Gibson (guitar Company)
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Gibson Brands, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) is an American manufacturer of
guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
, other
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
s, and professional audio equipment from
Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
, and now based in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. The company was formerly known as Gibson Guitar Corporation and renamed Gibson Brands, Inc. on June 11, 2013.
Orville Gibson Orville H. Gibson (May 1856 – August 19, 1918) was a luthier who founded the Gibson Guitar Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1902, makers of guitars, mandolins and other instruments. His earliest known instrument was a 10-string mandolin-guita ...
started making instruments in 1894 and founded the company in 1902 as the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co. Ltd. in
Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
, to make
mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
-family instruments. Gibson invented
archtop guitar An archtop guitar is a hollow electric or semi-acoustic guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top, whose sound is particularly popular with jazz, blues, and rockabilly players. Typically, an archtop guitar has: * Six strings * An ar ...
s by constructing the same type of carved, arched tops used on
violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
s. By the 1930s, the company was also making flattop acoustic guitars, as well as one of the first commercially available hollow-body electric guitars, used and popularized by
Charlie Christian Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nati ...
. In 1944, Gibson was bought by
Chicago Musical Instruments Chicago Musical Instruments Co. (CMI) was a musical instrument distributor, which at times had controlling interests in Gibson Guitars (1944 to 1969), Standel, Lowrey, F. E. Olds (brass instruments), William Lewis & Son Co. (stringed instrument ...
(CMI), which was acquired in 1969 by Panama-based conglomerate Ecuadorian Company Limited (ECL), that changed its name in the same year to Norlin Corporation. Gibson was owned by Norlin Corporation from 1969 to 1986. In 1986, the company was acquired by a group led by Henry Juszkiewicz and David H. Berryman. In November 2018, the company was acquired by a group of investors led by private equity firm
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...
. Gibson sells guitars under a variety of
brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
s and builds one of the world's best-known guitars, the
Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...
. Gibson was at the forefront of innovation in acoustic guitars, especially in the big band era of the 1930s; the
Gibson Super 400 The Gibson Super 400 is an archtop guitar. It is a highly influential guitar model that inspired many other master guitar builders (including Elmer Stromberg and John D'Angelico). It was first sold in 1934 and named for its $400 price, like many ...
was widely imitated. In 1952, Gibson introduced its first solid-body electric guitar, the
Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...
, which became its most popular guitar to date—designed by a team led by
Ted McCarty Theodore McCarty (October 10, 1909 – April 1, 2001) was an American businessman who worked with the Wurlitzer Company and the Gibson Guitar Corporation. In 1966, he and Gibson Vice President John Huis bought the Bigsby Electric Guitar Company. At ...
. In addition to guitars, Gibson offers consumer electronics through the Gibson Pro Audio division, which includes
KRK Krk (; it, Veglia; ruo, Krk; dlm, label= Vegliot Dalmatian, Vikla; la, Curicta; grc-gre, Κύρικον, Kyrikon) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kota ...
. On May 1, 2018, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and announced a restructuring plan to return to profitability by closing down unprofitable consumer electronics divisions such as Gibson Innovations. The company exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2018. In January 2020, the company launched Gibson TV, an online television network focused on guitars and music culture.


