Gibson Bozeman facility expansion

[Larry Mal]

I found this rather nice news the other day that up in Montana, Gibson is expanding the factory in which they make their acoustic guitars by almost double.

The Bozeman factory, home to the Gibson Acoustic line, has been a staple in the guitar world since its doors opened in 1989. In recent times, speculation had swirled about whether the famed factory would continue this heritage, especially after the effects of the pandemic gripped the industry. This latest development not only solidifies its position, but the ambition plan also seeks to make the Bozeman facility one of the largest and most advanced guitar building operation in the world. This is being accomplished by nearly doubling the available space from 25,000 to a massive 48,000 square feet while also creating a destination-worthy showroom, along with some employee centric improvements to the layout. JC Curleigh, president and CEO of Gibson, while speaking of the new facility boasted that the expanded facility will be “the most amazing guitar facility in the world.”

The finished product is likely about a year away but when finished, it will include a state of the art factory floor, a new public showroom and a Custom Shop, which will display some of Gibson’s greatest achievements and historical pieces. All in all, the announcement sends a resounding message that many guitarists around the world already knew; the guitar is here to stay.

For those who love Gibson Acoustics, this expansion will not only make your favorite models more readily available, but Gibson says it will allow them to add over 100 craftsmen and craftswomen to the staff and spend more time on innovation as well as custom built models. Whether you are in the neighborhood or looking for a trip, the new Gibson Bozeman facility will surely be a must-see stop.

This makes me happy, firstly, I'm a big fan of Gibson Acoustics and I'm glad to see that they are successful in the marketplace. They had a very low reputation when I started playing guitar and deservedly so, the Norlin years produced some pretty terrible changes to the acoustic. I know I'm everybody's least favorite Gibson fanboy around around here, but if you've ever watched me say good things about Gibson Norlin that only applies to the electrics, which were often great. But the Norlin years acoustics were terrible, and it's nice to see that Gibson was able to turn the quality around so thoroughly and successfully.

Secondly, Gibson has worked pretty hard to produce some relatively entry level models that are at very attractive price points for American made guitars. The J-15 was so good it went up in price, but it was a steal for some years, and the later J-45 Studio lines and the recently discontinued G series were also good guitars for the money. They do an OK job of hitting various price points, granted they don't use laminate woods so there's only so much that they'll be able to do, but putting an American made all solid wood acoustic guitar out there for a little over $1k isn't nothing.

But mainly, I'm just happy to see that the acoustic guitar is doing well. I suppose we can give Covid some credit for this, but I'm happy to think that amidst all the suffering that caused there is the small comfort to think that people were able to find a great way to spend social isolation by learning guitar and supporting guitar makers, especially the acoustic.

[fuzzjunkie]

Bozeman is beautiful. A lot of Montana is, and they could use the jobs. The politics are a different story. Is the Gibson CEO an evangelical or right winger? I have no idea.

I like the idea of Gibson building guitars in the US. Texas and Memphis seem to get those kinds of economic boosts lately because they offer tax incentives. Curious about Montana as a choice though. Are there lots of people picking and grinning there?

[Larry Mal]

Not sure if the current Gibson CEO is right wing or what his politics are, really. He's kind of new. I probably don't want to know.

Regardless, they say the reason Gibson Acoustic is up in Montana is because the humidity can be controlled there relatively easily all year round, and as I recall they bought out the Flatiron mandolin company and factory up there and got started there. I think maybe one of the main guys (Ren Ferguson) was local to there also.

But mainly I think they just needed a clean break. Like I say, the Norlin era Gibson acoustics sucked- the one main flaw I can tell you about was that they started to make the guitars physically stronger by double bracing them. Something like this:



As opposed to this modern bracing:



From here- good article.

You can imagine what this did to the sound of the things.

They made some other bad decisions, they basically conceded that Martin guitars were the best and so they dropped their classic slope shoulder jumbo shape and just started making Martin clones.

Anyway, long story short, when the 90's Gibson ownership took over they did it right, and they sent the whole factory up to Montana under new leadership and basically figured out what they had been doing right before World War 2, and then they started doing that stuff again (but not 100% exactly).

They still had a dismal reputation, though, I didn't even consider Gibson acoustics in any way until the 2008 or so. Other people were smarter than me, though, and I'm glad they were. The guitars are flat out excellent, and they've been mandated to make entry level acoustics these last years- well, entry level for an American made, all solid wood instrument, like I say.

It seems this has been successful, although Gibson has phased out some of the entry level stuff although they indicate they'll keep trying to hit that market. Anyway, I'm a big fan of Gibson acoustic and I am happy to see the success.

[Scout]

If I could work wherever I wanted I would happily move out west. I don’t think the relative humidity
is much of a factor, local tax incentives more likely and maybe Ren Ferguson had a say in it.
All’s I know is my early’90’s Gibson is a joy.

[Larry Mal]

If I could work wherever I wanted I would happily move out west. I don’t think the relative humidity
is much of a factor, local tax incentives more likely and maybe Ren Ferguson had a say in it.
All’s I know is my early’90’s Gibson is a joy.

