Gibson Guitars

About Gibson Vintage Guitars

Gibson vintage guitars have their roots in Kalamazoo, Michigan where, in 1894, an eccentric, self-taught luthier named Orville H. Gibson began making stringed instruments using the archtop design of violins as his guide. Although he began by making both guitars and mandolins, his first and only patent was granted in 1898 for a mandolin design.

Orville Gibson sold his company in 1902 and died in 1918, but his early affinity for mandolins presaged the first major success for the company that bore his name. In 1922, a Gibson engineer named Lloyd Loar designed the F5 mandolin, which featured an elevated fretboard over the instrument’s body and decorative f-holes...

Banjos would dominate the mid-1920s to mid-1930s for Gibson, but all along the company continued to make guitars. It was not recognized as a leader in this field until the 1930s when the guitar enjoyed a rise in popularity.

As with the Loar mandolin, these new 1930s Gibson guitars were archtops, usually with a trapeze tailpiece below the bridge to secure the strings and pickguards that seemed to float above the instrument’s body. The L4s of this period, which are not especially collectible despite their age, had round soundholes. The L5s, which are far more collectible, had f-holes. Other models of the day are the L7, L10, and L12, none of which were as desirable then — or as collectible today — as the L5.

The 1930s was also the decade when Gibson introduced its first electric guitars. Jazz guitarist Charlie Christian made the 1936 ES-150 famous — today, that guitar’s pickup is actually known as a Charlie Christian. After World War II, during which the company halted production due to a lack of supplies, Gibson introduced its first solid body electric guitar, the Les Paul.

There is some debate about who actually designed the Les Paul, which was introduced as a Goldtop in 1952. To hear guitarist Les Paul tell it, he is the man responsible for his namesake, but guitar author and collector George Gruhn believes the great musician may have had little do to with its design, and historians generally give Gibson president Ted McCarty most of the credit.

The collectibility of Les Pauls varies greatly depending on their vintage. Of the original, Standard models, the first Sunbursts are considered the Mother Lode of Les Pauls — and electric guitars in general, especially the ones made from 1958-1960. The Firebirds from 1964-1965 are also coveted, but not nearly as much as the Flying Vs made from 1958-1963.

Another Gibson line that has proved very collectible are semi-hollow body ES 335s from 1958-1964, although the presence of a Bigsy vibrato on the guitar (a so-called whammy bar) makes it less valuable.

Key terms for Gibson Vintage Guitars:

Archtop: A stringed musical instrument whose top is rounded, either by carving a solid piece of wood or subjecting a laminated sheet to heat so it can be molded into the desired shape.

Sunburst: A finish for musical instruments that is light in the center and darker around the edges. Two of the most common sunbursts are cherry (yellow in the center fading to reddish on the outside) and three-color (yellow in the center, then reddish, then black at the edges).

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Interviews & Articles

An Interview with Vintage Guitar Restorer and Historian Richard Johnston

I started playing guitar when I was pretty young and bought my first guitar when I was 10 or 11. Like a lot of peop… [more]

An Interview With Vintage Guitar Collector Clay Harrell

I grew up in upstate New York in Rochester, and started playing guitar when I was about 10 years old. We had this p… [more]

An Interview With Vintage Guitar Collector and Author George Gruhn

I started out primarily as a collector and the business aspect of it evolved over time, almost by accident. I didn’… [more]



