Inside the Gibson Guitar Factory
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
- Audiofanzine tours the Gibson guitar factory in Nashville, TN, where solid-body electrics such as Les Pauls and SGs are built.
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Big props to Gibson for all the manual labor in their production plant. Rare sight these days.
+malmstring did you miss all the machinery they had?! ._.
suj2k
This is 2016, not 1986.
Hahaha! I understand. Just saying it isn't ALL manual labor. If you're looking for something like that, look up "Heritage Guitars". Cheers :)
for what they charge i would expect nothing less
You can't automize the process more than this because you would need a custom build machine for each process and it's just not worth it. I'm sure they would do it if they could.
The man giving this factory tour is my kind of guy. Probably has made thousands of guitars in his lifetime.
i love how every guy in the "tweaker" section has long hair and a beard, classic gibson player
Good interviewer. He asks good questions that makes the process clear to viewers
I just ordered my Gibson Standard SG 2016, can't hardly WAIT to play it!!
To the people hating on Gibsons in the comments.
One guy even said that LTDs are better guitars.
I have an LTD Eclipse and an Ibanez RG. They're great guitars, and I love them both dearly.
But anyone who says that Gibsons are "low quality" are obviously either biased or jealous.
Sure, they may be overpriced. I believe they could definitely be cheaper. But when you buy a Gibson, you can be assured that you're not getting a low-quality guitar. You're paying for one of the highest-quality mass-produced guitars you can buy, in my opinion. You're also paying for history, proud labor, and a guitar that will only increase in value as it ages. Not to mention, the best-sounding humbuckers since the beginning of time.
no they are just low quality compered to my vintage Greco egf 1200
..try a Gibson SG Special..
My Les Paul is 35 years old. It's total quality, and yes I am the original owner. I also own a Ibanez PS 10. Plays really well, hate the sound. Both incredibly expensive guitars.
I own a 1972 wine red lp. weights a ton. but what a sound!!!!
Well, I love my Gibson, but I think to say you're hypocritical is an understatement.
Gibson has certainly produced a lot of crap over the years. The cheaper Gibson lines are certainly no benchmark in quality. That said, they also produced some great guitars and certainly were one of the most important guitar companies in history.
And my luthier/guitar serviceman tells me every time I see him that he sees many Gibson guitars in his shop that are poorly made, even the more expensive ones.
Btw, he loves the pre-war Gibson archtops. He told me that the carved tops were carved in a different way back then, they had a way of 'finetuning' the top during the carving process. His contact in Gibson told him they were trying to replicate the process in the Custom shop, but they couldn't do it, because they couldn't find a place in the factory that would be silent enough.
This is funny in some way. I laughthed on the "it's normal wood glue" part. It was like "no magic is happening here, sorry".
As a guitarist for over 30 years, this was like a tour through HEAVEN!
Boomer
@@highfructosedreamsDumbass
@@highfructosedreamsI can't wait to see what people are calling clowns like you in 40 years.
Got to love those SGs.
I just bought my first Gibson Les Paul Studio a few weeks ago and the baby picture was such a great addition. I'm having it framed. It really made an impact on me to have something like that. Hopefully they keep doing it.
Cool tour! Got the Sg, sounds great, had it for 12 years now. Its the real deal!
thanks for the show. I worked in a furniture factory and there is a lot of similarities. very cool stuff on my favorite guitar
Signs everywhere talking about safety but handsaws without guards - amazing.
ikr, at 7:24 guy has no mask on , he probably has a pound of saw dust in his lungs by now.
mikelheron20 you guys are all fucking moma boys, that were drinking breast milk until the age of 14. Like fucking deal with
The Guitars with blood soaked into the wood, sound much better!
I think the guy giving the tour has a lot of knowledge about the process of making the guitars I hope they are paying him well he deserves it. Good job
Lots of beautiful guitars. I'm kind of equally a fan of LP and SG styles.
Well done. Better than all others I've seen. Very detailed.
So much arguing in the comments... Fenders sound awesome, gibsons sound awesome, prs sounds awesome, esp sounds awesome, even epiphone and squire sound pretty good. A good guitar with a good amp ( and a good player) sounds awesome. It feels as though guitar players have lost the sense of actually playing guitar and more about telling the next guy how gibsons are better than fenders or how esp is trash compared to prs (just an example) but it really doesn't matter. Just get a guitar that you like and leave it at that.
Preach.
Thumbs up to you Alex. I have owned 7 Ibanez guitars, 5 Gibsons, 2 ESPs, 2 Yamaha, 1 Fender, 1 Carvin and other guitars, but I only own Gibson electrics now. All of these guitar companies make great guitars. However, only 1 has a CEO who was publicly not on board with Obama and who stated that he thought Romney would make a better business environment in America than Obama (which is when Gibson bashing was born and is why these haters hate this CEO so much). The Gibson bashing is primarily left wing political activism.
