Gibson Celebrates 130 Years of Craft, Innovation, and Music

Above: Orville Gibson.

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As Gibson proudly celebrates its 130th anniversary in 2024, Gibson continues to set the benchmark for craftsmanship, quality, innovation, and sound excellence.

NASHVILLE, TN (March 27, 2024) Gibson has been shaping the sound of music since 1894, when Orville Gibson designed and built his earliest-known musical instrument in his workshop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. 130 years later, you can still play it and it sounds better than ever. The innovative and forward-thinking carved top design that revolutionized the mandolin and guitar world delivering a louder, more durable, more playable instrument, remains the DNA of every Gibson.

Over the past 130 years, Gibson’s groundbreaking instruments have been the catalyst for some of the loudest and most resonant moments in pop culture. Many of these have been genre-defining—think of Maybelle Carter’s transformative impact on country music with her Gibson L-5™, “Father of Bluegrass” Bill Monroe and his F-5 mandolin, Eric Clapton picking up the torch from “Blues Fathers” Robert Johnson and Freddie King and blazing a new trail with the fabled “Beano” Burst, “Mother of Rock N ‘Roll” Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s SG Custom™, Tony Iommi inventing the vocabulary for heavy metal with his SG Special “Monkey,” Jimmy Page defining hard rock in front of a sea of people with a low-slung Les Paul™, and his double neck EDS-1275, Slash influencing generational movement and defying the laws of music with his own Les Paul, and Bob Marley popularizing reggae with his Les Paul Special. Today, female powerhouses such as Lzzy Hale and Olivia Rodrigo are setting new bars for rock and pop stardom with Gibson guitars as their instruments of choice, and the list goes on and on. On other occasions, the voices of Gibson instruments have been heard at seismic cultural events, such as Bob Dylan’s performance at the 1963 March on Washington. Or they have inspired new generations to pick up the guitar in iconic appearances on the silver screen, such as the unforgettable Enchantment Under the Sea dance scene in the 1985 movie Back to the Future.

“We are in music, with instruments, sound, and media across our brands; we are one of the most iconic companies in music. Artists have chosen us to create genres of music and continually choose Gibson and our brands. As we celebrate 130 years since Orville Gibson started making instruments, I firmly believe that our best years are ahead of us. We are Gibson. Our craftspeople, our global team, our artists, and our fans, together are Gibson. In line with this, and to celebrate 130 years, we have changed our name from Gibson Brands back to Gibson, consistent with our focus and objective to make the best guitars in our history.”

— Cesar Gueikian, President, and CEO of Gibson

Above: Country music duo The Monroe Brothers circa 1937. Getty images.

Above: Mary Ford and Les Paul play their Les Paul guitars on September 9, 1952. Getty images.

Above: Joan Baez and Bob Dylan perform at the March on Washington Civil Rights rally on August 28, 1963. Getty images.

Above: Sister Rosetta Tharpe performs with her Gibson SG at the Blues and Gospel Caravan Tour in 1964. Getty images.

Above: Tony Iommi performs with his Gibson SG “Monkey” on January 1, 1970, with Black Sabbath. Getty Images.

Above: Jimmy Page playing his Gibson EDS-1275 at Earl’s Court London with Led Zeppelin, May 18, 1975. Getty images.

Above: Slash performs with his Gibson Les Paul at Rock In Rio II on January 15, 1991.

Above: Lzzy Hale of Halestorm performs with her Gibson Explorer in Milan on November 28, 2023.

Above: Olivia Rodrigo performs with her Gibson G-00 acoustic at the Grammy Museum on October 3, 2023. Getty images.

Over the years, Gibson has expanded from its humble Kalamazoo origins to its current home base in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee. The company’s headquarters are anchored by the world-renowned Gibson USA craftory, where the most popular electric guitar designs in history are still handcrafted, including the Les Paul, SG, Flying V™, Explorer™, and ES-335. Nearby, the artisans at Gibson Custom create the world’s most desirable new instruments, including stunning recreations of vintage instruments expertly aged in the Murphy Lab, signature models for Gibson artists, and custom-built Made-to-Measure pieces for the most discerning and uncompromising guitar fans worldwide. Meanwhile, at the state-of-the-art Gibson Acoustic craftory in Bozeman, Montana, the highly skilled team constructs celebrated models such as the J-45™, SJ-200, Hummingbird™, and Dove™ alongside artist signature acoustics, vintage reissues with Murphy Lab aging, and more.

