oddball sc-1

[fred]

Lately I've been going through the guitar collection and pulling out some of the ones i haven't played in a while. I just recently pulled out the SC-1 that I've had for the last 6 or 7 years.

SN#G010250



Upon a bit more research, some things seemed a bit off. The neck is date stamped feb 16 1984.To the best of my knowledge and from all the research I did back then and what Ive found now these guitars were only made in 1982-1983. The neck is also stamped "3", which from what I understand should have a 12" radius and a 1 3/4" width at the nut, however upon pulling out the radius gauge and the ruler it seems to have the proper 1 5/8" nut width and 7.5" radius (which from what I can tell should be marked "2)". The neck pocket has a date stamp that appears to say apr 15 198? (I think its a 3, which would make sense, but it's hard to read). Also in the neck pocked someone wrote "repair" in blue marker.




further complicating the matter is that from what i can find, the sc-1s all had the older style non sealed tuners, where this one has the sealed tuners instead with no evidence of any other tuners ever being installed.





I'm not really concerned about it being fake. I've had it for the last six or seven years, and it spent the better part of the decade before that in a storage locker. Everything appears to be all original. It's a great playing and sounding guitar, and I got it for a steal.

My assumption is that it was sent back to the factory for a neck repair and they put on a new neck in 1984 using the parts that they had available, hence the different tuners and the writing in the neck pocket, but i would like to know for sure if that is the case.

Sorry about the poor quality pics. It's all i had available at the moment.

[KenC]

My assumption is that it was sent back to the factory for a neck repair and they put on a new neck in 1984 using the parts that they had available, hence the different tuners and the writing in the neck pocket, but i would like to know for sure if that is the case.

It looks like a factory repair/replacement to me. Those are the correct tuners for 1984. I've seen photos of other G&Ls with "repair" marked in the neck pocket and some fittings that didn't match the original age. It must have gone out the door the first time with a bad neck, or had some catastrophic damage right after it left the factory.

How does it play and sound? I think the SC-1 is my favorite guitar.

Ken

[Craig]

My assumption is that it was sent back to the factory for a neck repair and they put on a new neck in 1984 using the parts that they had available, hence the different tuners and the writing in the neck pocket, but i would like to know for sure if that is the case.

It looks like a factory repair/replacement to me. Those are the correct tuners for 1984. I've seen photos of other G&Ls with "repair" marked in the neck pocket and some fittings that didn't match the original age. It must have gone out the door the first time with a bad neck, or had some catastrophic damage right after it left the factory.

How does it play and sound? I think the SC-1 is my favorite guitar.

Ken

And to add to what Ken said:

The SC series did not have any neck options, see What are the USA neck size options, past and present?.
At that time ('83 or '84) the stamp "3" would have been the neck builder's id stamp not the neck number.

[fred]

How does it play and sound? I think the SC-1 is my favorite guitar.

Ken

It plays and sounds great. The neck has a comfortable not too big, not too small profile and its worn in just right. I'm not a huge fan of most single coils, but this one I like. It kind of falls somewhere in between a tele bridge pickup and p-90. nice and midrangey without too much high end. I could do without the floating trem, but this one isn't as touchy as some other designs, and it's not like i couldn't block it off if i really wanted to. Still a super cool little guitar. Simple, no frills, solid, and extremely well made.

And to add to what Ken said:

The SC series did not have any neck options, see What are the USA neck size options, past and present?.
At that time ('83 or '84) the stamp "3" would have been the neck builder's id stamp not the neck number.

That makes a lot more sense. I was wondering what the "3" meant, and i saw that the scs didn't have neck options, but i couldn't figure out what else the "3" might have stood for. If not for the fact that it appeared to have a replacement neck i wouldn't have questioned it at all.

Thanks for the replies. As much as i might know about authenticating Fenders and Gibsons, G&Ls are a bit of a different animal, at least for me.

[KenC]

The neck has a comfortable not too big, not too small profile and its worn in just right.

The necks on all of my SC models (two SC-1s and an SC-2) are definitely bigger than my other '82-'83 G&Ls. Since G&L lost money on the student models, I wonder if the thicker necks were intended to save time with shaping and hand sanding.

I could do without the floating trem, but this one isn't as touchy as some other designs, and it's not like i couldn't block it off if i really wanted to.

My SC-1s are both hard tails, and I really think they play better than my DFV-equipped SC-2. To me, the DFV seems to feel better in a full-sized body.

As much as i might know about authenticating Fenders and Gibsons, G&Ls are a bit of a different animal, at least for me.

G&Ls didn't have sequential serial numbers, but in the early days the features changed frequently enough that they are pretty easy to figure out dates and authenticity for.

Ken

[HLG]

My assumption is that it was sent back to the factory for a neck repair and they put on a new neck in 1984 using the parts that they had available, hence the different tuners and the writing in the neck pocket, but i would like to know for sure if that is the case.

It looks like a factory repair/replacement to me. Those are the correct tuners for 1984. I've seen photos of other G&Ls with "repair" marked in the neck pocket and some fittings that didn't match the original age. It must have gone out the door the first time with a bad neck, or had some catastrophic damage right after it left the factory.

How does it play and sound? I think the SC-1 is my favorite guitar.

Ken

And to add to what Ken said:

The SC series did not have any neck options, see What are the USA neck size options, past and present?.
At that time ('83 or '84) the stamp "3" would have been the neck builder's id stamp not the neck number.

And to add to what Ken and Craig said:
They are both right on the money. Your SC-1 was repaired at the factory in 1984. It was also logged in as the original production date on 12-7-1982. It appears the guitar was approx. one year out from the production date when the issue with the neck transpired. It may have been at the dealer during the entire time frame or possibly for several months. The work/repair order numbers for that particular repair are:
3584 WR 0231 / 2972 RR 6697.
HLG

[KenC]

Larry,

Thanks for posting that info. Is this glimpse into the logs a hint of things to come???

Ken

[HLG]

Larry,

Thanks for posting that info. Is this glimpse into the logs a hint of things to come???

Ken

Without a Doubt!
Stay tuned.
Regards
Larry aka HLG

[darwinohm]

Fred, this is a very nice guitar and the history is especially interesting now that it has been confirmed.-- Darwin

[Elwood]

Without a Doubt!
Stay tuned.

[fred]

Wow....that's amazing......original production date 12/7/82....I was born 12/8/82. Weird.


thanks. It's great to actually have some history on this guitar.

[Fumble fingers]

Wow....that's amazing......original production date 12/7/82....I was born 12/8/82. Weird.

weird ??... no ... sounds like it's a good match ...... pretty cool anyway