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Gibson Acoustic Facility Tour!


Cowboyoilman

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My wife and I drove up to northwest Montana (Flathead valley) from Tulsa to get married last week. On our way to Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park, we passed through Bozeman, MT where Gibson Acoustic is located. I knew that they don't do factory tours for the general public, but I searched for their location anyhow. So we stopped by there, and as luck would have it I showed up just 10 mins before a scheduled tour with a couple of engineers and they let me join in on the tour! How awesome is that! Valerie Bolitho gave the tour, and she was a great tour guide. We spent a lot of time in the custom shop that her and Ren worked in. She mentioned that with their current demand, she does not get to spend much time in there anymore, which is a shame. Some of her work is quite incredible. I have attached some pics.

 

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Thanks for the tour. I have done the Martin Tour half a dozen times, and I love it more each time I go. The smell of the wood.... It's almost as hood as the smell of two stroke outboards starting up in the morning. :)

Wish I could swing Montana some day. It seems more intimate.

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Congrats on your recent marriage. You picked a wonderful location.

 

I'm told the cherry harvest is just starting. Hope to get a big bag for the refrigerator as they are the very best. The Flathead is one of the finest places in the U.S.

 

You were lucky to get into the plant. Val is the best guide you could possibly get. She and Jason Jones are the very best. Do you have family in the Flathead area? If you do maybe you could schedule a trip back to include the "Gibson Homecoming". It's a very entertaining event and you will get to visit other luthiers in the area.

 

Thanks for the wonderful photos.

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Yes Hogeye, my wife's mother lives up there. I am excited that we will get to return there in the future because of that, plus I'm sure we will visit there for wedding anniversaries!

Juan, Val mentioned that she has not been able to work on custom guitars in the custom shop in about 2 years.

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