Page 1
TIMELINE
1894 Orville Gibson of Kalamazoo, MI, invents the
archtop guitar and mandolin
1902 The Gibson company formed
1921 Gibson invents the adjustable truss rod –
still the industry standard – and the height
adjustable bridge
1935 Gibson’s first electric model, the E-150 Hawaiian
lap steel
1936 First standard Gibson electric, the ES-150
(“ES” stands for Electric Spanish)
1939 First cutaway Gibsons – Super 400 Premier and
L-5 Premier
1946 The P-90 single-coil pickup debuts
1949 First three-pickup guitar, the Gibson ES-5
1949 First guitar with a “Florentine” pointed cutaway,
the Gibson ES-175
1952 Gibson’s first solidbody electric, the Les Paul Model
1954 Les Paul Custom “Black Beauty” and Les Paul
Junior officially introduced
1954 Tune-o-matic bridge, designed by Gibson president
Ted McCarty, introduced on Les Paul Custom
1955 Les Paul Special introduced
1957 Double-coil “humbucking” pickup debuts, invented
by Gibson’s Seth Lover
1958 First cherry sunburst finish on Les Paul Model,
name changed to Les Paul Standard
1958 Explorer, Flying V and Moderne introduced,
designed by Ted McCarty
1958 First semi-hollowbody electric guitar, the ES-335,
invented by Ted McCarty
1959 Les Paul Special gets double-cutaway body
1961 Les Paul line changes to SG body shape
1963 SG model name is official, Les Paul name dropped
1963 Firebird guitars and Thunderbird basses introduced
1968 Les Paul Standard and Custom reintroduced
1974 Gibson opens a plant in Nashville to make Les Pauls
1982 First solidbody acoustic, the Gibson Chet Atkins CE
1984 Gibson closes Kalamazoo plant, moves headquarters
to Nashville
1986 Current owners Henry Juszkiewicz and
Dave Berryman acquire Gibson
2002 Gibson introduces world’s first digital guitar
FEATURES
FACTS
ADVANTAGES
A RETAIL SALES GUIDE FOR
GIBSON
SOLIDBODY
GUITARS
ELECTRIC
A RETAIL SALES GUIDE FOR
GIBSON
SOLIDBODY
GUITARS
ELECTRIC
Page 2
PICKUPS
★ Gibson invented the double-coil humbucking
pickup
AD
Still setting the standard followed by other makers
★ Many choices of magnets and coil-winding
configurations
AD
Smooth to edgy tone, and everything in between
★ 2-wire or 4-wire
AD
Vintage wiring or modern (with coil-split capability)
★ Tight fit between polepieces and hand-machined
baseplate
AD
No lost vibrations, minimizes feedback
WELCOME TO GIBSON USA’S RETAIL
SALES GUIDE, A QUICK AND CONCISE
REFERENCE OF SALES TIPS.
Sales tips are organized by feature.
Under each feature are the facts or
specs of that feature, designated by ★.
Under each fact, designated by AD,
is the advantage to the player.
FEATURE
★ Fact
AD
Advantage
24.75" SCALE
★ Less string tension required to tune up
AD
Smooth, slinky feel
★ Allows for heavier-gauge strings
AD
Beefier tone
★ Frets spaced slightly closer together
AD
Easier to do the Chuck Berry rhythm part
(on E chord)
TUNE-O-MATIC BRIDGE
INVENTED BY LEGENDARY GIBSON PRESIDENT
TED MCCARTY IN 1954
★ Adjustable saddles
AD
Fine-tune intonation for each individual string,
for any string gauge or action height
★ Overall height-adjustable
AD
Easy adjustment to raise or lower action
AD No individual string adjustment necessary to
conform to fingerboard radius
★ Industry standard
AD
Copied by other makers, never equaled
STOPBAR TAILPIECE
INVENTED BY GIBSON IN 1953
★ Separate from bridge
AD
Does not transfer bridge vibrations to body,
better sustain
★ Height-adjustable
AD
Adjust downward to increase string pressure on
saddles = less slippage, more sustain
AD Adjust upward for less string pressure = “slinky”
or “spongy” feel when bending strings
Page 3
SET NECK
(EXCEPT “NECK-THRU” FIREBIRD MODELS)
★ Glued neck joint – not bolted or screwed – for
maximum contact between neck and body
AD
Neck and body function as single unit = better
tone, better sustain
★ No air space in neck cavity
AD
No loose or misaligned neck = no “shimmy” or
tuning problems
ANGLED HEADSTOCK
★ Strings cross nut at an angle of up to
17 degrees, increasing string pressure
AD
No loss of vibration of strings between nut and
tuners = better sustain
AD Strings stay in nut slots (no buzz)
AD No need for “string trees” or “string guides” to
compensate for bad headstock design
BINDING
VERY LABOR INTENSIVE, BUT MAKES
A GUITAR LOOK BETTER. AND…
★ Protects edges
AD
Fewer dings in areas most susceptible to damage
★ Neck binding installed over fret ends (most makers
install frets after binding, exposing fret ends)
AD
Smooth neck, no cut hands
LACQUER FINISH
NITROCELLULOSE LACQUER (MULTIPLE COATS
ON MOST MODELS) INSTEAD OF POLYURETHANE
USED BY MOST GUITAR MANUFACTURERS, USED
BY GIBSON ON ALL MODELS SINCE 1894
★ Repairable
AD
Scratches and dings can be touched up. A poly
finish can NOT be touched up.
