1976 Gibson S-1 S1 guitar review overview Scott Grove

[@jedward5155]

I'm really glad to see you hear the same things I heard when I played an S-1 for the first time a few days ago. It played as great as it sounded. It was the best guitar I've ever played. I immediately went out and paid a steep price for one on Reverb. I can't wait to get it.

[@groovydjs]

Thanks Dave, I'm always happy to help folks when I think I can. Scott

[@groovydjs]

@youenjoy00myself My total pleasure. Yeah, it's nice to have both versions. They both have their individual charms.

[@groovydjs]

@youenjoy00myself Thank you very much. I currently have 9 of these S-1's now. What they did was in 1978, they changed the wiring to allow for all of the combinations, including each pickup individually. So, you will see that in all of the S-1's that have the black pickups instead of these clear ones, you'll also notice different inscriptions on the pickguards signifying the pickup combinations instead of the typical 1-2-3-4 ont the ones from '75-77. So, be sure to check out one of the later.

[@RCShadow]

Been subscribed for a long time Scott. Just wanted to shout out that I appreciate your videos. Very down to Earth to be sure. Chris

[@StinkyEla]

Found my dad's s1 in the attic after not being used in almost 20 years. Still in tune, volume pot went from 0 to 10. Got it fixed. Plays amazing and has such a nice clean sound

[@groovydjs]

That's awesome that you found it and with minimal issues. Such great guitars that people still aren't really aware of. Keep it and don't let it get away.

[@groovydjs]

Wow, great deal you got on it. The design and layout of the electronics changed over the years. Even the pickups changed. This was the very first year, so...they updated as it went along. I'm partial to this particular setup. Many thanks.

[@greggliedke1362]

Hi Scott...got my first 1975 S-1 in Black. followed your advice on the "Buy it Now" and I can hardly wait to receive the axe. Your advice was great ..saved me some cash and got me a very cool axe. Hope things are rocking in your world and you are well! Peace out Gregg..

[@groovydjs]

@RokDAWG1 Very cool. I've been looking for a cool Sonex and Invader. Do you have the Sonex posted on here?

[@groovydjs]

No problem at all, I will be more than happy to put up a video of it for you.

[@thejones5352]

Hey Scott. Thanks for all of your awesome posts. I really appreciate you sharing your insight. Santa left a beautiful 75 S1 under my tree this year and your S1 review videos have been a great help. Keep rocking man!

[@groovydjs]

That the perfect gift for sure! Congratulations. I'm going to have to speak to that jolly old dude and ask him where mine is. lol I'm glad that my little ramblings have helped you to know a little more about these superb axes. Play it loud and proud and show it to people so that they may know what a REAL guitar is. Cheers.

[@groovydjs]

Thank you very much Chris. Very appreciated. If you ever want me to post anything for you....just name it my man. Scott

[@groovydjs]

@Pcrum LOL, yeah we all destroyed out axes when we were young. Did what everybody else was doing. Really wish I had all those old guitars back now. The good old days of picking up 60's Les Paul Juniors for a coupl hundred bucks at the pawn shop are long gone. These S-1's are just so under appreciated, such a great guitar. I think people will catch on to them soon enough though and start putting an extra grand on their asking price. So, I'm getting them while I still can.

[@groovydjs]

Hello, I use the Johnson Millennium JM150. They were the very first modeling amps, way before Line 6 ever came out. These amps were way ahead of their time and were gone quickly because of it. Many thanks, Scott

[@groovydjs]

@cutthecan I think you are right on the mark my friend. Gibson fans are only fond of about 5 guitars and they turn their backs on all of the other Gibson guitars. Nuts for sure. I like all GREAT guitars no matter what the headstock says. You can pretty much look at any guitar and know what it's going to be like, even from 20 yards away.

[@Grishanof]

2:40 didn't Jag alone came out in thirty different humbucker wiring configurations?

[@groovydjs]

@riffraffrd I hear ya. I have 4 of these now and just can't part with them. Guitars were actually interesting back then weren't they? They actually had personality.

[@RokDAWG1]

I have a Gibson Sonex with a P-90 in the neck & a Bareknuckle in the bridge....what a Fender/Gibson combo tone!! I'm glad you put this clip out there!! VERY cool!!

[@groovydjs]

True, this is one of those guitars that you need to hang on to. So many amazing sounds. It's funny how people hear with their eyes. Folks just need to close their eyes, listen and feel. That tells the real story. This guitar has multiple personalities and they are all good ones,

[@groovydjs]

@papaJamesxoxoxo You are so welcome my friend. I just bough my 7th one yesterday and it's the same finish as yours. I've been looking for it for quite a while and finally found one in great shape. I hate when people rape these great guitars and throw all kinds of nasty pickups in them. They are just so awesome the way they are.