What has caused the debt that Gibson is saddled with? A lot of it is because the Obama era armed raids on Gibson plants were costly for the business. Gibson has some crazy legal defense debt stemming from that. Gibson bought that wood from India. India says that all trade laws were followed. Gibson also uses a 3rd party organization to verify all environmental laws are followed and they verified it and Gibson itself claims that all laws were followed. Gibson was still forced to pay fines, even though they were not actually charged. This all occurred just prior to the 2012 presidential election. Legal costs grew after that as well. --
I find it interesting that it was right after Gibson's CEO answered the question whether he thought that Mitt Romney would create a better business environment in the USA as president than Obama with a YES, that GIBSON BASHING became a thing. It has not stopped. That is why I believe that widespread Gibson bashing is political propaganda designed to harm the sales and stability of this American manufacturer. That is why they keep putting down the CEO. The Gibson haters REALLY hate the CEO. Have you noticed that? Politics. You only see that kind of online systematic hatred in politics.
Why is Gibson selling a plant? Gibson is selling a plant (that it will relocate) because half of that building is UNUSED including a THEATER! They don't need the space or the maintenance cost! It's unnecessary overhead. A business near me is selling off 3 buildings. It's part of the business plan. Cut overhead. Liquidate, expand and invest! Happens all the time. Gibson has that big debt and it does need to make some decisions in paying that off.
I have a lot of experience in my decades of playing and owning guitars, dragging gear to studios, parks, bars, music venues, on planes, in vans, thought the summer heat and winter cold. Gibson guitars have served me well. I treat them right and they return the favor. No issues. No flaws. The only Gibson that I ever had an issue with was a 1974 doubleneck that had an issue with the 12 string neck and I sold that. I also owned an Explorer. Great guitar. I have owned 3 Les Pauls and still own 2, both made while this current CEO was at the company. One is a year old. No flaws. No tuning issues.
So ... what you are seeing here is political activism and a collective effort to hurt Gibson. It's not just plain old online arguing.
@@AnAmericanGuitarist TOTALLY agree! I really don't understand the Gibson bashing. (They also do it to Marshall) I've got several Gibsons and they're all FANTASTIC instruments. I wouldn't part with ANY of them! When I see people saying things like, "Gibson makes CRAP now!" or "I ordered six Gibsons and they were ALL CRAP!", I'm thinking, "Did I really get the only good Gibsons that the company makes these days?!" I think people are so emphatic these days that they can't see reality anymore. If you're a guitarist that's half skilled, you ought to be able to pick up nearly any guitar, plug it into any amp and be able to produce some reasonable sounds. I know we all have favorites, but man, RELAX A LITTLE!!
Alex Leezer z
Agreed 99 percent. Only exception was putting Epiphone with Squire. Epiphone makes excellent guitars. IMO, much better than Squire. The only difference is the pickups and hardware on an Epiphone compared to Gibson, which is not to say Epiphone uses crap electronics and hardware, just different. All of which are easily swapped out with Gibson components for under $400. Making it the same guitar for around a $1000, less than half the cost of a Gibson.
I admit, for the longest time I was a "Epiphone is a poor man's Gibson rip off" kind of guy. Never gave them a chance. Now I own 3, and my 4 Gibsons are desperate for attention.
14:33 Spotted the guy with a nickelback shirt
The Gibson rep did a great job without any over the top commercial blabla. Whish more people would be like him nowadays. Thanks for posting!
Excellent. Now I understand all that was involved in producing my Gibson Les Paul and why these guitars are so expensive and magnificent to play.
Who forced these 2 people to pretend to do a Gibson factory tour?
Lol
I saw what you did there 😂
The announcer doesn't like eye contact.
Sweet tour!!! Good job Joe!
such a cool process, I have been a Les Paul fanboy my whole life, best guitar ever in my opinion
This really is informative. I was especially intrigued while watching the neck and headstock cutout process , cool to know just how much work goes into creating a guitar 👍 I also enjoyed the tour guide and his dry delivery 🙂!! He made it all seem so matter of fact , probably since he sees it every day. Can you imagine working at the Gibson factory 5 days a week and looking forward to the weekend, just to forget about guitars? I mean, it's still a job . I'm sure he doesn't sit around t he dinner table on the weekend and talk about guitars 🤣🤣🤣!! Here I am, envying this guy 🤣🤣🤣!!
Just reading a couple comments above, and this needs to be properly addressed: tuning issues are *NOT* caused by the headstock angle. It is mostly caused by three things (regardless of the brand of guitar), in this order:
1. An improperly cut nut. Nut slots that are cut too deep or too tight will cause all kinds of binding issues that wreak havoc on the ability to keep a guitar in tune, especially if you do lots of vibrato and string bends. Even if the nut slots are cut properly, sometimes the material itself can cause friction within the slots that can affect tuning as well (especially if it is dry). No matter the guitar brand or the nut material, always, and I mean ALWAYS use nut lubricant. I actually use graphite pencil shavings as a dry lubricant on all my guitars. It never "dries out" like oil-based lubes (because, inherently, graphite can't), and it works like a dream. Before I used it, sometimes I would get "pinging" or "chinking" of the strings when tuning or during string bends, but that's a thing of the past with the use of graphite in the nut slots.
