The Story Behind Gibson Sonex Guitars

[The Bear Jew]

Howdy.

I bought a Gibson Sonex a few years ago. I didn't know much about the guitar other than it *kind of* looks like a skinny Les Paul. It plays pretty nicely (nice neck), and it sounded sweet after I replaced the icky old Seymour Duncan super distortion pick-ups with a single Tom Anderson H-3 and had a new steel pickguard cut for it.

 

When we were drilling the new pickguard holes for this instrument, we noticed long curls of something that *was not wood* coming off of the drill bit.

 

We were a little curious about this, but we decided not to pursue the issue much further --"OK.. it's just kind of a weird guitar."

 

Later, some guitar folks told me that the Sonex was Gibson's crappiest guitar and that they were made of old sawdust and fiberboard stuck to a cast-off wood neck. I was also told that these were the guitars that Paul Stanley would play for the band's last set so that he could smash them easily.

 

I haven't been able to find out if this stuff is true or not... the Internet hasn't been much of a help here. Can anyone here tell me the REAL story?

 

I'm just curious -- I love the guitar, and it's served me well for several years. I'd just like to know a little more about the way/reason it was made.

[rog951]

Does this thing have a V-shaped headstock? Seems to me that I begged my mom to buy me one in a music store once when I was about 10 yrs old. She wouldn't do it though; she rented me a Kay instead. All I remember about the Sonex was that it looked VERY cool to me at the time...

[The Bear Jew]

Rog...

Nope. No V-shaped headstock. Looks pretty much like a regular Les Paul, except the body is skinnier (and not made of actual wood, I'm told.) The headstock is a basic LP style headstock. The logo on it is a little funny, though. It says "The Gibson," which is a little wacky.

[rog951]

Hmmmmm. Maybe I was looking at a Corvus or something? Anyway, sounds like one of those weird guitars that might be a piece of crap to everyone else but if you like it, who cares? And since it's a Gibson, if you hold onto it long enough, some kid who plays one will get signed to a record deal and your guitar will suddenly be in fashion; look at what that guy from Sum 41 did for the Gibson Marauder. Oh yeah, does yours have a bolt-on neck?

 

Incidentally, Gibson used to put "The Gibson" on all their headstocks I think. I know I've seen it on VERY old Gibson mandolins and banjos and I'm pretty sure I saw an OLD hollow-body electric like that too.

[The Bear Jew]

Oh yeah..

I don't care if anyone else thinks it's a piece of shit. I like it -- it sounds cool, looks cool and plays really well.

 

I was just wondering if anyone had any info about these instruments -- like what the body is really made of? A friend of mine suggested it might be made of something like Bondo.

 

And yeah.. it has a bolt-on neck.

[Gabriel E.]

It was made in the early 80s. The body is wood and resin (fiberglass?). Very cool.

[rog951]

You can check out some Sonex info here:

 

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/Gibson/

 

It sounds like the body was made of some type of composite...they call it "Resonwood." You should email Gibson with any questions you have...they always at least try to help. It sounds like a cool guitar!

[fantasticsound]

Yeah... over at Gibson Customer Support they'll tell you what you already heard; The Sonex guitars were a stab at making cheap, CHEAP Les Paul's out of wood pulp and resin. Kinda like a wooden instrument version of a hotdog.. lots of stuff you'd never use to build a guitar formed into a guitar shape with glue!

 

I'm glad you enjoy the instrument, now that it has decent pickups in it. I'd still have a difficult time recommending a Sonex to anyone.

 

It was kinda funny when people would call to tell us of there "rare" Gibson LP, called the Sonex! (Oooh... Ahhhhh!) There's always someone who insists it's a collectible... It's not. (Not like I have to tell you that!)

 

Enjoy! (I love cheap instruments that rise above their pedigree!)

[The Bear Jew]

Thanks for the info guys.

As I mentioned, the Sonex is a really fun guitar -- especially after my mods. Since I bought it for around $200., I felt justified in adding a new pickguard and pick-up. I should post a pic of this thing... the new pickguard is made of steel diamondplate. The guard alone weighs 5lbs! It makes the whole guitar weigh about 15lbs. It's a backbreaker, but it looks SO cool and sounds great.

Thanks again.

[saucyjack]

Gibson Sonex...that brings back memories..I bought one of those new in like 1982..was grey and black..what a chunk of crap..I used to perform truss rod "experiements" with it trying to get the action lower(I was like 14)quickly traded it in on a 76 Strat with the ugly ass all brass hardware.I still play the Strat ..after replacing neck,pickups,pickguard,and hardware

[Chipotle]

I bought a Sonex at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago. It is a "Sonex Artist" and at one time had Gibson's active electronics in it. It is a set neck guitar. The body of this guitar seems to be a sandwich of fiberglass/wood/fiberglass and has an enormous route in the back to house the electronics. It is not very heavy. I haven't put any pickups in it yet, so I don't know what it sounds like.