AEG-Electrolux GIBSON ORIGINAL User Manual

G IBSON O RIGINAL

A COUSTIC I NSTRUMENTS

The Cornerstone of Legendary Sound.

T HE G IBSON B LUE

A small town in Michigan is where Gibson’s history began. Today, Gibson offices and manufacturing facili­ties span the globe. Gibson’s most unique facility is perhaps the bluegrass manufacturing facility in Nashville,
Tennessee. An exceptional vision by Gibson’s President and Chief Executive Officer Henr y Juszkiewicz has
brought Gibson’s Original Acoustic Instruments (OAI) division to our most important customer — you.

The OAI manufacturing facility, contained within The Gibson Bluegrass Showcase, is the fir st of its kind in
the United States. The state-of-the-art facility is located in one of the Mills Corporation’s shopping and enter­tainment venues — Opry Mills. The uniqueness of this concept is that the you can actually view the instru­ments being made. The factory tour
reveals the craftsmanship and tal­ented individuals behind the mak­ing of the world’s finest bluegrass
instruments.

Located directly across from the
world famous Grand Ole Opry, The
Gibson Bluegrass Showcase factory
tour is available Monday through

GRASS S HOWCASE

Our facility also houses a state-of-the-art
stage, sound, and lighting system with
theatre-style seating, full service restaurant
and bar that is available for rental. Recent
events have included television and video
shoots, showcasing of new talent, fan club
events, parties and charity events.To inquire
about renting The Showcase phone us
at 615.514.2200 ext 2244. And, you never
know when you might catch an impromptu
jam session going on.

Gibson customers are fascinated by the

workmanship and quality that goes into

each Gibson instrument.

Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you would like more information concerning Gibson’s OAI manufacturing
facility or one of Gibson’s quality instruments, please check us out at www.gibson.com or contact us at
1-800-4-GIBSON.

From start to f inish, every Gibson banjo, Dobro

®

, and mandolin is carefully handcrafted at The Gibson
Bluegrass Showcase. Truly a unique concept in showcasing the craftsmanship that is a part of the Gibson
legacy. Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments — the cornerstone of legendary sound. The Gibson Bluegrass
Showcase — the national home of a true American genre of music. All very simply — legendary.

HOW THE LEGEND BEGAN

Gibson, a name that for over 100 years has defined quality, craftsmanship, innovation, and legendary sound.
This tradition began in 1894 with one man’s dream in a home workshop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The leg­endary man was Or ville Gibson. With no formal tr aining to limit his vision, Or ville creat ed an entirely new
style of mandolin and guitar, with carved tops, arched like the top of a violin. His creations were so different
and revolutionary that he was granted a patent on his mandolin design in 1898. By 1910, Gibson mandolins
had become so popular that they virtually replaced all previous styles of fretted instruments. Always striving
to be innovative, Gibson later introduced banjos into the Gibson line of acoustic instruments. A Gibson orig­inal acoustic instrument could be found in almost every performers hand of the era.

Since those early days, Gibson has continued the tradition of original advances in design, quality construc­tion, and craftsmanship. The Dobro

®

line of instruments was added to the Gibson family to complete the

line of acoustic instruments.

Gibson’s Original Acoustic Instruments have become the very cornerstone of legendary sound.

S IMPLY L

EGENDARY

Orville Gibson

THE LEGEND CONTINUES

Today the market is flooded with a variety of acoustic instruments. The Gibson name
still can be found making history in the hands of legendary performers. Legends
like Earl Scruggs, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, J.D. Crowe, Josh Graves, Tom Swatzell,
and Al Perkins have been making groundbreaking music for years. And
they’ve always done it on Gibson instruments. Legends like these choose
Gibson instruments because they know they can rely on our consistent
craftsmanship, exceptional playability and legendary tone year after year.

The grand traditions Orville Gibson first set continue at Gibson —
and so, the legend continues for the generation of the 21st Century.

New artists and legends alike play Gibson Original
Acoustic Instruments. Shouldn’t you?

M AND

GIBSON MANDOLINS

“The Gibson,” for over 100 years, has def ined the word mandolin. St ar ting with the original design of the
F-style mandolin it remains the only one true mandolin despite the many copies on the market today. With
original advances in design and construction, Gibson has remained the choice of musicians the world over.
All Gibson mandolins are hand-built to precise graduations, specific tap-tunings, hand-fit dovetail
neck joints, superior wood selection and hand-stained thinly applied finishes. The result is an instrument
of impeccable fit and finish with unsurpassable tone and built in the grand tradition we first set.

Gibson mandolins are not only the definitive mandolin to purchase, they are an invest­ment. Gibson instruments consistently retain their resale value, and over time, actually
increase in value. If one looks at the number of professional mandolin players and com­pares the number of Gibson mandolins to all other brands, Gibson outranks the com­petition in number and tone. Become one of the elite — own a Gibson.

Gibson F-5 Master Model

Loar Reissue

Gibson Sam Bush Signature Model

Sam Bush

OLINS

Gibson F-5L “Fern”

Gibson F-5G

Gibson A-5L

M AND

Gibson F-9

Gibson M-6

INTRODUCING THE SLEEK F-9 AND
THE GUITARISTS CHOICE — THE GIBSON M-6

The F-9’s no-frills design gives it a sleek look that is unique among traditional mandolins, with black binding
on the top of the body, no fingerboard inlay and a Vintage Brown f inish — a hand-st ained light chocolate
color with an extremely thin satin lacquer outer coat. The F-9 has all the design features that gave the F-5 its
legendary tone, including a hand-fitted dovetail neck joint, solid maple neck, sides and back, solid spruce top,
and a hand-tuned tone chamber.

The Gibson M-6 features an A-style mandolin body with a short-scale guitar neck that makes every guitarist
an instant multi-instrumentalist. The M-6 is tuned an octave higher than a standard guitar, so that the high
E-string matches the highest open string on a mandolin. Guitarists can get the tone of a mandolin without
having to adapt to a different tuning.

OLINS

UNSURPASSED CRAFTSMANSHIP

Every Gibson and Flatiron mandolin has received the

greatest care and hand attention to detail possible. Every

one is a work of art with tone and playability to match.

Our craftsmen have hundreds of hours of training in the

art of wood selection, carving, binding, inlay, fretting,

set-up and playing of the instruments. No other

instrument manufactured today has the

loving care put into each Gibson mandolin.