History


Beginnings

Orville Gibson patented a single-piece
mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
design in 1898 that was more durable than other mandolins and could be manufactured in volume. Orville Gibson began to sell his instruments in 1894 out of a one-room workshop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 1902, the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co. Ltd. was incorporated to market the instruments. Initially, the company produced only Orville Gibson's original designs. The company moved into the
Gibson, Inc. Factory and Office Building The Gibson, Inc. Factory and Office Building is a former industrial building located at 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. History In 1902, Orville Gibson incorporated th ...
in 1917. Orville died in 1918 of
endocarditis Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. It usually involves the heart valves. Other structures that may be involved include the interventricular septum, the chordae tendineae, the mural endocardium, or the ...
(inflammation of the inside lining of the heart chambers and valves). The following year, the company hired designer
Lloyd Loar Lloyd Allayre Loar (1886–1943) was an American musician, instrument designer and sound engineer. He is best known for his design work with the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co. Ltd. in the early 20th century, including the F-5 model mandolin an ...
to create newer instruments. Loar designed the flagship L-5 archtop guitar and the
Gibson F-5 The F-5 is a mandolin made by Gibson beginning in 1922. Some of them are referred to as Fern because the headstock is inlaid with a fern pattern. The F-5 became the most popular and most imitated American mandolin, and the best-known F-5 was own ...
mandolin that was introduced in 1922, before leaving the company in 1924. In 1936, Gibson introduced its first "Electric Spanish" model, the
ES-150 The Gibson Guitar Corporation's ES-150 guitar is generally recognized as the world's first commercially successful Spanish-style electric guitar. The ES stands for Electric Spanish, and Gibson designated it "150" because they priced it (in an in ...
, followed by other electric instruments like
steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...
s,
banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
s and
mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
s. Following Loar, Guy Hart was the next major figure to influence the company. Musician-writer Walter Carter called the next two decades “The Guy Hart Era” and spelled it out in his definitive history of the company: . “Guy Hart ran Gibson from 1924-1948 -- the most important period in the company history since the debut of Gibson instruments at the turn of the century and, moreover, the period of greatest innovation for the guitar since the emergence of the six-string guitar in the late 1700s. As the guitar rose to prominence, so did Gibson. Under Hart’s management, Gibson developed the Super 400 … still considered the best of their kind … the flattop line and the SJ-200
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
put Gibson in a class by itself ndGibson’s prominent place in the electric guitar market.” During the global economic depression of the 1930s Hart “kept the company in business and kept the paychecks coming for the workers,” in part by introducing a line of high-quality wooden toys. “And as the country began its economic recovery in the mid 1930s, he ... opened new markets overseas.” Then in the 1940s he led the company though World War II by converting the factory to wartime production, winning an Army-Navy “E” award for excellence. After the war he returned the factory to instruments before he retired. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, instrument manufacturing at Gibson slowed due to shortages of wood and metal, and Gibson began manufacturing wood and metal parts for the military. Between 1942–1945, Gibson employed women to manufacture guitars. "Women produced nearly 25,000 guitars during World War II yet Gibson denied ever building instruments over this period," according to a 2013 history of the company. Gibson folklore has also claimed its guitars were made by "seasoned craftsmen" who were "too old for war." In 1944, Gibson was purchased by Chicago Musical Instruments. The
ES-175 The Gibson ES-175 (1949-2019) is a hollow body Jazz electric guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The ES-175 became one of Gibson's most popular guitar designs. History In 1949 the ES-175 was introduced by the Gibson Guitar comp ...
was introduced in 1949. Gibson hired
Ted McCarty Theodore McCarty (October 10, 1909 – April 1, 2001) was an American businessman who worked with the Wurlitzer Company and the Gibson Guitar Corporation. In 1966, he and Gibson Vice President John Huis bought the Bigsby Electric Guitar Company. At ...
in 1948, who became President in 1950. He led an expansion of the guitar line with new guitars such as the "Les Paul" guitar introduced in 1952, endorsed by
Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...
, a popular musician in the 1950s. The guitar was offered in Custom, Standard, Special, and Junior models. In the mid-1950s, the Thinline series was produced, which included a line of thinner guitars like the Byrdland. The first Byrdlands were slim, custom built, L-5 models for guitarists Billy Byrd and
Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (11 November 1930 – 27 December 2004), professionally Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and released a jazz al ...
. Later, a shorter neck was added. Other models such as the ES-350T and the ES-225T were introduced as less costly alternatives. In 1958, Gibson introduced the
ES-335 The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, sometimes known as semi-acoustic. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES (Electric Spanish) series in 1958, it is neither fully hollow nor ful ...
T model. Similar in size to the hollow-body Thinlines, the ES-335 family had a solid center, giving the string tone a longer sustain. In the 1950s, Gibson also produced the Tune-o-matic bridge system and its version of the
humbucking Mains hum, electric hum, cycle hum, or power line hum is a sound associated with alternating current which is twice the frequency of the mains electricity. The fundamental frequency of this sound is usually double that of fundamental 50/60 Hz, '' ...
pickup, the PAF ("Patent Applied For"), first released in 1957 and still sought after for its sound. In 1958, Gibson produced two new designs: the eccentrically shaped
Explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
and
Flying V The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1958. The Flying V offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Explorer, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which was designed ...
. These "modernistic" guitars did not sell initially. It was only in the late 1960s and early 70s when the two guitars were reintroduced to the market that they sold well. The
Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures * Bennu, Egyptian firebird * Huma bird, Persian firebird * Firebird (Slavic folklore) Bird species ''Various spe ...
, in the early 60s, was a reprise of the modernistic idea, though less extreme.


