Guitaripedia

Every guitar has a story.

Gibson

SG

SG Custom

White paint, gold hardware, three pickups. Nobody carries this guitar onstage hoping to blend in.

Manchester, 7 May 1964. Granada TV has set up a blues and gospel show on the platform of the railway station at Wilbraham Road. Sister Rosetta Tharpe plugs in a white Gibson with three gold pickups and opens with “Didn’t It Rain.”

Introduced
1961
Type
Solidbody electric
Class
Production
Read the story · 3 min

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1963 Gibson SG Custom in aged white: three gold humbuckers, split-diamond, lyre Vibrola. An SG Custom, not an SG Standard, not an SG Special.
1963 Gibson SG Custom with Lyre Vibrola. Photo by Sellenman; derivative by Clusternote. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.Owner photograph of a white three-pickup Custom with lyre Vibrola. Not a two-humbucker Standard, not a P-90 Special, and not a Les Paul Custom.

The short version

  1. 1961

    The dressy one

    Gibson puts the Les Paul Custom on the new SG body. White, gold, three humbuckers, and a sideways vibrato.

  2. 1963

    Maestro

    A Maestro vibrato arrives, and the Les Paul name is on its way out.

  3. 1964

    The platform

    Sister Rosetta Tharpe plays hers on Granada TV. By September, the price list calls it the SG Custom, at $480.

  4. 1967

    A thin year

    Only 43 ship, the lowest of the decade. Hendrix’s and Ollie Halsall’s white Customs both come from it.

  5. 1969

    Cavett

    Jimi Hendrix plays his white SG Custom on The Dick Cavett Show, 9 September, and debuts “Machine Gun.”

  6. 1973

    A brief Stone

    Keith Richards plays a 1963 SG Custom on part of the Stones’ tour, including “Midnight Rambler.”

  7. 1974

    Peak

    Gibson ships 939, the most in any year.

Side A

A1

Dressed for the front row

Some guitars let you hide. A sunburst, a black, a cherry red: you can stand at the back and do your job. The SG Custom doesn’t let you do that. It came in white, with gold hardware, three gold humbuckers, a bound ebony fingerboard with pearl blocks, and a split-diamond inlay on the headstock. If you plug one in, people are going to look at you.

Gibson meant it that way. In 1961 it put the Les Paul Custom, its fanciest solidbody, onto the new thin, pointed body. The SG-body Les Paul Customs were normally the only ones dressed in white as standard. White meant top of the line.

So the question with an SG Custom is never really how it sounds. It’s who’s brave enough to stand there holding it.

A2

Three pickups, two knobs

It sounds great, for the record. Three humbuckers, but only two volume and two tone knobs, and a three-way switch that gives you the neck pickup, the bridge pickup, or the middle and bridge together. There’s no way to get the middle one alone. It sounds odd on paper. In practice you get three good choices and don’t miss the fourth.

Early ones carried the Les Paul name on the truss rod cover and a Les Paul Custom plate. In July 1963 the price list still said Les Paul Custom, $425. By September 1964 it said SG Custom, $480. Why Les Paul’s name came off depends on who’s telling it, and I’m not picking.

The vibrato tells you roughly when yours was made. The first ones had a sideways-pulling Vibrola. From 1963 it was the Maestro, with a lyre on the cover. Gibson’s 1961 dealer copy even borrowed the old nickname of the 1950s Les Paul Custom, the “Fretless Wonder.” Later came a big batwing pickguard, walnut as a stock finish in 1969, and, after 1979, a few years off the price lists before the reissues.

Two warnings from behind the counter. First, white paint doesn’t make a Custom. Count the pickups. Second, SG headstocks break. The Custom’s is no exception.

A3

Didn’t it rain

On 7 May 1964, Granada TV filmed Blues and Gospel Train on a railway platform in Manchester, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe opened her set with “Didn’t It Rain.” She was a gospel singer from the American South, and she stood on a British train platform playing a white three-pickup Gibson like she’d invented the idea.

