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J.D.

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May 24, 2006
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10,030
Those early SG Jrs with the "slanted" wraptail are SO under-rated. The previous doublecut version seems to get a lot of attention, as they should, but these are fantastic guitars in their own right :jim
 

Xpensive Wino

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Nov 3, 2012
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IIRC, many of the Who's legendary performances featured the 2-PU version...:hmm
 

SimonBarSinister

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Aug 24, 2003
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Those early SG Jrs with the "slanted" wraptail are SO under-rated. The previous doublecut version seems to get a lot of attention, as they should, but these are fantastic guitars in their own right :jim


I thought that as well, the ones with the slanted (usually a 61) seems to sound better. I asked a couple of vintage guys I know and they said that they never found much difference between the slanted and Compensated bridge....

The 61 though is the one with the neck joint prone to issues though correct? (Again from what I read)

I have been listening to a lot of these lately and this one just has something about it....
 

J.D.

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May 24, 2006
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10,030
I thought that as well, the ones with the slanted (usually a 61) seems to sound better. I asked a couple of vintage guys I know and they said that they never found much difference between the slanted and Compensated bridge....

The 61 though is the one with the neck joint prone to issues though correct? (Again from what I read)

I have been listening to a lot of these lately and this one just has something about it....

My understanding is the single pickup Jr. has less of the neck joint issues than the 2-pickup Special of the same year. What I like about these earlier ones is the neck profile and nut width. IIRC the slim, narrow necks came in with the "lightning bar" tailpiece. I'm certainly no expert on these but have played a few over the years.
 

tooold

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Jul 31, 2006
Messages
2,071
My understanding is the single pickup Jr. has less of the neck joint issues than the 2-pickup Special of the same year. What I like about these earlier ones is the neck profile and nut width. IIRC the slim, narrow necks came in with the "lightning bar" tailpiece. I'm certainly no expert on these but have played a few over the years.

JD, the necks on the '65 and earlier compensated-bridge Juniors are just fine. They seem to follow the normal Gibson progression - they feel flat but wide in '61/'62, then get a little deeper through '64/'65.

I have a '62 and a '65 and they're both great. I followed j45's tip on the early '50's P90's and put one in the '65 and it's really sweet. No neck joint issues on either of these, although you can wiggle the neck on them and get a nice subtle pitch bend that's sounds great with tape echo... :dude:

EDIT: Just watched the Simo vid. You don't need a Vibroverb! Either of these through my brown Deluxe is an amazing sound, and the best controlled feedback I've ever experienced.
 

George

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Jul 23, 2002
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1,229
In my humble opinion, JD Simo can make all manner of guitar sound good.
 

mingus

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Apr 3, 2006
Messages
4,243
My understanding is the single pickup Jr. has less of the neck joint issues than the 2-pickup Special of the same year. What I like about these earlier ones is the neck profile and nut width. IIRC the slim, narrow necks came in with the "lightning bar" tailpiece. I'm certainly no expert on these but have played a few over the years.

These guitars are underrated screamers. Luckily, they're one of the great values in the vintage guitar market. You can get a lot of guitar for chump change (relatively speaking).

In my experience, the necks were generally thinner (as in wide but thinner in depth) in '61 & '62 and chunkier in '63 & '64. IMHO, the slant vs. lightning bar tailpiece is a non issue as it doesn't seem have any noticeable effect on tone. I will concede that I like the look of the slant better, but own a '63 because it has a great neck.
 

J.D.

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May 24, 2006
Messages
10,030
Thank you for educating me! My knowledge on this model is limited :salude
 

Kris Ford

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Jan 6, 2007
Messages
4,003
JD, the necks on the '65 and earlier compensated-bridge Juniors are just fine. They seem to follow the normal Gibson progression - they feel flat but wide in '61/'62, then get a little deeper through '64/'65.

I have a '62 and a '65 and they're both great. I followed j45's tip on the early '50's P90's and put one in the '65 and it's really sweet. No neck joint issues on either of these, although you can wiggle the neck on them and get a nice subtle pitch bend that's sounds great with tape echo... :dude:

EDIT: Just watched the Simo vid. You don't need a Vibroverb! Either of these through my brown Deluxe is an amazing sound, and the best controlled feedback I've ever experienced.
I have a '65 as well..(super early, pot codes 137 65 04) I can vouch for the awesome neck profile! The most comfortable one I own anyways..and as you can see, it was a victim of the '70's..routed for a HB, Grovers..but the good news is that this works for me! I'm using an unpotted Burstbucker 2 right now,(when I got it she had a Dimarzio Super Distortion which I flipped right away LOL) and running thru the stock CTS 500Ks, sounds pretty goddamn good to me, has a real growl, (I use Marshalls..a 100 watt JMP 2203 and a Class 5.:yah ) more so than a P90..something about all that neck joint without a neck pickup route may have something to do with the extra beef..

Thanks to brother Kharrison, she's rockin' a period correct bridge.!:salude
 

SimonBarSinister

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Aug 24, 2003
Messages
1,874
I gave in and scored this 1964 SG JR... Comes later this week. It is in excellent condition...

1.jpg


Anyone have advice on the Vibrola? If you don't use it too much is it a problem?

Thanks
SBS
 

tooold

Active member
Joined
Jul 31, 2006
Messages
2,071
I gave in and scored this 1964 SG JR... Comes later this week. It is in excellent condition...

Anyone have advice on the Vibrola? If you don't use it too much is it a problem?

Thanks
SBS

Nice! My '65 came with the vibrola removed and three small screws in the mounting holes. Never missed it - I love Bigsby's and whang bars in general, but the vibrola over lightning-bar combo is about my least favorite of them all.
 
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