Music On The Blog

From mandolins made in Kalamazoo Michigan in the later part of the 1800s to the majestic Les Paul guitar that Gibson is best known for, the disciples of the well-known Gibson company (established in the 1920s), formerly known as Gibson Mandolin Guitar Manufacturing Co., Ltd., has succeeded in keeping one of America’s best guitar brands as the benchmark by which other guitars are now being measured. Gibson has come a long way, even further than what its founder could’ve even dreamed of reaching. In those days, businesses weren’t exactly as technical and in-depth with their approach to consumer needs but the stiff competition that Fender brought into market allowed for the manufacturing of reliable Gibson guitars and equipment to boot. The guitarist, aptly named Les Paul, almost had everything to do with the inception of the most likable Gibson brand: the Les Paul, but unfortunately, he may have had better things to do than indulge in improving the make and tone of this guitar and preferred to simply endorse it.

The early Les Pauls, namely the Custom, Standard, Studio and others, which now sports top-of-the-line hardware, superior humbucker pickups and its traditional high quality solid-body, underwent its own unique evolution. The continuous development and refinement of this model led to the conceptualization of the Gibson SG. The SG guitar, or better known as the more awkward looking Les Paul with its dual-cutaway design, also achieved legendary status after rockdom’s biggest icons began endorsing the said model. Other Gibson guitars that introduced a more progressive look were the Explorer (often used by James Hetfield of Metallica) and the Flying-V (also used by another Metallica member, Kirk Hammett).

In the early 80s, Gibson moved to Nashville and soon the business suffered to the point where the company required a change of ownership to improve the quality and sales of its products. It was then that Henry E. Juszkiewicz, David H. Berryman, and Gary A. Zebrowski contributed their expertise by providing better business insights, procuring new facilities/production plants and boosting marketing efforts. Gibson is best known for producing fat, milky tones that suit varied musical styles such as jazz and blues, and is currently best represented by guitarist Slash who endorses the Les Paul line of guitars, both for Gibson and Epiphone, a subsidiary company of Gibson. The sound produced by Gibson is unique and quite distinguishable from the sounds produced by Fender, Peavey, Ibanez, ESP and PRS guitars.

About the Author

Corey Palmer is a musician and music teacher who also enjoys playing for various bands. Now you can get looking for Laney amps for sale, Gallien Krueger for sale and Fender amp for sale.

Buying your first guitar.

You have made your decision, you are going to learn guitar, not you have to buy a guitar. Sounds simple, how hard can it be? Well, not very, if you plan it out the right way. Make the plan for the long term, start as though you do intend to continue for a long time.

Your best option would be to buy an acoustic guitar to start with, this will set you off on the right path. There are many makes and models to choose from. So before you take off to the music store, here are a few tips that may help in this endeavour.

#1 First you should think about your budget. When you go to buy a guitar you want one that has a good timbre or tone. This need not be the most expensive and probably will not be the cheapest either. So set yourself a realistic budget.

If you know someone who knows about guitars, ask them to go along with you when you start looking. If you don’t have a friend like that and if you are taking lessons from a tutor, then ask the tutor for guidance. Let them know your budget and find out if this is a reasonable budget so you will know if you are on the right track.

Don’t overlook the second-hand items either, garage sales, local classifieds etc. as there can be some great gems there.

#2 Next decide on the music you want to play. This will have a major bearing on the type of guitar you purchase. Easy listening, some pop, country, folk are all styles that you would look to buy an acoustic guitar for.

However if you are into the rock style then there are other expenses that go along with that, amplifiers, leads, some sort of system that will allow you to practise using headphones (don’t want to upset the neighbors). So the budget may need to be revised.

Jazz and blues can require another type of guitar, one called an archtop and these are mainly more expensive. When you are starting out, the acoustic model is the best to start with.

But it is worthwhile thinking about the type of music you eventually want to be playing at this planning stage. You will know what you need to put aside in the future.

#3 You need to factor into your budget how you will be learning.

Will the lessons be via a membership site, software program or a face to face tutor or tutored group? Or will it be a combination.

Add these costs when working out your budget and also include the cost of travelling to and from classes.

Put it all down on paper, how much it will cost for your first year, you never know you may be able to afford that better model that you had your eye on. You may get a nice surprise.

Starting out is so much better when you plan things instead of jumping in and not having all the information to make your decision and be able to continue with your new pastime.

Makes your new pastime so much more enjoyable as you will know you can continue and maybe one day become that great guitarist you have always imagined you could be.

About the Author

Go to Teach Yourself Guitar and learn more about buying your first guitar also, don’t forget to get check out the guitar of the day.