The Gibson SG was first introduced in 1961. The “SG” stands for “solid guitar.” Gibson Les Paul sales were suffering, so the model was given a new body, that was thinner and two horns that were cutaway, to make the upper frets more accessible. The neck was a little heavy, which made it tilt downwards. It was thought that the Gibson SG would compete with the Fender Stratocaster. Due to the slender neck and the virtually non-existent heel, the guitar was advertised as having the “fastest neck in the world.”
The Gibson SG is constructed of a solid body, and a set neck joint. The body and neck is made of mahogany wood. The fret board is constructed of either ebony or rosewood. The pickups featured are 1, 2 or 3 humbucker pickups; 1 or 2 P-90s pickups; and certain entry-level versions had smaller single coil pickups. There are a variety of colors available including cherry, natural, walnut, mahogany, white, black and various specialty colors and bursts.
Since the introduction in 1961, there have been numerous models that have carried the name SG. There have been “Standard” and “Jr” model, as well as some top of the line known as “Custom”. Originally, the guitar was called Gibson Les Paul SG, but the “Les Paul” was dropped in late 1961. Between the years of 1961-1965, the guitar featured a small pick guard; in 1966 the body was redesigned slightly with a different neck joint and a larger, semi-symmetrical "batwing" pickguard appearing on 1967 models.
As a cost cutting measure, in 1971, Gibson released a version with a floating "Les Paul" style pickguard and a front-mounted control plate. Other models include the SG-100 and the fat single coil dual pickup Gibson SG-200 guitars, and the more luxurious SG Pro and SG Deluxe guitars.
In 1980, the first SG manufactured with "active" factory pickups was introduced. Gibson experimented with the SG that included the same Moog active electronics, which were used in another Gibson model.
Gibson has offered different variations and finishes on the basic SG body style and continues to manufacture special editions, including models such as the Special and Faded Special, Supreme, Tony Iommi Signature SG, Angus Young Signature SG, 961 Re-issue, Menace, and Gothic, as well as the premium-priced VOS replicas of the sixties SG Standard and Custom. Gibson also produces a les expensive replica; under the manufacturer name Epiphone, which Gibson owns. The model is known as the G-400 and also produced an "Elitist" model, a high quality '61 SG reissue made in Japan starting in 2003 up until the end of 2005. The guitar has a bridge that will not usually work with a whammy bar, but there are some rare variations that have a compatible bridge.