Her guitar is usually captioned as a 1961. The sideways vibrato puts it somewhere from 1961 to 1963, and in the pictures it seems to carry the Les Paul Custom nameplate. That’s as close as anyone’s pinned it.

A gospel singer on a train platform in Manchester, with the fanciest solidbody Gibson made.

Flip the record · By the numbers

  • 1,075

    SG-body Customs shipped from 1961 to 1963, when they still said Les Paul.

  • 43

    Shipped in 1967, the leanest year of the decade.

  • 3

    Gold humbuckers. Count them before you believe the white paint.

  • $480

    List price in September 1964, up from $425 when it was still a Les Paul Custom.

Side B

B1

Upside down on Cavett

Jimi Hendrix picked up a white 1967 SG Custom, a right-handed guitar he strung for a lefty and played upside down. He was first photographed with it at the Rhode Island Auditorium on 27 November 1968. He played it on “Red House” in Stockholm in January 1969, and on The Dick Cavett Show on 9 September 1969, where he played “Izabella” and the first-ever “Machine Gun.”

1967 was a thin year for the Custom. Gibson shipped 43. Ollie Halsall of Patto found another white ’67 at Selmer’s in 1969, converted it for his left hand, and called it “Blue Traff.” It was confiscated in 1976. Buddy Guy is on the sleeve of I Was Walking Through the Woods with a 1961 or ’62. Keith Richards played a 1963 Custom, briefly, on the Stones’ 1973 tour, “Midnight Rambler” included. It lives in the Hard Rock vault in Orlando now.

B2

Being seen

There are a lot of good reasons to buy a guitar. Tone, feel, price, the way it hangs on you. The SG Custom has all of those, but mostly it has the white paint and the gold, and that’s a different kind of decision.

You’re agreeing to be looked at. Tharpe stood on a platform in Manchester in front of the Granada cameras, with the fanciest guitar Gibson made, and gave them every reason to keep looking.

Put this on

You’ve read about it. Now hear it. Here’s what this guitar sounds like, and what to listen for.

  1. Sister Rosetta Tharpe · 1964

    Didn’t It Rain (Blues and Gospel Train)

    Granada TV, a railway platform in Manchester, 7 May 1964. A white Les Paul/SG Custom with a sideways vibrato, played by a gospel singer opening her set.

    Watch it on YouTube

  2. Jimi Hendrix · 1969

    Machine Gun (The Dick Cavett Show)

    9 September 1969. The white 1967 SG Custom, a right-handed guitar strung for a lefty. “Izabella” too, and the first public “Machine Gun.”

    Watch it on YouTube

  3. Jimi Hendrix · 1969

    Red House (live in Stockholm)

    9 January 1969, on the SG Custom. Not the famous Isle of Wight “Red House,” which was a Flying V.

    Find it on YouTube

The cast

The people, and the specific guitars, that made the legend.

  • 1964

    Sister Rosetta Tharpe

    White Les Paul/SG Custom

    Usually captioned as a 1961. The sideways vibrato puts it somewhere between 1961 and 1963.

  • 1969

    Jimi Hendrix

    White 1967 SG Custom

    First photographed with it in Rhode Island, 27 November 1968. Batwing pickguard, played upside down.

  • 1973

    Keith Richards

    1963 SG Custom

    Briefly, on the 1973 tour. It’s in the Hard Rock vault in Orlando now.

  • 1969

    Ollie Halsall

    White 1967, “Blue Traff”

    Bought at Selmer’s and converted for a lefty. Played with Patto. Confiscated in 1976.

  • 1960s

    Buddy Guy

    1961/62 Les Paul/SG Custom

    On the sleeve of I Was Walking Through the Woods. A picture, not a track credit.

Liner notes

Specs, construction, rarity, value, and every source we used.