2. Weak and unstable neck. If the neck is flexing too much, it throws the pitch and tuning off. No neck that is unstable will be able to stay in tune. Ever. It amazes me how many people overlook this extremely common issue when buying guitars, or when diagnosing a tuning issue. Grab the neck, strum a chord, and gently push the neck back and forth. Ideally, the pitch should change very little. A little bit is okay of course, but if it sounds like you are using a tremolo, you have a crap neck, and nothing can fix it unless you can replace the neck itself. Unfortunately, this is one area where Fenders actually have an advantage. Also, a loose and/or improperly set up truss rod can affect neck instability and tuning issues as well. Make sure your neck is set up properly.
3. Tuners. Believe it or not, tuners are actually the least common source of tuning issues! Seriously! This isn't to say that crappy tuners can't cause tuning issues - because they can - but more often than not, it is the two issues above that are the more common source of tuning instability. However, if the two things above have been properly address and diagnosed, and you still have tuning issues, then try changing your tuners. But even the best tuners in the world cannot fix the issues above, so don't think that replacing the tuners alone are a one shot solution, because they often aren't. Also, if you have tuners like this: tighten those little screws on the end of your tuning keys! Those are there for a reason! Tightening them helps to regulate the turning tension of the tuners themselves, and can help with tuning quite a bit. I have owned both cheap and expensive guitars that had tuning issues, and were either significantly improved or even had the tuning issues resolved (with one guitar I owned) after tightening the screws on the tuning keys. All it takes is a Phillips-head screwdriver and about 30 seconds to do.
Hope this helps. Cheers.
I own four different Gibsons, three of which are very old(40 and tp and 60+ years) probably built before all of the automation. But i also have one that is only 4 years old and i am equally happy with all of them. (68 Gold top, 75 L5S, deco LapSteel, and a new ES339). Love em all. Also have a rosewood tele and many others. But i love my Gibsons.
Another know it all that has to try and impress people with an overly long essay.
Bet you're just a delight at parties.
@@davidrichter9164 Ignorance sure is bliss, huh? It's usually people who accuse others of being a "know it all" who stay willfully ignorant. So, I guess all luthiers are "know it alls" too? Right. I'm not a know it all. I'm just passing along knowledge to people for their consideration who may not know about such things. Seems like other people appreciated what I had to say on the matter. Sorry your attention span is that of a 4-year old. Do you even have ANYTHING constructive to say at all about the topic of guitars? If not, move along, Skippy.
cool video thanks. It is nice to see where my lpjs was born ... p90s forever...
I love those instruments . They always feel amazing !!
You should be working for Jackson guitars....did ya see what I just did there? DOH!
Very interesting, but could they have picked a less enthusiastic tour guide?
ColdFrixion no shit to lazy to talk!
loool the interviewer had to push for basic information
Those guys rattle that off every day for tour groups...it takes them away from actual work, so the faster the tour is over the sooner they can get their real jobs done.
They don't do tours at this plant, only Memphis. And they have dedicated tour guides for that, the supervisor would never get anything done otherwise. Also this is being filmed, so it's not a lot to ask for a little enthusiasm.
ColdFrixion it looks like they threw a Gibson shirt on the mailroom guy and said “ good luck”
Got my Gibson yesterday with the photo and I had to see the process.
GPUabuse Good stuff mate. Hope you enjoy
thanks! it's the 2016 SG
kal mai teh...
I worked on your guitar. I jizzed in side the trus rod cover.
Navy Joe nice I thought I was the only one that did that.
loved every minute of this, thanks
Awesome tour!
In my opinion they should make fewer guitars and concentrate to make 'em better.
+peezzi Ridiculous statement. The price would go up.
+Sam Gallardo And .. What's your point ? If the quality is better, of course the price will go up. I see nothing wrong with that.
+peezzi You should look into a "small" custom builder. The "fewer guitars..and make them better" ship has sailed. You can probably get a better "custom" build from a small builder--at a more reasonable price. The term "hand-made" by Gibson should be taken with a grain of salt. And yes---this is just my opinion.
6The6Devil6
Their prices are dropping like hell on Amazon. Of course nobody want to buy an overpriced guitar, that has nothing "traditionnal" about it but the name. I think even Gibson knows they fucked up.
Guitarists don't want Fenders, Gibson's or Gretsch etc., axes to be new and improved to match the Music Man's or Ibanez or other such slick axes. Gibson was trying to be relevant and more modern. The cost of their guitars also reflect the wages they pay out to their craftsmen, whether or not any of us believe those workers deserve the money they make, they are American craftsmen. I have 3 LP's, I support American as often as I can. I just may buy another.
