This thread has me intreagued. In 1987 I bought a very scruffy cherry-red SG copy from a shop in North Wales for £60. After cleaning it up and restringing it, I discovered it had a superb neck. Someone had fitted DiMarzio Super Distortions in it, and only one of the coils in the bridge pickup ws working. The front of the guitar was split around the jack socket.

After a while I decided to refinish the guitar as it played so much better than it looked. When I stripped the headstock facing I discovered a crown inlay under the black paint and the letters CMI.

At the time I was quite excited as I knew that CMI was Chicago Music Industries. Later I learned of the Cleartone name and assumed my guitar was a copy after all. Looking at your thread has me re-thinking this.

My guitar looks nothing like any of the ones here. It has a set neck for a start. Narrow fingerboard with block markers. Split-post tulip-button tuners. Large headstock volute. Large soapbar-shaped ‘Nashville’ bridge with long travel saddles. Solid wood body, very light. I’ve had to put lead weights in the control cavity to get it to balance on a strap. Very subtle chamfering. Single pickguard.

My guitar is identical in evey respect to a 1975 Gibson SG standard in the music shop in town, except it doesn’t say Gibson on the headstock.

Could it be that mine actually is a Gibson and the CMI under the paint referred to Chicago Music Industries? I’ll post a picture later.