PSA - Gibson To Revive Archtop (and Mandolin) Production

[Litterick]

The rot set in when Gibson found they could make a lot of money from mass production of a crude solidbody guitar.

[Archie]

That would certainly explain why Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel, Howard Roberts, and many others played Guilds on the classic recordings from the 1950s and 1960s. Oh, wait ...

George Benson is better than all of those and he played a Guild so I win

Joe Pass got given a Gibson and then went on to play a D'aquisto.
Jim Hall went on to play a D'aguisto. There's a theme going on here.
Herb Ellis left Gibson for Aria.
Wes complained that his guitar had terrible intonation and was a lemon. It was a Gibson.
Howard Roberts wanted a better guitar so he cut a big hole in his Gibson.

Guild was more of a luxury, exclusive brand, like Bentley.

Even Johnny Smith woke up and smelt the coffee

[Christian Miller]

I love my ES175 but that guitar is weird af.

Sometimes I can’t stop playing it and every note makes me happy to be alive and sometimes I need an extended break from that guitar before I give up on music out of frustration and become a hermit.

You don’t get that kind of experience from an Ibanez Artcore, I’ll grant you.

[jazzkritter]

Guild didn’t seem a luxury brand here in the US, least not in central NJ in the 60’s. Clear second to you know who.

Here it comes:

Im beginning to think the best 175 I’ve ever had is the LGB300.

[floatingpickup]

George Benson is better than all of those and he played a Guild so I win

Joe Pass got given a Gibson and then went on to play a D'aquisto.
Jim Hall went on to play a D'aguisto. There's a theme going on here.
Herb Ellis left Gibson for Aria.
Wes complained that his guitar had terrible intonation and was a lemon. It was a Gibson.
Howard Roberts wanted a better guitar so he cut a big hole in his Gibson.

Guild was more of a luxury, exclusive brand, like Bentley.

Even Johnny Smith woke up and smelt the coffee.

Although I agree that Guilds were excellent guitars, the above statements are incomplete. I have completed (corrected) them as follows:

“George Benson is better than all of those and he played a Guild” [and many other brands including Gibson, D’Angelico, D’Aquisto and Ibanez, which he has had an extremely long-standing endorsement arrangement with]

“Joe Pass got given a Gibson and then went on to play a D'aquisto” [and then an Ibanez and then went back to a custom made Gibson, which he played for the rest of his life]

“Jim Hall went on to play a D'aguisto” [this statement is accurate, other than the spelling error]

“Herb Ellis left Gibson for Aria” [for a very short time and then returned to Gibson and endorsed a signature model, based on his original Gibson guitar]

“Wes complained that his guitar had terrible intonation and was a lemon. It was a Gibson” [I don’t know anything about this story, all I know is that Wes played Gibson guitars exclusively throughout his entire career]

“Howard Roberts wanted a better guitar so he cut a big hole in his Gibson” [and went on to collaborate with Gibson to build not one, but two signature models]

“Even Johnny Smith woke up and smelt the coffee” [Johnny allowed his name to be used on a few brands including Gibson, Heritage and Guild. The first Guild Johnny Smith Award model was not designed to his specs and he said he never actually owned one. The second Guild Johnny Smith Award model was built under supervision of Bob Benedetto during the short-lived Guild/Benedetto arrangement and this was long after Johnny had stopped playing guitar. I am fairly certain that virtually all of Johnny’s recordings were made with either a D’Angelico or his Gibson Johnny Smith model]

Keith

[Christian Miller]

It’s almost like handmade instruments have lots of variations and you can’t necessarily judge the qualities of an individual instrument by its marque and model alone.

obviously that’s crazy talk

[jzucker]

what an famous artist plays is many times due to the financial arrangement they have with the manufacturer. Sometimes it's actual payments, sometimes it's a free guitar, sometimes it's PR...