La guitarra de doble mástil lo Inventó Jacinto Palacios 1920, Antes que la Empresa Gibson Guitar Corporation lo patentara , Don Jacinto Ya daba conciertos con su guitarra de doble mástil, él la diseño ,le puso sus adornos, sus detalles, fue una Guitarra - bajo, el bajo sin trastes, una guitarra única en su género que a la propia gente nunca habían visto; Se había adelantado a su época.
jose palacios polo I can't figure out how they justify the price, if you went to Crimson Guitars on CZcams you'll see something worth the money.
Awesome. Just love the workmanship and care the put into making these Guitars. Saving to get my first Les Paul hopefully soon.
Good luck!
+Jerome Yap I was too impatient to save up 3 grand, so I decided to go with the Epiphone Slash Rosso Corsa Les Paul for only $650! I'm not disappointed in it whatsoever, and I'm glad I didn't wait.
+Diego Gonzalez yo da man.
That was very enjoyable, thank you.
For those who can't afford a $2,500 Gibson Les Paul - you can pick up a used Gibson Les Paul Studio in the $799 range and it's roughly the same guitar without all of the expensive frills (like highly decorated maple tops and plastic binding.) If you're really on a budget, you can score a used Gibson Les Paul Tribute series from 2013-14 for around $599.
budgetguitarist.com my Gibson les Paul studio was 2000$ what are you talking about
There are different grades of Studio models, but $2000? You got screwed.
When I was trying to buy a new Gibson Les Paul Studio Ebony I saw prices as high $1800usd and as low as $1099usd. After some negotiation I picked one up for just under $1000usd.
Seriously. Where do all these guitars go? Are bands just smashing them left and right? There can't be that big of a demand for all of this
I worked at a ford plant, they made 1200 crown Victoria's a day, I wondered the same thing. its a big world I guess!
Have wondered that myself. Are there really that many pro musicians & wannabes willing to part with north of $2K to own one? Local retailers have dozens on the wall yet they seem to keep cranking them out.
jpotts345 it's a big world
World is big. If you go into a shop in Japan in a megacity. You see the gigantic amounts of guitars that are sold/traded. Imagine on a worldwide level.
Car is not the same.......after 5 years a car is already old and has to be thrown to the garbage (some are not, but the average life of a car without going to shop constantly is about that). Making 1500 cars a day, when you have 5 million on the street......means half a million per year, and if you change your car every 5 years average, you are only covering 50% of the demand.
But for real, some guitars are just furniture, they do not sell them at all........I could understand they make 200 or 500 black ones, or sunburst, or some famouse player's model.
This is why smaller brands like Skervesen or Ormsby are winning the battle. They don't make as much proffit, but they NEVER lose money because they make 20-50 guitars and sell them all, until the next run, which is 90% filled for pre-orders, so they make what they sell.
I love this video. Its cool to see the manufacturing process.
I love seeing a Gibson come together it's so satisfying 😁
Vendo a construção de uma guitarra na fábrica é que dou valor a um bom luthier. Os instrumentos feitos na fábrica não tem alma. São feitos mecanicamente, como qualquer peça produzida em larga escala.
They can grow the soul of the owner, as long as (s)he takes care of it.
The lack of safety measures is astounding.
Such as?
It's not that bad in general, but for the level of the company it is astounding.
mikelheron20 awww I feel so bad for the workers........ Not deal with it
It's so metal
painter rip lungs
awesome tour really informative
great show, the supervisor real laid back knows his stuff
This row of people are called "BUILDERS". They tighten screws. Cool, then I'm a BUILDER too.
WOW...Man I wish I could afford a Les Paul or SG.....🤘🏻Rock on Gibson.
I’m so happy, that my parents gonna buy me a SG for my youth consecration. I know this is a very spacial present, and I’m just happy about it. I hope this doesn’t sound like a kind of „show-off“, bc it shouldn’t. Rock on🤝
@@henry_mths I know this is a year old and I hope you got your SG. But show it off! LOL Rock on!
@@cottage_pie yeahh, I’ve got it! It was the best gift I could imagine 🙏🏽
@@henry_mths that's good to hear. I got my SG two months ago. I love it. The neck is so long. Feels so good while playing. I got the tribute and have since upgraded parts of it. I added pickup covers and idk man but it sounds so much better! Keep rockin and take care ✌️
I love my 2013 70's Tribute. Nice round neck, volute behind the headstock, and I replaced the robot tuners with Grover 135s.
Very Interesting! All 16 minutes of it too!!
My dream is to buy les Paul standard 59 model
Well DUH!!! That's every guitarists dream!!!
when ever i play gibson, i feel really satisfied, at the same time i feel sad that i cant afford it, and to be honest, there is a way difference between it and the epiphone copy. i jyst want to buy the made in the usa, what made me really attracted to this guitar, is when i benrd the strings, i just feel them ringing in my bones.
