Gibson

Rock-bottom times call for rock-bottom costs, even if you wanna rock. For the cash-strapped axe-slinger, there's few better deals than the Gibson USA Les Paul Studio Faded. Owen gives it an audition in the Gearwire studio.  

Check out the all-black Les Paul Studio Gothic Morte, a modern day remake of the original Les Paul Studio rock guitar, featuring the same single-cutaway design with new active pickups, sustainable exotic woods, and all-black styling.  

Listing the bands Gary Lucas has played with or releases he has played on would take up too much space. He worked with Captain Beefheart in the early 1980s and has two new projects of his own, Gods And Monsters and Wild Rumpus. His 1946 Gibson J-45 is is main acoustic.  

For a guy who's ideals are so rooted in pragmatism — play short-scale basses live, jot down song ideas in Pro Tools, jam econo — Mike Watt sure employed a strange production process for his latest solo album, Hyphenated-Man. We spoke with him about that process and the inspiration behind the concept for this, his third punk-rock opera.

 

Gibson USA introduced its new standard, the SG Standard 24. This double cutaway electric guitar pays homage to the original Les Paul / SG released 50 years ago; it features a solid Mahogany body with Antique Ebony finish, a comfortable SG rounded neck profile, and more.  

Gibson's new Firebird X is here, and according to its maker, the guitar is like the world’s best street legal sports car in terms of looks, feel, and performance. The Firebird X features the Pure-Analog engine, onboard Goldtone FX, two pretty finishes, and much more.  

Check out Gibson's limited-edition Gibson Dethklok "Thunderhorse" Explorer, a true Metalocalypse guitar designed in cooperation with none other than Brendon Small, creator of the animated show and lord of Dethklok.  

Gibson announced that Eric Clapton's long-lost 1960 Les Paul Standard is back on the radar, with the introduction of the new Eric Clapton 1960 Les Paul -- a limited-edition model by Gibson Custom, featuring the same looks, specs, and sound of the original.  

Gunther Woodson seems to be a Gibson man. He has a neat old Gibson acoustic but when he needs something a bit more rock--actually more than "a bit more"--he turns to his Gibson 1971 Gold Top Les Paul. He points out this is before Gibson started making the Les Paul lighter. No whining from Woodson about how much it weighs. Tone outweighs a little shoulder cramping. Just rub some dirt on it.  

Gunter Woodson, one fourth of the Texas band, Long Woodson, plays a very special Gibson 1962 LG-1 Acoustic. Or, more accurately, now that he is grown-up, he plays it when writing or in the studio.  

Gibson is celebrating John Lennon's 70th birthday with three limited-edition guitars, one for each of three periods in Lennon's life and career: the 70th Anniversary John Lennon J-160VS, 70th Anniversary John Lennon Imagine, and the 70th Anniversary Lennon Museum J-160E.  

Michael Magno of The Villains has some neat guitars. One of the gems, not produced for years, is the Gibson Chet Atkins SST. Magno talks about why this guitar is good but also has a word of warning for would-be owners.  

Michael Magno of The Villains came across this guitar sort of by luck. He didn't, initially, know what he had. It turns out to be, if not precisely a "prototype" then a version of the Gibson J-180 he'd never seen before. Mainly the difference is in the finish. Please feel free to get in touch and comment on this oddball guitar.  

Iran's Hypernova have just released their first CD, Through the Chaos, and are on the verge of a US tour. Guitarist Kodi (just Kodi) took some time to chat with us about his Gibson ES-335, and about the challenges to acquiring any guitar in Iran, let alone an axe as nice as his.  

Merging the wisdom of traditional acoustic instrument design with nifty electronics and some tasteful bling, the Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Standard sure is one purdy guitar. That maple binding and those gold tuners may not help you actually write anything, but they'll help get folks' attention when you you do have something to share.  

The Nashville music industry is still reeling from the past few weeks' unprecedented flooding. Fortunately the industry at large has been quick to setup charitable and relief funds to help those musicians -- many of whom are without insurance -- who've lost untold thousands of dollars' worth of irreplaceable gear.  

Live At The Ryman is the latest release from former child blues prodigy Jonny Lang, and his first live release. We spoke with Jonny about recording the album (at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium) and about the two guitars he considers his main axes, a Fender Custom Shop Telecaster Thinline and a Gibson Historic 1959 Les Paul. Don't tell the guitars -- they both think they're in an exclusive relationship.  

Gibson's classic Les Paul got a modern, techy overhaul for the new Les Paul Standard 2010 Limited electric guitar, which sports Robot Guitar automated tuning technology so you will never play out of tune again.  

Paying tribute to country music chart topper, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Brad Paisley, Gibson introduced the Brad Paisley J-45 Signature Model, a limited-edition, flat-top guitar with a Cherry Sunburst finish and honorary paisley designs.  

Back with reviewer Michael Ross and hot on the heels of his detailed look at the Les Paul Studio Worn, the guitarist and author takes a hard look at the long-successful Gibson Les Paul Studio.  

A lesser know model from Gibson's hit-or-miss days, the Gibson SG Firebrand was made for three years at the tail end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 80s.like It was a lighter, low cost alternative to the SG. Juliana Hatfield talks about that guitar and her other Gibson go-to instrument, a 1969 Gibson SG, with GW's Pat Ogle in this audio interview. Initially I (Patrick Ogle) had this written up as if her guitar was a Gibson The Paul. Should have been changed!  

If you've thumbed through the pages of Guitar Player, Sound on Sound, or EQ, chances are you've read a few reviews by Michael Ross, NYC-based guitarist and writer. Check out his exclusive review for Gearwire on the Gibson Les Paul Studio Worn, a sweet-sounding six-string with a price that's nice.  

When Gibson officially releases its new Joan Jett Blackheart Melody Maker, you'll be able to play “I Love Rock n’ Roll" in all its glory on the same kind of guitar that Jett played while in The Runaways.  

Rock out on your iPhone or iPod Touch, using Gibson's free Gibson App. The interactive guitar application sounds and plays like a real guitar and comes with basic and advanced tuning options, a metronome, and more.  

The limited-edition run of only 300 Keb' Mo' Bluesmaster guitars will have you wishing that Gibson would make some mo'. The flat-top acoustic-electric guitar, which is signed by Keb’ Mo’ on the interior label, features a small body, an L.R. Baggs Element pickup, and much mo'.  

More pictures of the yet-to-be-officially-introduced Gibson Dusk Tiger have surfaced on "the 'net." Man, is anyone out-of-touch enough to still use that term? Let's ask Gibson.  

When Gibson introduced the Zoot Suit SG a few months ago, they tapped Steve Perry of neo-zoot-suiters Cherry Poppin' Daddies to test it out and endorse it. You know, perhaps "tapped" wasn't the best word choice given the band's name.  

What could make a lightning bolt-like Gibson Explorer even better? Making it with seven strings instead of six, of course. The 7-String Explorer takes the classic lines and features of the original guitar and spins them into something even cooler.  

Hailed as the most innovative guitar in the history of music, the new Gibson Dusk Tiger guitar is here, with an exotic jungle-like exterior along with programmable active four-band parametric EQ systems for both the magnetic and the piezo pickups, a switchable LP-Z High Definition Impedance circuit, and more.  

We all know that Buckethead shreds with the speed and accuracy of an Enron intern riding a laser-guided combine, so the fact that the new Gibson Buckethead Signature Les Paul is a finely-tuned chops-enabler should come as no surprise. Also like Buckethead, his signature LP is over-sized, menacingly white, and. . . umm. . . slightly odd.