Bill Graham has written a lengthy piece for Mandolin Cafe detailing his visit to the site of Gibson’s old shop in Kalamazoo, MI, where Loar once roamed the halls. The facility is now the home of the Heritage Guitar Company and Graham interviewed Ren Wall, who had worked there for Gibson for more than 20 years. Like a number of other Gibson employees, when the company moved to Nashville in 1984, Wall remained in Kalamazoo to ply his trade with Heritage.

The article is full of details that will of interest to any fan of the vintage Gibson instruments, and the “old school” methods of manufacture still is use at Heritage. Graham also has a number of photos from his visit.

Here’s a taste of the article, describing his first arriving at the shop…

Loar had formal ties to Gibson starting in 1911 as a music composer, arranger and performer, Siminoff said. He may have visited Kalamazoo when the Gibson Co. made instruments at previous factory sites on East Exchange Place and East Harrison Court.

But by 1919 when Loar began his longest stint as a designer for Gibson, 225 Parsons Street was a modern, state-of-the-art factory building. By the early 1920s he was working at the plant fulltime in various roles, according to Siminoff. The F5 mandolin and other refined carved-top instruments that he helped design and build until his departure late in 1924 would change the musical world forever.

I came looking for what is and shadows of what was.

A worker was having a smoke break outside an arched entryway with a wooden door that says Heritage Guitar Inc. with a cutout of an F5 mandolin underneath. I told him I was looking for Ren Wall. Former Gibson employees started Heritage in 1985 in what Siminoff says “they always kindly referred to as the old building,” a place where Gibson built mandolins and banjos right up until they left in 1984.

“Ren’s here,” the gentleman said. “Go on in. Go down through this door, down the stairs and through the next door and look for him on the left.”

I did, and stepped into a large room with offices on my left, a guy gluing binding on a guitar on my right, sawdust and wood and instrument part shapes and equipment in front of me for a long ways.

Read the full piece at Mandolin Cafe.

During that time, it has been a strong seller for Gibson, and the impetus for them to create limited edition artist models for a number of other prominent bluegrass mandolinists, Alan Bibey, Wayne Benson, Doyle Lawson and Adam Steffey among them. The Bush, however, has been the only artist model to remain as a stock item in the catalog.

Reflecting on this ten year run, Sam and Gibson have created a new, limited edition model, inspired by a drawing in a 1934 Gibson catalog. It will called the Sam Bush Limited Edition Inspired By ‘34 Fern, with only 25 made before the model is retired.

Sam tells us how it came to be…

“It is a collaboration between David Harvey at Gibson and me, to revive interest in the Bush model after ten years time.

I’ve always been fascinated by that 1934 Gibson catalog, especially the way the Fern F-5 was drawn. This catalog didn’t have photos – it was artist renderings of the instruments – and the headstock on this Fern must have come from the artist’s imagination.

The logo was shown at an odd angle, with large script lettering, and there was no ‘The’ – just ‘Gibson.’

I always thought it was the neatest looking mandolin, and I had never seen one built that way.”

Research by Gibson verifies Sam’s recollection. They have no records of a mandolin built with this headstock design.

Other appointments also mimic the ‘34 catalog drawing. The mandolin has pearl block inlays in the radiused, ebony fingerboard and a lighter finish, which Gibson describes as an Iced Tea burst.

“The block inlay was a tie in with the existing Bush model. We rounded off the fingerboard extension like an L-5, like John Monteleone did on the board for Hoss, my old mandolin.  Can you believe I’m on my 4th fingerboard now!

I had asked for a lighter sunburst – finishes will often darken over the years, so we wanted one that looked different from a regular F-5.”

Like all F-5s, the Bush Fern is made with figured maple back and sides, and a red spruce top. It uses white/black/white binding, and the tuners and tailpiece are gold plated. The neck is slightly wider than a standard F-5, as is Bush’s preference.

Sam has been playing prototypes for about a year and a half, and is satisfied that Gibson has come up with something special.