One very famous jazz guitarist started playing another instrument recently. I asked him how he liked it and his response,

It's really nice but doesn't have the vibe of my old gibson

[Archie]

I tend not to engage is senseless arguments on the internet, but I decided to speak up on this one. Although I agree that Guilds were excellent guitars, the above statements are incomplete. I have completed (corrected) them as follows:

“George Benson is better than all of those and he played a Guild” [and many other brands including Gibson, D’Angelico, D’Aquisto and Ibanez, which he has had an extremely long-standing endorsement arrangement with]

“Joe Pass got given a Gibson and then went on to play a D'aquisto” [and then an Ibanez and then went back to a custom made Gibson, which he played for the rest of his life]

“Jim Hall went on to play a D'aguisto” [this statement is accurate, other than the spelling error]

“Herb Ellis left Gibson for Aria” [for a very short time and then returned to Gibson and endorsed a signature model, based on his original Gibson guitar]

“Wes complained that his guitar had terrible intonation and was a lemon. It was a Gibson” [I don’t know anything about this story, all I know is that Wes played Gibson guitars exclusively throughout his entire career]

“Howard Roberts wanted a better guitar so he cut a big hole in his Gibson” [and went on to collaborate with Gibson to build not one, but two signature models]

“Even Johnny Smith woke up and smelt the coffee” [Johnny allowed his name to be used on a few brands including Gibson, Heritage and Guild. The first Guild Johnny Smith Award model was not designed to his specs and he said he never actually owned one. The second Guild Johnny Smith Award model was built under supervision of Bob Benedetto during the short-lived Guild/Benedetto arrangement and this was long after Johnny had stopped playing guitar. I am fairly certain that virtually all of Johnny’s recordings were made with either a D’Angelico or his Gibson Johnny Smith model]

Keith

Keith I'm sorry my comment didn't come across with the humour that was intended.

It's not on you, it's on me.

I enjoyed reading your post and it is entirely accurate.

For what it's worth, Benson also loves recording with his Gibson Johnny Smith.

[floatingpickup]

Keith I'm sorry my comment didn't come across with the humour that was intended.

It's not on you, it's on me.

I enjoyed reading your post and it is entirely accurate.

For what it's worth, Benson also loves recording with his Gibson Johnny Smith.

Damn you Gibson

I actually thought your post might be intended to be humorous - I think I saw a smiley face or something in your post. Sorry if I responded harshly. Either way, it’s always fun to debate guitars.
Keith

[Marinero]

It’s almost like handmade instruments have lots of variations and you can’t necessarily judge the qualities of an individual instrument by its marque and model alone.
obviously that’s crazy talk

Hi, C,
Your tongue in cheek remark is well-taken and true. I bought my first Gibson in 1966--an entry level ES125TC. It is a laminate guitar with thousands of hours play time and in near pristine condition for a "working" instrument. However, there's something special about this guitar since it has continued to change/develop over the years despite being a laminate which, in theory, is not supposed to bloom like a non-laminate/solid wood guitar. I'm certain it wasn't made by Gibson's top luthiers but I would never sell the instrument. I have played many other ES125TC's and now own my brother's '66 ES125TDC but they never have matched the sound of my first guitar. I, also, own three luthier-built Classical guitars and my working instrument--an Esteve 1GR08 Cedar that cost $1,800. new 20 year ago (which was $3,000. less than my LoPrinzi and Brune 5K plus) is a magical sounding instrument despite the lower price. So, for the fortunate few that have found that "special" Gibson, it IS irreplaceable, especially the older instruments with quality, aged tonewoods and thousands of hours play time. If I ever wanted another instrument, I would only buy a Classic Gibson since, for me, it IS the quintessential Jazz sound.
Marinero

[Archie]

I actually thought your post might be intended to be humorous - I think I saw a smiley face or something in your post. Sorry if I responded harshly. Either way, it’s always fun to debate guitars.
Keith

I'm not good at humour which is sad because:

1) I'm English
2) I'm usually always making a light hearted joke about something.

There's a time and a place for it and perhaps a Gibson thread is not one of those times or places

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones (including the guitars).

[floatingpickup]

I'm not good at humour which is sad because:

1) I'm English
2) I'm usually always making a light hearted joke about something.