+mywave inwards Get a Gibson smartwood, a lot cheaper than a standard but has that 59 neck so the feel is spot on.
+mywave inwoods My dream is to own a Explorer standard, classic black with a white pickguard. Not a big dream, but it's mine.
+Subwoofer Dildo my dream is to own an ESP explorer mx250 all black
Now I wanna see a Chinese guitar factory.
The Chinese factory where they make fake Gibson's, is the old Epiphone factory that got shut down.
Probably better working conditions.
Probably the same but instead of white adult person you'd see asian kids
There is video on it here.
lol!!!
My favorite Guitar is the SG Model. But there are so many beautiful guitars you`re building.
best job in the world testing the playability of the guitars!
Great job! I really enjoyed the tour! Love to see that salt of the earth, blue collar presentation instead of the slick dressed coke head junior exec bullshit!
You'd think the fact they can now mass produce these things and not have to pay those craftsmen anymore you'd at least see the prices lower. Do you? Also I think the guy accidentally let slip a couple dirty secrets about the construction quality of these guitars...
Same thing with iphones. People will by anything if it has the logo on it. I remember folk buying ripped up jeans.
The prices are actually lowering for nice looking guitars :) can get a great Gibson for less than 800 shipped
play great too.. from my experience
@@PatientZeroBalisong Just bought a 2013 left over stock SG new for 400€ (456$), Now thats reasonable price, not the 1100€ it cost back in 2013!
@@M.S-Music Yeah! That's awesome, the prices are better now than ever.
Thank you so much for this very interesting video,,,GREAT GIBSON FOREVER🎉
Wow I definitely enjoyed this 👍👍
Nice to see a few that aren’t junk... Some Gibsons I see at guitar stores are great, some are full of accumulated errors. I gave up trying to find a perfect LesPaul for less than insane prices.. Ended up with a zero defect Fender Japan Jaguar from the mid 90s, short scale hard tail. It plays awesome, almost as nice as my mid 60s custom shop Guild Starfire V. I want Gibson to recover and thrive again, but they need to stop shipping hit and miss product. QC is everything, every step... no bad instrument should ever leave the factory.
I own two Les Pauls. The quality at Gibson is very hit and miss. My Studio model is a better playing guitar than my Traditional that cost almost twice as much. When you pull any of the covers on the instrument there's all kinds of loose wood shavings, saw dust and unsanded areas, just very little pride in what their putting together. I'll probably never buy another, they just seem to be more interested in the number of instruments they can put out instead of the quality. Oh and the lacquer on the headstock started to separate at the machine heads. I have guitars that don't even cost a third of what my Gibsons cost and they never did garbage like that. Disappointing to say the least, I work to hard to spend my money on these overpriced instruments.:(
+Mike Cantu I have three Gibsons (Les Paul, ES-335 and an Explorer) and all are very nicely done guitars. But in your case I would contact Gibson and let them know what your experience has been. For the price of their instruments, their quality should be consistantly high.
wow.....thank u
Wow some of you guys are jaded. I’ve never been a Gibson fan, I mostly play acoustic steel string and classical. But I’ve never played a Les Paul or seen an SG that was less than stellar. I like fenders too, but what impressed me the most here was how much of this was done manually. Right before this I watched a video on how Cort acoustic guitars are made and they are almost completely automated. Don’t knock Gibson, they’re mostly doing the stuff by hand. That’s why they are expensive. Because you’re paying craftsman to do it.
the guy on the belt sander doesn't even wear a mask! I'd hate to see inside his lungs...
They probably have a vacuum system that sucks the dust away as soon as it's produced.
bill gorrell Doesn't matter that much. I've worked in these conditions and I'm certain they'd be forced to incline you to wear a mask. Seems like he probably just doesn't care or the factory has screwed him
I have seen too much dust around the factory. I am sure they breath in a lot of it. Too dirt for a top dollar manufaturer.
Andy Stokes guitar making is literally in his blood 😂
XD you son of a bitch!
15:26 finished: missing a bolt
wow these guys must be drinking on the job lately
That’s a 15 LP classic, it has 3 knob and 1 toggle switch, instead of 4 knob
@@FMeng Beat me to it! Thank you, man!!! Damn,,some people (like Tom Dekruijf) need to do their damn homework before leaving a novice comment!!!
@@FMeng the toggle switch is still on the other side, thats a missing knob
Scorcher that one is always there, 2 toggle, 3 knobs on this particular model, just google ‘2015 les paul classic’
wht a pleasure to see how thoses incredible guitars are made, i'm french, and now, i know why thoses guitars costs so much money.most of parts are handmade, there is just the controlling part witch is made by machines. incredible, thanks to you for make me discover this.
Utterly incredible
The host is poor
BigD no shit!i was thinking he's to lazy to talk!
Ikr!!! Pretty dull personality.
Yeah, the tour guides too enthused, yeah.