“We’re paying special attention to the size of the tone bars. It has a good throaty chop without losing anything in the high end. I played a dozen of them last week and they all sounded great.

I’m signing each label and the back of the headstock. The mandolins ship in an oblong case with a Case Notes diary, and I’m writing the initial entry for each one.

I think about my old F5 I got in 1972… If I had made notes each time I changed tuners or fingerboard, it would make for really cool reading 20-30 years later.”

The Sam Bush Limited Edition Inspired By ‘34 Fern can be ordered from any authorized Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments dealer. The retail price is listed as $11,110, which includes a certificate of authenticity.

In the course of our conversation, Bush also mentioned that he is currently at work on a new CD for Sugar Hill. They are still tracking, so he has no idea when it might be released, but he thinks it will be one that his long time bluegrass fans will appreciate.

“We have 13 rhythm tracks cut, and this project is much more acoustic in nature. I’m not playing any electric instruments, and it’s sort of a return to my roots in newgrass and bluegrass music.

The guys in my band – Scott Vestal, Stephen Mougin and Byron House – are all such great bluegrass players, and we all love to play bluegrass! I’m pretty much just playing mandolin.”

Well, that’s one I’ll certainly be eager to hear.

The story, by Dave McCarty, is titled When Only A Gibson Is Good Enough. It focuses not on the company’s storied history – largely well known to the bluegrass audience – but on Gibson’s current bluegrass manufacturing facility, known officially within the company as the Original Acoustic Instruments division.

This is where the Gibson banjos, mandolins and Dobro instruments are built, located in the Opry Mills shopping center near the home of the Grand Ole Opry.

McCarty interviews Gibson master luthier (and notable mandolinist) Dave Harvey about the products they produce in Nashville, the challenges the company faces from US and international competition, and building high end stringed instruments in the face of the current economic downturn.

The March issue also has features on Red Diamond Mandolins, Homespun Tapes, Laurie Grundy’s ornate banjos from Australia, and the evolution of the resophonic guitar.

Of course, you’ll also find the BU radio chart, live show calendar and plenty of CD reviews for recent releases.

Find more info on Bluegrass Unlimited – including subscription details – at www.bluegrassmusic.com. They are extending their ‘09 subscription special through March, offering a free CD sampler of your choice for new or renewal subscriptions to the magazine.

Gibson’s bluegrass division has introduced a new banjo, a limited edition Style 1 Custom model. Unlike the vintage 1s – which were “budget” instruments with simple inlays and a rolled hoop ring – this new banjo will have a Mastertone tone ring and a new inlay pattern completing the seagull pattern all the way down the neck. This will be a mahogany and nickel banjo.

The new Style 1 Custom will also be made with the more common one piece flange, again in contrast with the originals. Only 15 of these banjos will be made and carry a suggested retail price of $5110. They are available to dealers now.

C.F. Martin has a number of new models being introduced at NAMM. Not all will be of immediate interest to bluegrass guitarists, but several most certainly will.

Martin is celebrating 2009 as the 75th anniversary of the dreadnaught body style with a pair of limited edition guitars. Both the D-18 and D-28 will have 75th Anniversary models, limited to orders placed during 2009.

The 28 is made of Madagascar rosewood, while the 18 uses mahogany. They both have an Adirondack spruce top with scalloped, Golden Era style bracing, and an ebony fingerboard and bridge. The headstocks have a special 75th anniversary decal. The paper soundhole labels likewise denote the anniversary, and are signed by C.F. Martin IV.

The D-18 75th retails for $5199, and the D-28 for $7599.

Martin is also debuting a D-28 Museum Edition 1941 guitar with a number of special vintage construction specs. These guitars are assembled using hide glue and have the same barrel and heel neck dimensions as the ‘41 D-28s. The body is Madagascar rosewood with a Adirondack spruce top. The top bracing is scalloped, using the 1941 placement. The neck uses the narrow nut width (1 11/16”) and the top features herringbone binding.

