As we’ve seen from years past, it wouldn’t be a proper NAMM 2021 without a new signature announcement from Gibson. This time, the brand had its eyes on Kirk Douglas, guitarist of The Roots, for its latest model. If you’ve caught flashes of him performing on The Tonight Show, you’ll know that one of Douglas’s go-to guitars is the SG. As such, it seems Gibson and Kirk have been working the past few months on a model he can call his own, designed to his exact specifications. Here, we’ll provide the run-down on all the specs behind the Gibson Kirk Douglas Signature SG guitar.
Gibson Kirk Douglas Signature SG
As the leading guitar player in The Roots, and house performer for The Tonight Show, Douglas definitely needs instruments he can rely on for easy versatility. To him, the SG seems to be the best guitar for the job. “What I love about the Gibson SG is I am able to get my Les Paul tones and I’m able to get the single coil pickup tones,” Kirk says. “by utilizing the pull up feature on each volume knob you can get a lot of tones. I find with the SG you are able to get a lot of different musical colors, all out of this one guitar.”
For a signature series though, Gibson turned to Kirk Douglas for even more in-depth preferences. As a result, the new signature guitar uses a three-pickup SG custom layout. Additionally, the guitar uses non-locking Keystone tuners, a mahogany neck and body, with a rosewood fretboard. At the bottom sits a Kirk Douglas signature “Captain” Lyre Tail Vibrola tailpiece, adding more uniqueness to the instrument. Finally, the pickups can be selected with a three-way toggle switch. Additionally, each pickup has its own volume control — equipped with a push/pull pot that switches from humbucker to single-coil. The guitar is available in either Inverness Green or Ebony finishes, available at $2,499. The Gibson Kirk Douglas signature SG is available now worldwide, direct from Gibson’s website, or at a dealer near you.
