Gibson made some strange stuff in the 1970s, and in the years since, those quirky models have garnered a sort of cult following(for good reason). The incredible S-1 is a perfect example of this.
This beauty was made at the Gibson factory in 1974 or 1975. This was the first production year, and it is all original. It features a solid maple body and neck, with a nice dark rosewood fretboard. Its comfortable C shaped neck has a 10 inch radius and measures .780" thickness at the 1st fret, and .910" at the 12th, with a 1 and 11/16" nut width.
One of the most striking features of these 70s S-1 models is the pickups. It has 3 high frequency Gibson "special design" adjustable pickups, with a "bright/low" tonality. These were single coil units, each with one Alnico magnet and no adjustable pole pieces. This design courtesy of Bill Lawrence.
One of the other great features of the S-1 was the bypass toggle switch. Most guitarists familiar with Gibson control layouts will naturally assume this to be a three-way pickup selector switch, but this is not the case. In fact it is just a two-way switch, allowing normal function in the up-position, i.e. a combination of two or more pickups in humbucking mode (depending on the position of the four-way chicken head switch) OR a simple "lead" setting in the down position; this toggle switch usually selects the bridge pickup by itself, however, this guitar has been modified so that this toggle selects the neck pickup alone. (This appears to be the only modification done to this instrument, and this wiring came stock as the "S1 Second Series" after 1978).
This guitar is incredibly clean for its age, with just a bit of play wear "buckle-rash" on the backside, and a few very minor dents and dings throughout the body (see photos). It will be packed in a gig bag, and delivered to you safely and swiftly.
Please give us a call here at the shop if you have any questions about this unique bird from Gibson.