He sounds bored out of his mind. Yeah, yadda, yadda...
muy interesante y precioso trabajo saludos
thanks. good video!
why is the dude in 14:30 hiding from the camera?
Is this wood used to make bodies and necks? No they make baseball bats with them...
Lol!!!😂
Your n ass
+MORE TDM yes, yes I am:)
I would buy a Gibson Baseball Bat!! If they make so many of these beautiful instruments so quickly and accurately their wood workers could easily make great baseball bats hahaha.
I would buy one too actually!! Although with the price of their guitars, which I do own 2, the bats would probably be overpriced. But they would be good quality! lol.
Great video
That's where rock n' roll begins! Gotta give our builders more credit man!
Gibson acoustics aren't the greatest, but the electrics..man, I'd pay the price for one. Of course, a lot of the sound has to do with the player. If I pick up a Gibson at the shop it sounds bad. Someone else picks up the same guitar and makes it sound like God himself is playing that guitar. Lol.
Not Clint Eastwood! There is only two kind of people in this world. People with loaded Gibson guitars and people who dig. You dig.
Gunnar Knutsson I see what you did there.
Lol
Amazing guitar porn!
"So what do you do for living?
"Oh, I work for Gibson, I make guitars!" Most badass answer ever!
Ive been to the original Kalmazoo factory , that was really cool as they showed me around
I've seen a couple of gibson factory tours on this & I'm astonished by the standards of it. I've paid $5k for my gibson & I wonder if it was worth it. I mean I seen in one video where the wood was literally fucked on top of each other, like a rag doll. there the most expensive guitar to buy retail & you expect to see quality workmanship...I dnt blame the workers for the bad quality it portrays. I blame the ceo for being in it for the quick bucks. in the end, gibson will fail or loose it reputation, cos I for one like many certainly wouldn't buy another one.
me aul jazzer I'm glad you've seen now and better luck to you in the future.
I'm not hating on Gibson, but watching the Fender making of a Stratocaster, shows Fender employees taking much greater care of their instruments before, during, and after.
Seems that for what Gibsons cost, that you'd expect them to treat their instruments in a similar manner.
And after watching this, I'm not so sure I'd ever want a LP. Especially for the ridiculous price tag they carry.
On a side note, the making of their necks seems very wasteful, with how they have to use a huge long block just for that tilted headstock (The interviewer even asks what is done with all that waste-wood, and the Gibson rep gives a nonchalant, lame answer) as where Fender necks are more straight through with just the last end of the neck shaved off.
Stratosfear12569 yeah... I agree with you. from what I can gather from doing a bit more research... former employees where overworked & underpaid. I expected them to the paid greatly. nope! third worst company to work for in America. & the employees actually took pride in the famous American product, but the owner & top staff...dnt. that's why for yrs, fans of the product have been calling for the ceo to step down.
I myself, still...wud never buy another gibson. I'd handsomely pay gibson prices for a fender after seen how there made.
me aul jazzer I'm very happy with my Fender USA Stratocaster. I ordered mine in January of 2009, and she still looks as beautiful as the day I opened up the case she came in.
When I watch those Fender factory videos, you can see that the employees there work with lots of pride.
I'd happily pay another 1400 for another Fender Stratocaster, except this one after seven years of playing, still hasn't really broken in yet. Incredible build quality.
I have nothing against Les Pauls. They're very nice guitars, but I will never ever pay the price they ask. I'm not sure I'd want one anyways, as my heart is, has always been, into Fender guitars.
Fair to say, I also own two Ibanez RG 450's. A white one, and a Black one and they are such kick ass guitars for the sub-$500 they each cost but offering 24 frets, FR bridge lock system, and hum-buckers. More than you'd find on a premium guitar like a Les Paul.
I find it sad that Gibson hasn't paid its former employees better. I hope things are better at their factory today for the current workers who sweat over their work. Otherwise, shame on Gibson for under paying their employees, and grossly over pricing their guitars.
Stratosfear12569 cudnt agree with you more mate. I love my fender. I've given it death & she still proforms for me after 12 yrs. jeez... I'd hate to bash a gibson...thing wud probably turn to dust
I was surprised to hear they can only make 750 guitars a day at this facility. The man acting as the tour guide seems so "blase" about the whole thing. Tends to suggest that the quality control and assembly is also "who cares". From what I see the whole facility looks pretty scruffy, not a patch on Japanese or Korean manufacturing plants. Gibson USA is overpriced for just average quality products. 10 years from now nobody will be able to compete with quality coming from China. It is a sad fact that Gibson has no credibility as a quality guitar maker today.
i watched the epiphone tour before this one. seemed like abetter operation ,although i never worked in a factory
The reason the US cant compete is down to the wages that the worker are paid. US want great wages but also expect to pay little for products.
Dave Bliss I agree
Average quality? Get off your high horse
Epiphone is owned by Gibson.
Great........Thnx a lot !
Thanks!