Modernization

In the late 1950s, McCarty knew that Gibson was seen as a traditional company and began an effort to create more modern guitars. In 1961 the body design of the Les Paul was changed due to the demand for a double-cutaway body design. The new body design then became known as the SG (for "solid guitar"), due to disapproval from Les Paul himself. The original Les Paul design returned to the Gibson catalog in 1968. On December 22, 1969, Gibson parent company Chicago Musical Instruments was taken over by the South American brewing conglomerate ECL. Gibson remained under the control of CMI until 1974 when it became a subsidiary of Norlin Musical Instruments. Norlin Musical Instruments was a member of Norlin Industries which was named for ECL president Norton Stevens and CMI president Arnold Berlin. This began an era characterized by corporate mismanagement and decreasing product quality. Between 1976 and 1984, production of Gibson guitars was shifted from Kalamazoo to
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. The Kalamazoo plant kept going for a few years as a custom-instrument shop, but was closed in 1984; several Gibson employees led by plant manager Jim Duerloo, plant superintendent Marv Lamb and J.P. Moats established
Heritage Guitars Heritage Guitar is an American musical instruments manufacturer company based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The company produces a range of electric guitars that includes hollow-body models. History Heritage Guitars was founded in 1985 by three f ...
in the old factory, building versions of classic Gibson designs. The company was within three months of going out of business before it was bought by Henry E. Juszkiewicz, David H. Berryman, and Gary A. Zebrowski in January 1986. Gibson's wholesale shipments in 1993 were an estimated $70 million, up from $50 million in 1992. When Juszkiewicz and Berryman took over in 1986, sales were below $10 million. New production plants were opened in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, as well as
Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...
. The Memphis facility is used for semi-hollow and custom shop instruments, while the Bozeman facility is dedicated to acoustic instruments.