Three gold humbuckers, white, ebony blocks, split diamond — not the cherry two-pickup Standard, not a P-90 Special, and not a leftover single-cut Les Paul Custom.

Body
Pointed double-cut SG. Solid mahogany; scalloped edges; no maple cap. 3-layer white small/teardrop guard.
Neck
Set mahogany. Bound headstock; pearl split diamond. Early: “Les Paul” truss-rod cover plus Les Paul Custom plaque.
Fingerboard
Bound ebony; 22 frets; pearl blocks (guitarhq) / pearloid (VG Richards).
Scale
24.75 in / 628.65 mm
Pickups
Three gold-cover humbuckers. PAFs 1961; Patent Number 1963.
Hardware
Gold. ABR-1 Tune-o-matic. Sideways Vibrola 1961; ebony-block 1962 on some; Maestro lyre 1963.
Electronics
2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way. VGAB: neck / middle+bridge / bridge. No dedicated middle knob.
Finish
White (Polaris White in Well Strung; Classic White on the 1963 Historic). Cherry and custom colors exist; not stock.
Open the full research fileConstruction details, the complete player record, production numbers, dated value estimates, and sources

Classic 1961–63 Kalamazoo Les Paul/SG Custom. Current Custom Shop is not this table. Two standing SKUs do not collapse: the 1963 Historic three-pickup Maestro Classic White is a reissue; the two-pickup Gloss Ebony tuxedo is a different guitar. No USA Original Collection SG Custom this pass.

Construction

Kalamazoo, 1961. Sold as Les Paul Custom on the new pointed SG body. VGAB: July 1963 list still Les Paul Custom $425; September 1964 list says SG Custom $480. Gibson Custom Shop Historic copy treats 1963 as last Les Paul-moniker year and first Maestro year. Mid-year mix; date the guitar. Do not pick one official reason Les’s name came off (dislike / contract / divorce). Not a 1954–60 / leftover-1961 single-cut Les Paul Custom.

All-mahogany, set neck, no maple cap. Scale 24.75" / 628.65 mm. Extra vs Standard is board + headstock. Body binding is not named on guitarhq, VG Richards, Bluebook, or the 1963 Historic table. Headstock bind: Well Strung 5-layer vs VG Richards triple-bound — attribute, do not pick. guitarhq “pearl” blocks vs VG Richards “pearloid.”

Vibrola: Sideways 1961; ebony-block 1962 on some; Maestro lyre 1963 (guitarhq; Gibson Historic). Well Strung “Lyre after ’62” is looser — keep both. Bluebook lists Bigsby/stop as options; stock early Custom is vibrato. Fretless Wonder travels from the 1950s Black Beauty; 1961 dealer copy uses it (Bacon). Current 1963 Historic lists Authentic Medium-Jumbo, not a sourced Fretless Wonder fret height.

Guard: guitarhq Custom mid-1965 wraparound (no separate rings); VGAB late 1966 large batwing — attribute. September 1969: Walnut stock (VGAB). Majority of 60s Customs are white. Brief 1971/72 control plate. Last 1970s catalog 1978; off lists after 1979; reissued after 1986. White paint ≠ Custom. Count pickups. Vintage Guitar: normally only SG-body Les Paul Customs were dressed in white as standard.

Current 2026: No USA Original Collection SG Custom. Two standing Custom Shop SKUs — do not collapse. 1963 Historic (SGC63VOCWGM1): 3 Custombucker Alnico 3, Long Maestro — not a 1961 Sideways guitar. Gloss Ebony (SGC-EBGH1E): two pickups (490R/498T), stop bar. Not a 1961–63 recreation. Not a three-pickup White Custom. 60th Anniversary 1961 Sideways VOS is leftover/anniversary Historic, not the 2026 core Maestro SKU.