[@groovydjs]

Oh yeah. In 1978 they changed the electronics to do just that, get that neck pickup on by itself. They changed a couple other combinations too. Both versions had their great points. Bill Lawrence simply doesn't get enough credit for all of the axes he created for Gibson in the 70's and early 80's. Just some amazing stuff for sure.

[@groovydjs]

It actually nails both the Strat and Tele sounds except for the bridge pickup by itself which is a little too bright to really hit either one of them. In the sustain department, it is by far better than any of my set neck guitars as wood against wood always sustains better as do bolt on necks instead of a layer or 10 of glue between the wood in the set necks. So, it kills my Les Pauls in the sustain department. The Paul, Explorer and V don't even come close.

[@freepoco2]

Great review. great sound. you know your electric guitar history and it makes for a very informative video. would you say that it does a strat sound or a tele sound better? DOes it leave anything to be desired in the sustain department?

[@MDLinzee]

Any idea why bridge-only sound is lower & tinny compared w position 2? Pickup on mine is set pretty high, perhaps as an attempt to get more output….

[@NearlyAMusician]

allright, thanks ^^ sorry to ask, but do you have any samples or videos of the s-1 on overdrive? I recently found one on a 2ndhand site, and perhaps i'll get it... it's a 1978 s-1 so it doesn't have the option to use all 3 pickups at once but perhaps i'll get it rewired... ;-)

[@groovydjs]

@Mozzley503 Well, keep in touch. Like I said, I have 6 of them currently and I could possibly hook you up. Gotta love the Guild guitars. I need to buy another Guild acoustic from back in the 70's, that reminded me of how great those are.

[@Mozzley503]

yeah there cool. I have a guild and a couple of good amps to boot and i had to pay a debt at the time. But lately i've been having dreams of that guitar. it had a cool fender sound. i hope to find one again.

[@groovydjs]

LMAO, I know, that Gibson Hendrix thing is funny, sure, the V....but the Strat from Gibson.....Wow. Big balls they've got there. You are correct on the PRS, there isn't much that they make that I don't like. Just a GREAT company there, even the import stuff is amazing.

[@daveedgeguitar]

Great post as usual Scott. The best, not like the rest! Dave

[@NearlyAMusician]

thanks! what amp are you using this beauty with?

[@Chrisborgmanphotography]

Hi Scott, thanks for the great videos! I have no idea where or even if I have the original BL PUs from my S-1 so I wonder what you think might be a good alternative. When I was young and dumb I needed a thrash guitar while playing in a punk band. So I ripped apart my S-1, took out the BL PUs and hacked the pickguard so I could put in a humbucker at the bridge. I taped up the other two holes. Pretty nasty but was "cool" at the time. But now I want to rebuild it. I saw a set of BL PUs on ebay once, but were already sold. Any ideas where I might find a set? Thanks!

[@groovydjs]

@FluxCap96 My total pleasure my friend and thank you! Scott

[@groovydjs]

@cutthecan I hear you. I have no idea why the rest of the world is so against them. I have all the ones that people are crazy about, but the oddball ones are really much better guitars as far as I'm concerned. I'd rather have one of these groovy things than a typical Les Paul, V, or Explorer any day.

[@groovydjs]

@cutthecan WELCOME TO THE CLUB! The club consits of just you and I, but...welcome to it! lol

[@groovydjs]

I agree, it's sad that Gibson keeps reissuing the wrong guitars. LOL They don't really seem to care these days, the finishes and craftsmanship are getting worse and the prices are just getting stupid. It's nice that you can get a nice quality Gibson from the 70's for less money than the new stuff.

[@groovydjs]

@KristiKatt In US dollars on Ebay, they are selling for 900-1200 in that condition my friend. I love the S-1 guitars. Great feel and sounds. I'll be happy to send you the 415 dollars for yours. HAHAHAHA

[@groovydjs]

@RokDAWG1 Very cool stuf on your channel, I had to subscribe! I would freak if anybody stole any of my KISS stuff. Like you....I enjoy my broken mirror guitars too. lol I enjoyed that little Art Of Noise montage!

[@baliscotsurf]

now that's a demo! Thanx

[@groovydjs]

My pleasure, I'm glad that you took the time to watch! All my best.

[@aaronentresz]

I'd get this over a Strat any day. All I'd do is add a switch to have the neck pickup on it's own.... Bill Lawrence knows how to make a good guitar.

