Gibson

After a couple of weeks of Apple-esque hype, Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz gave what he calls the revolutionary the Firebird X a smashing start at the press launch in New York. Featuring built-in effects, robotic tuning and coming with wireless pedal controllers, the lightweight new model is being offered in a strictly limited run. Read More

One of the best-known names in guitars, Gibson, has released a free iPhone download – the Gibson Guitar App. The App includes a standard metronome, a versatile tuner, chord charts and access to video lessons. Read More

Musical instrument manufacturer Gibson has released a 50th Anniversary 1960 Gibson ES-335TD, perhaps the most legendary semi-hollow electric guitar of all. In 1960, the ES-335 was an instant classic, embraced by blues, rock, country and jazz players the world over and in one form or another the ES-335TD (and its siblings, the ES-345 and ES-355) would land in the hands of Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Larry Carlton, and countless other groundbreaking guitarists. The Gibson Custom Shop 50th Anniversary 1960 ES-335TD is the closest today’s player can come to obtaining the look, feel and tone of an original dot-neck 1960 ES-335TD, short of remortgaging the house Read More

Gibson is pushing forward in its quest to build the most technologically advanced guitars on the planet, undeterred by many guitarists' disdain for its Robot Guitar technology and recent design choices. The New Dusk Tiger is an evolution of the Dark Fire, and it maintains and expands upon the Dark Fire's ability to tune itself in seconds and produce a huge range of tones. While it's a fully analogue instrument, the Dusk Tiger can be plugged into a PC to change tone, EQ and tuning settings to provide a range of customisation and gig setup options that simply dwarf the capabilities of any guitar that's come before it. Pity, then, that behind that glowing Master Control Knob it's packing a face only a mother could love! Read More

Genuis. Pioneer. Innovator. Words that don't even come close to describing the revolutionary thinking of one Lester William Polsfus. Better known as Les Paul, he had such a huge influence on the world of modern music that it's difficult to sum up his achievements in such a short piece. I use the past tense because sadly the Wizard of Waukesha died in a New York Hospital on August 13th. Read More

We live in environmentally enlightened times. Familiar products have been repackaged and now proudly push their green credentials right in your face. So when looking through the racks of the local guitar shop, why is it that the now familiar “environmentally-friendly” claims are conspicuous by their absence? Given the market advantage that being green seems to offer manufacturers, could it be that no-one in the music industry gives a hoot? Perhaps the world of green awareness hasn't yet reached the world of guitars? Or maybe the kings and queens of tone and resonance are just being a bit less obvious about it? Paul Ridden cuts through the distortion to find out more. Read More

An auction next week in London will see a guitar of quite remarkable lineage go under the hammer. The 1952 Gibson Les Paul was once owned and made famous by cult UK blues legend Duster Bennett, the “One Man Blues Band”. The guitar was given to him by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac who got it from Eric Clapton. Clapton received it from the blues king BB King, who acquired it from Muddy Waters. Remarkably, the guitar is only expected to sell … Read More

You can often tell a lot about what a guitarist is about to do just by looking at the axe he's chosen for the gig. If it's a Flying V, he's here to rock, and he doesn't care who knows it. If it's got a big round wooden face with f-holes and a scratch plate, he's here to jazz out with some fruity 13-chords. If it's a seven-string Ibanez with a whammy bar and it looks like it's been dragged backwards through a paint shop, he's gonna shred and finger-tap until somebody's face falls off. But what can you say about a guy who turns up with a Gibson Holy Explorer? Read More

There are as many modified electric guitars in the world as there are guitarists who play them, but rare is the modified “off-the-shelf” guitar that is elevated to iconic status by the artist who played it. Such is the case with Jeff Beck’s “Oxblood” Les Paul, a guitar from the heart of tone history. Gibson has unveiled an accurate recreation of this legendary instrument: the Jeff Beck 1954 Les Paul Oxblood. The guitar joins a range of signature Les Paul guitars from the likes of Jimmy Page, Slash and soon, Michael Bloomfield. Read More