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61-530: The Gibson ES-350T is an electric guitar model from Gibson Guitar Corporation , released in 1955. The ES-350T is a further development of the Gibson ES-350 model from 1947 and as such has a completely hollow body. The unique feature of the Gibson ES-350T at the time of its market introduction was the reduced width of the rims. As a result, the guitar has a thinner body compared to instruments with

122-479: A 2013 history of the company. This denial was contradicted by historical statements. Gibson folklore has also claimed its guitars were made by "seasoned craftsmen" who were "too old for war". In 2023, a 1943 Gibson Southern Jumbo was listed for sale with an asking price of $ 18,500. In 1944, Gibson was purchased by Chicago Musical Instruments . The ES-175 was introduced in 1949. Gibson hired Ted McCarty in 1948, who became president in 1950. He led an expansion of

183-537: A Tokyo court for allegedly copying Gibson designs. Gibson did not prevail. Gibson also sued PRS Guitars in 2005, to stop them from making their Singlecut model. Initially successful, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the lower court's decision and ordered the dismissal of Gibson's suit against PRS. Gibson's factories were raided in 2009 and 2011 by agents of

244-421: A book to help with serial number deciphering. In 2006, Gibson introduced a nine-digit serial number system replacing the eight-digit system used since 1977, but the sixth digit now represents a batch number. In 2003, Gibson debuted its Ethernet -based audio protocol, MaGIC , which it developed in partnership with 3Com , Advanced Micro Devices , and Xilinx . Replacing traditional analog hook-ups with

305-428: A digital connection to "satisfy the unique requirements of live audio performances". This system requires a special pickup , and cabling is provided by a standard Cat-5 Ethernet cable . The Gibson "self-tuning guitar", also known as a "robot model", an option on some newer Les Paul, SG, Flying V and Explorer instruments, tunes itself in about two seconds using robotics technology developed by Tronical GmbH. Under

366-830: A few years as a custom-instrument shop, but was closed in 1984; several Gibson employees led by plant manager Jim Duerloo, plant superintendent Marv Lamb and J.P. Moats established Heritage Guitars in the old factory, building versions of classic Gibson designs. The company was within three months of going out of business before it was bought by Henry E. Juszkiewicz, David H. Berryman, and Gary A. Zebrowski in January 1986. Gibson's wholesale shipments in 1993 were an estimated $ 70 million, up from $ 50 million in 1992. When Juszkiewicz and Berryman took over in 1986, sales were below $ 10 million. New production plants were opened in Memphis, Tennessee , as well as Bozeman, Montana . The Memphis facility

427-641: A massive 127,620 square foot complex. According to the Memphis Daily News , Gibson plans to search for a new facility for its Memphis operations and will stay in the current spot for the next 18 to 24 months. The facility, which sits across from the FedExForum along South B.B. King Boulevard, is expected to list for $ 17 million. Since its opening, the Gibson Memphis shop mostly focused on building hollow and semi-hollowbody guitars, such as

488-606: A new division, Gibson Pro Audio, which will deliver professional grade audio items, including headphones, loudspeakers and DJ equipment. In June 2020, Cerwin Vega Inc. acquired Cerwin Vega from Gibson. On May 21, 2021, Stanton was sold to inMusic. Gibson announced a partnership with the Japanese-based Onkyo Corporation in 2012. Onkyo, known for audio equipment and home theater systems, became part of

549-424: A record label focused on releasing "guitar-centric music, across genres", with its first album being the fourth studio album from Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators , 4 . In 1977, Gibson sued Hoshino Gakki / Elger Guitars for copying the "archtop" headstock. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and Ibanez replaced the headstock with a revised design. In 2000, Gibson sued Fernandes Guitars in

610-451: A resonance body that is of full thickness. The ES-350T, together with its sister models Gibson ES-225 TDN and Gibson Byrdland , was one of the first models of the thinline guitar type. The letter T in the model name of the ES 350T stands for thinline and was given by Gibson at the same time as the three new models of hollow-bodies with narrow sides and flat bodies were introduced. The body of

