dava4444 Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Hi guys New here, so please be gentle. :) I have been looking around google for the last hour trying to find a list of Gibson's most popular solid body guitar models. I couldn't find one and I looked on here, same deal. So I'm now thinking I'd make a list and you guys can chime in with facts and opinions, and I'd change it as we go :) note: variations, non solid bodies and epi's don't count. 1. Les Paul 2. SG 3. Explorer 4. Flying V 5. Firebird 6. Melody Maker (while technically a variation, it remains popular enough to be distinct) 7. RD Artist series 8. Sonex 9. MIII 10. Moderne I think most if not all would agree; 1 & 2 are a 'given'.. but after that things get murky. if you guys made a list.. what would it be? :) let's chat! Dava Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dava4444 Posted December 10, 2016 Author Share Posted December 10, 2016 bump does no one come in here?.. maybe shoulda posted in the Les Paul sub-forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glp2012 Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 Define "most popular." Is that based on sales, popularity among musicians, metal musicians, collectors, etc... I'm sure you can find sales figures to support your position, but the others may well be subjective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revolution Six Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 - Les Paul - Les Paul Double Cut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Define "most popular." Is that based on sales, popularity among musicians, metal musicians, collectors, etc... I'm sure you can find sales figures to support your position, but the others may well be subjective. Good point. I think discovering exact sales figures won't be easy. However, to my informations the SG has been the best-selling Gibson solid-body model line, followed by the Les Paul guitars - as far as they can be considered as solid. There are ES LPs as well, and then there are several sorts of weight-reliefs, but the latter may open a can of worms :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 ... I think discovering exact sales figures won't be easy.... "Sales" figures would be impossible to calculate (too many different retailers). "Production" numbers would be the way to judge this (single source), but.... complete listings of production figures are not usually available to the general public. Tom Wheeler's book, "American Guitars" does list "selected" production number for Gibson guitars from the period 1948 through 1978. Some reasonable assumptions could be made from doing the math from these published production numbers. A quick glance seems to show the various SG models being produced in greater numbers that the LP models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dava4444 Posted December 21, 2016 Author Share Posted December 21, 2016 Thanks for your answers guys I was basing the popularity on sales, but as stated by yourselves.. hard to find. It's what I wanted to find in the first place, but was unable. And RSix I dunno, I think that might be a variation, but agree it's a different body type so, what do you guys think? is a DC separate?(asking for consensus) thoughts: with the RD and now the M2, which to me, looks like an updated Sonex with a set neck, resurgence years later is possible, even though I think the average guitarist just thinks 'Les Paul and SG' about Gibson body types.. maybe Explorer or Flying V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Highly genre-dependent, as well. After Watain made it big, you saw lots and lots of Vs in black metal bands. A less recent example would, of course, be what Metallica did for the Explorer. (These days, they do for metal what icebergs did for the Titanic.) And Randy Rhoads may have been the first to thrust Jackson into the limelight, but I don't think the brand would have survived if it weren't for Dave Mustaine. The popularity of Les Pauls skyrocketed after Slash became a household name. And so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 For me the Moderne and anything from the X series would not have made the cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glp2012 Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 "Sales" figures would be impossible to calculate (too many different retailers). I'm sure Gibson has a good handle on both their sales and production figures. So, its not impossible to calculate, but it might be difficult to get them from Gibson . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 I'd guess... SG Les Paul (Then a big gap, though the 335 variants would fit in here) V Firebird Explorer After that nothing of consequence sales-wise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dava4444 Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 just chattin but if we're doing who played what.. hehe James Hetfield/The Edge U2.. Explorer Slash.. Les Paul Dave Mustaine.. Flying V Tom Petty/Dave Grohl.. Firebird Although Petty playing a Firebird (as far as I know) is from much later in his career. not many popular SG players which is very weird, Angus Young is about it.. unless you include Andy Cairns back in the 90s. Tommi Iommi? IMHO there isn't really anyone that popularised the SG . like Slash did for the Les Paul. I don't like the 'Satan stuff' at all.. The SG has always reminded me of The Batman logo more than horns. Robby Krieger? I like SG's coz of the great access plus I'm really tall dude, so it balances well for me and I have long arms. But first time I considered playing an SG was seeing (23 years ago) Andy Cairns playing one on the 'Therapy? - Nowhere' video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 not many popular SG players which is very weird, Angus Young is about it.. unless you include Andy Cairns back in the 90s. Tommi Iommi? Tommi Iommi Eric Clapton Duane Allman Kim Thayil