Since 2007

Gibson purchased
Garrison Guitars Garrison Guitars was a guitar manufacturing company originally founded by Chris Griffiths in Canada in 1999. The company became a subsidiary of Gibson in 2007, and its plant was closed in 2010. During its existence, Garrison manufactured electric ...
in 2007. In mid-2009, Gibson reduced its work force to adjust for a decline in guitar industry sales in the United States. In 2011, Gibson acquired the Stanton Group, including
Cerwin Vega Cerwin-Vega Inc. is a brand name used on products for professional audio components, as well as home audio speakers, and car audio components. Originally a stand-alone company, Cerwin-Vega was acquired by the Stanton Group after declaring bankru ...
,
KRK Systems Stanton Magnetics, doing business as Stanton, is a business unit of inMusic Brands that designs and markets Phonograph, turntables, Magnetic cartridge, cartridges, DJ mixers, CDJ, DJ media players, and DJ controllers. History Stanton Magnetics ...
and Stanton DJ. Gibson then formed a new division, Gibson Pro Audio, which will deliver professional grade audio items, including headphones, loudspeakers and DJ equipment. In June 2020, Cerwin Vega Inc. acquired Cerwin Vega from Gibson. On May 21, 2021, Stanton was sold to inMusic. Gibson announced a partnership with the Japanese-based Onkyo Corporation in 2012. Onkyo, known for audio equipment and home theater systems, became part of the Gibson Pro-Audio division. In 2013, Gibson acquired a majority stake in
TEAC Corporation () is a Japanese electronics manufacturer. TEAC was created by the merger of the Tokyo Television Acoustic Company, founded in 1953, and the Tokyo Electro-Acoustic Company, founded in 1956. Overview TEAC has four divisions: * TASCAM - co ...
. In 2014, Gibson acquired the Woox consumer electronics brand from Royal Philips. In October 2017, Gibson announced plans to relocate its Memphis operations to a smaller location and plans to sell the Memphis property. Gibson opened its Memphis facility 18 years before, which occupies just a portion of a massive 127,620 square foot complex. According to the ''
Memphis Daily News ''The Daily News'' is a newspaper covering business, government and legal news in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, the largest county by population in the state of Tennessee, including the largest city in the county, Memphis, Tennessee. '' ...
'', Gibson plans to search for a new facility for its Memphis operations and will stay in the current spot for the next 18 to 24 months. The facility, which sits across from the
FedExForum FedExForum is a multi-purpose arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home ga ...
along South B.B. King Boulevard, is expected to list for $17 million. Since its opening, the Gibson Memphis shop mostly focused on building hollow and semi-hollowbody guitars, such as the famed ES series. Presumably, this shuffling of assets was meant to address Gibson's well-publicized financial troubles. Gibson issued a press release about the move, with former CEO Henry Juszkiewicz stating: :"We are extremely excited about this next phase of growth that we believe will benefit both our employees, and the Memphis community. I remember when our property had abandoned buildings, and Beale Street was in decline. It is with great pride that I can see the development of this area with a basketball arena, hotels, and a resurgent pride in the musical heritage of the great city of Memphis. We continue to love the Memphis community and hope to be a key contributor to its future when we move nearby to a more appropriate location for our manufacturing based business, allowing the world the benefit of our great American craftsmen." In December 2017, the Gibson Guitar Factory building in downtown Memphis was sold to Somera Road, an investment company in New York. Two years later Gibson closed the Memphis factory and moved hollow-body production to Nashville. It also moved its Nashville headquarters to
Cummins Station Cummins Station is a historic building near Union Station in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. It was built with reinforced concrete in 1906. It was built for William J. Cummins, the chairman of the Bon Air Coal and Iron Corporation, and other investo ...
in 2019. Gibson also started shipping Murphy Lab guitars through its Murphy Lab Division of the Gibson Custom Shop in March 2021. The opening of this division was announced in December 2019.


Bankruptcy

On May 1, 2018, the company filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
protection. As part of its debt restructuring, the company closed and liquidated the unprofitable Gibson Innovations division, which was focused on selling audio equipment outside of the U.S., allowing Gibson to focus on its most profitable ventures, such as musical instruments. The production of Gibson and Epiphone branded guitars was not interrupted by the bankruptcy. Additionally, $135 million was provided by existing creditors to provide liquidity to maintain existing operations. Later that year Juszkiewicz stepped down as CEO and assumed the role of
consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...
, and a new management team was put in place. The company exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2018.


Record label

In July 2021, Gibson announced the launch of Gibson Records, a record label focused on releasing "guitar-centric music, across genres", with their first album being the upcoming fourth studio album from Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, '' 4''.


