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Took Me 45 Years To Get My Dream Guitar!

maxwedge

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Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
674
Yep I'm 62 now and back in 1974 I was a die hard Tonny Iommi and Pete Townshend fan, and wanted a red SG Special like nothing else! Well I never got one but I did pick up a 64 cherry Junior that was and still is a great sounding SG, surprisingly with all of the crappy mods what I've inflected on it through the years! That is now at Gary Brower's repair shop is SF getting those holes filled! :dang

So well, I got my special last Wednesday and I think that I'm in love again! I got it from Jay Rosen out of Emeryville Ca, real nice guy.
She's not perfect and has here bumps and bruises and most of the old ones do but I'm okay with that. Yes, you'll see that it has the typical repair at the jack but it was okay with me and may be I can get that area fixed up a bit better later but the rest is all original except for some of the screws.

Anyway, here's my new 63 Gibson SG Special in Dark Cherry.
1st the pictures from Gary and these an example why high resolution photos should be requested before buying sight unseen, because there's much more to be seen in hand!!:hmm!
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Midnight Blues

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
1,703
Very nice and even better that you were able to realize your dream!

Congrats, HNGD
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and play her in good health!
 

Fried okra

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 15, 2013
Messages
3,156
Congrats man. I love SGs too and that one is a beauty. Those early P90s are righteous. :yah
 

maxwedge

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
674
Yes, 63 was a good year! I was looking for 63-64 or early 65 and this was in my price range so I went for it.
Thanks everyone!:salude
 

maxwedge

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
674
Untouched control cavity!:)
I got one pot that I was able to lift out and read the 1346326 date code putting it at mid/late 63. There's a lot of corrosion on the pots, would you leave it or brush it off? It comes off easy and I had to use a tooth brush to read the date code.

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Lot of corrosion on the pickup bases too but I did brush those off.
Got rid of that foam under the lead pickup that has hardened up, put some new foam in and shimmed it up about 3/32"

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maxwedge

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
674
Thanks guys!:salude
This one is a really dark cherry and I'm not sure if it was a different color offering over the regular cherry we see all of the time. My photos make it look bright but it's in the sunlight. Actually, the control cavity and pickup shots show the real color, very dark.
 

fernieite

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 3, 2010
Messages
609
Congrats on the nice SG Special! As you probably know, Santana was another one who played one of these. My favorite era of his playing actually.

45 years is a long time! I only had to wait maybe 15 years to finally get my 63 SG (Les Paul) junior. :hank



 
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maxwedge

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Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
674
Congrats on the nice SG Special! As you probably know, Santana was another one who played one of these. My favorite era of his playing actually.

45 years is a long time! I only had to wait maybe 15 years to finally get my 63 sg junior. :hank



https://www.gbase.com/stores/silver-strings-music

Got my 64 SG Junior is '77 when I was 17! I had brought home a refin, I wanna say standard in black with humbuckers, and I played it for 2 days and took it back because I didn't like the way it sounded and got the Junior. I'm pretty sure it was a small guard and had no mastro but can't remember anything about the bridge. Maybe it was a conversion from a special.
Thanks fernieite
 

maxwedge

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Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
674
I know that we don't know a lot about each other around here but I'm also a cyclist so here's a shot with my clubs current jersey. Cycling rescued me from a life of drugs, alcohol and rock n' roll. Got into it in the early 90's.
Lamorinda Cycling Club, CBRE (Coldwell Banker Real Estate) & Toyota Walnut Creek as title sponsors based out of the SF Bay Area East Bay.

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R8 Flame Top

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Joined
Mar 17, 2004
Messages
69
Maxwedge, Congrats on your new guitar!! Good to see another cyclist on the forum. I have been riding for the last 8 years. It is the best way to stay in shape!! I ride as often as I can. What kind of bike do you ride? My main bike is a Trek Madone 4.5.
 
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maxwedge

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Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
674
Well that's cool!
I have several but mostly race on my 16 Lynskey R460 disc and have my old standby, a 97 Litespeed Classic that I train and commute on. Also have a late 90's Merckx steel bike in Molteni Orange!:salude
I usually get in around 200 miles a week although the last few weeks have been kind of bla..
Where are you from? Belong to a club?
 

R8 Flame Top

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2004
Messages
69
I'm in Northern Virginia. We live about 1 mile from the W&OD bike trail. It's a 45 mile trail. I usually ride 100 to 125 miles a week. I don't belong to a club but my wife thinks I should look into one. She rides with me when she can. We both really enjoy riding. I think you are in the SF bay area? Is your Lynskey a Titanium frame?
 

maxwedge

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
674
Titanium is all that Lynskey does. Lynskey is the family that started Litespeed but had to sell the company in the mid 2000's due to money issues. They head to wait some years before building bikes again and then started under their own name.
Yeah, I'm in Concord, about 20 miles east of SF. Right at the base of Mt Diablo.
 

SpencerD

Active member
Joined
Mar 11, 2016
Messages
910
Nice guitar man.

Explain please how cycling rescued you from rock and roll but you still bought this guitar.

What the fuck is that about? --- That's a rock and roll guitar.
 

maxwedge

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
674
Nice guitar man.

Explain please how cycling rescued you from rock and roll but you still bought this guitar.

What the fuck is that about? --- That's a rock and roll guitar.
:hmm
I suppose what I mean, and I was just joking, at the time that I picked up cycling: I was doing a lot of drugs, drinking excessively, getting divorced, losing my house and doing the band thing. The band that I was in at the time broke up over the drummer who was a heroin addict and we had just spent 2 years working out a good set of originals. I was pissed and needed a change, needed to clear my head out and get healthy. So I moved, got through with the divorce and started running because I had been a runner in high school. That was hard going but I happened to go over to my parents house and they were getting stuff ready for a garage sale. They were going to sell my moms French road bike so I said " hey I'll take that!". Started riding that thing, found out about bike racing and that was that! Bought a real race bike and put my guitars under the bed for the next 6 years or so. This was in my mid 30's.
Then I broke my leg bad, got married again, bought a house and had a kid. Now I had no time for anything but work.
There's more but I think the rescue part is explained. :salude
Now I'm 62 but I've been playing the guitar since 8 and in bands starting in junior high school.
 
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