By the time Gibson began work on its first electric guitar, the company had a 40-year tradition of quality and innovation to uphold. The first Gibson electric had to be nothing less than the best electric guitar the world had ever seen.

In the spring of 1935, Gibson enlisted musician Alvino Rey to help develop a prototype pickup with engineers at the Lyon & Healy company in Chicago. Later that year, research was moved in-house, where Gibson employee Walter Fuller came up with the final design.

 Gibson introduced the distinctive hexagonal pickup on a lap steel model in late 1935. The pickup was installed on an F-hole archtop guitar, dubbed the ES-150 (ES for Electric Spanish), and the first one shipped from the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on May 20, 1936.

Was the ES-150 the best electric guitar that guitarists in 1936 had ever seen? Jazz musician Charlie Christian, who would establish the electric guitar as an instrument with its own unique voice, thought so. Sixty years later, the Gibson ES-150 is still known as the Charlie Christian model, and some jazz players consider the ES-150's "Charlie Christian" pickup to be the best jazz pickup ever made.

The ES-150's success was a double-edged sword, establishing Gibson as the foremost maker of electric guitars but at the same time challenging Gibson to top this monumental achievement. After a production break for World War II, Gibson did just that.

In the years after World War II, the electric guitar came of age and Gibson entered a golden of age of innovation. The P-90 pickup, introduced in 1946, gave guitarists new power and versatility. Under the aggressive leadership of company president Ted  McCarty, Gibson debuted two new concepts in 1949 with the ES-5, the first three-pickup guitar, and the ES-175, the first guitar with a sharply pointed cutaway bout.

The advent of the solidbody electric guitar posed a new challenge for Gibson. Like the ES-150 in 1936, Gibson's first solidbody electric had to uphold Gibson tradition while going a step beyond all other guitars of its kind. A carved contoured top harkened back to the very first Orville Gibson instruments of the late 1800s, and a gold finish signified a value above all others. With the endorsement of the most popular guitarist of the time, Gibson introduced the Les Paul Model in 1952. The Les Paul quickly grew into a family of four models-the Junior, Special, Standard  and Custom-all of which would become Gibson classics. Gibson's top models sported McCarty's new tune-o-matic bridge, which was introduced on the Les Paul Custom in 1954 and is still the standard Gibson electric guitar bridge. In 1958 McCarty debuted not one, but two radical new ideas-a semi-hollowbody electric and a group of exotic, futuristic solidbodies. The ES-335 was an instant success, combining traditional archtop styling with modern, solidbody construction. The Flying V, Explorer and Moderne proved to be decades ahead of their time.

Gibson pushed on into the 1960s with two more bold, modern solidbody lines-the double-cutaway SG models of '61 and the reverse-body Firebirds of '63. By the time the McCarty era ended in 1965, a foundation of classic models had been laid that would carry Gibson through the rest of the century.

The home of Gibson electric guitars today is "Gibson USA," built in 1974 in Nashville specifically for the production of Gibson's Les Paul guitars. Although the entire guitar industry went through a slump in the late '70s, the spirit of innovation remained strong at Gibson. In response to a growing demand for vintage stylings, Gibson tapped its rich history  and reissued the dot-neck version of the ES-335 in 1981 and the flametop sunburst Les Paul in 1982. At the same time, two legendary guitarists joined Gibson- B.B. King in 1980 with the Lucille model and Chet Atkins in 1982 with his new concept of a solidbody acoustic guitar.

Gibson world headquarters moved to Nashville in 1984 with the closing of the Kalamazoo plant. The financially troubled company was rescued in January 1986 by Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman, and the new owners quickly restored Gibson's reputation for quality as well as its profitability.

Today's Gibson electric guitars represent the history as well as the future of the electric guitar. The models whose designs have become classics-the ES-175, ES-335, Flying V, Explorer, Firebird, SGs and Les Pauls-are a testament to Gibson's wide appeal, spanning more than four decades of music styles. Gibson's close relationship with musicians is manifest in endorsement models from King, Atkins and jazz greats Howard Roberts and Herb Ellis, plus new Les Pauls made to the personal specifications of rock stars Jimmy Page and Joe Perry. In 1994, Gibson's Centennial year, the new Nighthawk model won an industry award for design, setting the stage for a second hundred years of Gibson quality and innovation.

AS YOU CAN MOSTPROBABLY GUESS THIS PAGE IS GONG TO BE ABOUT GUITARS(AGAIN) AND IT IS FOCUSED ON THE TWO COMPANIES GIBSON AND EPIPHONE (EPIPHONE WITH LISCENSE TO GIBSON). THIS PAGE IS GOING TO HAVE ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND INFO ON ALL THE NEWEST AND BEST MODELS.

              THE NEW LIMITED EDITION LES PAUL SUPREME FEATURES HIGHLY FIGURED MAPLE-THE LES PAULS TRADEMARK ON THE BACK AS WELL AS THE TOP. THE SUPREME HAS A CHAMBERED MAHOGANY BODY FOR A  LIGHTER FEEL. IT FEATURES CUSTOM BINDING ON THE TOP,BACK FINGERBOARD AND HEADSTOCK AND SPLIT BLOCK INLAYS ON AN EBONY FINGERBOARD. AVAILABLE COLOURS: HERITAGE CHERRY SUNBURST (SHOWN) , ROOT BEER, TRANS AMBER, TRANS BLACK, EBONY, WINE RED AND ALPINE WHITE.

THIS LES PAUL CLASSIC GUITAR IS BASED ON A 1960'S LES PAUL STANDARD CLASSIC AND FEATURES ALL ADORNMENTS WHICH MADE THE MODEL SOUGHT AFTER, INCLUDING A CARVED MAPLE TOP, GREEN KEYS AND INLAY FOR VINTAGE VIBE AND NICKEL HARDWARE. GREAT LOOKS ASIDE THE LES PAUL CLASSIC 2003 FEATURES A TRUE 60'S SLIM TAPER NECK. COMBINED WITH 496R/500T CERAMIC MAGNET HUMBUCKING PICKUPS, THIS ONES A BEAUTY. AVAILABLE COLOURS: VINTAGE SUNBURST, COPPER NATURAL,LIGHT BURST,BULLION GOLD,HONEYBURST,HERITAGE CHERRY SUNBURST (SHOWN), WINE RED AND EBONY.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND, THIS GUITAR IS BASED ON THE EXTREMELY POPULAR MID-1990'S LES PAUL STUDIO MODEL,WHICH FEATURED FULL SIZED TRAPEZOID INLAYS, BODY AND HEADSTOCK. AGAIN THIS GUITAR HAS A CHAMBERED MAHOGANY BODY AND A CARVED MAPLE TOP. ASIDE FROM THE STANDARD FINISHES THIS GUITAR IS AVAILABLE WITH TWO NEW FINISHES BLUE TEAL (FLIP FLOP) AND PLATINUM. VIEWED FROM DIFFRENT ANGLES THE BLUE TEAL FINISH CHANGES COLOUR THROUGH THE SPECTRUMS OF BLUES AND GREENS. THE PLATINUM STUDIO FEATURES A TOTAL MONOCHROME LOOK INCLUDING PLATINUM HEADSTOCK, BRUSHED CHROME HARDWARE, SILVER (NON METALLIC) SCRATCHPLATE/PICKGUARD AND EBONY FINGERBOARD MINUS THE INLAYS. ALSO NEW THIS YEAR THE LES PAUL SMART WOOD STUDIO MADE FROM ONE OF THE WOLRDS MOST PRIZED AND RARE TROPICAL WOODS MUIRICATIERA (MUIR). MODELED ON THE LES PAUL STUDIO THE SMARTWOOD STUDIO HAS ALL THE ESSENTIAL FEATURES PLAYABILITY, AND THE SOUND OF A CARVED TOP LES PAUL. TO COMPLEMENT THIS EXTREMELY EXOTIC WOOD , THE CARVED TOP IS LEFT TO ITS NATURAL TEXTURE AND COLOUR WITH A DURABLE UV-CURED MATTE  FINISH TO BRING OUT EVERY NUANCE AND DETAIL.

IN THIS PARAGRAPH I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU INFORMATION ON STRINGS AND THE PICKUPS OF THE GIBSON GUITARS. FIRSTLY I AM GOING TO START ON THE STRINGS. 

The only guitar string optimized for the humbucking pickup, Gibson Humbucker strings utilize a special composite core wire and a specially formulated wrap wire. This design offers a unique magnetic formulation to make the most of dual-coil, high output pickups. Each set is vacuum sealed for freshness and extended life.

"I really love the new Humbucking strings! They have a real rich tone to them. I noticed the difference right away. Normally I change my strings after 2 gigs maximum, but the with these strings I've found that I can do at least 1 or 2 more nights than with the previous ones. I don't know what you are making them out of, but they don't sound or feel like the "coated" strings. These are terrific strings, keep up the great work!"

---Danny Hoefer (credits include Tower of Power, members of Earth, Wind & Fire, Lee Oskar Band, Michael Shrieve)

Nickel Wound
L-5 Pure Nickel Wound Jazz Electric strings are intended for players who want a heavier, jazzier feel to their guitars, but still want the crisp attack of a round wound string. The nickel wrap gives these strings a warm tone, and the combination of gauges let you enjoy a superior balance of feel and volume. Vacuum sealed for freshness.     

Nickel Wound
Gibson Strings re-invents the modern guitar string. We go back to the days of using only the finest pure nickel wire, slowly wrapping it over the highest quality Swedish steel "hex" core for maximum strength and stability. The warm, full tone gives your guitar a solid new voice. These strings show why we are still the favorite with top players around the world! Vacuum sealed for freshness.

Nickel Plated Steel Wound
Brite Wires are specially formulated to give your guitar a crisp attack, with the nickel plating adding warmth to the overall tone. These strings feature our Swedish steel "hex" core for added tuning stability. Brite Wires tune up fast, and hold their tone longer. No matter what style of music you play, you'll hear why Brite Wires are the choice of professionals world-wide!

Says Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell, "I love my Brite Wires. They don't break. They don't rust. They never get out of tune. They have the perfect tone. Why change it if it's working? I trust 'em that much...."