Legal actions


Origin of "lawsuit guitars"

In 1977, Gibson sued
Hoshino Gakki is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It is the owner of the Ibanez guitar and Tama drum brand names. History The Hoshino company was founded in 1908 by Matsujiro Hoshino originally as the Hoshino Shoten bookstore which mostl ...
/ Elger Guitars for copying the ”archtop” headstock. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and Ibanez replaced the headstock with a revised design. In 2000, Gibson sued
Fernandes Guitars Fernandes Guitars is a Japan, Japanese guitar and accessory manufacturer. It originated in 1969 as a builder of flamenco guitars. As the company grew, it expanded production to include electric guitars, bass guitars, instrument amplifier, amplifie ...
in a Tokyo court for allegedly copying Gibson designs. Gibson did not prevail.


PRS

Gibson also sued
PRS Guitars Paul Reed Smith Guitars, also known as PRS Guitars, is an American guitar and amplifier manufacturer located in Stevensville, Maryland. The company was founded in 1985 in Annapolis, Maryland by Paul Reed Smith. Products manufactured by PRS inclu ...
in 2005, to stop them from making their Singlecut model. Initially successful, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of ...
reversed the lower court's decision and ordered the dismissal of Gibson's suit against PRS.


FWS raids & Lacey Act violation

Gibson's factories were raided in 2009 and 2011 by agents of the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
(FWS). In November 2009, authorities found illegally imported ebony wood from Madagascar. A second raid was conducted in August 2011, during which the FWS seized wood imports from India that had been mislabeled on the US Customs declaration. Gibson Guitar Corp. filed a motion in January 2011 to recover seized materials and overturn the charges, which was denied by the court. The
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
found emails from 2008 and 2009 in which Gibson employees discussed the "gray market" nature of the ebony wood available from a German wood dealer—who obtained it from a supplier in Madagascar—as well as plans to obtain the wood. It filed a civil proceeding in June 2011, the first such case under the amended
Lacey Act The Lacey Act of 1900 is a conservation law in the United States that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported, or sold.United States. Lacey Act (Game). , ch. 553. Approved May 25, 1900. ...
, which requires importing companies to purchase legally harvested wood and follow the environmental laws of the producing countries regardless of corruption or lack of enforcement. Gibson argued in a statement the following day that authorities were "bullying Gibson without filing charges" and denied any wrongdoing. Arguing against the federal regulations and claiming that the move threatened jobs, Republicans and
Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...
members spoke out against the raids and supported Juszkiewicz. The case was settled on August 6, 2012, with Gibson admitting to violating the Lacey Act and agreeing to pay a fine of $300,000 in addition to a $50,000 community payment. Gibson also forfeited the wood seized in the raids, which was valued at roughly the same amount as the settlement. However, in a subsequent statement Gibson maintained its innocence with Juszkiewicz claiming that "Gibson was inappropriately targeted" and that the government raids were "so outrageous and overreaching as to deserve further Congressional investigation." Juszkiewicz continued to state, "We felt compelled to settle as the costs of proving our case at trial would have cost millions of dollars and taken a very long time to resolve." Gibson reclaimed some wood stock that was confiscated during the raids, and produced a new series of guitar marketed to draw attention to the raids and seizures. In the midst of the controversy, conservative commentators alleged that the raid was a politically motivated act of retaliation by the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
, as Juszkiewicz had frequently donated to Republican politicians. Chris Martin IV, the CEO of Gibson competitor C.F. Martin & Co., had donated over $35,000 to the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
and Democratic candidates in the same time period. Though Martin featured several guitars in its catalog made with the same Indian wood as Gibson, but with correct documentation filed, the company was not subjected to a raid.