671-683: A shorter neck was added. Other models such as the ES-350T and the ES-225T were introduced as less costly alternatives. In 1958, Gibson introduced the ES-335 T model. Similar in size to the hollow-body Thinlines, the ES-335 family had a solid center, giving the string tone a longer sustain. In the 1950s, Gibson also produced the Tune-o-matic bridge system and its version of the humbucking pickup,

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732-552: A single-piece mandolin design in 1898 that was more durable than other mandolins and could be manufactured in volume. Orville Gibson began to sell his instruments in 1894 out of a one-room workshop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 1902, the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co. Ltd. was incorporated to market the instruments. Initially, the company produced only Orville Gibson's original designs. The company moved into

793-563: A three-stage toggle switch close to the cutaway at the neck. This cutaway begun with a rounded "Venetian" shape in 1955. In 1960 Gibson changed to the "Florentine" cutaway form with a sharp edge in the frame. Later re-editions of the ES-350T again have the outwardly rounded frame at the cutaway. Gibson's custom shop reissued the ES350T in 1992 as a limited edition in both a traditional vintage sunburst and natural (blonde) finish. These models had gold hardware, Gibson PAF humbuckers, Curly Maple Body,

854-615: Is an American manufacturer of guitars , other musical instruments , and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan , and now based in Nashville, Tennessee . Orville Gibson started making instruments in 1894 and founded the company in 1902 as the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co. Ltd. in Kalamazoo, Michigan , to make mandolin -family instruments. Gibson invented archtop guitars by constructing

915-583: Is used for semi-hollow and custom shop instruments, while the Bozeman facility is dedicated to acoustic instruments. Gibson purchased Garrison Guitars in 2007. In mid-2009, Gibson reduced its work force to adjust for a decline in guitar industry sales in the United States. In 2011, Gibson acquired the Stanton Group, including Cerwin Vega , KRK Systems and Stanton DJ . Gibson then formed

976-467: The ES-150 , followed by other electric instruments like steel guitars , banjos and mandolins . Following Loar, Guy Hart was the next major figure to influence the company. Musician-writer Walter Carter called the next two decades "The Guy Hart Era" and spelled it out in his definitive history of the company:. "Guy Hart ran Gibson from 1924-1948 -- the most important period in the company history since

1037-595: The Gibson Les Paul . Gibson was at the forefront of innovation in acoustic guitars, especially in the big band era of the 1930s; the Gibson Super 400 was widely imitated. In 1952, Gibson introduced its first solid-body electric guitar, the Les Paul , which became its most popular guitar to date—designed by a team led by Ted McCarty . In addition to guitars, Gibson offers consumer electronics through

1098-595: The Gibson Valley Farlow , – it had a standard scale of 648 mm. It is more likely that the short scale came about as Gibson developed the ES-350T from the Byrdland using less-costly hardware and detailing, and offered it as a less expensive model. Both the early ES-350T models and Byrdland models have particularly narrow spacing between the individual strings, which required the manufacture of special, narrow-built pickups for these models. The scale length

1159-574: The Gibson, Inc. Factory and Office Building in 1917. Orville died in 1918 of endocarditis (inflammation of the inside lining of the heart chambers and valves). The following year, the company hired designer Lloyd Loar to create newer instruments. Loar designed the flagship L-5 archtop guitar and the Gibson F-5 mandolin that was introduced in 1922, before leaving the company in 1924. In 1936, Gibson introduced its first "Electric Spanish" model,

1220-449: The PAF ("Patent Applied For"), first released in 1957 and still sought after for its sound. In 1958, Gibson produced two new designs: the eccentrically shaped Explorer and Flying V . These "modernistic" guitars did not sell well initially. It was only in the late 70s when the two guitars were reintroduced to the market that they sold well. The Firebird , in the early 60s, was a reprise of

1281-634: The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). In November 2009, authorities found illegally imported ebony wood from Madagascar . A second raid was conducted in August 2011, during which the FWS seized wood imports from India that had been mislabeled on the US Customs declaration. Gibson Guitar Corp. filed a motion in January 2011 to recover seized materials and overturn the charges, which

