Rare Guitars: Gary Gand's 1964 SG Custom

Gary Gand has an impressive trove of Gibsons, and one of the standouts is this white 1964 SG Custom. Like most of Gary’s axes, this one has an interesting origin story too.

In our interview with him, Gary tells us this SG came to him by way of a jam-band encounter. “I met this local guy who was moving to Europe and that he needed someone to take his place in his band,” he says. “One night, the band invited me on stage, so I sat in and I guess they liked me, because after the gig the guy comes up to me and says: ‘Listen, I’m quitting and that was an audition.’”

Gary was happy to join the band, but one of the conditions was that he had to purchase this white SG. Given his penchant for six-strings, that was obviously not going to be a problem. Gary does tell us, however, that he was not a huge fan of the SG at the time: “I wasn’t an SG guy back then – this was the 80s – but there was Clapton and Krieger. Angus was happening back then.” Nevertheless, Gary held onto this gorgeous instrument so he must’ve come around.

The guitar itself is in impressive condition, considering it’s 55-years-old and has been heavily used. It’s got a thin, fast neck profile, a Bigsby vibrato, original gold hardware, waffle-back tuners and a faded white finish that has all the blemishes of a well-played guitar.

Check it out here: