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Angus Young on his favourite SG: “It’s a vintage one. The one that I’ve always had”

It’s so battered it’s kept locked away so it’s always ready for the studio.

Angus Young

Image: Joey Foley / Getty

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Angus Young’s close association with the Gibson SG has seen him hardly ever play a show or record a song without one – but in a new podcast appearance, the AC/DC guitarist has revealed the particular SG that’s closest to his heart.

Speaking on an episode of Dean Delray’s Let There Be Talk podcast, Young was asked which single SG he’d keep out of his collection, and whether it’d be a vintage one or a newer one. “It’s a vintage one,” he said, “the one that I’ve always had, and that’s been on nearly, well, every album I’ve ever done – it’s a guitar that now, because it’s been on so many AC/DC songs, I just save it for the studio. And I keep it away.”

It’s kept away mainly because its rigorous use on tours has left it quite battered, as Young explains: “Over the years when I used it live it got so many bumps and cracks and I got to the point where I don’t want it damaged any more. I want to make sure to preserve it so it’s there for when I’m doing studio stuff. When I’ve got that guitar, it’s so reliable, you know? I just have to plug it in. I can get all my guitars and line them up, and I can go through them all and go in and everyone will go, ‘Yeah, that’s a great sound, that’s a good sound. But that one, that’s the one.’ It’s just got its own thing to it.”

The guitar, unsurprisingly, makes an appearance on AC/DC’s latest recently-announced studio record, PWR UP – which sees the band recruit long-time members Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams.

Angus Young has also spoken about the presence of his late brother, Malcolm, on the record, following some speculation that parts he actually recorded made it onto the album. Angus confirmed that this isn’t the case, saying: “I know a lot of people have been saying, did Malcolm actually play, is it his instrument on the new album? I chose not to do that because I felt Malcolm himself wouldn’t like me trying to splice his guitar work.”

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