Gibson SG Custom Owned by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco Solid Body Electric Guitar (1963)
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Item #13118
Gibson SG Custom Owned by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1963), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 103387, white lacquer finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This white SG Custom is an ex-Wilco instrument, a notable former stage guitar especially remembered as played by Jeff Tweedy on the band's incendiary 2015 20th anniversary tour. It is also a somewhat enigmatic example of one of our favorite 1960s Gibson creations. This guitar shows evidence of a likely factory re-neck and overfinish; it was not stripped and RE-finished, just had a new coat of white shot over the original. This was not generally standard Gibson procedure (they would usually fully strip a refinish project) so we cannot *absolutely* verify it as factory work, but the white finish is very old and is a match to the original style of lacquers used by Gibson in that period.
The three pickups are the original patent # humbuckers, and all hardware and wiring components appear original to the period except for a slightly later but otherwise correct bridge; the legible pot date is the 32nd week of 1962. That opens up the central mystery about this guitar; although the serial number and body specs are correct for 1963, the neck has the narrow 1 9/16" nut width not generally seen until later 1965. Was it ordered this way? Possible but unlikely. Was the neck thinned before the overfinish (and perhaps the reason for it?) Also possible. Was the neck replaced in 1965-6? That is the most likely explanation, especially as the internal pocked shows evidence of this. Certainly SGs (especially Customs and Standards) are famous for incurring neck and heel damage and Gibson would virtually always completely replace a defective or broken neck, not attempt to repair it.
In another oddity all the hardware is nickel plated, not gold as was standard for the Custom. THIS is something we have seen before (some players did not like the fast-wearing gold plating and ordered instrument with this substitution) but again the why is unknowable at this point. The Tune-O-Matic bridge is chrome plated with Nylon saddles; correct for the later '60s; was this also replaced c. 1966?
A mystery wrapped in an enigmatic coat of white, this Custom keeps its secrets well. Long after its 1960s original '60s origins this was a prominent Wilco stage guitar for a time, and whatever its prior story remains is a great playing and sounding instrument with an impeccable provenance. The SG Custom in general has been a favorite of many players over the years (besides Mr. Tweedy including Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Mike Nesmith, to name two of our left-of-field favorites) and always a "wow"-producing instrument even on just opening the case!
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This guitar shows a history of repair and overfinishing but still looks quite correct and remains an excellent player. While it appears to have had the neck re-attached or (more likely) replaced a long time ago, the neck tenon at the heel does not appear to have been broken, but detached; it has been set back into the cavity with a shim on the treble side visible in the pickup cavity. This is a very solid repair and the heel area is not showing any further movement. As noted above it is quite likely this is a slightly later Gibson neck as the nut width suggests 1965-6 more than 1963.
As noted likely as part of this repair the entire instrument was overshot with white that closely matches the original color; there are two coats of white on the body; the neck is harder to determine. A complete over/refinish was a common procedure as part of major repairs decades ago, to make the guitar look new again. The serial number on the back of the headstock is somewhat obscured but just about legible; if indeed this is a factory re-neck it would have been re-stamped by hand (Gibson always kept the original serial number).
There is noticeable heavy broad checking over much of the finish, characteristic of heavier finishes with an extra layer on the body. The guitar has been well played since and the finish shows subsequent wear including some mostly small chips and dings, there are a couple where the original white lacquer is visible under the overcoating. It also appears to have been buffed at some point removing most of the thin lacquer clearcoat applied over the white, which is visible over parts of the instrument under blacklight.
All hardware except the slightly later '60s chrome Tune-O-Matic bridge appears original. The three patent number humbucking pickups, pots and wiring all appear original to the guitar; as noted the hardware is all matching nickel plate with no evidence of ever having gold plating, indicating the guitar was originally ordered that way. This is unusual but not unheard of. The screw securing the trem arm is the only other non-original part we can note.
The guitar has been neatly refretted with rather narrow wire for a Gibson including a replaced nut. While rather an enigmatic piece it is also a superb playing and sounding instrument, a longtime denizen of the Wilco Loft and for a time a favorite there. It resides in a later shaped HSC with the standard Loft identifying markings along the base, with the matching serial number but identifying the guitar as a 1964. Overall Very Good Condition.