Derek Trucks George Harrison Frank Zappa Pete Townshend Elliot Easton Dickie Betts Angus Young Angus Young Angus Young Tony Iommi Tony Iommi Tony Iommi IMHO there isn't really anyone that popularised the SG . like Slash did for the Les Paul. Despite popular myth, Slash didn't do anything to popularize the Les Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Many people crediting Mustain for the V influence, but to me it goes back earlier than that. Hendrix rocked a V, and for metal, I think V, I think Schenker. In my opinion, Slash may have helped the paul's popularity, but for me as a child of the 80's, it was alive and well long before Slash...........Randy Rhoads, Steve Clark, Mick Mars, Tom Keifer and on and on.......go back further to the 70's and the Paul Gods were everywhere...........Ace, Frampton, etc, etc, etc NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Despite popular myth, Slash didn't do anything to popularize the Les Paul. That honor goes to Jimmy Page, who popularized the Les Paul by using a Tele. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I Laughed! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 That honor goes to Jimmy Page, who popularized the Les Paul by using a Tele. rct LMAO!!!!! ...........and so true! NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I just can't figure out where this idea that Slash made the Les Paul popular ever came from. In the 70's and 80's Les Pauls were as common as dirt in hard rock and metal. Yet we keep yearing "You know, Slash made Les Pauls popular and saved Gibson in the 80's." Silliness says I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I just can't figure out where this idea that Slash made the Les Paul popular ever came from. In the 70's and 80's Les Pauls were as common as dirt... Absolutely. Clapton got his late '64/early '65 (having heard Freddie King's 'Hideaway' album); Green had to get one to take EC's place in the Bluesbreakers; Taylor had to get one to take Green's place in the Bluesbreakers; Gibbons got one having heard 'The Beano'; Bloomfield got one inspiring many Stateside pickers to get one for themselves; Page got his, famously, from Walsh; Kossoff got his - including one gifted by EC himself - and on and on and on... Thin Lizzy without LP's? Unthinkable. The Who without a much modded DeLuxe? Laughable. They really were everywhere. As far as the SG is concerned; two of the first players I remember seeing playing SGs were SAHB's Zal Cleminson and Mick Box from Uriah Heep. And, of course, Townshend and Santana were two very notable users when I was a kid even if they were both better known for using other models. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Don't forget that the original pictures of the top hatted one wearing his guitar at his shins were of him using a very well made copy that wasn't his into a Marshall that wasn't his. But it is better to craft a history of being a savior of a guitar company in no need of saving than a history of being a drug addled drive thru fry dropper. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 ...it is better to craft a history of being a savior of a guitar company in no need of saving than a history of being a drug addled drive thru fry dropper... Yup. Without a shadow of a doubt the person most to be thanked for saving Gibson was Henry J; "In 1986 Juszkiewicz and his partners acquired the faltering Gibson guitar operation from the Norlin corporation. Juszkiewicz's aggressive management style......effected an immediate turnaround and Gibson became profitable within a month's time..." I'm not going to say Mr. Hudson didn't re-raise the profile of the LP - he did - but I believe I'm correct in writing that he, in turn, picked up the LP because his hero - Joe Perry - played one. And there is a very interesting tale to tell about THAT guitar, too..... Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Yup. Without a shadow of a doubt the person most to be thanked for saving Gibson was Henry J; "In 1986 Juszkiewicz and his partners acquired the faltering Gibson guitar operation from the Norlin corporation. Juszkiewicz's aggressive management style......effected an immediate turnaround and Gibson became profitable within a month's time..." I'm not going to say Mr. Hudson didn't re-raise the profile of the LP - he did - but I believe I'm correct in writing that he, in turn, picked up the LP because his hero - Joe Perry - played one. And there is a very interesting tale to tell about THAT guitar, too..... Pip. The fake one. Studio guy had one that he used, so he got one. Gibson made Les Pauls with his tat on them based on his fake. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 The fake one. Studio guy had one that he used, so he got one... Yes, I know the tale. I guess I wasn't making myself too clear. In the latter part of my post I was referring to the REAL one - 9 0663 - which he bought which had previously been owned by Perry but which came to be bought by Slash and... But I'm sure you know the rest. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1all's Pub Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Going back to the OP's original ppst... that initial list you posted seems pretty solid. I probably wouldn't add the Melody Maker as a separate model though because that name (Melody Maker) has been used for LPs and Explorers and Vs (and maybe other models) to denote an inexpensive entry-level Gibson... so a Melody Maker is not one particular model in-and-of itself. I think the first 5 though (LP, SG, Explorer, Flying V, Firebird) are the traditional "main" Gibson SG models... and you probably have them in about the right order for the general population in your original post. Me personally, it goes LP, Explorer, Flying V, Firebird, SG. But we all have our preferences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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