

Sg special raw power professional#
And to his credit, the only person I'd ever known of in print to notice it, among my peers of professional musicians, was Bowie. Pop later recalled, "very few people recognized the quality of the Stooges' songwriting, it was really meticulous. The raw guitar sound of Williamson deeply influenced acts of different music genres such as the Sex Pistols, Johnny Marr of the Smiths and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.Īfter their first two albums The Stooges (1969) and Fun House (1970) were released to little commercial success, the Stooges were in disarray: the band had officially broken up, bassist Dave Alexander was fighting alcoholism, and singer Iggy Pop's heroin addiction was escalating prior to the intervention of David Bowie. The Guardian wrote that "it has since been acknowledged as one of the most influential records in rock history". Though not initially commercially successful, Raw Power gained a cult following in the years following its release and, like its predecessors The Stooges (1969) and Fun House (1970), is considered a forerunner of punk rock. The album departed from the "groove-ridden, feel-based songs" of the band's first two records in favor of a more anthemic hard rock approach inspired by new guitarist James Williamson, who co-wrote the album's eight songs with singer Iggy Pop. Having said this, there are a lot worse guitars out there, and as well as being historically important, the 1820 bass can certainly provide the goods when required.Raw Power is the third studio album by American rock band the Stooges (credited as Iggy and the Stooges), released on Februby Columbia Records. Over the course of the 70s, the Japanese output improved dramatically, and in many ways these early 70s models are a low point for the brand. These new Epiphones were based on existing Matsumoku guitars, sharing body shapes, and hardware, but the Epiphone line was somewhat upgraded, with inlaid logos and a 2x2 peghead configuration. The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there. Have a listen to some Gibson SG Specials - through several vintage guitar amplifiers - just mic'd up and recorded.īy the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price).

modelĮach pickup alone has plenty of character - a typically funky bridge tone, and a nice fat neck tone. When you compare the guitars available, it is really no wonder the SG Special sold so well. The table below lists a number of solid body guitars available in 1965 in the same price range as the Gibson SG Special. Original Pricing for the Gibson SG Special Mounting pickups on a larger plate simplified production, and in turn reduced costs. President Stan Rendell introduced a number of changes from 1966 onwards most notably for the SG Special was the larger scratchplate introduced towards the end of the decade, covering much of the front of the body. Gibson was losing money and something had to be done to overcome this. Unfortunately sales then plummeted across the US guitar industry, with overseas competition, war, and recession all putting strain on sales figures. Gibson had it's peak year in 1965, and expanded it's Kalamazoo plant to meet demand for 100000 instruments/year.

Throughout the 1960s, the SG Special sold moderately well.

The Gibson SG Special was, in due course, included in the 1962 catalogue at $210 - and without any mention of finish options other than cherry red, although shipping figures suggest white SG Specials were shipped at least between 19. This beautiful and wonderful sounding guitar will be available in two finishes: cherry-red and the ultra-modern light cream. The model was first announced in the Summer 1961 issue of Gibson Gazette at a price of $195, though probably not yet available as it is described in the future tense: New contoured body design and light weight make the SG Special one of the best values in the solid-body market.
