Gibsons stylish and toneful SG has been a classic ever since its arrival on the scene in 1961. Its status as the replacement for the Les Paul was only temporary (it was referred to the Les Paul/SG until 1963, when it became merely the SG), but its position as a rock icon was permanent. By the mid 60s, the SG Special (a variant with no-nonsense styling and gnarly P-90 pickups) was the favorite of countless rock and blues artists, and was seen in the hands of Pete Townshend, Carlos Santana, and Robby Krieger, to name but a few. To celebrate this rock classic, Gibson USA introduces the SG Classic Faded, exclusive to Musicians Friend. With a grain-textured satin nitrocellulose finish in Worn Cherry that makes the SG Classic Faded feel like an old friend right out of the bag, this guitar has all the ingredients that made the 60s SG Special legendary, at a price any hard-gigging guitarist can afford.

Just like all great SGs of the past five decades, the Gibson USA Musicians Friend SG Classic Faded has a body crafted from solid mahogany in the asymmetrical "double-horned" deep double-cutaway design. A light and supremely resonant wood, mahogany gives this guitar outstanding tonal richness and depth, with plenty of clarity and sustain. Coupled with the SGs characteristic beveled edge, a big part of this models distinctive styling, the mahoganys light weight also enhancing playing comfort. A solid mahogany neck is carved in a rounded profile, glued into the body with Gibsons acclaimed deep set-neck joint, and topped with a bound rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium-jumbo frets. The SG Classic Faded is further distinguished by its simpler headstock adornments, the businesslike dot inlays on the fingerboard, and the three-ply black pickguard that is characteristic of post-1967 SGs.

In the hardware and electronics departments, the SG Classic Faded is locked and loaded in legendary style. A pairing of ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge and Stopbar tailpiece offer the solidity and sustain partnered with precision intonation adjustment that have made this equipment the industry standard since Gibson president Ted McCarty conceived them in the mid 50s. At the headstock end, a set of vintage Kluson-style tuners with white plastic buttons offer efficient performance while following through on the 60s styling. To take all this tonal goodness to your amp of choice, the Musicians Friend Gibson USA SG Faded Classic carries a pair of truly classic pickups. The guitars two P-90s are made with genuine Alnico V magnets and 42 AWG wire just like the originals, to give you that famous P-90 bite and grind. Warm, smooth and edgy in the neck position, fat and punchy in the bridge position, these are thicker sounding than your average thin single-coil pickup, and have become a favorite of players in all genres, from blues, to roots, to metal, to good old rock n roll.

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