The 1980's for Gibson acoustics: Good, bad, ok?

[anzafrank]

I Know that the 70's were not the greatest time for a lot of Gibson acoustics, (I had a 71 J-50 that seemd to be fine, and wish I would have kept it) but I'm wondering if Gibson improved in the 80's? I have a 86 J-30 that seems to be fine with volume being pretty good ( drowns out most people I play with), good tone, but does get a bit muddy at times. Everybody that plays it loves it except for my martin friends who are jealous of it's tone and volume, and it seems to be fine structurally. Just wondering what your thoughts are about Gibson's quality/track record in 86, or the whole decade for that matter. Thanks,

 

Frank

[pohatu771]

1986 is when the current management took over, and a lot of things changed. It wasn't until 1989 that Gibson Acoustic opened, however, so guitars made then were from Nashville.

[ksdaddy]

My own personal take on things (sorry if it's a repeat performance):

 

It appears to me that around 1983 "they" (Gibson) began an effort to reclaim the throne. The guitars became more traditional, more like the 60s models anyway. The J45 went back to round shoulders, the headstocks lost about 1/4" off each side, the sunbursts looked more like sunbursts and less like black or red overspray.... I had a good vibe about them.

 

In 1985 my father wanted another J200 but in a more toned down, stripped down appearance. Partly to get "the same guitar" cheaper, partly because a friend, Yodelin' Slim Clark had a 1939 J100 and he wanted to emulate him. He spoke with someone in Nashville about the model and the guy made the statement "We're trying to make them like we used to".

 

Some say they fell short. Some say they were disasters waiting to happen, being constructed in a humid environment and potentially ending up in a dry one. I say they did a great job, considering at what point the baton was handed to them.

 

Dad's J100 came through with a moustache bridge and a 40s style J45 guard and a nice almond sunburst that looks hand rubbed. He took sick in '93, passed in '99, and it's upstairs at my mother's house. I peeked at it the other day; still in tune with 15 year old strings.

 

I would have no issue buying a nashville Gibson acoustic; my only issue would be dressing the fret ends, as the neck wood has likely shrunk a little, exposing razor sharp fretwire. Well, not razor sharp but darned uncomfortable when sliding one's hand up the neck.

[rar]

Just wondering what your thoughts are about Gibson's quality/track record in 86' date=' or the whole decade for that matter.[/quote']

 

I think KSDaddy's account is pretty much on the mark. There were four periods for Gibson acoustics during the 80s: roughly, 1980-'82, 1983-'86, 1986-'88, and 1989. The first period, they were just plain awful. Around 1983, a few key folks at Gibson started a back-to-basics movement -- some details can be found in Fab Flattops -- and they got better. In 1986, Henry bought the brand, insisted on improved quality, and they got better still. Then came the ('86?) NAMM show where Henry asked Gary Burnett to have a look at the new acoustics, resulting in Gary saying something like "The ones you're building are okay. But you should build 'em like this if you want to restore Gibson's reputation" and handing Henry one of his AJs to check out and. (The story is in Gary's article in Gibson 100 Years book.) Well, Nashville couldn't build 'em like that, but Ren Ferguson and Co. could, and the result was constructing the Bozeman factory in '89 and having the former Flatiron crew start building acoustic guitars (in addition to the mandolins that inspired Henry to acquire Flatiron). That's when things started to get really good again!.

 

-- Bob R

 

P.S. (Added later) I took a look at Fab Flattops and the dividing line between the first two periods should be '84, as the R&D team's four step-in-the-right-direction acoustic models didn't appear until the '84 NAMM show.

[BigKahune]

KSdaddy & Rar -

 

Thanks guys, some of the info you provided I didn't know about.

 

 

KSdaddy -

 

Have you got a pic of your dad's J100?

[ksdaddy]

KSdaddy -

 

Have you got a pic of your dad's J100?

 

One crappy pic. It's much prettier in person.

 

[Rambler]

The ones made in Nashville [ 83-88? ] corrected the main problems that occurred under Norlin's mngt (double x-brace etc), but the humidity there didnt do sit well with acoustic production. If online chatter to be believed , Bozeman was good from the gate (90-92) had a down period (93-95) and came back strong 96+ (some folks wear by the 97-98 'early' J45s). J

[rar]

... If online chatter to be believed ' date=' Bozeman was good from the gate (90-92) had a down period (93-95) and came back strong 96+ (some folks wear by the 97-98 'early' J45s).[/quote']

 

I believe there is generally thought to be one post-'96 quality dip too. (Of course, guitars built in the old Custom Shop upstairs are exceptions to the general trends -- I'm just talking production-line instruments.) But I think there's pretty widespread agreement that, since about 2002, things have just gotten better and better.

 

-- Bob R

[BigKahune]

KSdaddy -

 

The pic's a bit grainy, but man, she looks like a beauty.

 

Thanks.

[zombywoof]

I am afraid what Gibson of the 1980s will best be remembered for is their line of mid-level quality, very non-traditional looking electrics like the Victory and Spirit (which came out under both the Gibson and Epiphone name) that nobody wanted to buy and hiring guys like Wayne Charvel to design Custom Shop guitars.

[ksdaddy]

The 80s will always have a pointy-headstock stigma and none of the companies wil escape that. Guild made some pointy stuff and Fender made some heavy metal-ish stuff.

 

When I think "1980s Gibson" the first thing that comes to mind is the Sonex, Challenger, Invader. Some were bolt on necks and some were made with compressed beaver poo, but they were good guitars for $300-$400. Probably not the products Gibson would like people to think of first, but at least it's a positive memory.

 

I just had a vision in my head of a pink Les Paul with black hardware, EMGs, and a Kahler leaning up against a case of hair spray (shudder).

[zombywoof]

Do you remember those Firebranded SGs and Lesters. You could pick them up new for around $500. Then there was the Epiphone U.S. Map guitar.

 

Like you, this is the stuff that comes to my mind as soon as anybody says Gibson in the 1980s.

 

I have heard that one of the first things Henry J. did was to fire the entire Gibson management - which was absentee anyway. Probably not a bad move on his part.

[Dotneck]

The 80's also saw Gibson's go back to its roots with their "Dotneck" reissues....They began in '82 and they are still making the reissues...my Dotneck is an '83 blondie...

[anzafrank]

Thanks for all the great info on Gibson's history from the 80's to present. Looks like I have a pretty good J-30, but not nearly as clean as KS daddy's 91. Speaking of KS daddy, if your reading this, maybe you could tell me if the sides and back are brown on your 91? Mine are red like a bird, and the top is darker and redish. Maybe red spruce? Also, the sound reminds me of a early 70's bird I had with lots of bottom end punch. Thanks again for all the interesting replies.

 

Frank

[TommyK]

One crappy pic. It's much prettier in person.

 

 

Mmmmm I can smell it.

[ryanfender]

Since 80s music was mostly non-guitar based and well....bad. Wasn't Gibson acoustic production pretty low during the 80s due to the unpopularity of acoustic guitar music and Gibson's transition issues during this time? Personally, I have rarely seen 80s Gibson acoustics in the used market. Does any know the production numbers during this time?

[zombywoof]

Sometime in the 1980s, Gibson shut down all production lines but one. I thought Gibson was not even making acoustics in the mid-1980s until Henry swooped in.

[ksdaddy]

I don't know about any shutdowns... could be. Dad's translates to June something 1985 for what it's worth.