This Museum Edition 1941 D-28 retails for $14,999.

Though not specifically an artist-signature model, this new model is loosely based on a unique pre war Gibson owned by Bernie Leadon, an original member of The Eagles, and a studio and road guitar/banjo player of many years’ experience.

The vintage Style 5 banjos were made of walnut, with engraved, gold plated parts. This new model uses curly maple and chrome instead, and has a radiused fingerboard. These variations from the pre war specs come at Leadon’s suggestion.

Only ten of these banjos will be made, selling for $8,889 with a hard shell case and certificate of authenticity.

More photos and detailed spces can be found on the Gibson web site.

The latest addition to the staff at Gibson OAI is mandolinist, producer, and luther, David Harvey.

David Harvey, master musician and producer has joined the Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments Division (GOAI) as master luthier.

In David’s new role he will oversee the mandolin production and be an active participation in all quality control matters. David will also conduct clinics and dealer events throughout the country and will play an integral role in the presence of Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments in the Bluegrass community worldwide.

David has an extensive background in instrument construction and repair and has served many bluegrass stars as the ‘go-to’ guy for needed repairs and set up.

You can read the full press release here.

The two companies issued a joint press release late last week.

Gibson Guitar, the world’s premier musical instrument manufacturer and leader in music technology and TC Group, an international leader in sound processing, amplification, computer recording and speakers, announced that they have discontinued discussions regarding a potential merger between the two companies. The decision followed an intensive effort by both parties to consummate the deal within the targeted timeline, but a number of issues remained unresolved, and both Gibson and TC agreed that it was best that the merger proceedings not continue. TC Group’s goal is to continue to produce and distribute innovative and respected high-performance audio products for business partners around the world. Gibson Guitar remains loyal to its many customers and will continue to dedicate its future to producing the best musical instruments in the world while engaging and building its family of brands through innovative technology and potential new business partners.

In our previous post, we mentioned that no pricing information was found on the Gibson site, and that our efforts to reach someone there for details were unsuccessful.

A commenter indicated that the suggested retail prices were $18,499 for the first five and $11,999 for the remaining production run. We also reached Janet Davis of Janet Davis Music, a large and prominent dealer for Gibson Banjos, who told us that they are offering them for $16,665 (1-5) and $10799 (6-20).

Only 20 will be built, and Janet Davis Music Center is taking orders at this time. They are being built now, and should be ready for delivery in 2-3 weeks.

Only one or two of the first five are still available. Each banjo is personally and professionally shop adjusted before it is shipped to you from our facility.

A true investment you can enjoy forever!

You can see more details about the new Scruggs banjo in our earlier post.

Included on that 1957 LP was Flint Hill Special, a Scruggs instrumental originally recorded in 1952 that, along with Earl’s Breakdown, Foggy Mountain Chimes and Randy Lynn Rag (all three also featured on that album), introduced the bluegrass world to what came to be known as the Scruggs tuner, a device that allowed Earl to quickly detune and retune a string.

Gibson has long marketed a banjo known as the Earl Scruggs Flint Hill Special (the name of both the song and the banjo taken from Scruggs’ birthplace in North Carolina), and their new 2008 commemorative banjo is a special edition of that model.

Only 20 Commemorative Limited Edition Earl Scruggs Flint Hill Special banjos will be made, and purchasers will receive a number of pieces of Earl Scruggs memorabilia as well.

The banjo will be made of figured maple (neck, and resonator overlay) with an ebony fingerboard inlaid with Gibson’s Hearts & Flowers pattern. The neck and resonator are bound with white/black/white trim and the peghead with mother of pearl. The heel cap is also mother of pearl, and the banjo is engraved and gold plated. Each will ship in an Earl Scruggs signature model red line case, with the head signed by the man himself, an autographed copy of Earl’s banjo book and a CD copy of Foggy Mountain Jamboree.

The first five purchasers will also get Earl’s signature on the back of the peghead, plus a signed and framed Flint Hill Special tablature from the Scruggs book.

