Gibson S-1

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Gibson S-1
GIbson S-1.jpg
Gibson S-1 in natural finish
ManufacturerGibson
Period1974–1980
Construction
Body typeSolid body
Neck jointBolt-on neck
Scale24.75 in (629 mm)
Woods
BodyMaple, Mahogany, or Alder
NeckMaple
FretboardMaple or Rosewood
Hardware
BridgeTune-O-Matic with stopbar
Pickup(s)3 Bill Lawrence single coils
Colors available
Natural, Ebony, Tobacco, Sunburst, Wine Red, Walnut

The Gibson S-1 is a solid bodied electric guitar, made by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. Notable players include Carlos Santana, Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, and Angel Olsen. Another notable Gibson S-1 player is Steve Bodner from The Damaged Pies. Only 3,089 of them were sold before the model was discontinued in 1980.

History[]

The S-1 was introduced as part of Gibson's attempt to break into the single-coil bolt-on neck guitar market, which was then dominated by Fender. It began production in mid-1974, and debuted in 1975 with endorsements from Carlos Santana as well as Rolling Stones guitarists Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards. However, the nontraditional construction and Fender-like characteristics led to disappointing sales, as they previously had with the similar Gibson Marauder. As a result, both the Marauder and the S-1 were discontinued in early 1980.[1]

The S-1 enjoys an afterlife as a vintage guitar. Its main exponent as of 2020 is Angel Olsen, who gravitated towards the instrument for its ability to produce a variety of tone colors.[2]

Angel Olsen playing her 1979 Gibson S-1

Description[]

The body of the S-1 was broadly similar to the Marauder. It was made of a solid Les Paul Jr-like body with a maple Flying V neck bolted on. It was adorned with Schaller made "Harmonica" style tune-o-matic bridge and the standard Gibson stopbar tailpiece.

However, the S-1 was unique in its elaborate electronics and wiring. It featured three "see-thru" single-coil pickups designed by Bill Lawrence, which could be used together to generate humbucking sounds. The pickups were controlled by a combination of a toggle switch and a "chicken head" rotary switch. The rotary switch had four positions which allowed different selections of pickup combinations: 1) neck + middle, 2), middle + bridge 3) all three together, and 4) neck and bridge out of phase. The toggle switch bypassed the entire 4 position rotary switch circuit and made one straight connection to the bridge pick-up.

Because of its unusual pickups and unique wiring scheme, the instrument was capable of a wide range of distinctive sounds. When interviewed about her 1979 S-1 with Ebony finish, Angel Olsen commented that "it has all these tones to it. If I wanted to make it super bright, I could do that for certain songs… I just love my guitar"[3]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "The Gibson S1". Vintage Guitar and Bass. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  2. ^ Taylor, Luke (2017-05-07). "The Current's Guitar Collection: Angel Olsen, 1979 Gibson S-1". The Current. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  3. ^ Taylor, Luke (2017-05-07). "The Current's Guitar Collection: Angel Olsen, 1979 Gibson S-1". The Current. Retrieved 2020-04-25.

External links[]

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