Oil City Pickups: 1963 Patent label Gibson 'PAF' on the bench

BowynMadley

Fanbloodytastic! Excellent work chaps. Also a cracking read but now I fancy hobnobs and an sg

Sarge

Lovely job, top marks!
Also getting wood for a proper sg!

BluesyDave

Great thread, really interesting.  Superb work and fantastic attention to detail.  Well done guys, you are both to be commended.

Lescaster

Nothing quite like an old played-in SG.

Amazing job on the pickups, it was really interesting reading and looking at the work that goes into restoring a guitar to it's former glory

SGs really don't get half the attention they deserve from people on the lookout for a new guitar. Awesome guitars with very much their own character and sound.

Jez6345789

I think Ash makes a very good point regarding adding to an instruments legacy. The current love for old guitars untouched since they left the factory no refrets or changed pots or tuners etc is fine for very rare collectors items and getting a guitar back up too playing standard after 30 or 40 years is a no brainier in my mind nice work chaps

FelineGuitars

Guitar went home with it's owner today . Was nice hearing him let rip on it in the shop - sounded fantastic. 

OilCityPickups

Inspired me to get my SG down from the rack ... my pickup of choice for that at the moment is my own Dynamite: a tad more output but keeping the bite. However, I may well treat it to a set of clones of the 63 units ... they are something rather special. Look out for a thread detailing the building of some soon :-)

earwighoney

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Inspired me to get my SG down from the rack ... my pickup of choice for that at the moment is my own Dynamite: a tad more output but keeping the bite. However, I may well treat it to a set of clones of the 63 units ... they are something rather special. Look out for a thread detailing the building of some soon :-)

Are the clones going to be production models on your website, 'chef's perks' or only accessible with a secret handshake & a packet of hobnobs? 

Blacksheep

Massive thanks to both Jon and Ash for all the hard work on the SG. It sounds and feels fantastic and thanks to their efforts will now be appearing at pubs across Kent and Sussex.

4string

earwighoney said:

'chef's perks' 

Now there is a phrase I am going to use today... 

OilCityPickups

Lol if I create something good in my 'kitchen' I always like to share!

TheOtherDennis

earwighoney said:

TheGuitarWeasel said:

TTony said:

Great stuff Ash - incredible to see the detail and care that does into something like that.

Craftsmanship.

I see it as adding to the 'legacy' of an instrument ... plus it's huge fun! I have an allergy to owners who won't have a sympathetic re-fret or pickup rewind to preserve 'originality'. What use is a worn out guitar apart from an expensive ornament? I have had a lot of dealings with classical violinists over the years ... who think very little of paying huge sums for very old instruments that have had major conservation and repair ... and look somewhat aghast at our reluctance to have basic maintenance on relatively young instruments.  

I've always considered things like frets (tuners, nuts, and so on) to be like strings, they have a lifespan and wear out.  

I really loved this thread, the before and after pictures of the asymmetric coil winding seem to show great care and attention and the pickups are labours of love. 

It's like vintage cars, really. Do you change bald tyres and worn out brakes so that you can keep the car safely on the road, or do you just leave it in a garage to gather dust? Imo, things that have been built to be used, should be that - used. A guitar like that SG in my mind is worth more because it has a history of being played, not just a historic date of manufacture. That's what gives an instrument its character, how it's been used and looked after.  Completely agree with Ash that it's much better being out there in the pubs and clubs getting people up on their feet, rather than on a wall because it's still got unworking, though completely original parts.

Iamnobody

Great Saturday afternoon reading.

Do you provide the customer with a photo record of the work done?

FelineGuitars

Ash has made me a couple of sets of identical spec replicas of these and I have them in one of my own guitars and another customer is gigging his set already.

thomasross20

Fab thread!!

camf

Excellent thread!

IvisonGuitars

Great thread and awesome work indeed!