Focus On: Gibson Guitar Corporation

The Gibson Guitar Corporation, is a manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars, they are currently based in Nashville Tennessee. Probably the most recognised guitar made by Gibson is the Les Paul electric guitar - a solid body model developed in collaboration with famous guitarist and composer Les Paul back in 1952. However, during the 1920s the Gibson company was responsible for many innovations in guitar and mandolin design. In 1922, the Gibson F5 mandolin model was introduced, that particular model later became known as the ultimate bluegrass mandolin.

Gibson soon became the leading manufacturer of arched-top guitars, and the Gibson L5 model was a popular seller. In 1936 they introduced their first "Electric Spanish" model, the ES-150, generally recognised as the first commercially successful electric guitar. The late 1950's saw the beginnings of the space race between Russia and America which began to have an influence on commercial designs that subsequently became more futuristic, Gibson portrayed this futuristic influence in the design of a new range of guitars such as the Gibson Explorer and the Flying V models.

Alongside these came the semi-acoustic ES-335 and the introduction of the Hum-bucker pick-up which was to play a major part in the evolution of pick-up technology. Soon after came the introduction of the Gibson SG guitar styled to meet the demand for double cut-away models, sadly Les Paul did not like the design and refused to endorse the model which subsequently became known as the SG (Solid Guitar).

In1957 Gibson acquired the Epiphone guitar company which at that time was one of their main guitar manufacturing competitors. Gibson's original plan was to continue selling Epiphone's popular upright bass, but shortly after the acquisition Gibson realised that they could satisfy requests from music stores by producing Epiphone branded guitars.

From the early 1970s onwards the Epiphone brand name has been increasingly used by Gibson for lower priced guitars manufactured in countries other than the United States. A successful range of Gibson copy guitars were produced by Epiphone under license to meet the demand for affordable yet high quality Gibson copy models.

Gibson Differentiators

There is a particular sound to the Gibson range of guitars that is heavily influenced by two factors, firstly the thick arched top body crafted from Mahogany - usually with a carved Maple top. The second factor that influences the sound is the hum-bucking pick-ups - producing a fuller sound than the single coil models used on Fender guitars - largely due to the fact that hum-bucking pick-ups use twin coils instead of just a single coil - the magnetic field from the second coil thereby- cancelling (or bucking as the Americans called it) the hum from the first coil.

The use of Mahogany and the thickness of the Les Paul body should not be underestimated as a differentiator, the density of the Mahogany means that the guitar has enhanced sustain and resonance and this resonates through the body with the guitar neck also using Mahogany.

Gibson Today

Like many other guitar manufacturers, Gibson are using today's bleeding edge technology to enhance the look, sound and feel of their instruments. Two major innovations to spring forth from Gibson over the past few years are firstly the HD.6x Pro Digital Les Paul claims to be the world's first fully digital guitar. The technology uses a hexadecimal pick-up located close to the bridge which effectively converts the analogue signal from the guitar into digital code.

This is then fed through an on-board Ethernet port into either a digital recording console or an alternative digitally assigned destination point.

The second innovation is the recently announced Gibson Robot Guitar, this is essentially a Les Paul that has the capability to self-tune within a period of 10 seconds. The tension of the guitar's strings are monitored via
sensors within the guitar body and tuning can be checked/amended via an additional push-pull pot located adjacent to the tone and volume controls. Miniature
motorised machine heads link to the sensors and
the sensors tell them to tighten or loosen
the strings to achieve correct tuning pitch
once the "auto-tune" button has been
pushed. Some guitarists view this as an
innovation whilst to others it is no more
than a gimmick….