History Of The Gibson Guitar

By Johnny Stall

One of the most popular and loved guitars ever made is the Gibson guitar. It all started way back when a man by the name of Orville Gibson started making mandolins in his small workshop located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A few years later in 1902, Orville started up the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Company.

Gibson sold mostly mandolins until the early 20's when guitars started to gain in popularity. During these early stages of guitar production, Gibson came out with arch-top guitar designs and truss rod neck construction.

In 1936, Gibson introduced the ES-150 and ended up creating a sound that was never heard before. The ES-150 (the ES stands for Electric Spanish) featured magnetic pickups and an F-hole arch top design. A guitarist by the name of Charlie Christian loved the sound of this guitar and stated using it regularly. He was so well known for using this model that the guitar is still known as the Charlie Christian model to this day.

In the 40's, Gibson came out with a couple new concepts to influence the way guitars were to be made. They introduced the first 3 pickup guitar and they also introduced the sharply pointed cutaway top.

The 50's were a great time for Gibson as well because that was when a man by the name of Les Paul got involved with the company. Because of the popularity of the Fender guitar, Gibson decided to start producing solid-body guitars and Les Paul had been working on the solid-body concept since the 1930's. So Les Paul was brought in to give his input and endorse these new types of guitars. In 1952 the first Les Paul was introduced and the most famous Gibson guitar was born.

Soon different models of the Les Paul were created including the Custom, Standard, Special and Junior. In 1954, the top models had tune-o-matic bridges put on them and in 1957; the famous humbucker pickup was introduced to the Gibson lineup. Also in the 50's, the unusual designs of the Gibson Explorer and Flying V made their debut.

One of Gibson's main competitors around this time was Epiphone Guitars. Epiphone fell on some hard times and Gibson ended up buying them with a plan to just continue selling their successful line of upright bass's. Soon after the purchase though, Gibson realized that they could use the Epiphone name to satisfy the requests of dealers that wanted to sell Gibson products. Most of the Epiphone guitars of today are the more economical versions of the Gibson guitar models.

In 1961, Gibson changed the design of the Les Paul model to a double cutaway design. Les Paul didn't like the way the new design looked so he told Gibson that he didn't want his name on it. Gibson then changed the name to the new double-cutaway model to the Gibson SG.

Gibson decided to open up a factory specifically for the production of the Les Paul guitars in 1974. This new home for Gibson was named "Gibson USA" and is located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Things weren't so bright for the company by the late 80's and Gibson ended up in deep financial difficulty. In 1986, the company was sold to the trio of David Berryman, Henry Juszkiewicz and Gary Zebrowski. This change in ownership had a huge impact on the company and quickly restored Gibson's reputation and profitability.

The Gibson guitar company is still as popular as ever today with professional and hobby musicians around the world. The Les Paul is my personal favorite with its beautiful tone and sexy design. Gibson has recently come out with the Slash signature model to go with the other signature models such as the Billy Joe Armstrong (Greenday), Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Johnny Winter and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin). That's a great line up of artists but it's only a small fraction of the amount of famous guitar players that strap on a Gibson guitar. Some of the other guitarists that rock out with Gibson are Angus Young (AC/DC), Chuck Berry, Peter Frampton, Ace Frehley (Kiss), George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), B. B. King, Robby Krieger (The Doors), John Lennon, Bob Marley , Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones), Pete Townshend (The Who), Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne), Frank Zappa and many MANY more!

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History Of The Gibson SG Guitar

By Johnny Stall

The Gibson SG guitar is one of the most coveted guitars in history. Many musicians over the years have fallen in love with the SG and have remained loyal to Gibson. Here is a bit of the history of the SG for you to enjoy.

Around the year 1960, the Gibson guitar makers were suffering through a sales slump. Not that the Les Paul was not selling, as it was and very nicely. The trouble was that music was evolving and musicians were looking for a sound, or tone, different from what the Les Paul offered.

So in 1961, Gibson radically altered the body shape so it was now thinner, more lightweight and now featured a double cutaway neck area that permitted deeper access to the higher frets. The neck took on a heavier construction and the neck joint was raised approximately three frets higher. This was done in hopes of competing with Fender's Stratocaster model, which was gaining popularity then.

The new design was marketed with the "fastest neck in the world" and this was largely a fact. The neck had a thinner profile (from the side) and with the higher neck joint, the heel was no longer an obstruction, as was the case with the Les Pauls.

Another name was sought because the guitar looked nothing like a Les Paul. Since the guitar was it's inventor's namesake, Les Paul (the inventor of the electric guitar and the Les Paul design) asked that his name removed from the new design completely.

So, the good people at Gibson brainstormed and called the new model an "SG". Ironically enough, this was simply short for "solid guitar".

The Gibson factory had an abundance of plastic "Les Paul" nameplates in stock. So even though Les Paul's name was removed in 1961, Gibson continued to manufacture SG's with the nameplate between the topmost pickup and the fret board until the end of 1963. Finding one of these early SG's with a Les Paul nameplate would truly be a valuable collector's item.

