DoctorPaul's Guitar Emporium - Sold Guitars

​(SOLD)

Gordon Smith SG1

"Zippo"

 

This is SUCH a simple guitar. It was made (by hand, in Partington, near Manchester) by Gordon Smith Guitars. The company, as I understand it, was founded by Mr Gordon and Mr Smith (not by Mr Gordon Smith) many years ago, but Mr Gordon jumped ship a while back, leaving Mr Smith to get on with it. Mr Smith (John ...) is a cracking geezer, and makes some very fine guitars. Most of their guitars are ... (I don't want to say "copies" as I don't think that would do them justice ... but they're not "replicas" either) ... let's say "modeled on" Gibson designs ... they have a Les Paul, a Vee, Explorer, SG, Les Paul double-cut ... and (as I remember) a Tele also. They also make their own designs, such as the Graduate. No frills, no bells-and-whistles. As they say on their website, "We like to make guitars not furniture, our products are like the Zippo lighter, there’s nothing to go wrong, so they don't". Simple as that. Whatever, they're great folks. When you call, John will be in the woodshop, and his missus (Linda) will be in the office, while Mr Smith Jr does the wiring and stuff. Jr also signs the control cavities, which is all very nice. Their guitars are all made using very low-tech kit, but the results are very impressive. This one is clearly 'SG Junior' influenced, with its single pickup, dot inlays and no binding. Build quality is very good, I've set the action very low indeed, the frets are silky smooth and it is a breeze to play. The neck is a real handful ... good and chunky ... and the body and neck back are finished in a deep, transparent wine red. Very nice. I bought this used from a bloke who worked in an Ozzy tribute band ... he had installed inverted-cross stickers on the fretboard for an Iommi vibe. Needless to say, as I'm a good, God-fearing lad, they came off immediately. The tuners were replaced with locking Grovers (which work great) and the single hum was replaced with a BareKnuckle WarPig, which is an excellent pickup for old-school rocky tones. Subjectively, this is a MUCH better guitar than my Gibson SG, and is one of my most playable guitars. It’s the sort of guitar that you strap on and almost forget it is there ... there's no resistance, no fighting it, you just point your fingers at the notes and it does the rest. You want some TONE? Here it is. Excellent, and highly recommended.