2021 Gibson SG Modern - Trans Black Fade - Humbucker and P90 tones
Weighs 7.8 lbs.  

Includes our Professional 66 Point Inspection and Set Up - $100 Value

See below for details.  

Case: Includes Gibson original hard shell case (OHSC) shown

Condition: It has a few minor blemishes. There was a scratch on the bottom edge, which has been touched up, so it's hard to notice. There's a light scratch and some small nicks on the headstock. See photos. Functionally, the guitar is 100% and the frets look new. Overall, we rate it as excellent.

The SG: Introduced in 1961, the SG was a major redesign of the Gibson Les Paul. It was lighter and sleeker than its predecessor and featured a thin, flat mahogany body with distinct, beveled double-cutaways that look like horns. Unlike the Les Paul, where the neck joins the body at the 16th fret, the SG's neck joins the body at the 22nd fret. This gives unobstructed access to the highest notes on the fretboard. This guitar has become legendary in the hands of guitarists like Tony Iommi, Angus Young, Pete Townsend, Carlos Santana, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Frank Zappa, Robby Krieger and Derek Trucks, to name a few.

The SG Modern: The Gibson SG Modern is a fascinating instrument because it strays from traditional SG design. Instead of keeping to pure vintage specs, Gibson engineered this model as a high-performance model, packing it with contemporary hardware and advanced electronics. The Gibson SG Modern prioritizes raw versatility and modern player comfort over vintage purism. The addition of the maple top makes it slightly heavier than a classic 1961 reissue, but it balances beautifully on a strap and offers pristine, micro-adjusted intonation straight from the factory due to Gibson's automated Plek'd neck process. We tend to like classic guitars that are they way they were back in the 1950's and 1960's when they were conceived... as God intended! But to be honest, we are digging everything this SG Modern is. It has it's own set of very useful features and character all it's own. Good job Gibson!

Some unique features include:

• AA flame maple top - looks beautiful
• 24 fret neck - allows two full octaves
• Ebony fretboard - beauty and durability
• Asymmetrical slim taper neck profile - comfort and speed
• Compound fretboard radius 10" to 16" - allows easy strumming and bending with low action
• Graph tech nut is self lubrication - improved tuning stability
• Burstbucker Pro pickups with push/pull knobs - both humbucker and P90 tones

Burstbucker Pro Pickups: Unlike standard Burstbuckers that use vintage-style Alnico II magnets, the Burstbucker Pros use Alnico V magnets. This structural change produces a punchier, fatter tone with enhanced attack, tighter low-end response, and a more aggressive bite. To replicate the magic of original late-1950s PAF humbuckers, the coils are wound with intentional asymmetry. This uneven wind injects a sweet harmonic complexity, crisp upper-end sizzle, and enhanced note articulation. They are fully wax-potted to eliminate microphonic squeal. This makes them incredibly stable under heavy distortion, high-volume amp settings, and high-gain modern overdrive pedals. The four-wire leads allow coil tapping, which Gibson uses to great effect!

Coil taps: This guitar came from the factory with coil taps, but they are not your ordinary coil split that bleeds one entire coil to ground. Instead, Gibson uses a filter cap to send only the highs of one coil to ground. This leaves the pickup sounding beefy. In this way, you get both humbucker and P90 tones. Pull up on the bridge or neck volume and that pickup works in P90 mode. Very cool!

Luthier's Assessment and Measurements:

• Serial No. 216210165
• Weight: 7.8 lbs
• Nut width: 1.72"
• Neck width at 12th fret: 2.10"
• Neck thickness at 1st fret: 0.82"
• Neck thickness at 12th fret: 0.93"
• Action at high e: 0.050"
• Action at low E: 0.060"
• Neck pickup DCR: 7.6k Ohms
• Bridge pickup DCR: 8.3k Ohms
• Truss rod: Turns smoothly
• Frets: Excellent 9.5/10
• Cosmetic condition: Very good. Scratch on the bottom edge has been touched up. Light scratch and some small nicks on the headstock.
• Functional condition: Excellent
• Electronics: Excellent. No issues
• Playability: Excellent. No issues
• Overall condition: Excellent

