A History of Gibson Electric Guitars

Gibson electric guitars are among the most popular inchanged in 1961 so the body could change to a
the world. The Les Paul Standard is the company'sdouble-cutaway body design. Les Paul was displeased
most popular guitar. The Gibson Company alsoby this new design and ended his endorsement of the
produces Epiphone guitars since they purchased theguitar. It then became the SG, which stood for Solid
company in 1957. They also produce Baldwin pianos,Guitar.
Slingerland Drums and many other instruments underGibson purchased top competitor Epiphone in 1957 and
different brand names like Kramer and Tobias.absorbed their popular brands. They originally intended
Orville Gibson started out making mandolins during theto market Epiphone's line of upright basses, as
last decade of the 19th century in Kalamazoo,Gibson's bass production had stopped during WWII
Michigan. The arched top and bent sides were anand not resumed. But they quickly realized that they
innovation that produced a better sounding instrumentwould have better success marketing Epiphone
that was even easier to make. He patented this typeelectric guitars.
of mandolin in 1898, and founded the company in 1902Then when famous musicians like Eric Clapton, Peter
to begin selling the instruments.Green and the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards
Gibson began producing acoustic guitars in a similarpopularized the Gibson electric guitars even further, the
fashion as the mandolins with a carved and arch topLes Paul guitar came back to Gibson's lineup in 1968
that became a signature design. In the 1930s theyand surged in popularity along with the SG design. Both
began producing flattop acoustic guitars and Gibsonguitars became hugely popular especially among some
electric guitars that became popular thanks tovery well known hard rock and heavy metal guitar
well-known musician Charlie Christian.players, and entire bands.
The 1936 release of Gibson electric guitars known asThe production between 1974 and 1984 moved from
the Electric Spanish model was the first electric guitarKalamazoo to Nashville, TN. Two years later the
to become a commercial success. Then with thecompany changed ownership hands, and the company
release of Fender's Telecaster guitar, Gibson decidedhas flourished under the new management, producing
to compete with its own solid-bodied guitar. At thatGibson electric guitars and other instruments that set
time, the idea of a solid-bodied guitar was undesirablethe standard for musical excellence. In 1994, the CEO
in the musical word, but the Fender guitars pave thedecided that establishing relationships with
way for the styles success.environmentally friendly and aware companies would
Soon the flagship of Gibson electric guitars wasbe a good move for the company, and the use of
created, the Les Paul. Ironically, the creation of thisenvironmentally harvested tropical woods began during
guitar had little or no input from its namesake, whothe production of Gibson electric guitars. A portion of
was a pioneer in solid-bodied guitar technology. It wasthe profits of each of these SmartWood Gibson
created, and then Paul signed a contract to endorseelectric guitars was donated to the Rainforest Alliance.
the use of his name. He wanted the tail piece of theGibson continues to be one of the most popular
guitar changed, and that became his only contributionnames in electric guitars and other instruments still
to its design.today. One of the Gibson electric guitars produced
The late 1950s offered several different designs oftoday, called the Robot Guitar, is even a self-tuning
Gibson electric guitars including the Flying V, theguitar that tunes itself in 10 seconds. Gibson electric
Explorer and the partly hollow-bodied ES-335. Theguitars command premium prices, and vintage Gibson
Gibson electric guitars named for Les Paul wereguitars are some of the most prized collectibles among
released in several different models as well, and thenguitar enthusiasts and collectors who specialize in
the main design of these Gibson electric guitars wasvintage guitars and vintage electric guitars.