Since the SG was introduced in early 1961, numerous variations have been made carrying the SG name. There was a standard model (SG Standard) as well as a junior model (SG Junior). Then the top of the line Gibson SG Custom made the scene. Curiously, the SG Customs manufactured from 1961-63 did not say 'SG' on them, yet they did have a Les Paul signature plate under the fret board, as did all Les Paul's.

From 1961 to early '63, the truss rod cover on the SG Standard was engraved with "Les Paul". The SG featured a small pick guard on models made between 1961 and 1965. Then, in 1966, another slight redesigning took place. Now the SG had a different type of neck joint and a batwing-shaped pick guard appeared on models from 1967 upwards.

The design was firm until around 1970 or so. The year 1971 saw the release of a new version of the SG with a floating pick guard reminiscent of the Les Paul. Also the control plate was mounted from the front to decrease construction cost.

A variety of quality tailpieces were offered as options as well. Notable ones were the "Maestro", the "Lyre Vibrola" and the Bigsby vibrato tremolo arm. A few new designs were brought into play with the new tailpiece design. A few of these were the SG 100 (a low end version that was more affordable) and the SG 200 (with two single coil pickups). On the higher end of the SG spectrum were the SG Pro and the SG Deluxe models.

Gibson returned to the original design of the SG in 1973. The pick guard went retro to the small original pick guard and the controls were moved to the rear again and the neck was set deeper into the body with a joining point around the twentieth fret. But by the end of that decade, all the SG models reverted mostly to the old design. Current models are now made with 1967-1969 constructions, the larger LP style pick guard that encases the pickups on the SG body. Variations are still available with the small pick guard. Re-issues of the SG are common and popular.

These guitars resemble their 1960's brothers except that a stop tailpiece is now standard. Models of the SG with a vibrato tailpiece are now a custom item or a special edition model.

The first SG that had active factory pickups was introduced in 1980. Gibson tested an SG model with the same active Moog electronics that were being used (or had been used) in a previous model called the RD Artist. This experimental SG sported a thicker body due to the extraneous added circuitry. This model was lovingly nicknamed the "Gibson SG-R1".

The SG-R1 was made of solid mahogany with a black glossy finish. It had no pick guard, the fret inlays were "dots" opposed to original trapezoid shapes and it featured transparent barrel knobs for the treble and bass controls ranging from "0" to "+5" or "-5" instead of "1" to "10". There was also an extra switch to activate a "boost" on the bridge pickup.

The SG-R1 had a fixed bridge with a tremolo/whammy bar standard. Gibson renamed the SG-R1 the "SG Artist" circa 1981 and subsequently discontinued it. Of these SG's, there were only about 200 ever made.

Today the Gibson SG guitar is still as popular as ever and is used by some of the top guitarists to ever strap on an axe. Some of Gibson's loyal users are Angus Young (AC/DC), Hank Williams Jr, Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Marilyn Manson, Nic Cester (Jet), Pete Townshend (The Who), Shakira and Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath).

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Gibson Guitars - A Fine Recollection

By Ralph Goldinger

Gibson guitars have been around since before the turn of the century. Over the years they have earned a very fine reputation. Many think of Gibson guitars as the Cadillac of guitars-high quality and pricey. Orville Gibson, founder of the company, in his day was working with arched-top guitars. In 1902 the manufacture of mandolins was an important part of the company. The mandolin lost much of its popularity and Gibson discontinued making them.

When I was working on a Ph.D at Western Michigan University which is in Kalamazoo as was the Gibson guitar company at that time, I called the company and asked for a tour of the plant. I had been playing a Les Paul for many years and really desired a tour. I felt that they owed me that much. The spokesperson for Gibson very graciously told me that they did not conduct tours but that there were a few salespersons touring the plant that afternoon and I would be welcomed to join them. I jumped at the chance and did not regret it. One of the most memorable statements from the tour guide was that of all the tropical wood imported into the U.S.A. Gibson had first choice at it. Then whatever was left was fought over by other companies that used ebony, rosewood, mahogany etc. Even the finest examples of domestic woods such as maple, birch and spruce went to Gibson first.

According to guitar historians, the popularity of big bands led to the need for more volume in guitars. In 1935 Gibson developed a new guitar pickup and incorporated it into the Gibson ES-150. This is considered to be the first practical electric guitar. If you are spoiled as I am and like thin, streamlined necks, you will give a vote of gratitude to Gibson for inventing the truss rod which made thinner necks possible.

Les Paul and Leo Fender were both working on electric guitar pickups. In 1952 the Gibson company released Les Paul's version of the solid body electric guitar. In the 1960's Gibson introduced the humbucking pickup

Gibson opened its present plant in Nashville, Tennessee in 1974. It is right downtown and is quite a tourist attraction. Incidentally Gibson owns the Epiphone, Kramer and Steinberger brands.

Hello, my name is Ralph Goldinger and I am a retired public school teacher of 32 years and a guitar instructor - performer of almost 40 years. I taught guitar in the music department at Slippery Rock College from 1971 through 1974 and have taught private guitar lessons for many years, a pastime which I continue to enjoy. Besides my family, music and guitar has without a doubt been my biggest passion in life. I've recently started to learn about Internet marketing and blogging. I find it quite fascinating and enjoy sharing my knowledge and musical experiences with others. http://www.GuitarGoGo.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ralph_Goldinger