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1342-495: The $ 7 million alleged by Gibson. In November 2024, Gibson sent a cease-and-desist letter to Alabama-based 16 Creative, the marketers of Trump Guitars, which had recently announced a line of electric and acoustic guitars endorsed by the former president. Gibson claims the guitars infringe on their trademarks, including their classic Les Paul. Gibson also owns and makes instruments under brands such as Epiphone , Kramer , Maestro , Steinberger , and Tobias , along with

1403-468: The 1970s, Schaller. The top of the guitar featured two F Holes , and the maple center block to limit feedback that was often experienced with hollow guitars. The 355 was made with two humbucker pickups. PAF in the 50s, Patent # later in the 60s, and T-Top pickups in the 1970s. Another extremely rare version of the 355 is the ES-355TDN; which has a natural or blonde finish. The guitar did not achieve

1464-480: The ES-350T – the arched top and bottom as well as the frames – is made entirely of laminated maple. The neck of the guitar, glued into the body, is made of maple and has a rosewood fingerboard. The neck is glued to the body at the 14th fret. The fretboard has 22 frets and has inlays in the form of double parallelograms between the frets. Also made of rosewood is the base plate of the two-piece bridge with individually adjustable string rulers made of metal. The lower ends of

1525-676: The Gibson Custom Shop in March 2021. The opening of this division was announced in December 2019. On May 1, 2018, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As part of its debt restructuring, the company closed and liquidated the unprofitable Gibson Innovations division, which was focused on selling audio equipment outside of the U.S., allowing Gibson to focus on its most profitable ventures, such as musical instruments. The production of Gibson and Epiphone branded guitars

1586-609: The Gibson Pro Audio division, which includes KRK . On May 1, 2018, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and announced a restructuring plan to return to profitability by closing down unprofitable consumer electronics divisions such as Gibson Innovations. The company exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2018. In January 2020, the company launched Gibson TV, an online television network focused on guitars and music culture. Orville Gibson patented

1647-638: The Gibson Pro-Audio division. In 2013, Gibson acquired a majority stake in TEAC Corporation . In 2014, Gibson acquired the Woox consumer electronics brand from Royal Philips. In October 2017, Gibson announced plans to relocate its Memphis operations to a smaller location and plans to sell the Memphis property. Gibson opened its Memphis facility 18 years before, which occupies just a portion of

1708-568: The Gibson catalog in 1968. Gibson's production mix in the 1960s had to respond to a changing buyer's market. In 1969, Gibson executive Julius Bellson noted that "Four years ago, electric guitars account for almost 70 per cent of our guitar sales. Today their sales are below 50 percent." On December 22, 1969, Gibson parent company Chicago Musical Instruments was taken over by the South American brewing conglomerate ECL. Gibson remained under

1769-752: The Higher Regional Court and the Federal Supreme Court in November 2020 and September 2021 dismissed Gibson's lawsuits. Gibson sued Dean Guitars in 2019 over trademark infringement related to several guitar shapes and names. The ruling in 2022 found that the Dean V , Dean Z , and Dean Gran Sport body shapes, as well as the Dovetail headstock design and the "Hummingbird" and "Moderne" names were infringing on Gibson's designs. The judgement awarded Gibson $ 4,000 in damages, far short of

1830-610: The Les Paul and SG, sold under the Epiphone brand, while continuing to make Epiphone-specific models like the Sheraton, Sorrento, and Casino. In Japan, Orville by Gibson once made Gibson designs sold in that country. Gibson has sought legal action against those that make and sell guitars Gibson believes are too similar to their own. In 1977, Gibson introduced the serial numbering system in use until 2006. An eight-digit number on

1891-599: The O2 Arena show on December 10, 2007. Other users include Keith Richards and James Blood Ulmer, who uses an ES350T with a fitted Bigsby alongside his trademark Gibson Byrdland. One of the first prominent users of the Gibson ES-350T was American rock and roll guitar legend Chuck Berry . Berry used the model exclusively from his first recordings at Chess Records. He first played an ES-350T with two P-90 pickups. This instrument can be seen on most of his early promotional photos, and he recorded most of his legendary recordings of