There's a time and a place for it and perhaps a Gibson thread is not one of those times or places

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones (including the guitars).

Actually, a little humour is always welcome here. I love sharing guitar thoughts and stories with the forum members here and I don’t like to see arguments and criticism in a place where we all share the love of the same art form. Thanks for the New Year wishes. Same to you and your family (humans and the guitars).
Keith

[Stringswinger]

Did someone mention George Benson playing a Gibson ?

[John A.]

Guild didn’t seem a luxury brand here in the US, least not in central NJ in the 60’s. Clear second to you know who.

Here it comes:

Im beginning to think the best 175 I’ve ever had is the LGB300.

Nor did it in NYC in the 70s (and beyond). But in truth, nor did Gibson. I really don't think Gibson was a luxury brand until Henry J. took over and made it one explicitly (though it clearly had some halo models before than). I mean when I started getting into electric guitars in the late 70s a LP was on the order of 20% more than a Strat, not 250% more, and there weren't all these tiers of fanciness and price points to either. To my memory, the only brand that really did have any extra cachet or sense of being on another level from the rest was Martin.

[mickmac]

My bambino came in 2008 . After extensive giging it needed a volume pot . Pulling the guts out reaveled a totally emty sound chamber ,no wood block under the bridge... Mickmac

[vinnyv1k]

NAMM is a month away. I don’t expect anything exciting coming from Gibson unless you like green and purple Les Pauls.

[Donplaysguitar]

Nor did it in NYC in the 70s (and beyond). But in truth, nor did Gibson. I really don't think Gibson was a luxury brand until Henry J. took over and made it one explicitly (though it clearly had some halo models before than). I mean when I started getting into electric guitars in the late 70s a LP was on the order of 20% more than a Strat, not 250% more, and there weren't all these tiers of fanciness and price points to either. To my memory, the only brand that really did have any extra cachet or sense of being on another level from the rest was Martin.

I remember the late 70s and early 80s. My town's best guitar store had fancy Gibsons:

ES 355
ES 175
L5CES
Wes
Johnny Smith
Super 400
Byrdland
Kalamazoo Award

No ES 356, Johnny A., Lee Ritenour or Citation - but those came later and are/were lower volume models anyway.

[Hammertone]

NAMM is a month away. I don’t expect anything exciting coming from Gibson unless you like green and purple Les Pauls.

Hate to break it to you, but NAMM 2022 has been pushed to June. Chances are that won't happen either, but we shall see.

I prefer them orange, but purple is cool too

I agree.

[skykomishone]

Although I agree that Guilds were excellent guitars, the above statements are incomplete. I have completed (corrected) them as follows:
.....
“Even Johnny Smith woke up and smelt the coffee” [Johnny allowed his name to be used on a few brands including Gibson, Heritage and Guild. The first Guild Johnny Smith Award model was not designed to his specs and he said he never actually owned one. The second Guild Johnny Smith Award model was built under supervision of Bob Benedetto during the short-lived Guild/Benedetto arrangement and this was long after Johnny had stopped playing guitar. I am fairly certain that virtually all of Johnny’s recordings were made with either a D’Angelico or his Gibson Johnny Smith model]

Keith

I hesitate to add, He also recorded with his Epiphone Emperor, built long before Gibson entered the Epiphone picture. My hesitation is only because I think this thread is approaching critical mass, and is about to explode! Oh, and he also played a Gretch! Oh my!

[floatingpickup]

I hesitate to add, He also recorded with his Epiphone Emperor, built long before Gibson entered the Epiphone picture. My hesitation is only because I think this thread is approaching critical mass, and is about to explode! Oh, and he also played a Gretch! Oh my!

Sky: I have seen early pictures of Johnny playing the Epiphone Emperor. In his biography, there was also an early picture of him playing a flattop!
Keith

[wintermoon]

He played the Martin flattop when he was in a country band (Joe Pass played one too)
Smith also had an L-5 that was stolen out of his locker between sessions