Description
Built from the finest tonewoods, and loaded with two of Gibson’s most authentic PAF-style humbucking pickups, this SG is rendered in the style of the slightly modified 1961 models that Derek Trucks plays, and built to his preferred specs for a superb, fast-playing feel.
The Derek Trucks Signature SG is crafted by Gibson USA in the image of the groundbreaking 1961 SG, with its radical asymmetrical dual-horned body style with characteristic beveled body edges. Body and neck are made from Grade A mahogany and finished in high-gloss Heritage Cherry. The neck is carved to the slim “true D” profile of the early ’60s, which measures .800″ deep at the 1st fret and .895″ at the 12th. A rosewood fingerboard carries 22 medium-jumbo frets, with a 12″ radius for smooth, easy bending.
The hardware complement is where this instrument first departs from original 1961 SGs, and the Derek Trucks Signature SG carries the decorative Lyre vibrato cover with the vibrato mechanism itself removed-a Trucks mod-and a stopbar tailpiece in its place. Also, at the artist’s request, the guitar employs the early style “no wire” ABR-1 tune-o-matic tailpiece, and is issued without a pickguard. The headstock carries pearloid button vintage-style tuners as well as a PLEK-cut Corian nut for superb resonance and sustain, and is adorned with a mother-of-pearl Gibson logo and holly inlay.
To give this instrument all the deep, in-the-bone tone of the originals, Gibson USA loads the Derek Trucks Signature SG with a pair of the most accurate PAF-styled humbuckers available today. The ˜57 Classics in the neck and bridge position are made with genuine Alnico II magnets, and wound with 42-AWG enamel-coated wire just like the originals, but are wax potted to combat microphonic squeal for high-volume playing. This pair offers throaty warm neck tones with plenty of clarity, and sweet, singing lead tones from the bridge position, with rounder, funkier tones in between. At Derek Trucks’s request, the ˜57 Classics are routed through 500k potentiometers for both volume and tone for each pickup.
In short, the Derek Trucks Signature SG is a scorching tone machine by any standards, and a fitting tribute to one of the most powerful players working today.
ABOUT GIBSON:
Orville Gibson founded the company in 1902 as “The Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co., Ltd.” in Kalamazoo, Michigan to make mandolin-family instruments. Gibson invented archtop guitars by constructing the same type of carved, arched tops used on violins. By the 1930s, the company was also making flattop acoustic guitars, as well as one of the first commercially available hollow-body electric guitars, used and popularized by Charlie Christian. www.gibson.com
