Gibson (guitar company)
For information on the Gibson Martini, see Martini cocktail. For information on the appliances see Gibson Appliance
Gibson is also the surname of two authors:
- William Gibson, the playwright, author of The Miracle Worker
- William Gibson, the science fiction, cyberpunk novelist, author of Neuromancer
Gibson Les Paul Standard
Gibson Guitar Corporation is one of the world's best-known manufacturers of electric guitars.
Orville Gibson started making mandolins in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 1902, the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co, Ltd. was founded to market his instruments, but he ended his personal involvement in the company a year later.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the Gibson company was responsible for many innovations in guitar design, and became the leading manufacturer of arch-top guitars, paticularly the Gibson L5 model. In 1936 they introduced their first "Electric Spanish" model, the ES-150, generally recognized as the first commercially successful electric guitar.
In 1952, Gibson launched a solid-bodied guitar designed in collaboration with the popular guitarist Les Paul. The late 1950s saw a number of innovative new designs including the eccentrically-shaped Gibson Explorer and Flying V and the semi-acoustic ES-335, and the introduction of the "humbucker" pickup. The Les Paul was discontinued in favour of the Gibson SG in 1961, but returned in the late 1960s after it was taken up by players such as Eric Clapton and Peter Green. Both the Les Paul and the SG later became very popular with heavy metal guitarists.
Production of Gibson guitars was shifted from Kalamazoo to Nashville, Tennessee during the 1970s.
Gibson is well-known for making top quality guitars, but at a quite hefty price. Therefore, their subsidiary company, Epiphone, manufactures less expensive variations on of their best-selling guitars, but with lower-quality material and craftsmanship. Other instrument manufacturers which are owned by Gibson include Kramer and Steinberger guitars, as well as Tobias which specializes in bass guitars, Baldwin which makes pianos, Oberheim which makes effects processors and MIDI gear, and Slingerland drums. The Gibson company also makes Gibson-branded amplifiers. Another related company is the Heritage Guitars company -- an independent guitar company founded by former Gibson employees during Gibson's move to Nashville.
See also
- Fender Musical Instruments