Why?

bodhi

midlifecrisis said:

wow, i never noticed that with SGs, i will now have to study every one i see now

It is strange, isn't it.  It's way more obvious once you become consciously aware of it, but before that happens it's hardly noticeable.

Bennyboy-UK

stickyfiddle said:

Because they look much better like that - compare an LP Junior to a Gordon Smith double cut. 

Those 50's designers knew what they were doing with their french curves and pen and paper

... the same 50’s designers who drafted the 330, 335, Melody Maker, and later Barney Kessel with their French curves and pen and paper, perhaps?

Bigsby

merciful-evans said:

I'm obviously out of step here. I prefer symmetric bodies / mirrored about center line such as the ES-335 & ES-339 shapes.

In fact it was only about 4 years ago that I realised that SGs were offset. It put me off slightly.

The new Epi LP DC Pro (not available yet) is slightly asymmetrical too.

Me too. But having said that, I've always loved the Gibson SG shape. I suspect it looks more symmetrical than it actually is because of the way the pick guard (either shape) balances it. Often, the degree of it's asymmetry only really stands out when you see a left handed version.

But I don't think the reason Gibson did this has anything to do with a timeless aesthetic, quite the opposite. The EDS-1275 of 1958 had a symmetrical double cut, as did the 335, Barney Kessel, etc. In 1960 Gibson weren't looking for classical, timeless beauty - the failed Les Paul had plenty of that, and it wasn't selling. Guitarists didn't just want better upper fret access, they wanted something as exciting and different as a Stratocaster (easy to forget today, just how exciting and different that looked in the 50s). People buying electric guitars in 1960 were mostly young, forward looking, they didn't want something that looked as if it belonged in the past, but something that seemed to have come from the future. I think that's why Gibson did much more than give the SG subtly asymmetric horns, they also transformed the body curves into a far less traditional shape, clearly seen when you put an SG next to a LP. I don't have one of those, but this shot shows it too:


I suspect it's what they did with the rest of the body that actually puts some people off the look of the SG. But I love it.

bodhi

So much more apparent:

57Deluxe

weight distribution

Rocker

stickyfiddle said:

Because they look much better like that - compare an LP Junior to a Gordon Smith double cut. 

Those 50's designers knew what they were doing with their french curves and pen and paper

Yes they did but Gibson could and should have got it right before going into production. I am referring, of course, to the famed neck heaviness of the SG...