[@cutthecan]

I rly like the odd looking gibsons guitars. I like the sounds I like the everything about them they're just freaking awesome

[@groovydjs]

@Mozzley503 You gotta love these things. Now I have 6 of them. lol I just can't turn them down when one comes up cheap enough. I'll never get to put them all to good use, but I'm saving all the kids from tearing them up or putting stickers all over them. lol

[@stevenmcgee7762]

Me again. You've reviewed the Gibson S-1, and the Marauder, now how about the granddaddy, the L6-S. Or better yet, how about a comparison of all three of these despised 70's Gibson's? I grew up in Kalamazoo, and am collecting the hated Gibson "superstrats" from the 80's. People are so closed minded like you've said, and will not listen to their own ears, or the real feel of the guitar in their hands, in valuing many of the experimental models Gibson put out in the 70's & 80's that weren't Les Pauls, SG's, or 335's. These guitars are way undervalued in relation to the actual sound they produce and the way they play when compared to the cheap crap that's flooding the market these days, even by PRS. (The "SE" series, complete junk).. Thanks for standing up and pointing out the truth. Kids today don't know what a quality guitar is, and aren't going to find out by walking into Guitar Center.

[@NearlyAMusician]

thanks in advance!

[@groovydjs]

@FluxCap96 Hi my friend. Great guitars! Yes, they all have serial numbers. The 1976 and 1977 had the serial numbers on an oval sticker with the S-1 also printed on there. The decal is on the back, top of the headstock. So, yours probably just fell off. Gibson is quite stupid most of the time and put things like a decal with the serial number on their guitars instead of stamping them in. The 1975 S-1 serial numbers all date back to 1967-68 lol, of course they are not. But, that's Gibson.

[@cutthecan]

I feel so welcomed I don't what people think about my collection it's not there's so they don't have to worry ( my collection six guitars in it.well seven if you count my dads guitar

[@Mozzley503]

wish i still had mine. i only paid 580 for it!

[@RokDAWG1]

@groovydjs Nooo not yet...well I kind of do. If you go to my page, there's a video titled, "2010" & it has a couple of clps of me using that Sonex live. You can hear the sonic difference from other Gibsons easily when I'm playing Cee lo Green's F**K You & then the VERY Gibson type tone when i'm playing the guitar solo for "You Got it Bad" from usher. I am loving these guitars!! I want a Marauder!! I used to have one autographed by Paul Stanley, but it was stolen

[@groovydjs]

@22535030541857 I hear you my friend. I can't get into them either. They had the cool PT back in the early 80's and since then, not much quality there. They look good and it all stops there. I know I'll catch flack for saying that, but only from people who actually paid good money for one. lol

[@cutthecan]

I know. I'd take an S-1 over a standard les pual anyday

[@wijk89]

They were not bad guitars. I owned one at some time. It was nothing very special. It worked. It was the most ‘fendery’ thing Gibson ever did. I think that was more the reason for their failing than anything else. We already had Fender guitars. They didn’t need to be reinvented.

[@groovydjs]

@22535030541857 I agree with you. I like the ESP guitars too. I have a custom shop one. I don't like the TLD guitars at all, but the real ESP and vintage sieries and 400 series are great axes.

[@groovydjs]

@22535030541857 Yeah, when they cheap out on anything, it is garbage in my book. Like you said, the licensed stuff is total junk and I won't buy a guitar that I have to spend any money on to make it better. It had better be perfect out of the box or it's simply not worth owning. When they go cheap on one thing, you know they are going cheap in other, more important aspects too and it's simply not worth the headache.

[@groovydjs]

@22535030541857 I sold that one about a week after I bought it. I got it on Ebay. It was a new Schecter thing that had all Duncan pickups in it. Regular Tele type bridge pickup, Strat middle pickup and a mini humbucker in the neck. It was a pretty thing, but just an awful guitar and the Duncans sounded horrible too. Just a nasty thing. lol

[@aaronentresz]

From what I understand he is a real innovator, but not the best business man.... people seemed to rip him off and take credit for his ideas. The whole Bill Lawrence USA company thing where they can use his name, yet he has nothing to do with them at all is plain weird!

[@richardshuman6714]

the s1.......I know it well. It was #1 and #3 go to guitar on the road for seven years 78' built in 76'. every little shit hole from Port Hardy to Johnson Manitoba heard that spanky sound......rrr

[@groovydjs]

Awesome! I'm glad that some folks actually USED them. You treated people's ears to something GROOVY.

[@cutthecan]

Gibson people aren't opening minded cus there broken Supid and mental. I think I'm the only opened minded Gibson fan in the world. Scott I see you as an universal guitar fan or a very open minded fender fan