★ Porous nature
AD
Does not “seal” wood in an airtight shell as poly
does, lets wood breathe = better tone
★ Dries to a thinner coat than poly
AD
Less interference with natural vibration of
instrument = purer tone
EQUILIBRIUM MOISTURE CONTENT
★ Wood is dried to a point of “equilibrium”–
determined by the temperature and humidity of
the factory – where the moisture content does
not change during the manufacturing process
AD
Tight-fitting joints, no expansion, shrinkage or
warping
★ All wood has same moisture content
AD
After leaving plant, guitar responds evenly to
temperature and humidity changes
Page 4
PICKUPS
PICKUPS MAGNET DESCRIPTION
490 Alnico II classic design, upper-mid boost
498 Alnico V classic design, hotter magnet
496 ceramic hot sound, neck position
500 ceramic super hot, USA’s highest output
Angus Young Alnico V high output
’57 Classic Alnico II vintage specs, matched bobbin windings
’BurstBucker 1 Alnico II “unmatched” bobbin windings,
slightly underwound
’BurstBucker 2 Alnico II “unmatched” bobbin windings,
same range as ’57 Classic
’BurstBucker Pro Alnico V neck and bridge, like BB 1 and
2 with hotter magnet
Mini humbucker Alnico II cutting sound
’BURSTBUCKER PRO (NECK)
’BURSTBUCKER PRO (BRIDGE)
’BURSTBUCKER TYPE 1
’BURSTBUCKER TYPE 2
’BURSTBUCKER TYPE 3
’57 CLASSIC
’57 CLASSIC PLUS
TONY IOMMI
ANGUS YOUNG
DIRTY FINGERS
490R
490T
498T
500T
496R
MINI HUMBUCKER
P-90
P-94R
P-94T
RELATIVE OUTPUT
“We dry wood to below 7% moisture content,”
as some guitarmakers claim, is a meaningless
statement. Wood should be dried to a level of
“equilibrium” – where it neither gains nor loses
moisture content – and that level depends on
the temperature and humidity of the facility.
GREEN – At Gibson USA, we maintain humidity at
45%. At a temperature of 70 degrees, wood reaches
the equilibrium level at 8.5% moisture content. Any
lower or higher, and the wood will not be stable.
YELLOW – “We dry below 7%.” If “below 7%” gets
down to 6.5%, then this guitarmaker needs to
keep his plant at 35% humidity with a temperature
of 100 degrees.
RED – A guitar maker in a dry climate, with a
humidity level of 25%, needs to dry wood even
farther – below 6% – to reach equilibrium.
EQUILIBRIUM MOISTURE CONTENT TABLE
30˚ F 40˚ F 50˚ F 60˚ F 70˚ F 80˚ F 90˚ F 100˚ F 110˚ F 120˚ F
1.1˚ C 4.4˚ C 10.0˚ C 15.5˚ C 21.1˚ C 26.6˚ C 32.2˚ C 37.7˚ C 43.3˚ C 48.8˚ C
5% 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1
10% 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.1
15% 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.2 3
20% 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.2 4 3.9
25% 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.1 5 4.9 4.7
30% 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.1 5.9 5.8 5.6 5.4
35% 7.1 7.1 7.1 7 6.9 6.8 6.7 6.5 6.3 6.1
40% 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.8 7.7 7.6 7.4 7.2 7 6.8
45% 8.7 8.7 8.7 8.6 8.5 8.3 8.1 7.9 7.7 7.5
50% 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.4 9.2 9.1 8.9 8.7 8.4 8.2
55% 10.4 10.4 10.3 10.2 10.1 9.9 9.7 9.5 9.2 8.9
60% 11.3 11.3 11.2 11.1 11 10.8 10.5 10.3 10 9.7
65% 12.4 12.3 12.3 12.1 12 11.7 11.5 11.2 11 10.6
70% 13.5 13.5 13.4 13.3 13.1 12.9 12.6 12.3 12 11.7
75% 14.9 14.9 14.8 14.6 14.4 14.2 13.9 13.6 13.2 12.9
80% 16.5 16.5 16.4 16.2 16 15.7 15.4 15.1 14.7 14.4
85% 18.5 18.5 18.4 18.2 17.9 17.7 17.3 17 16.6 16.2
90% 21 21 20.9 20.7 20.5 20.2 19.8 19.5 19.1 18.6
95% 24.3 24.3 24.3 24.1 23.9 23.6 23.3 22.9 22.4 22
98% 26.9 26.9 26.9 26.8 26.6 26.3 26 25.6 25.2 24.7
RH (RH= RELATIVE HUMIDITY %)
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