Company name	Gibson Guitar Corporation
Company logo
Company slogan	"Prestige-Quality-Innovation."
Company type	Private
Foundation	c. 1890 Kalamazoo, Michigan
Founder	Orville Gibson
Location	Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Key people	Orville Gibson, Ted McCarty, Les Paul, Seth Lover
Area served	Global
Industry	Musical instruments
Subsid	Aeolian, Baldwin, Chickering, Electar, Epiphone, Garrison, Gibson Amphitheatre, Hamilton, Kramer, Maestro, MaGIC, Slingerland, Steinberger, Tobias, Valley Arts Guitar, Wurlitzer
Homepage	Gibson.com
Footnotes	}}

The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names.

History

Gibson dates from the late 19th century.

Instruments

Gibson is most well known for an electric, solid-body guitar model (instrument), the Les Paul.

Artists who use Gibson instruments

Gibson is a popular, well-regarded brand name and as a result many famous musicians have played its instruments.

Brand names

Gibson also owns and makes instruments under such brands as Baldwin, Epiphone, Kalamazoo, Kramer, Maestro, Slingerland, Steinberger, Tobias, Valley Arts and Wurlitzer.

Gibson purchased Garrison Guitars in 2007.

Gibson serial numbers

Gibson models may not be easily identified by serial number alone, and as of 1999 the company has used six distinct serial numbering systems. By 2006, that number had risen to seven.

In 1977, Gibson introduced the serial numbering system in use until 2006. An eight digit number on the back shows the date on which the instrument was produced, where it was produced and its order of production that day (e.g. first instrument stamped that day, second, etc.).

An exception is the year 1994, Gibson's centennial year; many 1994 serial numbers start with "94", followed by a 6-digit production number.

The Gibson website provides a book to help with serial number deciphering.

After 2006

In 2006 Gibson introduced a 9 digit serial number system. The system is largely the same as the 8 digit system used since 1977, but the 6th digit now represents a batch number.

Recent innovation

Innovation is created for and added to some Gibson instruments. The company also has an interest in electronic jukeboxes.

MaGIC

In 2003, Gibson debuted its ethernet-based communications protocol, MaGIC, which it had developed in partnership with 3COM, Advanced Micro Devices and Xilinx. Replacing traditional analog hook-ups with a digital connection that would, "satisfy the unique requirements of live audio performances" may have been the goal of this project.

This system may require a special pickup, but cabling is provided by standard Cat-5 ethernet cord.

Self-tuning guitar

The Gibson "self-tuning guitar", also known as a "robot model", an option on some newer Les Paul, SG, Flying V and Explorer instruments, will tune itself in little more than two seconds using robotics technology developed by Tronical GmbH.

CSR

Gibson does make CSR efforts including a participation in Music Rising, which facilitated the replacement of tens of thousands of privately-owned, hurricane-damaged instruments.

Unauthorized copies

Gibson has sought legal action against those that make and sell guitars too-similar to their own.

Hoshino/Elger

In 1977 Gibson sued Hoshino/Elger for copying the Gibson Les Paul.

Fernandes

In 2000, Gibson sued Fernandes Guitars in a Tokyo court for allegedly copying Gibson designs. Gibson did not prevail.

PRS

Gibson also sued PRS Guitars to stop them from making their Singlecut model. The lawsuit against PRS was initially successful. However; in 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the lower court decision and ordered the dismissal of Gibson's suit against PRS.

Authorized Gibson designs

Gibson makes authorized copies of its most successful guitar designs. They are less expensive than those bearing the Gibson name.

Epiphone

A former competitor, Epiphone was purchased by Gibson and now makes competitively-priced Gibson models, such as the Les Paul, sold under the Epiphone brand.

Orville

In Japan, Orville by Gibson once made Gibson designs sold in that country.

Recent criticism and controversy

Gibson has been ranked as a "worst workplace in America" and has come under investigation for rare wood purchases.