Players

Clapton’s Fool, Harrison’s Revolver guitar, and Angus’s red ’68 live on the Standard. Iommi “Monkey,” Townshend Woodstock / Live at Leeds / Tommy, Santana Woodstock, Krieger “Light My Fire,” and Zappa “Roxy” are Specials.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe — white 1961–63 Les Paul/SG Custom, Sideways Vibrola. Blues and Gospel Train, Granada TV, Wilbraham Road, Manchester, 7 May 1964; opened with “Didn’t It Rain.” Guitar World captions 1961; Reverb: Sideways Vibrola points to 1961–63, and pictures appear to show the Les Paul Custom nameplate. 1961 is the usual caption, not a proven serial.

Jimi Hendrix — white 1967 SG Custom, right-handed strung lefty; batwing guard. First photographed Rhode Island Auditorium 27 November 1968. Dick Cavett, 9 September 1969, “Izabella” and debut of “Machine Gun.” Red House, including Stockholm 9 January 1969. Not Isle of Wight Red House (custom Flying V). Not a Strat story.

Keith Richards — 1963 SG Custom, Hard Rock Vault Orlando. Three patent-number humbuckers, Maestro lyre. Briefly 1973 Exile tour / “Midnight Rambler” (Babiuk). Not Micawber. Not the black 1960 ES-355.

Ollie Halsall — white 1967 converted lefty “Blue Traff”; Patto-era. Bought at Selmer’s, 1969. Confiscated 1976; later replaced with a cherry SG Standard.

Also known to play. Buddy Guy — 1961/62 Les Paul/SG Custom on the I Was Walking Through the Woods sleeve (1974 compilation of 1960–64 sessions); not a track credit. Lenny Kravitz — VG&B list; no song citation this pass.

Rarity

Factory shipping (Meiners / GuitarHQ / Joe’s), not production counts. VGAB 6,346 is a 1961–1979 total, not a 1961–63 census. 1961–63 combined is 1,075 shipped (513+298+264). GuitarHQ SgCus 1961 = 513 is the SG-body Custom; Joe’s LP Cust ’61 = 18 is the single-cut leftover. 1964: 130. 1967: 43 — decade low. 1974: 939 peak. Thin catalog SG, not Flying-V scarce. SG headstock breaks are common (Edgewater). The 1968 lefty Pelham Blue factory-Bigsby (“1 of 2,” listed $325,000) is a provenance object, not a production count and not a price for an ordinary Custom.

Value

Informal estimate, 25 August 2026. Not an appraisal.

Asks ≠ solds. Reverb 1961–66 public pages returned no numeric sold medians this pass. Artist lots sit outside these bands.

New / reissue. Historic 1963 3-pickup Maestro VOS Classic White $6,699. Tuxedo 2-pickup Gloss Ebony $4,799. Different SKUs. 60th Anniversary 1961 Sideways runs are used reissues, not 1961s.

1970s player. Working ask ~$4,500–$8,000. Edgewater 1967–69 Custom excellent $6,000–$12,000. Thin labeled 2024–26 solds.

1963–66 small-guard. Working ask ~$15,000–$32,000 (CME 1963 $14,545 replaced harness; VGAB 1965 $32,000). Harness/refin examples sit at the low end. Asks, not solds.

1961–62 three-PAF Polaris. Live specialist asks ~$32,000–$48,000 for clean unrepaired-headstock examples (Pure Vintage 1961 $32,000; Davidson’s Well Strung 1962 ebony-block $47,995). Edgewater June 2026 buyer-reference $8,400–$14,400 is what a fair buyer pays, not a sold median and not averaged into retail. No 2024–26 Heritage/Christie’s ordinary Custom hammer isolated this pass.

See also

  • gibson-sg — the two-humbucker Standard; Fool, Harrison’s Revolver guitar, and Angus live there
  • gibson-les-paul-standard — the single-cut this body replaced
  • gibson-es-355 — Richards’s black 1960 355 lives there, not here

Sources

Guitars this one gets compared to, confused with, or descended from.