Government Series SG

The Government Series SG was first released in 2013 as a limited run to commemorate a 2011 incident where Gibson were suspected of having illegally sourced woods by the government. Although the criminal investigation was dropped due to a settlement, the evidence did not look good for Gibson: "In 2008, an employee of Gibson participated in a trip to Madagascar, sponsored by a non-profit organization. Participants on the trip, including the Gibson employee, were told that a law passed in 2006 in Madagascar banned the harvest of ebony and the export of any ebony products that were not in finished form. They were further told by trip organizers that instrument parts, such as fingerboard blanks, would be considered unfinished and therefore illegal to export under the 2006 law."^[1] Ultimately, a settlement was reached where Gibson forfeited the illegal wood (Ebony from Madagascar) and paid a $300,000 fine. If you're wondering why any of this matters, the reason Brazilian Rosewood is currently threatened with extinction is because of over-harvesting like what was happening with Madagascar Ebony.

These models were built with necks and fretboards that were cleared and returned, and therefore some sport serial numbers dating to 2011. A second run was released in 2014 with a different finish. Series I was limited to 175 units and Series II was limited to 300 units. Both included a COA and hardshell case in Olive Green (Series I) or Black (Series II).

Note: The neck profile was incorrectly listed by Gibson and several retailers as Slim Taper.

Related:

• SG Special

Features

Series I

• $999 Street

Body:

• Beveled, solid Mahogany body
• Nitrocellulose Lacquer finish
  • "Vintage Gloss" satin sheen

Neck:

• 1-pc quartersawn Mahogany
• '50s Rounded profile (.830" / .970")
• Set-in construction
  • 5 degree pitch
  • Franklin Titebond 50 glue
  • Joins body at 19th fret

• Indian Rosewood fretboard
  • Acrylic dot inlays
  • 12" radius
• Narrow Open Book headstock
  • Gibson logo decal
  • "Made in U.S.A." stamp
  • 17^o pitch
• 22 medium-jumbo frets
• 24 ⁹/₁₆" scale
• Corian nut
  • Cut by Plek machine
• 1 11/16" nut width

  

  Series II

Electronics:

• Two Dirty Fingers + humbuckers
  • Three ceramic 8 magnets
  • ~16k Ohms D.C.R.
• 3-way switch
• 2 Vol, 2 Tone
  • CTS 500k audio taper pots

Hardware:

• Black Hardware
• Grover Rotomatic tuning machines
  • 14:1 ratio
  • Manufactured by Ping

    

• 5-ply "Batwing" pickguard
  • Government Series Eagle hot stamp
• Bell shaped truss rod cover
  • Single-ply black
• Black Bell knobs
• Zamak Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge
• Zamak stopbar tailpiece

Finishes:

• Government Grey (Series I)
• Government Tan (Series II)