If you are going to spend 2,000 dollars on a guitar, do yourself a favor and buy a Paul Reed Smith. The quality of their guitars is second to no one. You will never get a lemon and the amount of effort put into building them is well beyond anything Gibson makes. And this is coming from someone who owns a Gibson Les Paul Custom Black Beauty and a Paul Reed Smith. Not to say the Black Beauty isn't nice but the quality control, attention to detail and craftsmanship on a Paul Reed Smith blows Gibson out of the water. Even Fender has upped their game since 2008.
Can't argue with that. PRS (USA) is doing what Gibson *should* be doing, which is automating processes so they are 100% repeatable. You're exactly right - you will probably never get a lemon PRS. That said - what's the PRS sound and personality? We know what a Strat or a Tele sounds like. We know what a Les Paul or a 335 or an SG sounds like. PRS has yet to carve their place in the guitar sonic spectrum... yes they can sound like other guitars - but nobody talks about the "PRS sound" because there isn't one. So if you like how PRS guitars look and play, and are happy enough with how they sound, I would say you could successfully order one sight-unseen from Sweetwater and never be unhappy with it. If, OTOH, you have you your heart set on a LP or a 335 - then you gotta go check some out before writing the check to make sure you get one you'll be happy with. I was at Sam Ash in Times Square a cpl months ago and did exactly that. Played at least half a dozen Pauls and ditto 335/339s. They were *all* different. A couple were awful. One of each was spectacular. The rest were just 'ok'. I didn't buy anything on that trip. The 'best' players weren't the color/feature combos I was hoping for. So I'll keep looking.
Tioga Fretworks I disagree. Paul Reed Smith's sound amazing. Very versatile. Gibson's these days sounds sound, muddy, with no articulation. A paul reed smith is going to pick up on a players playing dynamics. Look at McCarty. It has a legitimate coil split that actually doesn't just turn down the sound of the hum bucker but actually splits it. Paul Reed Smith is actually continuing to push to make a better guitar, instead of relying on the same old style and bridges, same old pickups that Gibson has relied on for 50+ years. This is coming from someone who owns A Paul Reed Smith limited edition McCarty 2007 1 out of 500 with a Brazilian Rosewood Fretboard. A Gibson Les Paul Custom Black Beauty 2003. As well as a couple of American Standard Strats from 2014. I've owned a '57 Fender Custom Shop Strat and a host of other Fenders, late 70's Ibanez models. I'll put the Paul Reed Smith up there against any of those. Plus it's light and easy to play live. If I needed one guitar to record an album, that's the one I'm going for. Because of it's sonic diversity. I'd put Fender way ahead of Gibson these days, even. At the end of the day I want the best sounding guitar I can get, with the most versatility. That's a Paul Reed Smith. The have a crisp sound, clear, clean sound, that can give you great mids, great top low end and everything in between. Anybody who makes that statement about not having a particular sound probably doesn't own one or played too many. I wan't a guitar that has a ton of sonic diversity. That's good value right there. I can listen to a Paul Reed Smith and tell it's a Paul Reed Smith. Cuz it doesn't sound like a Gibson, it doesn't sound like a Fender. Again that's what makes it worth the money if you are going to spend 2 grand on a guitar. It has tremendous diversity.
Couldn't agree more! I used to own a prs sc250 and my friends always referred to it as the "more" Paul, instead of "les". To me a prs is a Better extension of the player. I always felt that my person quirks came through more than on a lp or strat or ibanez(the other 3 I've owned) the only guitar for me that has come close to the prs is a peavey wolfgang, those guitars were solid!!!!
Dude. PRS is about as good/bad as Gibson or any other big manufacturer in that regard.
Once you pass the 600$ mark, how good or bad an electric guitar sounds is entirely up to your fingers.
Tony Paul Reed Smith's quality control is head and shoulders above Gibson's. I've toured both factory's and trust me there is a huge difference in protocol. I also own Gibson and Paul Reed Smiths and have worked for many large guitar retailers for the better part of 15 years. That doesn't mean you can't get a good $600 guitar though.
A CNC router...just like they use to make guitars in Southeast Asia and China.
What were you expecting to see ? Dudes with hand wood saws painstakingly cutting out LP bodies out of big mahogany blocks ? Seriously ?
Meh... at least Fender makes the shape of guitar body by hands.... i'm talking about the "arm rest" and the "chest groove".... does it sound right?
For 2 - 5 thousand dollars, I would expect Gibson to have better quality control.
@ 15:09 they're using a Peavey Bandit to test the guitars!!!
I had an Explorer that I bought brand new in the mid 80's that was reasonably priced. It was white with blue paint splashed on it and a Gibson modified Kahler. Gold hardware too and held its tuning perfectly. My only complaint about it is that it had a lacquer finish which developed brown marks where the guitar rested on the stand which had black foam on the supports. The lacquer took on the foam's dye after owning it for two weeks. I learned the hard way about lacquer finishes. If I ever get another guitar with a lacquer finish, I'll have to put it on a stand that has surgical latex on the supports.