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1952-771: The Paper Jamz toy guitars copied the looks of some of Gibson's famous guitars, the Gibson Les Paul , the Gibson Flying V , the Gibson Explorer , and the Gibson SG . On December 21, 2010, Gibson was granted a request for an injunction against WowWee and retailers in the United States which were selling Paper Jamz guitars: Walmart , Amazon , Big Lots stores, Kmart Corporation, Target Corporation , Toys "R" Us , Walgreens , Brookstone , Best Buy , eBay , Toywiz.com, and Home Shopping Network (HSN) The case

2013-493: The back shows the date when the instrument was produced, where it was produced, and its order of production that day (e.g., first instrument stamped that day, second, etc.). An exception is the year 1994, Gibson's centennial year; many 1994 serial numbers start with "94", followed by a six-digit production number . As of 2006, the company used seven (six since 1999) serial number systems, making it difficult to identify guitars by their serial number alone. The Gibson website provides

2074-600: The control of CMI until 1974 when it became a subsidiary of Norlin Musical Instruments. Norlin Musical Instruments was a member of Norlin Industries which was named for ECL president Nor ton Stevens and CMI president Arnold Ber lin . This began an era characterized by corporate mismanagement and decreasing product quality. Between 1976 and 1984, production of Gibson guitars was shifted from Kalamazoo to Nashville, Tennessee . The Kalamazoo plant kept going for

2135-545: The debut of Gibson instruments at the turn of the century and, moreover, the period of greatest innovation for the guitar since the emergence of the six-string guitar in the late 1700s. As the guitar rose to prominence, so did Gibson. Under Hart's management, Gibson developed the Super 400 … still considered the best of their kind … the flattop line and the SJ-200 [that] put Gibson in a class by itself [and] Gibson's prominent place in

2196-535: The early versions of the guitar came with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece . In 1960 Gibson offered a sideways vibrola option. The rarest version are the versions with the Stoptail bridge . The top and back of the guitar is a laminate of maple and poplar, with a solid maple center block running from the neck to the bottom rim of the guitar. The neck is mahogany, and beginning in 1972, three piece maple. The tuners were either Grover Rotomatic, Kluson 'waffleback', or later in

2257-485: The electric guitar market." During the global economic depression of the 1930s Hart "kept the company in business and kept the paychecks coming for the workers," in part by introducing a line of high-quality wooden toys. "And as the country began its economic recovery in the mid 1930s, he ... opened new markets overseas." Then in the 1940s he led the company though World War II by converting the factory to wartime production, winning an Army-Navy "E" award for excellence. After

2318-425: The environmental laws of the producing countries regardless of corruption or lack of enforcement. Gibson argued in a statement the following day that authorities were "bullying Gibson without filing charges" and denied any wrongdoing. Arguing against the federal regulations and claiming that the move threatened jobs, Republicans and Tea Party members spoke out against the raids and supported Juszkiewicz. The case

2379-731: The famed ES series. Presumably, this shuffling of assets was meant to address Gibson's well-publicized financial troubles. Gibson issued a press release about the move, with former CEO Henry Juszkiewicz stating: In December 2017, the Gibson Guitar Factory building in downtown Memphis was sold to Somera Road, an investment company in New York. Two years later Gibson closed the Memphis factory and moved hollow-body production to Nashville. It also moved its Nashville headquarters to Cummins Station in 2019. Gibson also started shipping Murphy Lab guitars through its Murphy Lab Division of

2440-431: The government raids were "so outrageous and overreaching as to deserve further Congressional investigation." Juszkiewicz continued to state, "We felt compelled to settle as the costs of proving our case at trial would have cost millions of dollars and taken a very long time to resolve." Gibson reclaimed some wood stock that was confiscated during the raids, and produced a new series of guitar marketed to draw attention to