Above: The Gibson Les Paul is handcrafted, like all Gibson electric guitars in Nashville, Tennessee.

Above: The Dove Original and Hummingbird Original, and all Gibson acoustic guitars are handcrafted in Bozeman, Montana.

Even as Gibson remains dedicated to developing and producing premium, original, and modern electric and acoustic guitars, the brand is engaging new generations of musicians and music lovers via a range of offerings. Diving back into the amplifier world with the newly designed Gibson Falcon 5 and Falcon 20 combos, inspired by vintage Gibson amplifier designs and reimagined for today’s players, and handcrafted in Petaluma, California. Gibson’s new 1959 Humbucker Collector’s Edition Series 1 pickups from the Gibson Pickup Shop, meanwhile, are the most accurate reproductions ever of Gibson’s original holy grail invention, the “Patent Applied For” or PAF humbuckers from the late 1950s.

Opened in 2021 in downtown Nashville, the flagship Gibson Garage Nashville store continues to be the ultimate guitar experience and destination for music lovers across the globe. Visitors to the Garage can play all things Gibson, Epiphone™, Kramer™, MESA/Boogie®, KRK™, and Maestro™, try out the full line of electric and acoustic guitars, and take a piece of history home with limited-edition guitars, gear, accessories, and exclusive apparel and merch collaborations. Visitors can also enjoy live performances, design a dream Made-to-Measure guitar from Gibson Custom, and peruse interactive storytelling and memorabilia exhibits inside the historic 8,000 sq ft space. New in 2024, fans can now see this mirrored outside of the U.S. for the very first time, with the Gibson Garage London, which brings an unparalleled experience for music fans to a central location in the U.K. capital.

Above: Gibson Garage Nashville main room.

Above: Gibson Garage London main room.

Gibson Media also continues to expand. The brand’s powerful storytelling arm, headlined by the award-winning Gibson TV –an online network of original cinematic programming exploring music’s biggest artists, recordings, destinations, guitar collections, and more—currently encompasses Gibson Films, producing special project long-form films that go deep inside the stories of Gibson’s legendary players; Gibson Records, a record label working with artists to produce, record, and promote guitar-driven music across the globe; Gibson Publishing, the home of premium coffee-table books detailing the prized instruments of music’s most iconic players; the Gibson App, which delivers an AI-enabled, interactive, and personalized guitar-learning experience, alongside original Gibson content, direct to your smartphone; and the recently launched Gibson Gazette, a new online home for all things Gibson, including trending guitar news, artist interviews, video, tutorials, buyer’s guides, and more.

Slash interview on Gibson TV’s “The Collection” series HERE.

Kirk Hammett interview on Gibson TV’s “Icons” series HERE.

As part of Gibson’s commitment to an artist-first culture, over the past five years, the brand has introduced a series of programs to further the careers of a diverse roster of musicians and emerging artists across multiple genres. Gibson is dedicated to developing the next generation of musicians with the Gibson Generation Group (Gibson G3). The Gibson Generation Group is a powerful two-year mentorship program that fosters a diverse new generation of young guitar players, songwriters, and music creators across the globe. The program encourages young players to pursue a career in music by providing monthly artist mentorships, one-on-one artist relations support, instrument loans, collaborative promotions, performance opportunities, and inclusion in global marketing campaigns. The global collective of talented young players in the G3 program receive career growth opportunities and develop lasting connections throughout the music industry with support from the Gibson Leadership and Cultural Influence teams.

The Gibson Marquee Artist program invests in furthering the careers of artists on the rise who reflect the brand’s mission to celebrate and amplify music across genders, genres, and generations. Marquee Artists have access to Gibson’s global resources and work with the brand to create collaboratively inspired cultural campaigns, participate in product development and