Gibson Guitars are an icon of the guitar industry. Gibson is currently a major player in both the electric guitar and acoustic guitar market. The company was originally named after Orville Gibson who made mandolins in Kalamazoo, Michigan at the end of the 19th century. Gibson used the same method to initially make the big body archtop acoustic guitars.
Gibson Guitars were one of the first to come up with the adjustable truss rod inside the neck of the guitar to give it strength. This remains in use today to also allow guitarists to impact on the neck relief.
The very interesting shape of the f-holes in the hollow body guitars was also a feature of Gibson Guitars as was the floating pick-guard. This immediately defined the look of the early archtop acoustic guitars.
After doing much experimenting with the amplification of the sound from the guitar in the 1930s, Gibson released the ES range of semi-acoustic guitars. The ES initials stands for "Electric Spanish". This is not a reference to the nylon string classical guitars that we know today. The term Spanish is used to separate the guitar from the Hawaiian guitars that were lap style guitars.
With the increasing popularity of electric or amplified guitars, the top end of the finger board could now be heard. Gibson Guitars had the idea to introduce the cut away stlye in the body shape. This was to be forever used in future electric guitars and many acoustic guitars and led to the world of the lead guitar hero.
Gibson Guitars had a good deal of success with the ES 175, electric guitar although it was still a hollow bodied archtop. The market however was excited about Fender's 1950 Telecaster guitar so Gibson had to start some more development work of their own. In 1950 they released their first solid body in the form of the Gibson Les Paul Standard electric guitar.
Gibson and Fender were not the only ones developing the solid body electric guitar. At the same time, development work was also being undertaken by Rickenbacker, National and Bigsby were also involved in testing.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Les Paul had his own radio program and was a very popular guitarist. He dabbled with his own inventive work on amplification and developed his own solid body guitar, called the "log". Paul took this concept to Gibson Guitars who unfortunately were not interested. It was only after 1950 when Gibson Guitars saw how popular the Fender solid body was that Gibson reapproached Les Paul looking for his assistance.
Gibson and the other guitar companies wanted to pursue the solid body concept because it provided some unique benefits. The hollow bodied guitars had suffered from feedback when under amplification and this was certainly a sticking point. The solid bodies did not suffer as much from this. The solid body guitars also provided wonderful sustain of the pure natural sound from the strings. The solid bodies were lastly much easier to produce.
In response to Fender's early success in the solid body acoustic market, Gibson Guitars put out the Les Paul Standard in 1952 for the price of $210. Les Paul agreed to use, promote and have input so he signed a 5 year contract in return for %5 of sales.
Gibson Guitars like all companies appreciated the need to move with new products. In 1958, Gibson introduced the sunburst appearance of the Les Paul Standard which proved very popular. This guitar in particular is now a collector's item. 1958 was also the year, that Gibson added the extra cutaway to the body shape of the Les Paul Junior and Les Paul Standard. This would soon lead to the SG model which simply stands for Solid Guitar.
The same year Gibson Guitars also began getting radical with their body shape. They bought out the first double neck guitar. They also introduced the Flying V shape and the Explorer shape. This was a response to guitar players placing more emphasis on the look of their guitars as well as the sound and playability. Gibson Guitars were able to stamp their mark on the guitar industry for many years.
Gibson Guitars were one of the first to come up with the adjustable truss rod inside the neck of the guitar to give it strength. This remains in use today to also allow guitarists to impact on the neck relief.
The very interesting shape of the f-holes in the hollow body guitars was also a feature of Gibson Guitars as was the floating pick-guard. This immediately defined the look of the early archtop acoustic guitars.
After doing much experimenting with the amplification of the sound from the guitar in the 1930s, Gibson released the ES range of semi-acoustic guitars. The ES initials stands for "Electric Spanish". This is not a reference to the nylon string classical guitars that we know today. The term Spanish is used to separate the guitar from the Hawaiian guitars that were lap style guitars.
With the increasing popularity of electric or amplified guitars, the top end of the finger board could now be heard. Gibson Guitars had the idea to introduce the cut away stlye in the body shape. This was to be forever used in future electric guitars and many acoustic guitars and led to the world of the lead guitar hero.
Gibson Guitars had a good deal of success with the ES 175, electric guitar although it was still a hollow bodied archtop. The market however was excited about Fender's 1950 Telecaster guitar so Gibson had to start some more development work of their own. In 1950 they released their first solid body in the form of the Gibson Les Paul Standard electric guitar.
Gibson and Fender were not the only ones developing the solid body electric guitar. At the same time, development work was also being undertaken by Rickenbacker, National and Bigsby were also involved in testing.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Les Paul had his own radio program and was a very popular guitarist. He dabbled with his own inventive work on amplification and developed his own solid body guitar, called the "log". Paul took this concept to Gibson Guitars who unfortunately were not interested. It was only after 1950 when Gibson Guitars saw how popular the Fender solid body was that Gibson reapproached Les Paul looking for his assistance.
Gibson and the other guitar companies wanted to pursue the solid body concept because it provided some unique benefits. The hollow bodied guitars had suffered from feedback when under amplification and this was certainly a sticking point. The solid bodies did not suffer as much from this. The solid body guitars also provided wonderful sustain of the pure natural sound from the strings. The solid bodies were lastly much easier to produce.
In response to Fender's early success in the solid body acoustic market, Gibson Guitars put out the Les Paul Standard in 1952 for the price of $210. Les Paul agreed to use, promote and have input so he signed a 5 year contract in return for %5 of sales.
Gibson Guitars like all companies appreciated the need to move with new products. In 1958, Gibson introduced the sunburst appearance of the Les Paul Standard which proved very popular. This guitar in particular is now a collector's item. 1958 was also the year, that Gibson added the extra cutaway to the body shape of the Les Paul Junior and Les Paul Standard. This would soon lead to the SG model which simply stands for Solid Guitar.
The same year Gibson Guitars also began getting radical with their body shape. They bought out the first double neck guitar. They also introduced the Flying V shape and the Explorer shape. This was a response to guitar players placing more emphasis on the look of their guitars as well as the sound and playability. Gibson Guitars were able to stamp their mark on the guitar industry for many years.
About the Author:
Author: Terry Booth has an interest in Gibson Guitars since buying his first instrument, (a Gibson Les Paul copy) as a young child. Visit his website GuitarPlayersWorld.com