Paper Jamz

Gibson filed a lawsuit November 18, 2010, in Federal court, the Central District of California, against
WowWee WowWee Group Limited, is a privately owned, Hong Kong-based Canadian consumer technology company. History Initially from Canada, the two founding brothers (Richard and Peter Yanofsky) moved to Hong Kong to form the company in 1982, as an independ ...
USA and their
Paper Jamz Paper Jamz was a collection of musical toys, produced by WowWee. Introduced in 2010, Paper Jamz were paper-thin musical toys, which included guitars, microphones, keytars, drum kits, and amplifiers. They were also marketed as "Instant Rock Star" ...
battery operated guitar toys charging trademark infringement. The lawsuit claimed the Paper Jamz toy guitars copied the looks of some of Gibson's famous guitars, the
Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...
, the
Gibson Flying V The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1958. The Flying V offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Explorer, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which was designed ...
, the
Gibson Explorer The Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar model by Gibson guitars, released in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Flying V, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which ...
, and the
Gibson SG The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961 as the Gibson Les Paul SG. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG (where "SG" refers to Solid-Body Guitar) Standard is Gib ...
. On December 21, 2010 Gibson was granted a request for an injunction against WowWee and retailers in the United States which were selling Paper Jamz guitars:
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,
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stores,
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Corporation,
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,
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,
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,
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Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
,
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, Toywiz.com, and
Home Shopping Network HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flor ...
(HSN) The case was dismissed with prejudice (dismissed permanently) January 11, 2011 by Federal Judge R. Gary Klausner.


Kiesel Guitars

Gibson sent a cease and desist letter to Kiesel concerning two models that Kiesel makes—the ultra V and the 'California Singlecut.' According to Jeff Kiesel, Vice President of Kiesel, the letter claims that Kiesel's design infringes upon the Flying V design of Gibson.


Warwick/Framus

German manufacturer Warwick was sued by Gibson with the claim that one of the models sold under the 'Framus' brand imitated the Flying V and that customers were being misled due to this. Gibson sought a stop on the sales of these guitars and also stated that "Warwick was unfairly exploiting the reputation of Gibson Guitars." The Hamburg regional court initially ruled in favour of Gibson in 2017. However, successive judgements from the Higher Regional Court and the Federal Supreme Court in November 2020 and September 2021 dismissed Gibson's lawsuits.


Dean Guitars

Gibson sued
Dean Guitars Dean Guitars, commonly referred to simply as Dean, is an American importer and maker of stringed instruments and musical products with its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Its products include solid-body electric guitars, bass guitars, and acous ...
in 2019 over trademark infringement related to several guitar shapes and names. The ruling in 2022 found that the
Dean V The Dean V is a model of electric guitar and bass released by Dean Guitars in 1977. It forms part of Dean's classic line of guitars along with the Dean ML, Dean Cadillac and Dean Z. In addition to its body shape, the Dean V is recognisable for i ...
,
Dean Z The Dean Z Guitar is an electric guitar made by Dean Guitars starting in 1977 along with its counterparts, the Dean ML, Dean V and Dean Cadillac. It has the recognizable Dean headstock and the V shaped tailpiece. The body shape is similar to the ...
, and Dean Gran Sport body shapes, as well as the Dovetail headstock design and the "Hummingbird" and "Moderne" names were infringing on Gibson's designs. The judgement awarded Gibson $4,000 in damages, far short of the $7 million alleged by Gibson.