2501-601: The guitar line with new guitars such as the "Les Paul" guitar introduced in 1952, endorsed by Les Paul , a popular musician in the 1950s. The guitar was offered in Custom, Standard, Special, and Junior models. In the mid-1950s, the Thinline series was produced, which included a line of thinner guitars like the Byrdland . The first Byrdlands were slim, custom built, L-5 models for guitarists Billy Byrd and Hank Garland . Later,

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2562-410: The longer 25.5" scale (like the 1977–81 run), and a 1 11/16" nut width. Other examples in blonde can be found online dating from 1996, but it remains unclear whether these examples are customer orders or from a specific Gibson issue. From 1996 onward the ES350T has been available as a custom order only, with buyers including Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) who acquired a twin p90 model in 2006, which was used in

2623-559: The mid-1950s on it. In 1957, Chuck Berry bought a similar ES-350T, but it was equipped with two PAF humbucker pickups, and he used it on most of his hits from the end of the 1950s. Chuck Berry probably would have continued to play the model, but Gibson's production of the ES-350T was discontinued in 1963, so he switched to the Gibson ES-355 , which became his new trademark. Gibson Guitar Corporation Gibson, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation and Gibson Brands Inc. )

2684-480: The modernistic idea, though less extreme. In the late 1950s, McCarty knew that Gibson was seen as a traditional company and began an effort to create more modern guitars. In 1961 the body design of the Les Paul was changed due to the demand for a double-cutaway body design. The new body design then became known as the SG (for "solid guitar"), due to disapproval from Les Paul himself. The original Les Paul design returned to

2745-491: The ownership of historical brands such as Kalamazoo , Dobro , Valley Arts , and Baldwin (including Chickering , Hamilton, and Wurlitzer ). It also owned Slingerland Drum Company but it was sold to Drum Workshop in November 2019. Gibson relaunched Kramer Guitars at Winter NAMM 2020 on January 16. Icon, Baretta, Pacer, Focus, and SM-1 are in the original collection with the modern collection including Assault, Striker, Nite-V, and Bass. The artists collaborations for

2806-632: The raids and seizures. In the midst of the controversy, commentators stated that the raid was a politically motivated act of retaliation by the Obama administration , as Juszkiewicz had frequently donated to Republican politicians. Chris Martin IV, the CEO of Gibson competitor C.F. Martin & Co. , had donated over $ 35,000 to the Democratic National Committee and Democratic candidates in

2867-551: The relaunched Kramer Guitar includes Tracii Guns 'Gunstar Voyager,' the Charlie Parra 'Vanguard' and the Dave Sabo 'Snake-Baret. Gibson has long made authorized copies of its most successful guitar designs, under the Epiphone brand name. They are less expensive than those bearing the Gibson name. A former competitor, Epiphone , was purchased by Gibson in 1957 and now makes competitively-priced Gibson-styled models, such as

2928-545: The same time period. Though Martin featured several guitars in its catalog made with the same Indian wood as Gibson, but with correct documentation filed, the company was not subjected to a raid. Gibson filed a lawsuit November 18, 2010, in Federal court, the Central District of California, against WowWee USA and its Paper Jamz battery-operated guitar toys, charging trademark infringement. The lawsuit claimed

2989-433: The same type of carved, arched tops used on violins . By the 1930s, the company was also making flattop acoustic guitars, as well as one of the first commercially available hollow-body electric guitars , used and popularized by Charlie Christian . In 1944, Gibson was bought by Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), which was acquired in 1969 by Panama-based conglomerate Ecuadorian Company Limited (ECL), that changed its name in

3050-481: The same year to Norlin Corporation. Gibson was owned by Norlin Corporation from 1969 to 1986. In 1986, the company was acquired by a group led by Henry Juszkiewicz and David H. Berryman. In November 2018, the company was acquired by a group of investors led by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). Gibson sells guitars under a variety of brand names and builds one of the world's best-known guitars,

3111-543: The strings are held by a trapezoidal metal string holder, which is attached to the lower frame. In addition to the thinline body, another feature of the Gibson ES-350T is its shortened length of only 597 mm (23 1 ⁄ 2 inch compared to Gibson's standard 24 3/4 inch). It has been stated that this short scale is due to the jazz guitarist Tal Farlow, who had expressed the desire to make difficult chords and melodies easier to grasp. Against this assumption, when Gibson honoured Tal Farlow with his own signature model in 1962,

