'83 SC-2

I was rehearsing with a friend for an upcoming acoustic gig last week, his son shows up and walking through, says "hey my friend is selling a G&L!" Naturally, I was curious. I asked for a pic, and he texted it down. Black '83 SC-2! I -
have always liked the aesthetic of the early SC-2 and thought, maybe some day. Went up to philly to check it out today. It's in excellent condition, aside from minor dings and scratches. Great resonance and string alignment. Plays very well, everything is in good shape, especially the neck/frets. Has a 4 position selector, someone did the "asat" mod on it. Sounds great. Trem is excellent. Even has the original HSC, also in very good shape. What luck to come across this - seems pretty rare from what I've read. It is in the registry already under a SeanV - haven't seen him around here, and not the guy I bought it from - Kyle bought this one last year from Atomic Music in Baltimore, down Ken C's way. Anyway, here's a few kitchen pics. I have officially entered the Leo era, oops!

What Elwood sez!! Great one!

BTW, given the provenance I'm gonna guess it is this one. Not entirely sure, but still. In your picture as well as in the referenced link, the arm seems to be black chrome. Is that correct for yours? Or is it just oxidation and age?

- Jos

Absolutely stunning guitar, congratulations and welcome to the early SC-n club

In your picture as well as in the referenced link, the arm seems to be black chrome. Is that correct for yours? Or is it just oxidation and age?

It just looks like the (usually missing) original stainless arm to me; it has the sharp bend just before the plastic tip.

I'm really happy for you, that is a great guitar ! Fantastic shape.

Love it! Congratulations!

Cheers, Dan

That's what I call a damn good score !!!! Very nice !!!

BTW, given the provenance I'm gonna guess it is this one. Not entirely sure, but still. In your picture as well as in the referenced link, the arm seems to be black chrome. Is that correct for yours? Or is it just oxidation and age?

- Jos

Yep, looks like the same guitar! No black chrome on the arm, just oxidation/aging.
My dates are body: 2/11/83, neck 2/14/83

Thanks everybody, pretty exciting. I was up late setting it up and playing it. I must say, I do like the series/parallel mod with the 4 position selector switch.

Cool, A valetines day birthday!!

Hah hah, Feb 14th will celebrate!
I have two other celebrations coming up though, in december my 52RI tele turns 20, and my les paul turns 40!

2 things i have learned about the SC-2 thus far, it hates 10-46 strings, neck and bridge went into shock when i put them on.
It loves 9-42, much better set up and playability. Must of had them before.
Also, this is the best "trem" i have ever used. Totally smooth, nice range up and down, and stays in tune even with new strings!
Amazing. I almost never use trems. This one asks to be used. I'm glad the bar has survived 3 decades!

I agree with Jos. I think I played your SC-2 at Atomic, but that would have been just a couple of months ago. They had two Leo-era SC-2s on consignment - one just like yours, and a hardtail with the second body style. I ended up selling them my second-style SC-2 with a DFV and using the money to buy the hardtail.

That is a very sweet guitar you have!

Ken

I agree with Jos. I think I played your SC-2 at Atomic, but that would have been just a couple of months ago. They had two Leo-era SC-2s on consignment - one just like yours, and a hardtail with the second body style. I ended up selling them my second-style SC-2 with a DFV and using the money to buy the hardtail.

That is a very sweet guitar you have!

Ken

Thanks, Ken! turns out he bought it about a month ago, so that was likely the one u played. he plays punk and metal stuff, and it's not ideal for that, so he turned it over. most of his guitars are parts-casters. this SC-2 needs a little TLC. it definitely has some good tones on board, espec w/both pups, parallel and series.

There was another White hard-tail 1st body style SC-2 that just went on daBay for $600!! Sometimes you just don't know. I've seen them go for double that price!

- Jos

2 things i have learned about the SC-2 thus far, it hates 10-46 strings, neck and bridge went into shock when i put them on.
It loves 9-42, much better set up and playability. Must of had them before.
Also, this is the best "trem" i have ever used. Totally smooth, nice range up and down, and stays in tune even with new strings!
Amazing. I almost never use trems. This one asks to be used. I'm glad the bar has survived 3 decades!

Yep. The Dual Fulcrum vibrato really is a work of art in my view. I can (just) squeeze out a full octave down drop from the low 'E' and still have the thing return to pitch. I almost never see the (unique to the early models) bar included when these come up for sale so you really scored well with this purchase.

BTW your SC-2 will work well with .010-.046" string sets if you so desire, but will require standard setup tweaks to account for the increased tension (small adjustments to intonation, truss rod, possibly saddle height, and tightening the spring claw in the back of the guitar which determines the spring tension/resting bridge position/how far the bridge is able to 'float').

I use .011-.050 on my old SC-3 (with the same DF Vibrato) and it dials in perfect - there was just enough tension in the stock springs to get the bridge plate sitting level.

The G&L Setup guides and the recommended measurements therein really are exceptionally good. Well worth breaking out the feeler gauges, hex keys and screwdrivers.

Enjoy that wonderful guitar

There was another White hard-tail 1st body style SC-2 that just went on daBay for $600!! Sometimes you just don't know. I've seen them go for double that price!

- Jos

Amazing price. That was a bit more "road worn" than mine.
I'm glad i got the DFV - it's a treat!

Yep. The Dual Fulcrum vibrato really is a work of art in my view. I can (just) squeeze out a full octave down drop from the low 'E' and still have the thing return to pitch. I almost never see the (unique to the early models) bar included when these come up for sale so you really scored well with this purchase.

BTW your SC-2 will work well with .010-.046" string sets if you so desire, but will require standard setup tweaks to account for the increased tension (small adjustments to intonation, truss rod, possibly saddle height, and tightening the spring claw in the back of the guitar which determines the spring tension/resting bridge position/how far the bridge is able to 'float').

I use .011-.050 on my old SC-3 (with the same DF Vibrato) and it dials in perfect - there was just enough tension in the stock springs to get the bridge plate sitting level.

The G&L Setup guides and the recommended measurements therein really are exceptionally good. Well worth breaking out the feeler gauges, hex keys and screwdrivers.

Enjoy that wonderful guitar [/quote]

Thx Andy. I appreciate your insights. I had no problem setting up the bridge/trem with either set. The neck has a bit more relief than I'd like and I adjusted the truss rod, but got limited response. It is pretty much maxed out and didn't want to force it. So the relief is better with 9-42 than with 10-46. It is still very playable and no buzz so i will settle for this. I'd stick a new neck on it if it worsens, but I otherwise love the frets and the feel of the original neck, and the headstock, so would like to preserve its originality as much as possible.

while i was at it on the deck, i took a few sun shots of the SC-2

Great little tone machine you got there John!

Nice find. I wouldn't mind having one similar one day.

Tom

Thx, Jos and Tom! It is fun to play, plenty of good tones in there - love the pups and the 4 position selector, and pretty light on the shoulder, not neck heavy.

Black and maple board , beautiful !!