NGD - 2016 Limited Proprietary Gibson SG

[MuscleDad420]

I’ve wanted an SG for years. Paul Weller, Mick Taylor, George Harrison, Pete Townshend (albeit a Special), Jeff Tweedy, Ian MacKaye and Greg Hetson, among others, were all drawn to them. I like the idea of Les Pauls just fine, especially a Custom in black, but the way an SG pokes out in the mids, its weight, and the downright *devilish* look of an SG appeals to me more.

With all this downtime due to the ongoing coronavirus quarantine, I decided it was finally time to treat myself. I’ve been glued to Reverb, eBay, local listings, and Japanese used retailers for the past couple weeks. Initially I set out looking for a pre-2002 ‘61 reissue model because I wanted a *true* ABR-1 bridge, not a Nashville bridge or the faux ABR-1 that Gibson is passing off on their 2019-2020 models. After missing out on two that matched that criteria, an ‘02 in Georgia and a ‘98 in Shibuya, Tokyo, I lucked into this 2016 Limited Proprietary model ‘61 reissue, a special run made in small numbers for Sweetwater and Dave’s Guitar Shop. I had never heard of the model, which makes sense because apparently Gibson didn’t promote them in their lineup that year, most sold out fairly quick from the aforementioned retailers and many more were sent to foreign markets.

Aside from the ABR-1 and large period correct ‘61 SG headstock that Sweetwater and Dave’s spec’d, the bridge pickup is a ‘57 Classic Plus vs. the standard ‘57 Classic in ‘61 reissues from previous years. I typically like my bridge humbuckers in the mid-to-high 7k range, but I’m finding the little extra output to be appreciated. It’s an at-times subtle difference.

If you see one of these in the wild I highly suggest grabbing one. Onto pics:

[MuscleDad420]

Bah! I thought I was in the Non-Offset sub-forum. Mods!!


That's OK
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[DiAmoroso]

Looks great. The '57 Classics are great pickups, I have some in my ES-335.

[Maggieo]

Oh my gosh, that's perfect. Look at that bridge screw directly into the wood.

[Larry Mal]

Wait, the bridge is screwed right into the wood? But what about the wobbling? What about the slop?

[MuscleDad420]

Oh my gosh, that's perfect. Look at that bridge screw directly into the wood.

Yea, I had no idea this model existed until *after* I pulled the trigger. I assumed that it was an aftermarket ABR-1 on conversion bushings, but no. Once I realized what I lucked into, my excitement grew tenfold. It really threads the needle of pre-2003 Gibson USA appointments and modern Gibson SG’s with the more translucent cherry stain and stellar wood selection. I have to admit those ‘90s SG’s had pretty dark stains.

Wait, the bridge is screwed right into the wood? But what about the wobbling? What about the slop?

Haha yep, that’s the sum of my experience working with Nashville bridges.

[Larry Mal]

Wait, the bridge is screwed right into the wood? But what about the wobbling? What about the slop?

Haha yep, that’s the sum of my experience working with Nashville bridges.

I am known about here for my deep loathing of the Nashville bridge, so I can see that we are going to be friends already.

I always get around that slop- the tone is in the slop- by using those Faber insert posts, which work wonderfully, if you ever want to buy a Gibson with a Nashville bridge in the future.

"Gibson- there's a great guitar in there somewhere!"

[Unicorn Warrior]

Nice guitar man. A Gibson SG was my first good electric guitar. They’re light weight workhorses and solid instruments. After having departed with mine about 8 years ago, I believe I’m going to snag another soon.

Forgive my lack of knowledge, but what are the differences between the bridge styles you mentioned? Both functional and cosmetic

Advantages vs the other etc..

[Larry Mal]

I'll take a stab at that.

By coincidence, I am picking this guitar up from the shop today, it is much different now than it was when I took this little video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p64DHt_Aw6g

But as you can see, that's what a Nashville bridge does. But it's not just the bridge, really, it's the whole mechanism: the bridge/posts combination is held in place by these cheap little grommets that barely hold it, the bridge posts rock in the grommets and thus the body because they aren't held in by much, and the bridge isn't fixed to the posts at all and isn't tight to them, either.

The whole thing is just sloppy and loose. Kills the sound.

So, what our friend has above is an ABR bridge, in which the posts are just drilled into the body. They don't rock. They don't move.

The bridge is tight to the posts. I lock my bridge to my posts, it literally can't move at all.

This allows the strings to vibrate freely. It sounds better.

[Unicorn Warrior]

I'll take a stab at that.

