Demo & Review of a Vintage GIBSON S-1 (1978)

[@bobbeamer6797]

That’s a gorgeous S-1! I bought mine in the summer between my junior and senior years in high school in 1980, and I absolutely love it. Mine is a mahogany body with a maple fretboard, and I get wonderful sounds out of it. My favorites are the front pickup and position three with all three pickups, which is just a beautiful full tone. I agree that the bridge pickup alone is my least favorite. Quite thin, and nowhere near as nice as the other tones you can get out of it. In the decades since then, I’ve bought a Strat, Tele, Rickenbacker 620, beautiful PRS Singlecut, amazing Les Paul Special, gorgeous Les Paul Traditional, but if my house was on fire the S-1 is the first one I would save. Love it. But the flamed maple body on the guitar you’re showing us is amazing! Thanks for sharing it.

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks a lot for sharing your S-1 story, Bob! Great to hear that you still love the guitar after 40+ years of owning it! Thanks a lot for taking the time to leave a comment! Cheers, Lukas

[@KimberlyCampbell-e2n]

I still have my 1977 S-1. Maple with a rosewood fretboard. I bought it new, and could never imagine parting with it. Since it's a '77 model, position 1 of the chicken-head switch has the humbucking for the neck and middle pickups. It's a nice tone. With the correct choice of amp and expression pedal(s), you can play anything from jazz to blues to rock with as much grit as you want. It's the whole enchilada. (A Line 6 POD-XT is a perfect tool for all that, if you can still find one.) It's an interesting guitar to own because every time I take it in for a tech review/set-up, the reaction when I open the case is always the same: "What is that, and where did you get it?" (Useful to have the warranty card with your name on it for that.) When I go back to collect it, it's a different guy, and routinely the comment as it comes back to me is, "I've never seen one of those, but I wouldn't ever sell it, if I were you". This guitar and associated gear won't be in my will, simply because I've already gifted it to my son - while keeping "protective custody" of it until I'm gone.

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks a lot for sharing your story of this rather exotic guitar with us. I always enjoy reading those! I can totally see how you can cover pretty much any ground with this guitar. Out of curiosity, how is the weight of yours? Another commenter mentioned his 74 being really light. The one we got provided was extremely heavy, certainly non weight reliefed LP territory. Cheers, Martin

[@JohnnyBeane]

I remember those guitars. I worked at a shop in Berkeley California back in the 90s and I remember seeing those guitars. we had all kinds of stuff.

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Hey Johnny! Very cool. Do you remember for how much they were going back then? Cheers!

[@ludomirsteinbruck9376]

Awesome reviews guys, it was an honor to provide you guys with this rather unique Gibson and a pleasure to watch your opinion on it.

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks a lot Bene, both for lending us this cool Gibson and for the kind words! Up next: your Torchy ;) Cheers, Lukas

[@MusicTherapyLaz]

Finally catching up on this one... you guys ROCK!!!

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks Laz, you rock too! Cheers, Martin

[@kurikokaleidoscope]

Always informative and excellent episodes.

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thank you so much for the kind words! Cheers, Lukas

[@CedricSatterfield]

I love that out of phase sound and all three together. One has popped up as a used trade in locally, I may go look at it. Thanks for the playing and the review.

[@LMGuitarCorner]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching and commenting. Go check it out. It's certainly worth trying it out. They definitely won't get any cheaper either. I hope you'll still like it then and you find a good one. Would really like to know if you got it in the end. Cheers, Martin

[@dejadejayoutube]

With the tone rolled all the way off there was some jazzy sounds within the clean spectrum,...but those pickups do seem to be crying out for some overdrive, grit, and fattening up...i assume fuzz would vibe with them too. Great vid bois 👍

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks deja voodoo. Yeah, you're probably right. I also think they might benefit from a little help from a pedal. But I guess it would have become a little dragging if we would have gone through different pedals as well. I'm simply not a good enough player to keep on going for so long. But I think with what we've shown, one could get a rather good idea of what to expect from this guitar. Cheers, Martin

[@smytree]

Great Review and Demo fellas, Cheers!

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks Trev! Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers, Martin

[@davejones5745]

Nice review.

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks a lot Dave, glad you liked it! Cheers, Lukas

[@erwanmirabeau6751]

Great review thanks ! I have the exact same model. didn't know pos 3 acts like a giant humbucker. I really like the bypass position where it sounds thin but "twingy" !

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks a lot! Glad we also had some new information for you. The concept and idea behind this guitar is really interesting. It's a different look at a "3 pickup" guitar. Out of curiosity, is yours also this heavy? Comments regarding the weight differ drastically. The one we had to demo was extremely heavy, others state that theirs is really light (probably not the all maple variant). Cheers, Martin

[@erwanmirabeau6751]

@@LMGuitarCorner Yes mine (Full Maple Edition like yours) is really really heavy. For example when I'm seated, the guitar falls on the side when not held with the hand. Regarding the tone control, I have exactly the same opinion : it's very subtle but I like it like that !

