Gibson années 90 , légendes urbaines et légendes du net.

Hi- I worked in the white wood machine dept at Gibson during 89-92. I served in a few capacities; neck fitting, routing and spindle sand, and neck fill- color selection. I also served as QC for both neck and body lines as well as white wood machine. I personally assembled the husks of all firebirds and thunderbirds during that time.
Gibson was a different animal at that time- we only built about 175-190 guitars in total a day at that time. Henry was struggling to bring the brand back to prominence. If it were not for guns and roses sweet child o mine and the brilliantly conceived Les Paul Classic ( designed by JT Riboloff) , Gibson might have been a much different ( and marginal ) company in the ensuing years!

To address certain points discussed here:
The finishes ( specifically bursts on Les Pauls) : there is a reason for this, world famous relic pioneer ( and dear friend) Tom Murphy was the lead painter back then, virtually living in the booth, and spraying all those guitars. He strove to make them more realistic, and in fact did the first realistic vintage style burst on any les Paul at the end of 89, on a reissue owned by yours truly. The second one was for Joe Perry of aerosmith, who saw mine on the line during the visit and wanted it. I said no dice. So, Tom and Edwin Wilson picked out one with a similar top ( I skipped lunch to fit the neck) and Joe got that one. Tom went on to perfect his pioneering style of relic work and later ( as his talent and importance to the company became perceived by management) worked quite closely with R&D to develop the historic program. These were stunning guitars!
Secondly- during that time our reissue les Pauls only differed from regular standards on these ways; the head veneer, which had a fifties script pearl ( oddly with no dot over the I) and the material they were made of, only the prettiest grades of maple, mahogany, and rosewood we had on hand- weight was not the biggest factor then. To note, these guitars featured the same rocker tenon as the regular production.
Third, QUALITY- sensible not afford dis satisfied customers, dealers , or warranty claims at the time. I destroyed many hundreds of guitars due to very minor issues during those years. There were no seconds, etc. We did let out minor flaws on guitars heavily stamped " artist use only- not for resale" on back of headstock. I personally stamped these guitars and serialized them whenever artist and repertoire dept needed something for a player . This was very rare. The guitars had only the most minor cosmetic flaws. I doubt a handful of these have ever made it to the public. Many times the artists were required to return them. I know I destroyed quite a few when they came back.

I believe that during that time we laid the groundwork for the great custom shop Gibsons that followed. Most of our equipment now resides in the CS, having been replaced by CNCs in the USA plant. I am very proud of what we did back then and treasure the guitars I bought directly from the factory at that time.
Sincerely, Mark "