By coincidence, I am picking this guitar up from the shop today, it is much different now than it was when I took this little video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p64DHt_Aw6g

But as you can see, that's what a Nashville bridge does. But it's not just the bridge, really, it's the whole mechanism: the bridge/posts combination is held in place by these cheap little grommets that barely hold it, the bridge posts rock in the grommets and thus the body because they aren't held in by much, and the bridge isn't fixed to the posts at all and isn't tight to them, either.

The whole thing is just sloppy and loose. Kills the sound.

So, what our friend has above is an ABR bridge, in which the posts are just drilled into the body. They don't rock. They don't move.

The bridge is tight to the posts. I lock my bridge to my posts, it literally can't move at all.

This allows the strings to vibrate freely. It sounds better.

Thanks for that info. Never really knew the difference. Does it have any effect on tuning stability?

[Larry Mal]

I can only imagine that it would, especially if you had a Bigsby on there or something. You might look to the Jazzmaster and say, well, what's wrong with a rocking bridge but the Jazzmaster's bridge is supposed to rock. That's part of the design of it- I still think that sucks, but at least they were intending it.

The Gibson design is just because it's cheaper to use shitty parts than not. It's an awful bridge design done cheaply with cheap parts and executed sloppily. How's that going to sound, you know?

[MuscleDad420]

Few more with plastics from Creamtone: 5-ply pickguard with the correct beveling, a slightly thicker neck tenon cover, “Les Paul” script truss rod cover, and black poker chip with the correct early ‘60s font. Been having a blast with this thing.

I am known about here for my deep loathing of the Nashville bridge, so I can see that we are going to be friends already.

I always get around that slop- the tone is in the slop- by using those Faber insert posts, which work wonderfully, if you ever want to buy a Gibson with a Nashville bridge in the future.

"Gibson- there's a great guitar in there somewhere!"

Yea, I loathe them. Both for the poor thread mating of the ferrules/height screw but also the fit of the bridge itself on the posts. I also dislike the way it looks on Gibson USA models that get reasonably close to the aesthetic features of the originals and then here comes that big, clunky Nashville bridge to fill the space between the pickup rings and tailpiece, and make the entire instrument look less elegant. I won't get started on the need to top-wrap the strings on every 3rd example because of a sloppy neck set angle either. That said, I have worked on some examples with Nashville bridges where the stars aligned, the bridge would stay put and you're able to deck the tailpiece and have justtttttt enough space between the strings and back end of the bridge.

As for the '70s and '80s Gibsons with Nashville bridges, that's fine. I find the tolerances were more exacting back in the day. That or there's enough sweat and dead skin cells filling the voids already that I never notice. My brain wants to see correct features on guitars from different eras -- might be some sort of undiagnosed OCD. No idea.

I was considering conversion inserts from either Callaham or Faber if I ended up with an SG that had a stock Nashville bridge. I have good experience with them, though as I do this sort of work for a living I tend to aim for a turn-key purchase. I know from experience I'll be that much happier if I don't have to immediately work on a new guitar once it arrives. I only had to set it up to my tastes...and get new plastics, of course!

[Larry Mal]

I think earlier Nashville bridges might have been made a little better, but they've been making them cheaper and cheaper over the years I think. Sending them from Asian factory to Asian factory, always with the goal of finding the cheapest one that will manufacture the bridges, always looking for a cheaper alloy.

[MuscleDad420]

I think earlier Nashville bridges might have been made a little better, but they've been making them cheaper and cheaper over the years I think. Sending them from Asian factory to Asian factory, always with the goal of finding the cheapest one that will manufacture the bridges, always looking for a cheaper alloy.

Earlier ones were definitely made better as they were Schaller designed and produced. Not sure if they still hold a patent or Gibson bought them out, or they continue to license it. Nowadays they're made by Advanced Plating outside of Nashville. It's likely the alloy that API uses is the same shitty Chinese pot metal import bridges are made out of to keep costs down to continue operations here in the states. We don't really refine raw ore domestically anymore. All our scrap and recycled alloy gets shipped overseas and melted down there, so we can feel good about not polluting here. I think the loose tolerances are intentional to prevent accidental stripping out of the threads.

[Maggieo]

Wait, the bridge is screwed right into the wood? But what about the wobbling? What about the slop?

Haha yep, that’s the sum of my experience working with Nashville bridges.

I am known about here for my deep loathing of the Nashville bridge, so I can see that we are going to be friends already.

I always get around that slop- the tone is in the slop- by using those Faber insert posts, which work wonderfully, if you ever want to buy a Gibson with a Nashville bridge in the future.

"Gibson- there's a great guitar in there somewhere!"

Larry has turned me into a Faber acolyte, too.