60's SG nutwidth ?

electricskychurch · Post by **electricskychurch** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 8:09 pm

i'm trying to figure out all the differences between 60's SG's , 70-71' SG's, with the actual (or 90's and on) SG standard, SG61' RI and custom shop SG's.
one thing i'm not sure about is the nutwidth of the 60's and 70-71' SG's.
i read on provide.net the gibson nutwidth was 1 11/16" in the early 60's to about 65' when it became about 1 9/16 or 1 5/8" .
then, from what they say, it seems they went back to 1 11/16" about 68',
what seems to be 1,6875 " (actual SG standard and SG61' ri are given for 1,695" ) , whereas 1, 625 is 1 5/8", like what would be the 65-67' gibson nutwidth (like the Angus Young SG signature).

before i read that, i was sure the late 60's SG's (about 68' to late 69' or 70') had a 1,625" nutwidth, as i had read Angus favorite SG was a 68' due to his small hands and his signature SG nutwidth was the same as this late 60's SG with an even shallower neck ( but not as deep as the original late 60's ones; still for the same reason ).

i emailed two guys that have a 69' SG ; one said the nutwidth is 1 5/8" (1,625" like Angus signature SG ) while the other said it's even smaller 1 9/16" ,what seems to be 1,5625" !!!

i didn't even know there was an even narrower neck nutwidth than the 1,625" that is already really narrow but all that seems to confirm what i thought at first, late 60's SG necks would be the ones with the narrowest nutwidth.

can you give me the nutwidth on your 60's and very early 70's SG guitars ?

maybe it was different for the ES-335 and similar guitars that might have had the narrowest nutwidth between 65' and 67' as i read somewhere ( as specified on provide.net ) ?

Roe · Post by **Roe** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 1:53 pm

ang's SG is supposed to be extra narrow. I guess 1 9/16 or less

electricskychurch · Post by **electricskychurch** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 6:33 pm

i know the angus young SG specifications as they are written on the gibson website (1,625") but if you could tell me what are the nutwidth found on most 1961 , 1962 , 1963 , 1964 , 1965 , 1966 , 1967 , 1968 ,1969 , 1970 and 1971' SG 's i'd be happy ! LOL
or at least from 61' to 62', 62 to 65' , 65' to 67', 67'to 69' and 70' to 71'.

also, despite the Angus SG is extra narrow , it seems there are even narrower necks from what i was told (and read as well) : 1 9/16" = 1,5625" , what is not even 4cm ! ( angus SG i 1,625" = 1 5/8" ; about 4,12cm))

living in France, the only way for me to know precisely what vintage SG i have to look for on the web, knowing i might only buy one for the moment as the vintage ones are quiet expensive most of the time , is to know the specifications precisely as i can find very few in france to try them !
i don't want to buy a guitar that won't have the neck spec i look for ( too narrow especialy) so, to target the year that would be the best for me, i would need those infos.
i like to have several different nice guitars although none is a vintage one actualy but not spending all my money in one or two guitars at 10 000$ or 15 000 $ .
i have a few gibson USA serie and custom shop guitars, as well as two fender vintage reissues but would like to compare my SG guitars with good pu's (clones or T-Tops) to a 60's one to see if there really is a difference due to those larger necks at the neck joint on the vintage ones.
although it might not be really easy to compare with one vintage SG only (as i have several actual ones)

Roe · Post by **Roe** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:28 am

Im not talking about the signature model but ang's old sg

fkh · Post by **fkh** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:25 pm

Hi.

Just been messurring my 71 Standard.
It is very narrow and seems like it is 4,09 cm ( don't know about inchs's "" )

But as we have been discusing before :
I believe that Angus' main guitar in the early years was definately a 70 or 71. !!

Yuo can clearly see the volute on several pics and many times in the "Jewles" dvd.

I have a lot of more detailed pics of my 71 Standard right here :
http://fkh.dk/SG71/

electricskychurch · Post by **electricskychurch** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:07 pm

sorry , i thought you were talking about the signature model !

1 9/16" (1,5625") is too narrow for me i think.
i don't have huge fingers but i noticed i was not very comfortable when had the angus young SG signature when playing near the nut.
it was 1,625" (1 5/8") and i recently noticed my mark knopfler strat is the same (whereas the 62' ri is 1,650") and i'm quiet comfortable with it but i play differently with a strat than with a tele , SG or les paul !

your 71' SG should be 1,625"/ 4,1275 cm what is close to what you measured.

yes, the first SG was an SG with volute and i suppose it might have been a 70' or 71' SG standard but i was told recently by a guy in USA that owns several 60's SG's that the volute appeared somewhere in 69'.

i was told today by this guy that Gibson used 1 11/16" until 65' when they changed to 1 9/16" .
i would like to verify that and know when they changed to 1 5/8" and again to 1 11/16".
but it might not be as simple as that as is oftnethe case with Gibson, Fender, Marshall...

MLD · Post by **MLD** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:47 am

The nut width on my '69 (with volute) is 1 9/16".

electricskychurch · Post by **electricskychurch** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 4:34 pm

thanks !

i am interested in buying a 69' SG as the late 60's SG 's are more affordable than the earlier ones but it seems many are 1 9/16" what would be too narrow for my taste !
seems i won't get a wider than 1 5/8" if i buy a mid to late 60's one !
on 4 or 5 SG 69' i was told the nut width, 1 only was 1 5/8" (1,625")

fkh · Post by **fkh** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 4:45 am

MLD wrote :

The nut width on my '69 (with volute) is 1 9/16".

Thanks for sharing !

Could you show some pics ??

Does it say " Made in USA" on the back of the headstock ??

What are the codes on pots ??

Mynameisfritz · Post by **Mynameisfritz** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:44 pm

My '68 (no volute, no 'Made in USA', 3-piece neck) has 4 cm. It's very comfortable to play.

I figured out that on many late 60 SG's there's a small step where the neck meets the body on the back of the instrument. On my SG there's no such step, it's all straight and plain. Maybe it is worth to consider that aspect too - which leads back to the whole neckjoint issue.

MLD · Post by **MLD** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:02 am

fkh wrote:MLD wrote :
The nut width on my '69 (with volute) is 1 9/16".
Thanks for sharing !

Could you show some pics ??

Does it say " Made in USA" on the back of the headstock ??

What are the codes on pots ??

It does say "MADE IN U.S.A." on the back of the headstock. The codes on the pots, as near as I can tell, are CBA-811-1158 500K AT 137711. I'll try and get some pics up in a day or two, anything in particular?

electricskychurch · Post by **electricskychurch** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:49 am

sure, the neck joints on the reissue SG61' , SG standard & SG classic USA serie are not as thick as the original late 60's ones and are made differntly .
if i remember well , i saw some early 60's SG's with that sort step at the neck joint (i think there are pictures of them on this forum); some have it, some don't and have a smooth neck joint.
chances are this different neck joint and neck thickness plays a role on the tone and might make a difference with actual SG's ; i never tried a vintage one though !
in another hand, i don't always believe older is better and i'm sure some actal guitars (with the right pu's) sound better than some old ones .

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