.
We do know that that is what happened with the 50s brown Lifton cases. Non-brown handles were painted brown so production was not slowed while waiting for brown ones to be made.
 

moonweasel

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Jan 20, 2004
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I have always suspected that minor details on guitar cases varied from batch to batch, based on the convenience of manufacturing. If a certain part [like a handle with stitching] wasn't immediately available, they likely substituted other handles to get the product out the door.
We do know that that is what happened with the 50s brown Lifton cases. Non-brown handles were painted brown so production was not slowed while waiting for brown ones to be made.

Tom, thanks for sharing! That is an awesome detail about the handles, I had no idea.
 
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