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manual abstract
To the new Gibson owner: Congratulations on the purchase of your new Gibson electric guitar—the world’s most famous electric guitar from the leader of fretted instruments. Please take a few minutes to acquaint yourself with the information in this booklet regarding materials, electronics, “how to,” care, maintenance, and more about your guitar. And then begin enjoying a lifetime of music with your new Gibson. The Components of the Solidbody Electric Guitar Gibson Innovations The History of Gibson Electric Guitars 8 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION Body 13 Neck and Headstock 13 Pickups 14 Controls 15 Bridge 17 Tailpiece 18 CARE AND MAINTENANCE Finish 19 Your Guitar on the Road 19 Things to Avoid 20 Strings 21 Install Your Strings Correctly 22 String Gauge 23 Brand of Strings 23 NEW TECHNOLOGY The Gibson Robot Guitar 24 44 Strap Stopbar Tune-o-matic Three-way 12th Fret Button Tailpiece Bridge Pickups Toggle Switch Marker/Inlay Neck Fret Fingerboard Nut Headstock TheComponentsoftheSolidbodyElectricGuitarFeaturingaLesPaulStandardinHeritageCherrySunburst Input Jack Tone Volume Binding Body Single Truss Machine Tuning Controls Controls Cutaway Rod Heads Keys Cover 55 Strap Stopbar Tune-o-matic 12th Fret Button Body Tailpiece Bridge Pickups Neck Marker/Inlay Fret Fingerboard Nut Headstock Three-way Toggle Switch The Components of the Solidbody Electric Guitar Featuring a V-Factor Faded in Worn Cherry Input Jack Tone Volume Pickguard Truss Tuning Machine Control Controls Rod Heads Keys Cover 66 Here are just a few of the Gibson innovations that have reshaped the guitar world: 1894 – First archtop guitar 1922 – First .-hole archtop, the L-5 1936 – First professional quality electric guitar, the ES-150 1947 – P-90 single-coil pickup introduced 1948 – First dual-pickup Gibson, the ES-300 1949 – First three-pickup electric, the ES-5 1949 – First hollowbody electric with pointed cutaway, the ES-175 1952 – First Les Paul guitar 1954 – Les Paul Custom and Les Paul Jr. introduced 1955 – Les Paul Special introduced 1957 – First humbucking pickup 1958 – Flying V and Explorer introduced 77 1958 – First semi-hollowbody guitar, the ES-335 1961 – SG body style introduced in the Les Paul line 1963 – Firebird guitars and Thunderbird basses introduced 1969 – Les Paul Personal and Professional with low-impedance pickups introduced 1979 – L.P. Artist with active electronics introduced 1982 – First solidbody acoustic, the Chet Atkins CE 1983 – Les Paul Studio introduced 1990 – Les Paul Classic introduced 1996 – Les Paul SmartWood introduced 1998 – Double-Cutaway Les Paul Standard introduced 2002 – Gibson Digital Guitar introduced 88 A BRIEF HISTORY OF GIBSON ELECTRIC GUITARS Gibson’s legendary acoustic engineer, Lloyd Loar, was experimenting with electric instruments in 1924, at the dawn of electronic amplification. However, Gibson’s struggle to dominate the banjo market took precedence through the 1920s, and it wasn’t until the mid-1930s that the company once again turned its attention to electric guitars. In 1935 Gibson’s Walt Fuller designed a pickup that was introduced on the E-150, an aluminum-body lap steel. Early in 1936, the pickup was put in a midline archtop model and named the ES-150—ES for Electric Spanish, 150 for the retail price of $150 for the guitar and amplifier set. The original ES-150 bar pickup with its hexagonal housing is now known as the “Charlie Christian” pickup, because it was installed on the ES-150s and ES-250s that Christian used to establish the new concept of electric jazz guitar. Gibson made several improvements in pickup design before World War II, although many play- ers still consider the “Christian” pickup to be the best jazz pickup ever made. Immediately after World War II, Gibson introduced the P-90 single-coil, with six adjustable polepieces and a black plastic cover, usually with “dog-ear” mounting extensions. The P-90 is still in produc- tion and still sets the industry standard for a single-coil pickup. 99 The first postwar Gibson electrics followed the prewar concept of an electric guitar as a conventional acoustic archtop with a pickup installed on the top. Gibson added a second pickup to the ES-300 in 1948 and then became the first company to offer a three-pickup model with the introduction of the ES-5 in 1949. Although the advantages of a solidbody guitar had been known to Hawaiian steel guitarists for almost 20 years, it took the persuasive powers of Les Paul, the world’s most famous guitarist in the early 1950s, to convince Gibson to make a “Spanish style” solidbody. Gibson designed the new model with a carved top, not only to give it the look of a traditional archtop—a style invented by Gibson—but also to make it difficult for other makers to copy. Les, who had been playing a homemade solidbody guitar, nicknamed The Log, since 1941, specified a maple top cap to increase sustain, coupled with a mahogany back to lighten the weight. Les also speci- fied the famous “Goldtop” finish. The Les Paul Mo...