I'm skeptical of the humidity as well. It gets cold in Montana, right? Freeze up all the humidity there same as here.

But maybe the summers are easier, they've got to be less humid than Nashville. Or so I assume... I've only been to Nashville once and Montana never.

[Scout]

It's dry for sure in Montana. Either way the factory is temperature and humidity controlled.
I am sure every aspect of the build from wood storage to final finish is rigidly monitored.
The American west is stunningly beautiful and comparatively empty, I'd move there in a heartbeat.

[jvin248]

.

The reason they are doubling is because guitar sales are super strong ... right now.

When they have completed the factory they will have 'doubled' production. Meanwhile the guitar buyers will be too busy going back to pre-Covid activities as that threat is eliminated and all that guitar demand will have evaporated.

So they will have pushed the factory out onto a very narrow ledge.

.

[vistavision]

When I worked in guitars I loved selling Gibsons. Some folks didn't understand how different Gibsons were until I would A/B one with a Martin. I do seem to remember in the early aughts that a non-trivial amount of wood was stored outside at the Bozeman plant. I toured the Tacoma Guitars plant once before their collapse and the wood was in a controlled warehouse. That an acoustic plant existed in Montana was always a head-scratcher to me. It's dry af over there.

Side note: Customers always test out acoustics at polite volumes. They just don't want to scratch them, understandably. It was my honor to go in and play them at full stage volume, which usually freaked them out. But they got to hear how each model's tone shifted when that top got moving. Hearing the range of compression across model's and brands at actual real-life playing levels was always an eye-opener for them. On my end freaking them out was a bonus.

[Larry Mal]

When I worked in guitars I loved selling Gibsons. Some folks didn't understand how different Gibsons were until I would A/B one with a Martin.

It took me a long time to open my mind up to the Gibson Acoustic sound. You get used to that big, booming and lush Martin thing, booming bass and a lot of sustain, and Gibson doesn't always have that.

I will say this, one of the things that held me back so long about Gibsons acoustics was how bad the guitars were to play in the stores. The setups are singularly awful, maybe they are better now, but I would play them over the years and my first thought was always shit, I don't want to have to wrestle this guitar around my whole life.

Later, I great to realize that I could get the guitars set up the way I wanted them, but even then I used to have to imagine the playability of the guitar in tandem with what I was hearing- to imagine that the guitar I wanted was in there somewhere.

Taylors, shit, they play great right off the bat. Martins are usually OK but need some tweaking but Gibson used to be just way off the mark.

[Embenny]

Good for them. Instrument-building seems to be one of the last frontiers of American manufacturing where businesses can stay competitive without outsourcing or building inferior products, and it's lovely to see a news story about that expanding for once, rather than just clinging on for dear life.

On the issue of humidity, it's easier, more energy-efficient, and way less expensive to add humidity than to subtract it. Building acoustic guitars in Montana is a lot easier than doing so in Florida or Louisiana. Running factory-sized dehumidifiers would be insanely costly. Central steam humidifiers in a factory with properly-designed air circulation (both within spaces, and between indoors and outdoors) cost very little to install, run, and maintain.

I'm not a Gibson acoustic guy, but I used to say that about electrics, too, and apparently now I'm at least a Firebird guy. Maybe some day something will click and I'll build a Larry-like collection. I've always played fingerstyle stuff that works better on "modern" designs influenced by the Olsons/Ryans/Manzers of the world, but maybe a shift in taste or genre will find me digging that drier Gibson sound.

[BoringPostcards]

I like the Gibson American Eagle acoustic. It's the only one I ever really played and got hit with GAS.
Do they still make them?
I do not like the look or feel of any other model.

[Larry Mal]

I like the Gibson American Eagle acoustic. It's the only one I ever really played and got hit with GAS.
Do they still make them?
I do not like the look or feel of any other model.

Those are great, huh? I almost bought one, at the last second I bought a Martin guitar that turned out to be a lemon. I literally almost flipped a coin, and I bet I would have loved that American Eagle. They only made them for so long, and like with a lot of Gibson limited runs, the price is now going up.

As far as the LG model, which is what the American Eagle was, they make this version now:

https://www.gibson.com/Guitar/ACCDYV983 ... e-Sunburst

And I don't know if it's at all the same as the LG-2 American Eagle was. It's probably a great guitar, it doesn't seem to be the good value the LG-2 American Eagle was, and I have to wonder what the neck is like on there and so on.

By now you might be thinking that you'll just get one of the LG models that Gibson made back in the day, but do some research on that: the LG series was always a student line in the 60s and they sold a ton of them. However, back in the day they made the LG out of laminate woods in a lot of cases and with ladder bracing instead of the bracing shown in the image above. That is what it is, but it would be a radically different sound from the guitar you played.

I think the LG-3, the top of the line model, was all solid wood and might have had X bracing. Those are rare.

What Gibson did with the LG-2 American Eagle was to resurrect an old model but to make it with their current standards, that is to say, all solid wood and with their scalloped X bracing. They also put it out at a very good price for that... basically, we done fucked up and should have bought those guitars.

