American guitar manufacturer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Started by Orville Gibson in 1902 as the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co., Ltd. of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Leading mandolin maker through World War I. In 1935, they released an electric guitar. Chicago Musical Instrument Co., a wholesale and distribution company, purchased Gibson in 1944. In 1952, introduces the first solidbody model, which Les Paul makes famous. In 1969 ECL, an Ecuadorian company takes over Gibson, renames it Norlin. In 1974, a Nashville plant is opened and in 1984 the Kalamazoo plant is shut down. In 1986, Gibson, on shaky financial ground, is rescued by current owners Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman.

Famous hits played on a Gibson:

When Gibson finally started to work on their first electric guitar, the company had a 40 year tradition and quality and also innovation to keep up. Gibson saw that they would have to build the best guitar that would beat everything else. In 1935, Gibson hired the help of musician Alvino Rey to help develop the pickup with also the help of engineers at the Lyon & Healy company which was based in Chicago. Finally later in that year walter Fuller came up with the final design.

Finally Gibson brought out (at that time) an original pickup, which was hexagonal, this was on a lap steel model in the later end of 1935. The pickup was installed on a F-hole archtop guitar, this guitar was called the ES-150, this first of many.

unfortunately for Gibson they were now up against it, to provide customers with yet another guitar which would be better of quality then the ES-150, and then world war 2 broke out, and this caused Gibson to stop producing while the war was on. After the war, the electric guitar started to come into its prime, and there was lots of innovation going on in the Gibson factory. A new pickup (called the P-90) was designed to give the player much more power then ever before, soon after this Gibson then brought out the ES-5 (this guitar was a first for it had thee pickups) and also the ES-175.

In 1958 Ted McCarty (who designed the ES-175 and the ES-5) finally brought out the ES-335, which is undoubtedly one of the most famous guitars used in the music industry, soon after came the flying V.

Of course Gibson are still there providing players with fantastic sounds and keeps the players interested and so wanting to play their instruments.


References - http://www.chrisbsmusic.com/gibsonhistory.html

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