Features and Specs: 

• Model: SG Modern
• Country of Origin: USA
• Factory: Gibson Nashville
• Body shape: SG double cut
• Body wood: Mahogany
• Top wood: AA flame maple cap
• Body contours: Beveled edges
• Body finish: Gloss nitrocellulose lacquer
• Color: Trans Black Fade
• Pickguard: None
• Neck wood: Mahogany
• Neck shape: Asymmetrical 60's slim taper
• Scale: 24.75"
• Neck joint: Glued in set neck
• Nut material: Graphtech
• Fretboard wood: Ebony
• Fretboard radius: 10" to 16"
• Fretboard inlays: Pearloid trapezoids
• Frets: Medium jumbo
• No. of Frets: 24
• Neck Pickup: Gibson Burstbucker Pro Rhythm
• Bridge Pickup: Gibson Burstbucker Pro Plus Lead
• Controls: Volume and tone for each pickup
• Switch: Three-way togg
• Other controls: Push-pull coil tap for each pickup
• Bridge: Tune-o-Matic
• Tailpiece: Stop bar
• Tuners: Grover
• Hardware: Chrome

About Del Mar Lutherie: We’re a small shop in San Diego County, California. We build electric guitars, hand-wired tube amps, and do mods and setups.  We also buy and sell vintage and used gear.  Our owner is a guitar enthusiast, wood worker and professional engineer by training. We’re part of the local guitar community (Fender, Taylor, Carvin/Kiesel).  We welcome clients by appointment. 

Why buy from us?  Our customers have peace of mind knowing they are buying from a highly rated professional shop.  We've been doing this type of work since 1999 and have thousands of happy customers.  We pride ourselves in providing best-in-class personalized service for each of our clients. We are a Reverb Preferred Seller, and our approval rating is close to 100%.

Dr. T’s Professional Inspection and Setup: You may find a similar guitar at a lower price, but ours may still be the better value as we include our professional inspection and setup. This service costs from $100 to $150 at most shops. With over 25 years in the industry, we’re convinced that a good setup is the single most important investment to improve the playability and sound of your guitar.  Here’s what in entails. We go through our 66-point checklist and make sure everything is right at each step.  Once the initial inspection is done, we remove the strings and tighten and set the drag on the tuners. Next, we inspect the frets, find any high spots, then level, crown and polish. We clean and oil the fingerboard, restring, tune to pitch and set the neck relief, action and intonation. We then play each fret and check for fret buzz and fret-outs during bends, and we fine-tune as required.  Next, we test the electronics, clean and tighten pots and jacks and balance the pickups.  Occasionally, we find a fault with the electronics, so we dig in and diagnose and repair that.  Once the electronics are tip top, we play the guitar to make sure everything is just right.  Finally, we clean and polish the guitar, then slacken the stings to get it ready for shipping.

String Gauges and Settings:   We do our setups using common string gauges and settings, which we've found work well for most players. For electrics, we use 9-42 gauge strings for Fender (25.5") scale guitars and 10-46 for Gibson (24.75") scale guitars.  We set action to 0.050 on the high e side and 0.060 on the low E side. This action is fairly low and allows for easy fretting without buzzing or sacrificing tone. If you have special preferences, please let us know, and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Fine Tuning Adjustments:  Your guitar will be playing and sounding wonderful when we finish our setup. However, occasionally minor adjustments will be needed after shipping due to changes in temperature and/or humidity, rough handling or other unfavorable conditions. Since we have no control over this, we cannot cover the cost of these adjustments. However, if your guitar was mishandled during shipping, please let us know, so we can see if a shipping claim is in order. Sometimes it’s possible to get you a partial refund to help cover issues if we can show that they were caused by shipping.