Lacquer is can be very weather depending product. If there is a lot of humidity you will have problems. You can only control so much a simple open door can screw it up
Gibson price keeps getting higher and higher , really overpriced!
no!
Subjective. Any concept of overpricing comes from the person, not the product - usually, although not exclusively, because the cost is either beyond the individual or because it is at the upper range of what the individual can afford.
They hide all the asian workers in the back rooms , until the camera's leave .
These are all Uber drivers they hired for the day !!!!!!
Source?
I have a Slash signature Les Paul and plays beautifully..Now time to get my own custom Les Paul near future.
Sold completely on getting a Les Paul original. Amazing process
A lot of butthurt people who can't afford a Gibson in the comments.
Chibson is better; getting ready to sell my real Gibsons after buying Chibsons and hearing they are better in every way.
ragnakak I got a Gibson once, the frets were sharper than a squier strat!! Returned it. I'm a fender guy but I do love the les Paul look, I don't hate on Gibson..maybe just the quality control. But I just recently got an unknown les Paul style guitar for $180 at guitar center, it has all the binding and fret binding stuff that the expensive gibsons have. Best $180 ever spent
So you think you're allowed to judge an entire brand that exists since 1896 based on one personal experience ? You're just too strong for us.
I could have several Gibsons if I wanted to, but I don't buy overpriced garbage. Sure Gibson made great guitars 40 years ago, but their modern stuff is complete trash. The CEO is selling guitars based on the company's name and reputation and couldn't give a shit about the quality of the products.
ragnakak i have a gibson fire bird i got mine 500$
750 guitars in a day and all in crapy quality.
+manu9629 Can you elaborate? I really want a Std but I have been hearing about QC issues for several years. Also, I'm wary due to the weak headstock joint. I have heard of snapping headstocks from just bumping it, even while in its case. Thx.
+workoutfanatic787 Get an err... Hand made guitar like an Agile, for me Agile made the decision of getting a Schecter C8-blackjack a very tough one. I Love my Schecter but Agile's are frikin gorgeous and have a fairer price, I still want one of their 7 strings.
CtpThinkalot Bannanas thanks, I was thinking of getting a second-hand LP Gibson, but looks like I will probably get a new Epi LP, and save a great deal. The used Gibson I was looking at was from 2013, and guy is asking for 1100.
+workoutfanatic787 Plus, just look at the factory, man. It looks like an outsourcing factory no different from those in Indonesia and China. Watch a fender American factory video, everyone making guitars in that factory has love and passion for guitars in their heart and you can see it plain as day. The Gibson quality control is quite frankly just average. It doesn't go above and beyond to make sure the guitars are consistently amazing.
What the fuck are you guys talking in here?
very nice I love it
nice to see the quality controllers are working so hard..
The Gibson host needs to be on anti-depression meds. Go back to Walmart and stay out of the Gibson factory.
Oh please. Don't you think its time to grow up and leave home and get a job. Typical response from a person with gender dysphoria. Have a wonderful day Estrogen Navy Joe. I bet you loved being on those submarines on long trips with all the guys.
GIBSON use to be excellent guitars, but theses day, they are producing junk ! (Sorry GIBSON for saying the truth).
I want to commend you for not giving in to the temptation to have an additional sound track in the back ground. Whew, Thank You. If nothing else, it is a vote for good taste, so again, thanks. It's so nice to not have distractions when you're trying to listen to people talking with machinery in the background. It better aids the subjects. Thanks again.
You either love or hate Les Paul's or any Gibson guitar for that matter. It's just what you prefer to play and what feels comfortable to you. I personally think Gibson guitars are a great investment in value and certainly your guitar career. I love my Les Paul and I'm currently investing in an SG.
bullshit. I would never buy a gibson. fender all the way... what a crap endorsment... shit.
+cain collingwood Yeah I don't feel the passion and energy in the factory as much as like on Martin, Taylor and even Fender mexico..
Nick Gotinga you now that bro. Gibson would never have released that to view. No heart in it.
+cain collingwood Seriously, what did you expected? People smilling, kidding and having fun? It's a shop, guys. These guys punch in / punch out. It's not a custom shop with limited quantities. I actually don't give a damn if the dude that glued my Gibson together was smilling or not. As long as the result is fine.
Just tacky mate. Could have been more pro...
+Phil Gagnon I think what they are getting at is the fact that you pay a fortune for these Guitars, and as this video proves, it's largely down to the brand name.
I have seen better quality Guitars made and sold for half the price. $6000 for a Guitar that is worth $1500 at best. What do they do different to all the other smaller Guitar manufacturers that charge a fraction of the price, except maybe make their own pickups?
Its a giant rip off.
i really liked seeing this
Nice, the test the guitars on a Gibson branded Peavey Bandit like the one i got at home. :D
Brilliant!