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3172-428: The success that Gibson had hoped for. The ES-335 which was the stripped down version in the 300 series thinlines, was more popular. The 335 was lighter and simpler. The varitone circuit which was on the majority of 355s was not desired. Gibson ended production of the 355 in 1982. Gibson does produce a B.B. King Lucille model 355 and in 2008 produced an Alex Lifeson ES-355. In 2018 Gibson began producing an ES-355 with

3233-424: The tradename Min-ETune, this device became standard on several models in 2014. Gibson ES-355 The Gibson ES-355 was created to be the fanciest of the Gibson thinline semi-hollow guitars. The first 355 appeared in 1958 as a mono ES-355TD. The majority of the 355s were manufactured as stereo guitars labeled ES-355TD-SV. The manufacture of the stereo versions appeared in 1959. Many guitarists did not appreciate

3294-474: The varitone and they disconnected the option so that the guitar could be played in mono. The guitar shipped in a mono version or a stereo version and it was the finest of the Gibson 300 series ( ES-335 , ES-345 ). The guitar is made with an ebony fingerboard and mother-of-pearl block inlays. Other high end appointments included a lyre vibrola (beginning circa 1963), gold hardware, triple binding on headstock and top, with single binding on back and neck. . Many of

3355-441: The war he returned the factory to instruments before he retired. During World War II , instrument manufacturing at Gibson slowed due to shortages of wood and metal, and Gibson began manufacturing wood and metal parts for the military. Between 1942 and 1945, Gibson employed women to manufacture guitars. "Women produced nearly 25,000 guitars during World War II yet Gibson denied ever building instruments over this period", according to

3416-584: Was denied by the court. The United States Department of Justice found emails from 2008 and 2009 in which Gibson employees discussed the "gray market" nature of the ebony wood available from a German wood dealer—who obtained it from a supplier in Madagascar—as well as plans to obtain the wood. It filed a civil proceeding in June 2011, the first such case under the amended Lacey Act , which requires importing companies to purchase legally harvested wood and follow

3477-461: Was dismissed with prejudice (dismissed permanently) January 11, 2011 by Federal Judge R. Gary Klausner. Gibson sent a cease and desist letter to Kiesel concerning two models that Kiesel makes—the ultra V and the 'California Singlecut.' According to Jeff Kiesel, Vice President of Kiesel, the letter claims that Kiesel's design infringes upon the Flying V design of Gibson. German manufacturer Warwick

3538-426: Was extended from 1977 to 1981 to 25.5 inches. The first edition of the ES-350T from the year 1955 was equipped with two Gibson P-90s , which are single coil pickups. By 1957, these were replaced by the newly developed Gibson PAF double coil humbucker pickups, which were developed in the same year. The pickups are adjusted by means of four potentiometers mounted on the top (one volume control and one tone control) and

3599-414: Was not interrupted by the bankruptcy. Additionally, $ 135 million was provided by existing creditors to provide liquidity to maintain existing operations. Later that year Juszkiewicz stepped down as CEO and assumed the role of consultant , and a new management team was put in place. The company exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2018. In July 2021, Gibson announced the launch of Gibson Records,

3660-481: Was settled on August 6, 2012, with Gibson admitting to violating the Lacey Act and agreeing to pay a fine of $ 300,000 in addition to a $ 50,000 community payment. Gibson also forfeited the wood seized in the raids, which was valued at roughly the same amount as the settlement. However, in a subsequent statement Gibson maintained its innocence with Juszkiewicz claiming that "Gibson was inappropriately targeted" and that

3721-406: Was sued by Gibson with the claim that one of the models sold under the 'Framus' brand imitated the Flying V and that customers were being misled due to this. Gibson sought a stop on the sales of these guitars and also stated that "Warwick was unfairly exploiting the reputation of Gibson Guitars." The Hamburg regional court initially ruled in favour of Gibson in 2017. However, successive judgements from

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