Instruments

Gibson also owns and makes instruments under brands such as
Epiphone Epiphone is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over his f ...
, Kramer,
Maestro Maestro (; from the Italian ''wikt:maestro#Italian, maestro'' , meaning "wikt:master, master" or "teacher") is an honorific title of respect (plural: maestros or maestri). The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music ...
,
Steinberger Steinberger is a series of distinctive electric guitars and bass guitars, designed and originally manufactured by Ned Steinberger. The name "Steinberger" can be used to refer to either the instruments themselves or the company that originally pro ...
, and
Tobias Tobias is the transliteration of the Greek which is a translation of the Hebrew biblical name he, טוֹבִיה, Toviyah, JahGod is good, label=none. With the biblical Book of Tobias being present in the Deuterocanon/Apocrypha of the Bible, To ...
, along with the ownership of historical brands such as
Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
,
Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...
, Valley Arts, and Baldwin (including
Chickering Chickering may refer to: * Chickering, Suffolk, a place in Suffolk, England * Chickering & Sons, the piano company that was created by Jonas Chickering * Arthur M. Chickering, an arachnologist * Arthur W. Chickering, a researcher of student devel ...
, Hamilton, and
Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
). It also owned
Slingerland Drum Company Slingerland is a United States manufacturer of drums. The company was founded in 1912 and enjoyed several decades of prominence in the industry before the 1980s. After ceasing operation in the early 1980s, Slingerland was acquired by Gibson, w ...
but it was sold to
Drum Workshop Drum Workshop, Inc. (also known as DW Drums or DW) is an American drum kit and hardware manufacturing company based in Oxnard, California. Current products by DW include drum sets, snare drums, and hardware. History Drum Workshop was founded ...
in November 2019. Gibson relaunched Kramer Guitars at Winter NAMM 2020 on January 16. Icon, Baretta, Pacer, Focus , and SM-1 are in the original collection with the modern collection including Assault, Striker , Nite-V, and Bass. The artists collaborations for the relaunched Kramer Guitar includes Tracii Guns 'Gunstar Voyager,' the Charlie Parra 'Vanguard' and the Dave Sabo 'Snake-Baret. Gibson has long made authorized copies of its most successful guitar designs, under the Epiphone brand name. They are less expensive than those bearing the Gibson name. A former competitor,
Epiphone Epiphone is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over his f ...
, was purchased by Gibson in 1957 and now makes competitively-priced Gibson models, such as the Les Paul and SG, sold under the Epiphone brand, while continuing to make Epiphone-specific models like the Sheraton, Sorrento, and Casino. In Japan,
Orville by Gibson , the models with only were made after Gibson ended the contract with leftover parts, was a brand of guitars that was managed by the Gibson Guitar Corporation for the Japanese market during the late 1980s and most of the 1990s. The name is borrowe ...
once made Gibson designs sold in that country. Gibson has sought legal action against those that make and sell guitars Gibson believes are too similar to their own. In 1977, Gibson introduced the serial numbering system in use until 2006. An eight-digit number on the back shows the date when the instrument was produced, where it was produced, and its order of production that day (e.g., first instrument stamped that day, second, etc.). An exception is the year 1994, Gibson's centennial year; many 1994 serial numbers start with "94", followed by a six-digit production number. As of 2006, the company used seven (six since 1999) serial number systems, making it difficult to identify guitars by their serial number alone. The Gibson website provides a book to help with serial number deciphering.Blue Book of Electric Guitars. Sixth Edition: Gibson Serialization. Edited by S.P. Fjestad
Gibson Official Site
In 2006, Gibson introduced a nine-digit serial number system replacing the eight-digit system used since 1977, but the sixth digit now represents a batch number. In 2003, Gibson debuted its
Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...
-based audio protocol,
MaGIC Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
, which it developed in partnership with
3Com 3Com Corporation was an American digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney and others. Bill Krause joined as President in 1981. Metcalfe ex ...
,
Advanced Micro Devices Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufact ...
, and
Xilinx Xilinx, Inc. ( ) was an American technology and semiconductor company that primarily supplied programmable logic devices. The company was known for inventing the first commercially viable field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and creating the fi ...
. Replacing traditional analog hook-ups with a digital connection to "satisfy the unique requirements of live audio performances".This Is MaGIC
Gibson Official Site
This system requires a special pickup, and cabling is provided by a standard Cat-5 Ethernet cable. The Gibson "self-tuning guitar", also known as a "robot model", an option on some newer Les Paul, SG, Flying V and Explorer instruments, tunes itself in about two seconds using
robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...
technology developed by Tronical GmbH. Under the tradename Min-ETune, this device became standard on several models in 2014. In 2013, Gibson introduced the ''Government Series'' of Les Paul, SG, Flying V, Explorer and ES-335 guitars which were constructed solely of
tonewood Tonewood refers to specific wood varieties that possess tonal properties that make them good choices for use in woodwind or acoustic stringed instruments. Varieties of tonewood As a rough generalization it can be said that stiff-but-light softwoo ...
the US government seized but later returned to Gibson after the resolution of the company's
Lacey Act The Lacey Act of 1900 is a conservation law in the United States that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported, or sold.United States. Lacey Act (Game). , ch. 553. Approved May 25, 1900. ...
violation in 2011. The guitars were finished in "government grey" and also featured decorations which intended to draw attention to the issue of government. A year later in 2014, Gibson released the ''Government Series II'' of guitars, which were essentially the same as the first series, only finished in a new color: "government tan". In 2021, Gibson acquired the iconic electric guitar amplifier brand,
Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a s ...
.


