what was Gibson's thriving timeframe? their peak?

[acoustic idiot]

i notice alot of good stuff from pretty much any-time, but i want to know, just to know, when was their time? hard to put into words, but i imagine others will pick up on what i'm saying. thanks

[Taylor Player]

Their time has been just about anything other than the "Norlin" era which saw bean counters talking over for awhile. Still doesn't mean all the guitars were crap during the 1970's, just that you had to look harder to find a good one.

 

Personally, as far as acoustics go, I think their time is now.... they are putting out some wonderful guitars in Bozeman currently. I don't know as much about the electric side though.

[albertjohn]

Their time has been just about anything other than the "Norlin" era which saw bean counters talking over for awhile. Still doesn't mean all the guitars were crap during the 1970's' date=' just that you had to look harder to find a good one.

 

Personally, as far as acoustics go, I think their time is now.... they are putting out some wonderful guitars in Bozeman currently. I don't know as much about the electric side though. [/quote']

 

Have to agree with this. There has been some beautiful stuff coming from Bozeman over the last few years.

 

From what I read of reviews etc, I think the same can be said of Nashville and Memphis.

[jgwoods]

Have I heard correctly that the nashville facility is down for the count after the storms that hit right at the end of April?

That shouldn't affect the acoustic guitar line unless they move other production to Montana- mandolins, banjos etc. I doubt they would start making Les Pauls there.

 

I think we are near the end of the Golden Age of Luthiery- the skill level and dedication of luthiers is very high, and the use of laser cutting and advanced shaping machinery has allowed the luthiers more time to do the fine tuning tasks that make a guitar great, less of the drudgery that contributes little, but steals time.

 

The new era coming will require different materials and finishes as wood supplies dry up and environmental regulations forces changes in finish techniques. What comes may exceed the current level of excellence but it will take a while to determine that.

[zombywoof]

I would say Gibson has had three "Golden Eras"

 

For me the pinnacle of American guitar making was the late 1930s. Looking at Gibson the 25 or so years when Guy Hart served as general manager, we got the L-5, Super 400, SJ-200, Advanced Jumbo, Mastertone banjo, and electric ES-150 to name just a few. That is a heck of a resume.

 

After that you have the Ted McCarty years beginning in 1948. McCarty modernized the operation while keeping quality high - parts and instruments were inspected some 300 times before they left the factory. McCarty's shop is best known for developing the Les Paul, Flying V (which Gibson could not give away at first), ES-335 and others along with the humbucker pickup so this would definitely be the golden age when it comes to electric guitars. But that shop also came out with the Hummingbird and J-185.

 

The "dark days" began in 1965 when control of CMI passed to Arnie Berlin (the "in" on Norlin).

McCarty just phoned it in that year and left in 1966 - and for the first time in its history Gibson fell under the control of college educated businessmen rather than guys who knew how to design and build guitars. New automatic neck machines and high speed conveyor belt finishing systems were installed while McCarty's elaborate inspection system was dismantled. Employees recall guitars being sent to dealers that never would have left the factory a few years earlier. By the late 1960s guitars were already being overbuilt and had become so standardized that blindfolded you could not tell a J-45 from a Hummingbird.

 

While I prefer old school Gibsons, Bozeman sure did breathe some much needed fresh air into the acoustic end of the business and has been putting out the best guitars with the Gibson logo since 1964.

[anzafrank]

Questions and answers like these are what keep me coming back to this forum.

 

Frank

[Johnt]

Dunno about "acoustic idiot" my friend!

 

This is one of the most interesting questions I have seen asked in the last two years

 

Thanks to all very much for both the question and for the answers

[vincentw]

Now. Just think what these current models will sound like in 55 years. Wow.

[jt]

imho, ...

 

For acoustic flattops, I think that Gibson had two revolutionary time periods: the early 1930s and the Banner years of 1942-45. During both of those periods, Gibson introduced (to my ears and hands) still unsurpassed product lines.

 

For archtops, the mid 1920s Lloyd Loar period rules.

 

For electrics, it's hard to argue with the proposition that the 1959 Les Paul was the pinnacle of solid body electrics.

[vincentw]

JT -- don't forget that prior to introducing your hands and ears to the Banner years '42-45 acoustics, a window of time had passed. It's important...very important, to consider the passage of time as a key factor in the tone (and even feel) of those Gibsons. It's also important....very important, to note that many of those acoustics did not survive. Why these did not survive we will never know. But I think it's fair to say many became unplayable for one reason or another. The ones that remain are indeed gems. But to conclude that, because the handful of '42-'45 era guitars you have sampled were gems, ALL were gems to the degree that Gibson has not surpassed these in some way, is -- with all do respect -- not a reasonable conclusion. It certainly lacks all of the scientific criteria necessary to make such a conclusion. But if you are to take anything at all from my paragraph here, I think it's important that we all consider the passage of time a key factor when we listen to vintage Gibsons that have survived.

[jt]

JT -- ... But to conclude that' date=' because the handful of '42-'45 era guitars you have sampled were gems, ALL were gems to the degree that Gibson has not surpassed these in some way, is -- with all do respect -- not a reasonable conclusion.[/quote']

 

Ah, but you've misread me. I wrote that Gibson introduced "still unsurpassed product lines." I didn't refer to individual guitars, but to the product lines. I stand by that. Those J-45s, J-50s, and SJs have stood the test of time as product lines. The same goes for those circa 1930 12 fret L-0s, L-00s, L-1s, L-2s, and NLs. Modern version of those designs are good, too, inho.

 

Oh, and I've sampled (and X-rayed) over 50 of the Banner era guitars. That's a pretty big handful.

[vincentw]

Fair enough.