PickitPaul Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 How long has Van been doing sunbursts at Gibson? Was there someone else doing them in the early days 1989-95? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 How long has Van been doing sunbursts at Gibson? Was there someone else doing them in the early days 1989-95? I believe Van came on board in 1990 or '91. But the finishing story might be a little complicated by the fact that I would guess the folks in the Custom Shop (back in the days before most customs were built mainly on the production line) probably did at least some of their own finishing work. Hogeye is our best hope for a good answer. Here's a photo of Van 'bursting a Super Jumbo around 2003, before Henry invested in the major spray booth ventilation upgrade that made the Hazmat suit unnecessary. -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 When it comes to finishes Case Triezenberg was the man. He started working for Gibson in the mid-1920s as a sander and then moved into finishing being named Formeman of the Finishing Department in 1948. All those glorious bursts from the 1940s and 1950s you see - those were his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 When it comes to finishes Case Triezenberg was the man. He started working for Gibson in the mid-1920s as a sander and then moved into finishing being named Formeman of the Finishing Department in 1948. All those glorious bursts from the 1940s and 1950s you see - those were his. Are you saying that none of the other finishers during that period did any 'bursts? (I don't recall having heard that before.) Or just that ol' Cornelius did all the glorious ones? -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PickitPaul Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 I agree, those 40-50's bursts are brilliant. It seems like now the bursts are getting browner & darker (on the J45's i've noticed) Just wondering because i've now got a '91 and a '95 both bursts, and its a different look to them (more red / yellow) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Ren said in an interview that Van has been under him since the flatiron mandolin days JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 not trying to hijack the post . just thought you'd enjoy these : here's one from the 50's : I think this one is from the 40's : JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PickitPaul Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Those are beautiful....are they yours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Are you saying that none of the other finishers during that period did any 'bursts? (I don't recall having heard that before.) Or just that ol' Cornelius did all the glorious ones? -- Bob R That is funny - point is his shop made those dark edged pear shaped bursts as much a Gibson trademark as the logo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Those are beautiful....are they yours? Paul, I wish they were mine ... But I just found them on another forum JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogeye Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Ren said in an interview that Van has been under him since the flatiron mandolin days JC That's not the case at all. Van was working for Flatiron before before Ren came to work there. Van never worked for Ren. The spray booth had several managers in the beginning. The first and best was Mike Stanger. The next was a guy from Nashville, Brian Wiley. These are the guys that Van Feldner worked for at the start of the Montana Division.Brian is gone and there have been several other spray booth managers that have come and left in the last several years. As far as the color of the bursts goes? Van only sprays what the marketing dept tells him to spray. He is not in charge of the color of a particular guitar. Since the marketing dept has no clue as to the historic color of instruments you get all the odd colors. Think honey burst Hummingbirds here. The spray pattern is is totally up to Van as each instrument is different. There are no templates or any other guide that he follows except for his wonderful judgement. All you folks have to do is come to the "Gibson Homecoming". None of this is a secret and you can actually talk to Van if you wish. Several years ago Van actually let some of the "Homecoming" folks spray some scrap tops in the booth. Some were quite good as I reacll. "J-185 for me" is a natural with a spray gun. Mike Stanger is a very gifted commercial artist and I comissioned a J-100 with a western theme that was painted by him. He and Ren are very good friends. Brian Wiley was a corporate guy and was responsible for some very shady dealings. He was soon sent back to Nashville. Van could tell you some interesting stories about those days. The most recent managers have been promoted up from the ranks, so to speak, and all have been very nice guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 HG, I can't find the youtube clip ... but Ren said that Van was working for him at FIM ... I only was stating what he said . thanks for the clarification edit here's the video : JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 ... Several years ago Van actually let some of the "Homecoming" folks spray some scrap tops in the booth. Some were quite good as I reacll. "J-185 for me" is a natural with a spray gun. ... And some were not good at all, to put it kindly. We actually got to spray scrap guitars, not just tops. I was the first one in, and mine kind of looked like a horrible Chinese forgery -- extremely dark around the edges, nothing in the middle -- but with some drips thrown in as a bonus. I like to think those who came after me learned from observing my dismal failure. :) -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 HG, I can't find the youtube clip ... but Ren said that Van was working for him at FIM ... I only was stating what he said . thanks for the clarification edit here's the video : JC "If it's 75% as good as the best rosewood, and 75% as good as the best Mahogany, that's 150%!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogeye Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I find it interesting that the GM of Montana thinks that Mahogany is bright and Rosewood is warm. Lots of fun info here. Does anyone here think that the new wood they found has satisfied all the Cities folks? I sure hope so. I'd hate to see another raid by the feds. Thanks for the link JCV. I'll show it to Van. He will get a kick out of it. Gosh Bob I liked your spray job. Very creative.. Maybe you should try again. The new lacquer might be more forgiving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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