Gibson guitars are not nearly as popular as Martins in bluegrass circles although they are of course used by some people. A J-45 can cut through and the 70's Blueridge was born to be a bluegrass guitar, but given the choice between the two, I'll play a Martin every time. The great new dreadnoughts from Santa Cruz, Thompson, Bourgeois, Collings and others have been discovered by the up and comers, but just about every old timer spits out their guitar runs with a D-18 or D-28. Mahogany for leads, rosewood for rhythmic strumming and the best spruce top for both.

 

no argument there...

but then you have rare and dear honeys such as this, not a "guitar" .. but I think you get my point?

https://reverb.com/p/gibson-lloyd-loar-f-5-mandolin-1923

 

Only the best...like the world's greatest mandolin player ever playing one of the best Loar specimans...and also an old Martin D28 makes a show of it.

 

which bears mentioning yet another instrument played at this session....

http://www.earnestbanjo.com/gibson_banjo_RB-12_mastertone_411-1.htm

and as the blurbs go, the stringed instrument market has always been subject to
the ebbs and flows of fashion and fickle musical tastes

 

Last edited by a moderator: May 2, 2018

I don't like the schadenfreude I'm seeing here. Gibson is a legendary brand, whatever their current faults may be. Their instruments made a huge impact on the guitar world and feature in probably at least 50% of records I have. Who knows what sound Rock would have without them. It really feels sad, 2-3 years ago I never imagined they'd fall so hard.

Are you talking about Gibson or about electric guitars in general? because you can get some really great instruments for 500$ nowadays (hint: LTD).

 

sadly he is right.. and even about expensive Gibson Les Pauls, the QC has really gone down the sh**ter

 

QC is amazingly horrendous. We make carts specifically for Gibson’s where we evaluated them before being able to be put them online for customers. Henry needs to go, but it will never happen until he dies.

 

Nothing is sacred any more!

 

someone mentioned "ibanez" as alternative to Gibson, - LOL -been there, done that!

well, let me tell you something: i'm an avid guitar-ist, collector and a guitar enthusiast. (i have owned and dealt guitars more than playing them), i have got several dozens of Gibson and Fenders passing through my hands, some of them sucked some others i have enjoyed, etc some i have re-sold and i kept only a few for my (little) personal use. but, one day, due to some exceptional 'circumstances', i had to sell em all.. and after a few years , more recently, i decided to end up with just two : a guitar and a bass that remain for my strict personal use. (i don't need more than that after all).

in the mean time, i have also owned a few 'ibanez', and a some ESP.. there is one thing to mention, the fucking PICK UPS does matter BY A LOT for the sound your guitar is producing.. the Ibanez and ESP i owned produced a DEAT FLAT SOULLESS SOUND (EMG) that no blues/jazz player would ever dare to enjoy, so the fucking pick ups on your guitar does matter a LOT!

Gibson (any of them) has a very particular character and that 'unprecise and dirty' sound in the harmonics unlike other modern guitars, the tone of Gibson is legendary and unique if you are into playing mostly blues & jazz.

my today's relic is a Gibson 'The V' - Dirty Fingers Limited Edition (made in 1981 - Kalamazoo plant) its a guitar that just sounds like no other, even if today GIBSON dies, this will remain an unique piece as many other LP's ..

 

only have seen one other... price point $5,600 USD, that's a lot of plugins

 

Wouldn't surprise me since we got a "Boog", there are rumours of a "Brp", so why not a "Bibson"?

 

I have a mid 80's Casio MIDI guitar that actually sounds a lot like a Strat when using the single coils in mid or neck position. the latency makes the MIDI almost unusable but a pretty good playing guitar with smooth sound.

 

Really, quality control should come from the manufacturer and not a distributor. Don't fix it if it ain't broke, but if it is broke they should fix it.

 

There's a geeza I know down in Brazil called Paulo..

He's a bit of a specialist

https://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/amazon-deforestation.jpg

 

No they don't and no it isn't.

I don't like to be a buzzkill but it is an absolute fact that there is nothing unique about Gibson guitars. They have been copied (and surpassed) successfully for DECADES. Sure a "modern" guitar usually don't just have the super lowpassed sound typical to gibson guitars. And not all "modern" guitars sound like gibsons. But there are dozens if not hundreds of successful copies of different gibson designs.

I get that it is nice and even romantic to think that there really is some special magic in every single guitar with a gibson logo stamped on it. That's what their marketing department has been telling people for decades now. And if you believe in it hard it enough, you will hear it too.

But it is not true.

 

Duuuuude, I just smoked a big ol' fatty, sat down with my tablet to chill here with the Gibson thread and you totally harshed my mellow!!

 

This covers the Gibson story really well -

 

And too, Gibson has twice been raided by the FBI for supposed trafficking in illegally obtained wood from Madagascar and India, but it seems as if it was politically motivated as Martin was using the same wood in their own guitars but was not bothered with the same accusations. Rosewood of course is a highly prized tone wood used for the sides and backs of acoustics, many fingerboards and sometimes acoustic bridges. Ebony is used for fingerboards and bridge pins. The thing about using these woods for guitars, the amount of material used is a tiny percentage compared to the massive amount of wood used to build high end beds and furniture for the wealthy Chinese who can pay upwards to $880,000 for a piece. It hasn't been string instrument makers who have contributed to the endangerment of these trees, but rather the mindless wealthy and those that cater to their decadent lifestyle. WTF buys an $880,000 bed, Marie Antoinette before they chop ger head off?

I heard an amazing statement from Paul Reed Smith that mentioned that the for the 10,000 or so spruce guitars that they make, they are comprised out of something like only 12 or 14 trees. He is putting energy into funding ebony tree farms so that in the future there will still be trees to make instruments from. Sounds like a great idea. I love the company but never have liked the way that they feel in my hand. Too bad.

I used to be a rosewood snob but have played some excellent sounding guitars made of other woods and now own maple as well as mahogany backed guitars (and... a couple rosewood). My dulcimer is cherry and walnut and the ukelele is like a mini me of the jumbo Ibanez, maple with a sitka spruce top, how cute.

Alternate tone woods not endangered will out of necessity replace what is now considered absolutes as time marches onward. Here is a great reference on tone woods and a good read (to me, anyway...) http://www.lmii.com/alternative-tonewoods

The new woods will sound different, but new ears will accept them and treasure their instruments as fine tools to express their creativity.

 

Wow you are right I forgot about the country side of things.

 

While this is entirely true, I would also factor mindset into the equation. I find it inspiring knowing that my 30 year Gibson has been played by others and has it's own story. I know that history because it's owner told me everything about the guitar. When I pick it up I feel challenged to up my game because it's a Gibson, put together on the old production line by skilled craftsmen who no longer exist. This may sound strange but it happens with my Maschine too! I bought it off a producer who engineered and mixed two of my favourite albums. I am in awe of my NI Maschine. Ditto my old MS-20 & Roland synths, they also have their own history and came out of those famous original Japanese factories. Man, I get excited just being in the same room as all of these wonderful instruments.

 

Last edited: May 3, 2018