Here is a another classic guitar which needed some fixing. I have been wanting to build this guitar as well for a long time.

The neck was moved inward, increasing the size of the neck joint This gives it strength, stability, much better tone transfer between neck and body and improves the balance of the whole guitar greatly. As a guide in terms of the body shape, which is exact, I worked from a vintage reissue guitar. The body edge contours are all done free-hand, which is difficult and does not allow for consistency. Just perfect for me.

Gibson used a variety of scale lengths, which are all called 24 3/4" for some reason. 24 3/4" is incorrect for most Gibson guitars. They did use this scale for some models at certain times but actually not very much. Scales varied throughout the different periods of the company. I chose to use the Gibson 50s scale, which is interestingly a metric scale of 624 mm. This is actually a bit shorter than 24 3/4". Feels great.

The fingerboard has 26 frets.

Thickness and shape of the body is accurate, only the design flaws have been eliminated. Consequently this guitar does not feel or sound like a Gibson. It is totally a Zachary guitar.

Pickups chosen were DiMarzio, since they work so well with Zachary guitars. Tone is thick and warm as expected. The usual Zachary wiring scheme was used, allowing for 6 very distinct sounds. The jack was also moved to the back side, instead of the top of the guitar. One master volume and on master tone were used instead of the usual four knobs, which are redundant. It is slightly noticeable that the volume pot was first drilled in a different location. This was not a mistake but a change in design after the hole was already drilled. I noticed that it would be better to bring the volume knob closer, given the proportions of this model. The initial hole was plug filled flawlessly.

Why is it called the G2?   Because there will be a G1 as well in the near future.

Alex, Congrats on 171205, the First G2. Absolutely outstanding and absolutely Z, as always. Of course, this is the guitar Frank Marino should have played Johnny B. Goode on at the California Jam II and should have made all his most famous live recordings with. Did you contact Frank and let him know his guitar is finished? Looks just like it, but without the pick guard and the tremolo. Frank never had a Samurai headstock either. Poor Frank. He needs to know what we Z owners have all discovered in the greatest builder of the solid body electric guitar who ever lived. Frank would fucking freak the fuck out if he got his hands on this one. She's a beauty. I dub thee, "Francine Marino", in tribute to Frank Marino and ZZ Top's famous song, "Francine".
Congratulations on another job done perfectly. Meantime I am going back to the site now to absorb some more eye candy.
Friends, The Notorious Terrible Ted Noiz (The Biggest Z Guitar Fan in the World) (Los Vegas, NV)

Yeah! ;-) That must be the coolest SG I've ever seen man. It is just perfect. I've always liked SG's for some reason, and then I tried a few of them...terribly weak tone, very unbalanced, bad construction, ...I was so disappointed. You fixed all of that. You should get the Nobel prize for luthery. ;-) 26 frets! Man, I'm still learning what to do with the first five! ;-p I know someone that won't sleep till he gets one of those with a wraparound bridge and P90's ;-) Frank Marino would love this one. David (Belgium)

Oh YES! Finally, one of my favourite guitars has been perfected. I don't actually have an SG, not because I don't like them, because I've always been so annoyed by something that's so nearly right - and yet has such obvious flaws, such as the propensity to neck-dive and that notoriously weak neck-joint. The closest I'd previously seen to the ideal SG was the Patrick Eggle SG designed for Tony Iommi, with a slightly modified body shape, 24 frets, simplified controls and better balance. The Eggle is a substantial improvement over the stock production model, but still no cigar! This goes right to the top of my wish list. I assume it's spoken for? If only you could clone yourself and build more guitars! Best Ludwik (UK)

OK, now you've done it. This guitar Zacharizes one of my all- time favorites and "fixes" some of the issues plaguing many of the "originals." Having played 100's of these guitars (and to educate your fans, an "original" was made from 1961-1965 as the golden age at Gibson ended abruptly in 1966. This is not opinion, but fact. (If anyone wants to know why this is fact, they can contact me separately)) I know them inside out. I've owned quite a few (both in LP & SG form) and love them despite some of their shortcomings. The good ones do not always neck dive (my current Jr. is 5.5 LBS. and balances rather well), but do suffer from weaker neck joints and can be a beast to keep intonated properly. Particularly if the original had a wraparound bridge/tailpiece, as even if the placement was perfect when the instrument was built (this was inconsistent, of course) one must account for attendant wood shrinkage over the 40+ years during which these guitars have been around. With shrinkage comes a natural shift in bridge "placement" and scale, leading to intonation problems. Hence the propensity of owners of originals (like myself) to use at least 11's and convert to Badass, Tonepros or full-on Bridge and tailpiece implementations.

I am quite sure that contary to some of the comments you've received this guitar does in fact evoke the sonic signature of an "original" in a very visceral way, but with significantly improved resonant characteristics, bottom end and vastly superior intonation and tuning. Those tuners are a great touch, by the way. Can't wait to see a G1 - Red, preferably! I guess now all that's left for solidbodies is to Zacharize the single-cut version of this guitars predecessor ;-)
Congratulations for the millionth time, Rob Frankel