The Guitar Magazine – September 2019

the factory floor and when we visited, there was a
buzz of positivity about the place and a palpable
excitement about the company’s new lines.
For 2019, Gibson’s electric-guitar output is split
into the Original Collection, the Modern Collection
and Gibson Custom. The Original and Modern
Collection instruments are made at the company’s
‘Gibson USA’ plant on Massman Drive in the eastern
part of the city, near the airport; the Custom division
is situated just over a mile away on Elm Hill Pike.
During our visit, Cesar walked us through the
Original Collection. “This is where we look back
and pay tribute to our iconic past and bring those
classic models back,” he explained. “It’s our way of
celebrating our past, our legacy and our heritage.
None of these guitars are chambered, they are all
solid, just like we did them back in the 50s.”
As we’re shown around, we notice a few nods to
the nerds, such as skinnier fingerboard binding on the
Les Paul Standard ’50s and ’60s. “We went for thinner
binding generally in everything we’re doing in the
Original Collection, including the SGs,” reveals the
CMO. “It’s closer to what the classic models were,
it’s more authentic, it’s what we did back then. There
was no science to what we were doing in the 50s, you

see variations on original models – the thin binding

is definitely more consistent in terms of what we did

in the late 50s and so we’ve gone there.”

Specification changes aren’t just aesthetic:

“Everything we’re doing in the Original Collection

is hand-wired with Orange Drop capacitors. We

particularly focused on the audio taper, to not bring

output down when it cleans up the sound.”

With weight relief off the table for the Original

Collection instruments, we wonder if sourcing

lightweight mahogany for the range has been a

challenge. Cesar says no: “We have a long term, steady

source of mahogany. A couple of years ago, we did a

deal with the government of Fiji, so we’re in a really

good position today, as we have several years of what

I would consider to be lightweight mahogany.”

ON THE RANGE

If the Original Collection is about delivering

instruments that don’t force innovation down

people’s throats, the Modern Collection gives

Gibson licence to experiment. However, alongside

more tricked-out models such as the Les Paul

Modern, you’ll also find the most accessibly

priced LPs in the new catalogue.

ABOVE Les Pauls in

various stages of undress

on the Gibson factory floor

in Nashville

REVIEWS

GUITAR MAGAZINE 29