Employee concerns

In 2008, the company was the 5th worst company to work for by employee reviews, with a score of 2.1/5, according to glassdoor.com.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Raid

The Nashville-based guitar manufacturer has been investigated for violating the Lacey Act. The Lacey act was amended in 2009 to include wood products. On November 17, 2009 federal authorities seized six guitars and several pallets of alleged endangered and illegal, rare ebony wood purchased by Gibson which was stored at the company's factory. Until the investigation has been concluded, Henry E. Juszkiewicz, CEO and Chairman of Gibson Guitar Corporation, has taken a leave of absence as a board member of the Rainforest Alliance. In June 2011, the United States Department of Justice filed a civil case against Gibson, stating: "Gibson sourced its unfinished ebony wood in the form of blanks (for use in the manufacture of fingerboards for Gibson guitars) from Nagel (in Germany), which obtained it exclusively from Roger Thunam (a supplier in Madagascar). Madagascar prohibits the harvest of ebony wood as well as the exportation of unfinished ebony wood." The filing also made mention of internal emails from 2008 and 2009 that discussed ebony species from Madagascar and plans to harvest it. The case against Gibson Guitar was the first under the amended Lacey Act, which requires importing companies to purchase legally harvested wood and follow the environmental laws of the producing countries regardless of corruption or lack of enforcement.

In January of 2011, Gibson Guitar filed a motion to recover the materials seized in the raid and to overturn the charges made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This motion was overturned, and according to reports quoting a special agent on the case, the material is expected to be used by the prosecution in anticipated indictments.

Gibson Guitar's offices and factories in Nashville and Memphis were raided again by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife on August 24, 2011, although no details were released about the nature of the raid or what was found due to the ongoing legal proceedings. However, according to a statement issued by Gibson Guitar the following day, these raids focused on rare wood imported from India. In the release, Juszkiewicz lashed out at the Justice Department, claiming that it was "bullying Gibson without filing charges" and stating further: "Gibson is innocent and will fight to protect its rights. Gibson has complied with foreign laws and believes it is innocent of any wrong doing. We will fight aggressively to prove our innocence." He also criticized the government's use of the Lacey Act because it interprets and enforces the laws of other nations, in this case India.

The charges against the company constitute a felony, and if proven, the company could face large fines and the executives involved could face jail terms. Gibson Guitar is considered a progressive company for its promotion of sustainability and forest certification. Although the Rainforest Alliance certified the wood used by Gibson Guitar, its FSC certificates only applied to specific product lines. In the case of the wood from Madagascar, the wood could not have been used in products labeled or sold as FSC-certified.

According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, the case has also caused concern for musicians who lack documentation of vintage instruments made of traditional, non-sustainable materials.

Allegations of politicization

The raids on Gibson Guitar's facilities became politicized following Juszkiewicz criticism of the federal government, when right-wing bloggers using OpenSecrets.org concluded that the raids and investigation were politically motivated since Juszkiewicz donated more to Republicans during the previous election season, whereas the C.E.O. of Gibson Guitar's competitor, C.F. Martin & Company supported Democratic candidates, yet his company was not raided despite also reportedly using the same wood.

Left-wing bloggers later criticized these accusations, while also noting an inconsistency in Gibson Guitar's press release. They pointed out that following the 2009 raid, Juszkiewicz began working with the Rainforest Alliance on developing a new wood sourcing plan—suggesting they were acknowledging a problem with the source of their wood—but following the 2011 raid, Juszkiewicz claimed to have sworn statements and documents from the Madagascar government proving the wood was legal.

See also

Fender Guitars

PRS Guitars

References

External links

Official website, Gibson Guitar Company

Category:Guitar manufacturing companies Category:Banjo manufacturing companies Category:Bass guitar manufacturing companies Category:Companies established in 1896 Category:Gibson electric guitars Category:Companies based in Nashville, Tennessee Category:Manufacturing companies based in Tennessee Category:Guitar amplifier manufacturers

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