The Gibson SG Special was introduced in 1961 as a "mid-level" guitar. This set-neck mahogany guitar was a step up from the SG Junior with a pair of P-90 pickups, three-way switching, individual volume and tone controls, and a bound neck with dot inlays.

1966 saw a slight redesign of the SG Special, introducing a larger pickguard that went across the pickups and mid-way through the upper bout. 1966 also saw this model get the Vibrola tailpiece as standard, though stoptail models trickled out until early 1967.