[BoringPostcards]

I like the Gibson American Eagle acoustic. It's the only one I ever really played and got hit with GAS.
Do they still make them?
I do not like the look or feel of any other model.

Those are great, huh? I almost bought one, at the last second I bought a Martin guitar that turned out to be a lemon. I literally almost flipped a coin, and I bet I would have loved that American Eagle. They only made them for so long, and like with a lot of Gibson limited runs, the price is now going up.

As far as the LG model, which is what the American Eagle was, they make this version now:

https://www.gibson.com/Guitar/ACCDYV983 ... e-Sunburst

And I don't know if it's at all the same as the LG-2 American Eagle was. It's probably a great guitar, it doesn't seem to be the good value the LG-2 American Eagle was, and I have to wonder what the neck is like on there and so on.

By now you might be thinking that you'll just get one of the LG models that Gibson made back in the day, but do some research on that: the LG series was always a student line in the 60s and they sold a ton of them. However, back in the day they made the LG out of laminate woods in a lot of cases and with ladder bracing instead of the bracing shown in the image above. That is what it is, but it would be a radically different sound from the guitar you played.

I think the LG-3, the top of the line model, was all solid wood and might have had X bracing. Those are rare.

What Gibson did with the LG-2 American Eagle was to resurrect an old model but to make it with their current standards, that is to say, all solid wood and with their scalloped X bracing. They also put it out at a very good price for that... basically, we done fucked up and should have bought those guitars.

Yea, it was a great guitar. I picked a Les Paul Studio in white with cream p90s instead, which was stolen from me less than two months later. It was stolen from next to the stage.. Ugh.
Third and hopefully the last time somebody steals a guitar from me, directly out of a venue....
Twi of the guitars were from the same venue.
Sketchy owners or inside job likely.
The other stolen guitar was an absolutely stunning Tanglewood parlor guitar with highly figured woods and a really nice tone.
Fuck guitar thieves and Fuck bike thieves.

[Larry Mal]

Yea, it was a great guitar. I picked a Les Paul Studio in white with cream p90s instead, which was stolen from me less than two months later. It was stolen from next to the stage.. Ugh.
Third and hopefully the last time somebody steals a guitar from me, directly out of a venue....
Twi of the guitars were from the same venue.
Sketchy owners or inside job likely.
The other stolen guitar was an absolutely stunning Tanglewood parlor guitar with highly figured woods and a really nice tone.
Fuck guitar thieves and Fuck bike thieves.

That sucks. Sorry to hear, man.

Well, I keep looking at American Eagles for some reason... they were around for about $1k a while ago but now are getting scarce. If I see one, I'll pass it along.

[Larry Mal]

I'm not a Gibson acoustic guy, but I used to say that about electrics, too, and apparently now I'm at least a Firebird guy. Maybe some day something will click and I'll build a Larry-like collection. I've always played fingerstyle stuff that works better on "modern" designs influenced by the Olsons/Ryans/Manzers of the world, but maybe a shift in taste or genre will find me digging that drier Gibson sound.

Yeah, it would be hard for me to say that you would really like one, since you have a few bespoke guitars already that presumably do what you had them built to do. It would be hard for me to say, oh, you totally need an off the rack guitar also, you know?

But then again, like I say, it took me a long time to catch on to what Gibson Acoustics were all about. And when I was ready to make a move, I talked about it here, I had a pre-CBS Mustang to trade and I sent that along to Nebraska for Maggie O's Dove.

And for a while, I couldn't figure out what the fuck that was all about. I love it now and I liked it then, but honestly, it was so different from anything else I'd ever had that I had a hard time wrapping my mind around it. But I knew then and certainly know now that it's not like the rest of the Gibson catalog, exactly... frankly it's not really like other guitars at all. A Dove is kind of unique.

So then I was thinking about the American Eagle, should have ordered it, but I got that Martin lemon instead. I knew that was going to be sold so I got a Larrivee, you recommended against that as I recall, and it didn't last long. It was good but not quite what I was after.

So I flopped around for a while getting another Gibson, a J-35, again nice but I was on the fence about it also. What ended up happening was a lurched back over to Martin, got a 000-18, and that guitar just did not cut it for me.

That got traded for a J-45, and all of the sudden I really got the Gibson sound with that one. It became pretty clear to me at that point. Gibson isn't trying anything new with that, that's the modern Gibson interpretation of the classic Gibson sound and immediately I knew I loved that sound. I felt like I had come home in a way.

Anyway, I've played some vintage Gibsons in some stores, and of course I hammered the shit of of them with my pick and fingers because I don't give a fuck. My point is I think I've since learned that modern Gibson Acoustics aren't quite recreations of the older ones, they used their rebirth to voice them slightly more modern but still retaining that old Gibson sound- quite masterful, really, is my opinion.

I could be wrong- the '49 J-50 I was playing in the store down the street from me may have sounded like my modern J-45 when it was brand new, I kind of don't feel so. I also didn't feel like that 70 year old guitar also sounded that much "better"- talk about dry, talk about thump, but it was otherwise somewhat limited.

Which is good, because I don't have any money.