Some more pics with a better camera this time.
This finish on this guitar is simply stunning - it feels the better than my SG Deluxe which was the previous favourite. It looks extremely classy in a very understated sort of way. The input jack is the highest quality jack I have ever felt on a guitar - really solid thunk when plugging in.
The guitar is no "case queen" and has been quite well played in as the neck is quite glossy. This can also be seen on some of the other areas where playing would gloss the finish. The owner(s) did take exceptional care of the guitar and there are no significant dings anywhere. I have trouble even finding minor dings.
Frets are smooth and in very good shape. Fretboard feels great overall with minimal fret buzz and the inlays look stunning. The neck is thinner than the Bernie's neck, but I can live with that due to the exceptional upper frets access. The only complaint I have is the width at the nut - the neck is quite narrow there and playing chords feels more cramped when compared to the Bernie.
Plugged her in and the sound is quite decent. Haven't done any A/B comparisons yet, but I suspect the SG will still be the preferred guitar for low-gain crunch while this one will handle high gain stuff better. Coil split works and, except for the volume drop, the differences are very slight. Not that I expected it to, but it does not sound like a Strat.
There is some tarnishing on the bridge but that was to be expected. All except one of the tuners have some slack when tuning up, but I guess it is to be expected from an older guitar. The guitar does go out of tune with tremolo use unless I return it to the original position. Once there, it is perfectly in tune even with extreme dive bombs (first ones I ever did).
My guitar strap does feel pretty violated though. Those strap buttons are massive and it probably took 5 minutes to get the strap on. I haven't tried getting it off yet and am wondering if Vaseline is safe for us with nitro...