[@hoboroadie4623]

It used to be easy to get a Telecaster Deluxe with the Wide Range Humbuckers but people noticed that they were not actually bad sounding and the price went up. That would have been a nice companion, for fun.

[@LMGuitarCorner]

I'm curious if these rather freaky 70s guitar will become trendy one day as well. Cheers, Martin

[@mcheustis]

I had a 1976 S-1. Tobacco sunburst, Alder body, maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. It had about two usable sounds. When the four-position switch broke, it was very difficult to find a replacement. I rewired it from a series one to a series two schematic. Then it had one usable sound. I do not miss it. It did have a really nice case.

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Yeah, the electronic in this one is really special. I can imagine it being a horror if that switch breaks. It's also not a guitar for me, but there are people who can make use of them and enjoy them. I think it also heavily depends on the music you're playing. Also, the all maple ones are extremely heavy. The one we had at least felt heavier than any Les Paul I've ever played, and I'm fairly sure it was! Cheers, Martin

[@sanfranciscolight]

Awesome video! I have a 1976 S-1 that looks just like this with the maple neck and body. I bought it when I was in high school in the early 90's for around $300 because I couldn't afford the SG I wanted at the time. I love everything about this guitar except the weight. Mine comes in at just under 12lbs. Playing it standing up is not really an option. :) I played it at an open mic night last night because it was the only guitar I own that could make the sound I was looking for (in the number 3 position with all three pickups on). The other solid body I play all the time is a Squier Strat that I've put a freeway switch, 10 position selector on and even with all those options and even when I turn all three pickups on I can't anywhere near to the sounds I love on my S-1.

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks a lot! Judging from the comments, it seems like the weight differs vastly between the models. The one we had was also extremely heavy. Certainly on par with the heaviest LPs I've played so far. It doesn't surprise me that you can't really replicate the sound of this guitar. It does its very own thing. Out of curiosity, did you pick scheme A or B for the freeway switch? Because only the B offers three PU in series like the S-1. Still, I think it would sound different due to PU style, position, scale length... But if you have scheme A, then it's even less a surprise, as that one doesn't even offer a comparable PU selection. Cheers, Martin

[@JaniceLalla]

I enjoyed it

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks Janice! Cheers, Martin

[@blkjckgtr3075]

Great review and demo guys it definetly has it's own sound,were the pots 250 or 500K ohms? love the snake headstock,Cheers!

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks a lot! Neither, the volume pot has a value of 300K Ohms. Cheers, Lukas

[@jamesalfano5740]

Adfing to its unique sound is the fact that the bridge pickup is straight, not slanted like a strat. Giving more treble to the low e string. I agree the toggle down should activate neck pickup, as the bridge pickup by itself is a little weak. The rest if the electronics are unique to tjis guitar. I met Bill Lawrence sometime in the 90's. Hes a genius!

[@LMGuitarCorner]

It's a really cool guitar with very unique features. Very cool that you had the chance to meet Bill Lawrence! Cheers, Martin

[@zebrawoodguitar6000]

I got one from -74! mine is very light. Unfortunately is has been changed a lot. I broke one tuner-mechanism, I made my own copper pickguard. The 4-way switch is probably gone.. I have painted it red.... At the beginning when I bought it it was to comp. Not a solo guitar. And for that it was splendid. Now I have a Gibson 500T as bridge and a Shaller rotary switch. I know it is to destroy the guitar, but since it didn't increase in value until the last years. I bought it for about 370$

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Tbh. I see nothing wrong with that. If it fits your needs better like this, then go for such mods. I don't really understand when people buy guitars as investments. Imho they are tools and should be treated as such. Your guitar sounds like a really cool one with a lot of history to it. Cheers, Martin

[@pbnjimages294]

I bought a 1976 model in 1977 new. I bought it because it was heavy discounted, it had been on their wall for over a year. Your small pot is not factory original. Also, my tone cap had to be replaced after 40 years. The toggle switch is not something you can not easily find. It has a tendency to need tlc. Of the over 50 guitars I have owned It is still one of my favorite ones to play.

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks a lot for the info! Very interesting! Cheers, Martin

[@hardrockindaddy]

I just learned about this guitar today??? You guys have an amazing guitar that is probably the most versatile solid body guitar ever built. I am a huge Ronnie Wood fan, and I saw his photo from the 70's...how cool. You did a great job illustrating what this guitar is all about. BTW, the wiring schematic is very rare for this guitar. With that said, I'm going to build one. Thank you so much for your video. I subbed to your channel. Cheers

[@LMGuitarCorner]

Thanks a lot! Glad you like our content! A friend of ours had this guitar and already sold it forward. Most versatile, I'm not sure, there are still the Ibanez guitars with crazy wirings, and there's also the Jimmy Page wiring, which is a strong contender for me. But this one also gives you lots of options. Are you planning on filming your build? That'd be really interesting. Also, thanks for the sub! Cheers, Martin