Gibson has not responded to our requests for more details about the selling price, but similar limited edition models have carried retail prices close to $50,000. When we hear from them with a price (and availability/ordering info), we’ll update this post. (See update below)

The Gibson folks also included this classic YouTube clip in their press release about the new Scruggs banjo. Nice!

The piece covers Phil’s early experiences learning teh resonator guitar, his work with JD Crowe, his IBMA awards and teh debut CD with his new performance vehicle, Grasstowne. Since it’s Gibson’s site, of course, they also discuss his signature model Dobro guitar.

Still another jewel in Leadbetter’s crown was the 2003 unveiling of the Phil Leadbetter Signature Series Dobro. "I had always hoped to just get an endorsement, so I was kind of blown away when Gibson approached me," he recounts. "It’s the only real Dobro being made right now, since Gibson owns the Dobro brand.

"When I started playing Dobros, they were making them the same way they were made in 1928, with sound wells. We improved on the design by adding sound posts and baffles, and using solid woods to increase sustain and make the tone richer. I love playing them and I’m really flattered that they’ve become the most popular Dobro out there."

Read the full article at Gibson.com, where you can also download a free Leadbetter MP3 of Moon Racer.

The Tennessean,

The merger was announced at the NAMM Winter Show in California, and according to The Tennessean, the new company will remain headquartered in Nashville when the deal is finalized in February. No layoffs are anticipated and Gibson expects to hire new engineers and marketing staff this year.

TC’s chief Anders Fauerskov will serve as Gibson’s chief operating officer and remain in Denmark. Though not clearly stated, it appears that the new company will continue to do business under the Gibson name.

More details can be found in the joint press release issued yesterday.

The article largely centers on their having worked with former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, who produced their latest CD, Waterloo, Tennessee.

How did you guys hook up with John Paul Jones? Were you already a fan?

I started listening to Zeppelin in junior high when my first boyfriend ever made me a complete set of cassette tapes, each with the cover drawn by him as a representation of the real Zeppelin album cover.

The next I really thought about Zeppelin was when we met John at Rockygrass in ‘04. We had a six-hour bar gig at Oskar Blues in Lyons, Colorado. Abby [Washburn] had left that morning because her grandfather was sick, and we’d only been a band about four months so the truth is, we didn’t have a banjo player and we barely had enough material to cover three hours of a gig. We saw [Nickel Creek's] Chris Thile in the audience and begged him up on-stage and John came with him.

Read the full interview at Gibson.com.

Each of the links below go to one of the individual video clips, each focusing on a specific aspect of the Scruggs legacy.

• Earl’s Early Banjos
• Bill Monroe & The Blue Grass Boys
• The Flatt & Scruggs Era
• The Beverly Hillbillies
• Earl’s Influences and Styles
• The Earl Scruggs Revue

Thanks to the folks at Gibson for making these available.

Now Gibson Guitars is taking it one step further. This month Gibson has introduced a new line of guitars featuring what they are calling, the Powertune System.

The Powertune System, available as original equipment only on Gibson guitars, is the first fully functional, performance-ready, and non-obtrusive automated tuning system, and the only self-tuning system practical for use by the professional guitarist.

Powertune, at it’s simplest, is simply a built in electronic tuner that automates the process by taking control of the instrument’s tuning pegs and making the necessary adjustments. It looks like it adds some mass to the back of the headstock, but at this time it’s only available on electric guitars so I don’t know what kind of effect it would have on the sound of an acoustic instrument.

Beyond the basics, Powertune has some interesting features. It is not on by default, so you don’t have to worry about it attempting to tune a string while your bending it. It’s controlled by a tuning knob they have dubbed the Master-Control Knob. The MCK allows one to chose from multiple preset tunings, or to create your own custom tunings and save them. Standard tuning is included, along with drop D tuning and a couple different open tunings.

Operation seems simple enough. All that is required is to activate Powertune, select the desired tuning (both of which are done with the MCK), and lightly strum the strings. Powertune does the rest.

