Gibson SG-TV Junior Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1965), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 318972, white lacquer finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, original brown chipboard case.
This gleaming white SG-TV Junior looks and sounds as sharp as can be, the epitome of 1960's Gibson badass cool. It is something of a "transition" model built around mid-1965. Illustrating once again the epic quagmire that is 1960's Gibson dating, this guitar carries an early 1965 serial number with pots dated to the middle of that year, but the neck has the old (and generally much preferred) wider 1 11/16" nut width and a much chunkier feel than most '65 necks; it is the classic '64 pattern.
Other construction features including the old-style squared neck joint, pickup mounted solidly to the body and smaller pickguard and control cavity are still 1964 spec. The wiring rig is all original and has a visible pot date to the 29th week of 1965. This was the single biggest year of the 1960's guitar boom, and inconsistencies abound!
This Junior mounts one very hot P-90 pickup and the older-style "capped" pre-1966 plastic knobs with the chrome bridge and vibrato tailpiece typical of 1965. For connoisseurs, this was the last great original year for the SG series; by 1966, the design was heavily modified with a generic large "swimming pool" rout in the body and pickguard covering the face to speed up production.
The solid white-finished examples like this (descendants of the 1950's limed mahogany "TV" models) were always made in smaller quantities than the cherry versions. Although it was a catalog option for years this finish seems to have been less popular with "the kids" in the 1960s. Only 716 white SG-TV Junior examples shipped in 1965, far below the total of 3570 Cherry-finished SG Juniors that left Kalamazoo that busy year.
The SG in any form Junior was and remains a very popular guitar, with good reason -- with the superlight mahogany body and one hot P-90 they remain one of the classic rock guitars of that or any era. This one has what we feel is a superb old-style neck, and is in spectacularly fine original condition, easily the nicest of this era we have had. Simply a superb player and stunner in looks and sound.
Overall length is 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm.), 13 3/16 in. (33.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is simply a superb all-original original example of this medium-rare Gibson with just some very light wear and no repairs or modifications. Unlike many this guitar has had no neck or heel cracks ever; this is a totally solid SG with an excellent neck angle and unusually good break over the bridge from the vibrato. Overall there are just some very small dings and dents to the finish with some small chips off the headstock edges. The white color is still quite pure and has not "curdled" as some have over the years. There is some minor scuffing to the plastic.
All hardware including the pickup and wiring rig remain original and unaltered. The original large frets have been crowned down a just bit but show hardly any subsequent wear. The guitar plays beautifully and sounds great, a classic one-pickup SG screamer in a lovely 1962-era heavy brown chipboard case that looks to have been with it since new, probably sitting at the dealer's since the Les Paul" marked SG era. This is in very fine shape except the original plastic handle is broken in the pocket, replaced with a leather one. Excellent + Condition.