Condition Ratings: We do our best to be consistent with Reverb’s condition rating system.  Please keep in mind that Reverb’s descriptions are very general and can be open to interpretation. The guitar you get will be the one shown in the photos, and if it has any major flaws or defects, we will point them out in the listing.  Our guitars rated below “Mint” will have signs of use and cosmetic imperfections, including minor dings, dents and swirl marks, which might only be visible upon close inspection. If you are sensitive to minor cosmetic defects, please let us know, and we can provide you with close-up photos.  We do not accept returns nor give partial refunds if you receive your guitar and believe that it should have been rated lower.  We’ve sold thousands of guitars, and almost without exception, our clients have not had issues with our ratings.  This tells us that we are doing a great job with our condition ratings.  

Standard of Care: We strive to meet our clients’ expectations, and we want you to be happy with your purchase.  Guitars develop wear with use and it’s widely accepted that honest wear adds character and shows that the guitar has been played and loved. Our used and vintage guitars will have signs of use. Our Del Mar Lutherie brand guitars are hand-built and will have artifacts that some people might view as "imperfections".  If you want a guitar in “perfect” or “flawless” condition, we advise you to buy new from an authorized dealer or buy locally so you can inspect it in person. We do not guarantee that our guitars will be cosmetically flawless, and we don’t accept returns or give partial refunds due to cosmetic imperfections.

Specs: We list specs as a courtesy. Some specs are measured by our techs. Others are taken from the manufacturer's data. Manufacturers change specs all the time, and their listed specs may not be 100% accurate. Also, some used guitars have mods that may not be apparent upon visual inspection. The guitar you will get is the one shown in the photos. If there are any "deal breaker" specs that you must have, please let us know so we can double check for you before your purchase.

Videos: We often include YouTube links to provide our clients with more information. These videos will be of a similar make and model which is representative of the guitar in our listing. 

Shipping: We ship guitars via UPS ground. The fee shown includes shipping within the contiguous USA with insurance. It also includes packaging materials and our time to pack up and drop off at UPS.  For guitars, shipping costs are controlled by box size and insurance is based on value. Your guitar will ship without a case, unless one is described as included in the listing or you add one to your order. If you decline to add a case, we will pack your guitar well with bubble wrap and other padding and ship it in a sturdy guitar box. However, if you want your guitar to have even better protection, we encourage you to add a hard case to your order. See below for details.

Cases: Some guitars we buy come with cases and some don't.  Some clients want cases, and some have so many they don't want more.  To offer flexibility, we make cases optional.  This allows us to pass on some savings to those who don't want cases and to offer several case types to our clients who do want them.  If you want a case, please let us know.  There are many benefits when you buy a case from us; we have good prices, we make sure your guitar fits, we offer free shipping on the case (when combined with a guitar) and we ship your guitar inside the case for better protection. Each year, we see a small number of guitars arrive with damage caused by mishandling during shipping. However, when shipped inside a hard case, the incidence of damage is almost zero. See the top of the listing or inquire for options.

Delivery Time: We do our best to get your guitar setup, boxed and shipped as soon as possible. However, sometimes this can take a few days depending on our workload and other factors. Once UPS receives your guitar, they will estimate a delivery date, which you can access via Reverb. UPS will typically deliver your guitar within 2 to 7 business days after they receive it, depending on your distance from Southern California. If you're in a hurry, please let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate you, or at least we can advise you of the estimated wait, so you can decide if you need to make other arrangements.

Damage Claims: Although rare, guitars sometimes are damaged during shipping. If you receive a guitar that is damaged, please let us know immediately so we can open a claim.

Returns and Canceled Orders: We are a small business and can’t afford to offer free returns like the big guys. There is a lot of time, effort and cost involved with processing your order, pulling your guitar from inventory, setting it up, packing and shipping it. Please make sure you want the guitar before you commit to buy. If we agree to a return or to cancel your order, you will be responsible for shipping costs (both ways) and a restocking fee to cover our time.

Trades:   We are a professional guitar business. Anything we take on trade, we resell. Due to shipping costs and transaction fees, we only do trades in person. To make sense for us, we can only offer wholesale value, which is typically 40% to 60% of what it would sell for on Reverb. This is usually as good or better than Guitar Center.  If you’re OK with this, please send current photos of the actual gear you have for trade. We need brand, model, year, and condition. Note any mods, repairs or other issues. If your guitar includes a hard case or gig bag, send photos of that as well.