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Gibson Guitar Shops
Gibson are one of the most famous makers of guitars in the world. They are based in Nashville, Tennessee in the US and create both electric and acoustic guitars, along with the occasional bass. The Les Paul Standard is the Gibson signature model, this solid body electric guitar is famous amongst other guitars for its legendary sustain (just ask Nigel from Spinal Tap!) Gibson also owns and makes guitars under
such brands as Epiphone, Kramer, Valley Arts, Tobias, Steinberger, and Kalamazoo. In addition to guitars, the company makes pianos through its Baldwin unit, Slingerland drums, as well as many accessory items. Orville Gibson used to make mandolins in the late 1890's and by the 1930's had progressed to flattop acoustic and electric guitars. The company itself was founded in 1902 and since that time has been recognised as one of the great innovators, developing new things for guitars and their players on a frequent basis.
As a result of the strong sales of the Fender Telecaster in 1950
Gibson decided to make a solid-body guitar. This was despite the fact
that Gibson, like most other guitar manufacturers, were contemptuous of
the concept of a solid-body guitar. Although guitarist Les Paul was one
of the pioneers of solid-body electric guitar technology, the guitar
that became known as the Les Paul was developed with very little input
from its namesake. After the guitar was designed, Les Paul was asked to
sign a contract to endorse the guitar to be named after him. At that
point he asked that the tail piece would be changed, and that was his
only contribution. In the 70's Gibson began moving production of their guitars from Kalamazoo to Nashville, and in early 1986 Gibson was purchased by one Henry E Juszkiewicz, David H Berryman and Gary A Zebrowski. The survival and success of Gibson
guitars today is largely attributed to this change in ownership. Currently,
Juszkiewicz stands as CEO and Berryman as president of the company.
More recently new production plants have been opened in Southern and
rural areas, such as Memphis, Tennessee as well as Bozeman, Montana.
The Memphis facility is used for semi-hollow and custom shop
instruments, while the Bozeman facility is dedicated to acoustic guitars. Today, one model of Gibson guitars ("Robot Guitar") can tune itself in about 10 seconds using robotic technology developed by Gibson and Tronical Gmbh.
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