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Gibson Guitars Videos



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Gibson Les Paul Gold Top 1953 Vintage Buy it Now$10,100 Ends Friday 2 bids 49 watchers
1962 Gibson Es-335 W/ohsc$8,100 Ends Sunday 18 bids 83 watchers
Gibson Les Paul- R8 Yamano Grade-tom Murphy Painted$4,000 Ends in 10 hours 27 bids 54 watchers
Gibson Custom 50th Anniversary 58' Korina Explorer Rare$3,700 Ends in 9 hours 25 bids 47 watchers
Vintage 1968 Gibson Les Paul Standard Goldtop Guitar$3,651 Ends Sunday 21 bids 184 watchers
1954 Gibson Les Paul Jr Guitar With Alligator Case Wow$3,250 Ends Friday 12 bids 92 watchers
Vintage 1969 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop$3,100 Ends Monday 1 bid 44 watchers
1972 Gibson Les Paul Custom '54$2,995 Ends Friday 12 bids 106 watchers
Vintage 1960 Gibson Es335 Td Thinline Hollowbody Guitar$2,650 Ends in 17 hours 15 bids 96 watchers
Gibson Les Paul Catalina Custom Shop Never Been Played$2,550 Ends in 2 hours 23 bids 113 watchers
Gibson Les Paul Goldtop ( K-9 Loveslave Edition) $2,500 Ends in 23 hours 1 bid 12 watchers
Gibson Les Paul Peter Frampton Signature $2,499 Ends Sunday 1 bid 17 watchers
1956 Gibson Es295d Jazz Guitar$2,425 Ends Saturday 6 bids 46 watchers
1972 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Gold Top Gt$2,250 Ends Sunday 5 bids 55 watchers
Gibson Les Paul Supreme 2003 Mint! Buy it Now$2,225 Ends in 17 hours 2 bids 37 watchers
Vintage 1945 Gibson J45 J-45 J Acoustic Guitar$2,114 Ends Friday 14 bids 81 watchers
2006 Gibson L4 Ces L5$2,101 Ends Monday 9 bids 52 watchers
Gibson Les Paul Custom $2,057 Ends Sunday 5 bids 69 watchers
Gibson Cs 356 Guitar W/ Bigsby Coas Case Candy 355$2,051 Ends Sunday 17 bids 77 watchers
2006 Gibson Custom Les Paul$2,025 Ends in 10 hours 20 bids 32 watchers
Gibson Custom Shop Warren Haynes Vos Les Paul $2,025 Ends Sunday 11 bids 52 watchers
2009 Gibson Les Paul Historic Custom Shop 57 Flame Top$2,025 Ends Sunday 3 bids 44 watchers
1969 Gibson Les Paul Custom Black Beauty Original 69$2,025 Ends Friday 7 bids 30 watchers
1970 Gibson Sg Cherry Great Condition Low Reserve $2,024 Ends in 1 hour 14 bids 96 watchers
1974 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Goldtop Buy it Now$2,000 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 35 watchers
Gibson Usa Slash Les Paul Goldtop Gold Top Buy it Now$2,000 Ends in 20 hours 13 bids 47 watchers
1977 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe$2,000 Ends Saturday 1 bid 19 watchers
Gibson Custom Es-335 Dot Figured-top Vintage Sunburst$1,980 Ends Monday 27 bids 108 watchers
2006 Gibson Custom Shop 58 Vos Les Paul, Mint 1958$1,976 Ends Friday 3 bids 25 watchers
Gibson Sg Les Paul W/ Maestro Vos White Coas Case Candy$1,850 Ends Sunday 16 bids 51 watchers
Gibson Es-339 Custom Shop. Beautiful Red Flame Maple !$1,799 Ends in 11 hours 1 bid 33 watchers
Gibson Dove Acoustic Electric Guitar 1992 W/hardcase$1,726 Ends in 8 hours 2 bids 20 watchers
Gibson 58 Les Paul Plaintop Historic W/ Original Case$1,725 Ends Friday 14 bids 50 watchers
Vintage Gibson 1965 Sg Special With Original P90s $1,675 Ends in 1 hour 11 bids 73 watchers
Gibson 2006 1960 Custom Shop Les Paul Buy it Now$1,675 Ends Saturday 14 bids 31 watchers
1966 Gibson Es-335 Electric Guitar Buy it Now$1,629 Ends Saturday 17 bids 56 watchers
1939 Gibson L-12 Acoustic Arch-top Very Nice & Original$1,600 Ends Saturday 8 bids 95 watchers
Nikki Sixx 2001 Gibson Blackbird Bass$1,600 Ends in 20 hours 1 bid 4 watchers
Gibson Les Paul Gecko Burst$1,600 Ends Sunday 6 bids 9 watchers
Gibson Hummingbird With Original Warranty Cards Wow!!!$1,575 Ends Friday 25 bids 80 watchers
Gibson Les Paul Custom 1993 Gold Plated... Near Mint$1,525 Ends Sunday 2 bids 70 watchers
Gibson Les Paul Custom Buy it Now$1,525 Ends in 19 hours 11 bids 37 watchers
Gibson Les Paul Custom Art&historic W/bigsby +coa+case$1,525 Ends Friday 9 bids 86 watchers
Gibson Les Paul Supreme, Big Tiger Stripes, Trans-black$1,505 Ends Sunday 23 bids 102 watchers
1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom Vintage With Case$1,500 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 30 watchers
Gibson Guitar$1,500 Ends in 20 hours 8 bids 33 watchers
Gibson Les Paul Standard Traditional Plus - Beautiful!$1,500 Ends Monday 19 bids 74 watchers
Vintage 1963-1964 Gibson Barney Kessel Archtop Guitar $1,500 Ends Wednesday 5 bids 29 watchers
Gibson Starburst - Blue & Beautiful - Very Rare$1,499 Ends Sunday 1 bid 11 watchers
Lovely Vintage 1973 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe No Reserve!!$1,443 Ends Monday 14 bids 94 watchers
1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom Black Beauty$1,426 Ends Sunday 7 bids 78 watchers
Gibson Dove*acoustic Dreadnought*2002*no Reserve*usa*$1,425 Ends Sunday 20 bids 76 watchers
1997 Gibson Les Paul Standard Vintage Electric Guitar$1,425 Ends Wednesday 27 bids 88 watchers
Gibson Firebird (bicentennial Limited Edition) 1976$1,425 Ends Friday 19 bids 64 watchers
2006 Gibson Les Paul Standard$1,400 Ends Friday 1 bid 7 watchers
90's Gibson Les Paul Tv Special W/ Lindy Fralin P90's$1,399 Ends Friday 2 bids 43 watchers
2006 Gibson Les Paul Standard With Hard Case$1,379 Ends in 21 hours 28 bids 99 watchers
**1998 Gibson Les Paul Standard Honeyburst Usa Guitar**$1,376 Ends Friday 29 bids 149 watchers

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Recent News: Gibson Guitars

Source: Google News

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The singer says a drunken fan stole one of his guitars at a Michigan concert, but eventually returned Moore's favorite Gibson guitar worth about $4000 after...Read more

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