Tom Petty's 1964 Gibson SG Standard

This 13-inch-wide SG Standard weighs just 6.70 lbs. and has a nice, fat nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Solid Honduras mahogany body with bevelled edges, one-piece mahogany neck with a medium profile, and rosewood fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and inlaid pearl trapezoid (crown) position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and pearl crown inlay. Three-layer (black/white/black) plastic bell-shaped truss-rod cover. Individual single-line Kluson Deluxe tuners (stamped on the inside "D-169400") with double-ring tulip-shaped Keystone plastic buttons. Serial number ("275535") impressed into the back of the headstock. Two original Gibson patent-number humbucking pickups, each with a black label ("Patent No 2,737,842") on the underside, with outputs of 7.48k and 8.14k. Original "MR 491" and "MR 490" black pickup rings. The nickel pickup covers have been removed. Five-layer (black/white/black/white/black) plastic pickguard with six screws. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch, all on lower treble bout. The potentiometers are stamped "137 64--" (CTS 1964). Black plastic bell-shaped knobs with metal tops. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic retainer bridge with nylon saddles and Gibson "Maestro" Deluxe Vibrola tailpiece (the vibrato arm has been removed). All hardware nickel-plated. There is a small amount of belt buckle scarring on the back of the guitar and some very minor finish checking. Otherwise this totally original and almost unfaded example is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition. It has one of the best and fattest '64 necks that we have ever seen -- absolutely to die for! Housed in its original Gibson four-latch "Faultless" black hardshell case with orange plush lining (9.00).

After a relatively fallow period in the 1970s and after he ultimately moved beyond his born-again Christian phase
(“I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music”), Bob Dylan began to tentatively tour once more.

But in 1986, energized by his Farm Aid concerts, he abandoned his hesitancy and hit the road with a passion not seen in years, teaming up with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for the True Confessions Tour. The first leg was a whirlwind month through New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. After a well deserved rest, the second leg of the tour began in June, 1986. It was a blistering cross-country nine weeks in the U.S.

The concerts opened with six or seven songs by Bob Dylan and the band followed by two songs by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Then Dylan performed three or four solo songs, and a duet with Petty backed by the band. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers followed with two more songs, and the show concluded with five or six songs by Dylan and the band. Encores typically consisted of another three songs, the first being another Dylan/Petty duet.

Petty can be seen scorching up the strings of this SG while performing Uranium Rock with Dylan during one of the Sydney concerts 2/10/86 – 2/13/86 on YouTube at http://youtube.com/watch?v=8XGunyOBj5Q

The Dylan- Petty tour was filmed by acclaimed Aussie director Gilliam Armstrong and released under the title Hard To Handle later in 1986.

Tom Petty originally purchased this guitar from Norman Harris (author of Norman's Rare Guitars - 30 Years of Buying, Selling and Collecting with a foreword by Tom Petty) in 1977 and sold it back to him in 1988 (which is when he signed it). This amazing piece of rock memorabilia has resided in a Southern California private collection since that time… Together with an original black and white photograph of Tom Petty (playing the SG) and Bob Dylan performing live during the True Confessions Tour.