Maker

Gibson

United States guitar manufacturer

Gibson is an American guitar manufacturer founded in 1902 and based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is known for archtop, hollow-body, and solid-body electric guitars such as the Les Paul, SG, and ES-335, as well as acoustic flat-tops.

Models

  • Gibson F-5

    United States

    The Gibson F-5 is the archetypal F-style mandolin, introduced in 1922 and refined under acoustic engineer Lloyd Loar. It pairs a carved solid spruce top with figured maple back and sides, violin-style f-holes, a longer neck with fifteen frets clear of the body, and the scrolled body that became the reference design for bluegrass mandolins.

  • Technical line drawing of Gibson Explorer

    Gibson Explorer

    Electric guitar · United States

    Unveiled in 1958, the Explorer features a radical angular body that was far ahead of its time and sold poorly at first. Built from mahogany with two humbuckers, it was later embraced by hard rock and heavy metal players who prized its bold look and powerful tone.

  • Gibson SG Supreme

    Electric guitar · United States

    An upscale SG featuring a figured maple top and fancier appointments than the Standard. It pairs the lightweight, fast SG body with premium cosmetics.

  • Technical line drawing of Gibson Tal Farlow

    Gibson Tal Farlow

    Acoustic guitar · United States

    A signature archtop developed with jazz guitarist Tal Farlow and introduced in 1962, drawn from Gibson's electric archtop line. It is distinguished by a sweeping decorative inlay that curls around the cutaway.

  • Gibson Les Paul Classic

    Electric guitar · United States

    A Les Paul that combines a vintage-styled look with a slim 1960s-profile neck and higher-output pickups, originally marketed with a "1960" theme. It was designed to deliver classic Les Paul character with a faster-playing feel.

  • Gibson Les Paul Junior

    Electric guitar · United States

    A no-frills Les Paul introduced in 1954 as an affordable student model, built from a slab mahogany body with a single P-90 pickup. Its simple, raw, and powerful tone has made it a long-standing favorite of punk and rock players.

  • Gibson Les Paul Studio

    Electric guitar · United States

    Introduced in 1983, the Les Paul Studio strips away cosmetic binding and luxury appointments to lower the price while keeping the mahogany-and-maple body and humbucking pickups that give the Les Paul its core tone. It was conceived as a no-frills working musician's instrument.

  • Gibson ES-330

    Electric guitar · United States

    A fully hollow thinline electric with no center block, the ES-330 uses P-90 pickups and a neck that joins the body high up. Lighter and more acoustically lively than the semi-hollow ES-335, it has a raw, airy voice prone to a touch of feedback.

  • Gibson ES-150

    Electric guitar · United States

    Introduced in 1936, the ES-150 was Gibson's first successful electric Spanish guitar and an instrument that helped launch amplified jazz. Its bar pickup became known as the "Charlie Christian" pickup after the pioneering guitarist who made the model famous.

  • Gibson Les Paul Custom

    Electric guitar · United States

    The deluxe Les Paul introduced in 1954 and nicknamed the "Black Beauty," with multi-ply binding, an ebony fingerboard, block inlays, and gold hardware. It is the tuxedo of the Les Paul line, prized for both its elegant looks and its full tone.

  • Gibson Flying V

    Electric guitar · United States

    Launched in 1958 as part of Gibson's futuristic line, the Flying V's striking V-shaped body was initially a commercial flop but later became an icon. Built of mahogany with two humbuckers, it found a home with blues, rock, and metal players drawn to its aggressive look and clear sustain.

  • Gibson Moderne

    Guitar

    The Moderne is a radically styled electric guitar Gibson designed in 1957 alongside the Flying V and Explorer as part of its modernistic line. Whether any examples were actually built in the 1950s is debated, which has made it one of Gibson's most legendary guitars; the company finally put the Moderne into production in 1982.

Sources

Categories

  • Technical line drawing of Acoustic Guitars

    Acoustic Guitars

    Acoustic steel-string and nylon-string guitars, guitar model families, and related variants.

  • Mandolins

    Mandolins, mandolas, octave mandolins, mandocellos, makers, and related model families.

  • Technical line drawing of Electric Guitars

    Electric Guitars

    Solid-body, semi-hollow, and hollow electric guitars.

Representative model

  • Technical line drawing of a Gibson Les Paul-style single-cut electric guitar

    Gibson Les Paul

    Electric guitar · United States

    Introduced in 1952 as Gibson's first solid-body electric, the Les Paul pairs a mahogany body with a carved maple top and a glued-in neck. With its twin humbucking pickups, rich sustain, and thick tone, it stands alongside the Stratocaster as one of the two defining electric guitars of rock and blues.