Did Hendrix Play This Rare 1968 SG Custom?

Imagine you’re a well-heeled guitar collector. A dealer pops open a case to reveal this stunning beauty of a 1968 Gibson SG Custom. Its aura is world-historically cool. It must be something special. “Is that,” you think, “an original Pelham blue finish? A factory Bigsby?” You can hardly contain yourself as it is. The gold hardware has a patina befitting its age. The period-correct nylon saddles are in great shape (“A few have been replaced? No big deal”). And then, the dealer says, “You know, there’s exactly a 50 percent chance that Jimi Hendrix played this.” Well, as Dirty Harry said, “You've gotta ask yourself a question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’”Such is the dilemma for wealthy guitarists around the world, especially, we can imagine, the left-handed ones. Because this ’68 SG Custom—or its twin sibling, the second of only two ever built with these same specs—has been traced back to a legendary jam session with Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, and Elvin Bishop. And it’s recently been unearthed and listed for sale by Reverb seller Imperial Vintage Guitars for the sum of $395,000, with as much evidence of its provenance as possible.There are photographs that show Jimi playing such a guitar that night. The late photographer’s brother has written a letter about the photographer’s career, his relationship with the guitarist, and original prints of that fateful jam.And Matt Koehler—Gibson’s vice president of product and one of the company’s most avid, archive-diving history buffs—has signed a letter confirming that this is one of two never-replicated, left-handed, Bigsby-equipped, Pelham blue SG Customs that Gibson ever built in this period. Shipped out within a few days of each other in May 1968, Koehler writes, “The two guitars were definitely related, and this combination of features does not appear anywhere else in our ledger books.”So, what does that mean to the would-be buyer? If it were a hand of poker, we could call this ultra-rare vintage Gibson a flush, no matter what becomes of the extra provenance. As Imperial Vintage Guitars writes in its listing, “643 Les Paul Standards were made in 1959. Only two of these SGs were ever made, period. This guitar may not be as popular as a 1959 Les Paul, but it’s certainly more rare!”If it’s the one Hendrix played, that makes it a whole lot rarer yet. That turns our flush into a royal flush.Let’s step back and assess the guitar in front of us: It is, of course, a three-humbucker SG Custom. Those humbuckers, given the year, are not Patent-Applied For (PAF) pickups, but Patent No. instead. They’re embedded in the middle of a batwing pickguard (which, as the evolution of the angel wing design, debuted in 1966). The larger batwing allowed Gibson to drop the independent pickup rings and tenon cover found on earlier models. Looking up the neck, you’ll see large, block mother-of-pearl inlays and the diamond headstock inlay that helped these SG Custom models stand out from their more affordable SG Standard counterparts. Turn it around and it does not have the peak of a neck volute found on models from the very late ’60s and early ’70s.“This ’68 SG Custom—or its twin sibling, the second of only two ever built with these same specs—has been traced back to a legendary jam session with Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, and Elvin Bishop.”Add to this the aforementioned factory Bigsby, custom finish, and left-handed build, and you’ve got yourself a truly one-of-a-kind guitar. Or, rather, two-of-a-kind. Which is quite the conundrum when it comes to valuing the guitar.On one hand, 1960s SG Customs are all valuable. These were high-end models created during the Golden Age of Gibson, after all. (In ’68, this special order would have been a bit north of production-model SG Customs, which went for $495.) But while more rare than the burst-year Les Paul Standards, they haven’t appreciated anywhere near as much in value.No ’60s SG Custom with such rare features or historic provenance has ever sold on Reverb. What we do know is that the more standard-fare of this classically tony line will go between $7,000 and $25,000. How much more valuable is a one- or two-off custom combination of specs? Well, “more,” would certainly be a fair answer.But there’s an order of magnitude of difference between this and the territory reserved by original bursts (which can easily fetch half a million or more), or, for that matter, the larger-than-life sums paid in recent years for celebrity-played guitars, like Kurt Cobain’s “Unplugged” Martin D-18 ($6 million) or his “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Mustang ($4.55 million), Eddie Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” Kramer, or David Gilmour’s Black Strat ($3.9 million).In this context, the $395,000 asking price almost splits the difference between a “regular” SG Custom of its era and a guitar owned by a world-renowned artist. So the question of whether Jimi Hendrix actually played this SG or not becomes incredibly relevant, one way or another.So, well-heeled collector, ask yourself again: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya punk?Sources: American Guitars: An Illustrated History by Tom Wheeler, Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars, Reverb's 'The 5 Most Expensive Guitars Ever Sold' article, Reverb Price Guide sales data, SG Wiki.