I suspect it won’t be long before Powertune finds it’s way into acoustic guitars as well. Is that a good, or a bad thing? You decide.

The artists featured are The Infamous Stringdusters, Cherryholmes, Cadillac Sky, The Greencards, The Grascals and Sierra Hull. In perhaps an odd choice of words, the page is entitled Hillbilly Hipsters.

You might be familiar with most of these artists, but a name that not everyone may recognize is Sierra Hull. Just 15 years old, she is already taking the bluegrass world by storm, playing both mandolin and guitar, and fronting her own band, Highway 111. She has been recognized as a true prodigy since she was 12 years old, and has been featured as a guest performer with Alison Krauss & Union Station, and filled in for Adam Steffey with Mountain Heart.

There are several videos showcasing her prowess on YouTube.

As part of their Hillbilly Hipsters promotion, Gibson is making available a free download from Sierra, a tune named Hullarious. The page also has streaming audio of Sierra’s tune, and Fork In The Road from The Infamous Stringdusters’ debut CD of the same name.

Read about all these artists – and hear some music – at Gibson’s Backstage Pass site.

To enter online, visit the Gibson web site and fill in the entry form.

Entries are limited to legal residents of the United States, 18 years of age or older, and must be received by October 8, 2007.

Complete contest rules can be viewed on the Gibson site.

This system is one where all of the top bracing is cut as a single component, encompassing all the typical braces into this one piece. Griffiths believes that this allows for both an uninterrupted path for the vibrations resonating across the guitar top, and greater structural stability as well.

The Garrison shop utilizes many modern construction technologies, with robotics, laser cutting, CNC (Computer Numerical Control) milling and UV finishing all a part of the process.

Unlike previous Gibson acquisitions where the newly purchased assets were moved to a Gibson shop, Garrison will soon begin manufacturing the Gibson acoustic guitars in their Canadian facility. Garrison also manufactures solid wood mandolins and mandolas but no mention of any part they may play in Gibson mandolins was announced.

Gibson has some further details on their site, but the Garrison site seems to be unavailable at this time.

One wood the article focuses on is Sitka Spruce from Alaska which Greenpeace says could become as rare as Brazilian Rosewood in only six years if current harvesting practices continue. What I found interesting is that the bulk of Sitka Spruce being cut in Alaska is not used for the construction of instruments. This old growth wood is being sent to Japan as framing material for homes. C.F. Martin estimated that a total of three million acoustic and electric guitars are sold in the US each year, but that accounts for less than 20% of the Sitka Spruce that’s cut each year in Alaska.

Martin just last month hosted the C. F. Martin Inaugural Wood Summit ‚Äò07 where wood suppliers from around the world spoke concerning the historical and future availability of their particular species, as well as issues surrounding it’s availability.

What the instrument manufacturers are seeking is not a complete ban on logging, but rather some sort of solution that relies on better forest management. The word that comes to mind is conservation. Let’s hope they are able to make a difference in the larger marketplace and create a situation where our children will be able to buy instruments made from the great woods we love at something less than the cost of a pre-war Martin!

The charity benefiting was the W.O. Smith/Nashville Community Music School. The school is a nonprofit that provides instruction to interested children from low income families for only $0.50 per lesson. The school boasts a staff of 100 volunteer instructors from the community, and over 350 students between the ages of 7 and 18.

Donors for the show included the Gibson Foundation which provided several pianos, along with a slew of guitars, mandolins and banjos.

Video of the segment is available for viewing online at MSNBC’s website. Just scroll down to “Day 4″ and click the “Launch” button.

Hat Tip: Katy Daley

It also mentions their upcoming CD, now nearly completed, and the addition to the band of Rachel Renee Johnson on fiddle, Sam Morrow on banjo, Claiborne Woodall on lead guitar and Andy Blevins on upright bass.

Gibson is also sponsoring a blog for The Dixie Bee-Liners, which you can find on the Gibson site as well.