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This white SG Custom is an ex-Wilco instrument, a notable former stage guitar especially remembered as played by Jeff Tweedy on the band's incendiary 2015 20th anniversary tour. It is also a somewhat enigmatic example of one of our favorite 1960s Gibson creations. This guitar shows evidence of a likely factory re-neck and overfinish; it was not stripped and RE-finished, just had a new coat of white shot over the original. This was not generally standard Gibson procedure (they would usually fully strip a refinish project) so we cannot *absolutely* verify it as factory work, but the white finish is very old and is a match to the original style of lacquers used by Gibson in that period.
The three pickups are the original patent # humbuckers, and all hardware and wiring components appear original to the period except for a slightly later but otherwise correct bridge; the legible pot date is the 32nd week of 1962. That opens up the central mystery about this guitar; although the serial number and body specs are correct for 1963, the neck has the narrow 1 9/16" nut width not generally seen until later 1965. Was it ordered this way? Possible but unlikely. Was the neck thinned before the overfinish (and perhaps the reason for it?) Also possible. Was the neck replaced in 1965-6? That is the most likely explanation, especially as the internal pocked shows evidence of this. Certainly SGs (especially Customs and Standards) are famous for incurring neck and heel damage and Gibson would virtually always completely replace a defective or broken neck, not attempt to repair it.
In another oddity all the hardware is nickel plated, not gold as was standard for the Custom. THIS is something we have seen before (some players did not like the fast-wearing gold plating and ordered instrument with this substitution) but again the why is unknowable at this point. The Tune-O-Matic bridge is chrome plated with Nylon saddles; correct for the later '60s; was this also replaced c. 1966?
A mystery wrapped in an enigmatic coat of white, this Custom keeps its secrets well. Long after its 1960s original '60s origins this was a prominent Wilco stage guitar for a time, and whatever its prior story remains is a great playing and sounding instrument with an impeccable provenance. The SG Custom in general has been a favorite of many players over the years (besides Mr. Tweedy including Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Mike Nesmith, to name two of our left-of-field favorites) and always a "wow"-producing instrument even on just opening the case!
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This guitar shows a history of repair and overfinishing but still looks quite correct and remains an excellent player. While it appears to have had the neck re-attached or (more likely) replaced a long time ago, the neck tenon at the heel does not appear to have been broken, but detached; it has been set back into the cavity with a shim on the treble side visible in the pickup cavity. This is a very solid repair and the heel area is not showing any further movement. As noted above it is quite likely this is a slightly later Gibson neck as the nut width suggests 1965-6 more than 1963.
As noted likely as part of this repair the entire instrument was overshot with white that closely matches the original color; there are two coats of white on the body; the neck is harder to determine. A complete over/refinish was a common procedure as part of major repairs decades ago, to make the guitar look new again. The serial number on the back of the headstock is somewhat obscured but just about legible; if indeed this is a factory re-neck it would have been re-stamped by hand (Gibson always kept the original serial number).
There is noticeable heavy broad checking over much of the finish, characteristic of heavier finishes with an extra layer on the body. The guitar has been well played since and the finish shows subsequent wear including some mostly small chips and dings, there are a couple where the original white lacquer is visible under the overcoating. It also appears to have been buffed at some point removing most of the thin lacquer clearcoat applied over the white, which is visible over parts of the instrument under blacklight.
All hardware except the slightly later '60s chrome Tune-O-Matic bridge appears original. The three patent number humbucking pickups, pots and wiring all appear original to the guitar; as noted the hardware is all matching nickel plate with no evidence of ever having gold plating, indicating the guitar was originally ordered that way. This is unusual but not unheard of. The screw securing the trem arm is the only other non-original part we can note.
The guitar has been neatly refretted with rather narrow wire for a Gibson including a replaced nut. While rather an enigmatic piece it is also a superb playing and sounding instrument, a longtime denizen of the Wilco Loft and for a time a favorite there. It resides in a later shaped HSC with the standard Loft identifying markings along the base, with the matching serial number but identifying the guitar as a 1964. Overall Very Good Condition.