Factories

All Gibson-brand guitars are currently made at two facilities, depending on the type of guitar.
Electric guitars An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
such as the
Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...
,
Gibson ES-335 The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, sometimes known as semi-acoustic. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES (Electric Spanish) series in 1958, it is neither fully hollow nor ful ...
, and the
Gibson SG The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961 as the Gibson Les Paul SG. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG (where "SG" refers to Solid-Body Guitar) Standard is Gib ...
are made in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. Until 2019,
Semi-acoustic guitar A semi-acoustic guitar, hollow-body electric, or thinline is a type of electric guitar that was first created in the 1930s. It has a sound box and at least one electric pickup. The semi-acoustic guitar is different to an acoustic-electric guit ...
s, such as the
Gibson ES Series The Gibson ES series of semi-acoustic guitars (hollow body electric guitars) are manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The letters ES stand for Electric Spanish, to distinguish them from Hawaiian-style lap steel guitars which are played ...
, were made in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, but that operation moved to Nashville during the company's restructuring as they emerged from bankruptcy protection. Full
acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
s such as the
Gibson J Series This is a list of Gibson brand of stringed musical instruments, mainly guitars, manufactured by Gibson, alphabetically by category then alphabetically by product (lowest numbers first). The list excludes other Gibson brands such as Epiphone. Gui ...
are made in
Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...
. As of March 2021, Gibson has started working on 25,000 sq. ft. expansion of the Bozeman facility. While all Gibson branded guitars have always been built in the United States, either at these two or other prior facilities, other brands owned by the Gibson corporation may be made in other facilities, such as
Epiphone Epiphone is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over his f ...
-branded guitars, which are mostly built in a facility in
Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
, China. Below are some of the facilities used to produce Gibson instruments, along with years of their operation:


See also

*
David Harvey David W. Harvey (born 31 October 1935) is a British-born Marxist economic geographer, podcaster and Distinguished Professor of anthropology and geography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). He received his PhD ...
(luthier) *
Eden of Coronet guitar The Eden of Coronet is a customized Gibson SG guitar, made with 18-karat white gold and studded with 11,441 diamonds. Commissioned in 2015, it was described by ''Guinness World Records'' as the world's "most valuable guitar" at the time, valued a ...
*
Jim Triggs Jim Triggs is an American luthier, described as the "P.T. Barnum of guitar makers." He grew up in Kansas, where he taught himself how to build mandolins and violins. He began building guitars in the early 1980s, influenced by such luthiers as John ...
(luthier) *
Lloyd Loar Lloyd Allayre Loar (1886–1943) was an American musician, instrument designer and sound engineer. He is best known for his design work with the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co. Ltd. in the early 20th century, including the F-5 model mandolin an ...
(luthier) *
List of Gibson players This is an alphabetized list of musicians who have made notable use of Gibson Guitar models in live performances or studio recordings. Because of the great popularity of these models, musicians are listed here only if their use of these ins ...


Footnotes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{authority control 01 Banjo manufacturing companies Guitar manufacturing companies of the United States Bass guitar manufacturing companies Guitar amplifier manufacturers American companies established in 1902 Manufacturing companies established in 1902 1902 establishments in Michigan Manufacturing companies based in Tennessee 1902 in music Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 Mandolin makers