The ukulele was first named as such on the island of Hawaii in the late 19th century, but it had developed from small Portuguese instruments including the Machete de Rajão, the Machete…
By Paul Alcantara If Gibson – and later Epiphone – provided the archtop guitars favoured by most pre-war American jazz musicians, then the Selmer company, initially under the guidance of Italian luthier…
With many thanks to Felix Wiedler for his help with this feature. Introduced in 1931, the De Luxe was the flagship model of Epiphone’s new ‘Masterbilt’ line. With its 16 3/8-inch wide…
Gibson’s catalogue O (issued in either late 1924 or early 1925) stated: “Sounding boards are carved from Adirondack, West Virginia, Norway or Pacific Coast spruce of the very highest grade and quality…
The patent for Gibson’s adjustable rod was filed on April 5 1921 and issued on February 27 1923. Invented by Plant Manager Thaddeus McHugh, the device was installed in all Gibson guitars – with…
The Mandolin Orchestra The early years of the 20th century saw a dramatic rise in the popularity of the mandolin orchestra, which Gibson was quick to exploit. The superiority of the company’s product,…
With the help of Gibson historian Darryl Wolfe, we take a look at the evolution of Gibson’s iconic ‘flowerpot’ headstock inlay Birth of the ‘flowerpot’ – the F-4 mandolin The ‘flowerpot’ motif that adorns…
Background Responding to a growing demand for its products, the post-war years saw Gibson – now owned by the Chicago Musical Instrument Company (CMI) – expand its workforce and acquire new equipment…
Introduced in 1951, the L-5CES (the earliest examples were labelled L-5SEC) was intended as an electric version of the L-5C. In effect, it replaced the three pickup ES-5 – described in Gibson’s…
Dealer, private sale or online auction? In the past, used instruments were purchased from a store, found in the ‘for sale’ columns of a local newspaper or bought from a friend or…