GIBSON ELECTRICS, THE CLASSIC YEARS. A.R. Duchossoir.
AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY FROM THE MID-'30s TO THE MID-'60s
Gibson Electrics - The Classic Years
Series: Book
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Format: Softcover
Author: A.R. Duchossoir
Since the inception of the first “electrical” guitars in the 1920s, no other manufacturer has produced a greater variety of professional quality models than Gibson. This book presents a documented account of the instruments released during a highly creative period from the 1930s up to the mid-60s, which saw the coming of age of the electric guitar. It describes all the models that have made history and contributed to establishing the reputation of Gibson. This edition features over 500 illustrations, including 100 in color, and previously unpublished material.
Inventory #HL 00330392
ISBN: 9780793592104
UPC: 073999647426
Width: 9.0"
Length: 12.0"
256 pages
FOREWORD
The original GIBSONEL ECTRICS, subtitled Volume 1, was first published in late 1981 and for the past 10 years or so I have often been asked when Volume 2 would be released. I effectively started writing it back in 1982, but Volume 2 never saw the light of day for reasons outside my control.
Subsequently, I penned other books and I probably managed to improve my primitive writing skills and also the way to look back at "old guitars". As time went by, it became more and more obvious to me that the original GE could be upgraded in several respects. Digging through my files, I realized that I had gathered a lot of material during my several trips to Kalamazoo which had not been fully exploited in what was the ex-Volume 1. Eventually, I ended up disliking this book profoundly, and last year I formed the project not only to rewrite it, but also to expand it.
At this juncture, I briefly pondered what period to cover? Should I attempt to consolidate vol. 1 & 2 in a single offering? With the benefit of hindsight - read the 10 years elapsed since the aborted publication of Volume 2 – it occurred to me that the truly meaningful electrics, the "classics", were those designed prior to 1965. This does not mean that nothing happened at Gibson afterwards, but the fact is that the pre-65 designs are still the most popular today, and the most influential. Admittedly, other cut-off points were a possibility. For instance: 1969, the year of Gibson's Diamond Jubilee, and also the year of the amicable take-over of Chicago Musical Instruments (Gibson's parent) by ECLwhich led to the formation of NORLIN.Or 1984, the year when the Kalamazoo factory was closed down and the production was definitively consolidated in Nashville. Even 1985, the year when NORLINended its involvement in the music business by selling Gibson after reporting losses of $158m over the previous 10 years!
Fortunately, Gibson did not go under and it was acquired by the able hands of Henry ]USZKIEWICZand a group of investors who managed to put it back on the right track. I took the view that the mid-60s were retrospectively a major turning point not just for Gibson, but for the guitar industry as a whole. Beyond designs, 1965 signalled the beginning of a new era for most US guitar makers. Equally, it is often overlooked that 1965 was the year when the production of Gibson instruments reached an all-time peak in the wake of the 1st "guitar boom". Last but not least, 1965 is the year when Ted McCARlY tendered his resignation as Gibson president after acquiring Paul BIGSBY'sbusiness.
The new GIBSON ELECTRICS,subtitled "THE CLASSICYEARS", consequently spans from the beginnings of the electric guitar until the mid-60s. For a better display of information, I reckoned it would be appropriate to split the historical recap from the specifications of production electrics - Spanish guitars and basses - cataloged during this period. This book is therefore divided in two main parts, with a third leg detailing what I call identification numbers.
The latter are quite useful for assessing the vintage of an instrument and Part Three features previously unpublished material. In other words, the new edition practically incorporates three books into one (for the same price!). Many people have contributed, yesterday and today, to the making of the new GE. Being domiciled in Paris, I wish to stress that this research has been greatly facilitated over the years by the kind cooperation of many friends and guitar aficionados in the USA.I hope the list of acknowledgements does justice to all of them, even though their input may date back many years.
A special mention goes to all the Gibson people, past and present, who always have been very receptive to my quest for information. Conversations with old-timers like Ted McCARlY,Walter FULLER,Seth LOVER,Wilbur MARKER, Julius BELLSON,or with early electric pioneer Alvino REYhave been invaluable to enlighten the chapters of Part One and give them a human dimension beyond facts and figures.
I am particularly appreciative of the active contribution of a few key individuals who have helped me to complete this project in a relatively short time. These are John SPRUNG(and his wife Jenny for tolerating a rather hectic family life over the past 6 months), Jim COLCLASURE, Walter CARTER,George GRUHNand my wife Susan. I also want to thank people like Gil SOUTHWORTHand Brian FISCHERfor giving me access to their impressive collection of Gibson electrics. Finally, my gratitude goes to HALLEONARDfor allowing me to turn an old book into a brand new one. At the time of closing this long foreword, I can't help but think of my father who passed away since I wrote the first GE, and without whom I might never have known Gibson guitars. This one's for you, dad. A.R. DUCHOSSOIR Ma 1993
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRICS UP TO THE MID-60s INTRODUCTION
Who invented the electric guitar? However straightforward this question may be, it does not usually suggest one instant answer as several pioneers -some known, some unknown- may claim an input into its development. Historically, the earliest attempts to electrify an instrument can be traced back to the 1890s, but they can hardly be construed as the first steps towards the electric guitar as we know it today. For instance, one W.H. GILMAN secured patent #488,520 on December 20, 1892 for an 'Electrically Operated Stringed Music Instrument' which actually encompassed an electrically-actuated automatic banjo. It was not until the 1920s that the electric guitar began to take shape in the light of scientific advances in sound amplification and amplifier circuitry.
Why the electric guitar came into being is an easier question to answer. Owing to its intrinsic lack of volume and carrying power, the traditional acoustic guitar was more often than not relegated to the rhythm section in most bands up to the 1930s. With the notable exceptions of classical pieces or purely stringed- instrument ensembles, the guitar did not become a recognized solo voice in its own right until it was amplified. The growing popularity of dance music thus led guitarists to seek ways to be heard over the sound of brass and reed instruments, let alone drums. The need for more power brought about developments such John DOPYERA'stesophonic guitar with its internal spunmetal resonator and triggered a significant enlargement of body dimensions. It also explains why the banjo, because of its bright and cutting sound, was often preferred to the guitar in early jazz oups. Besides this extra power to vie with other instruments in orchestras, providing a greater tone consistency is also cited a factor behind the early research carried out to electrify the guitar. By all accounts, this was part of the rationale followed by lloyd LOARin the early 1920s. lloyd A. WAR (1886-1943) was a multi-talented personality: musician, composer, teacher, mandolin performer, physics engineer and researcher. In June 1919 he came to work for the GffiSO MANDOLIN-GUITARMfg. Co., Ltd. where he took over e eral positions as acoustic engineer, factory production manager, manager of the stringed instrument repair department and purchasing agent. Today, Loar is best remembered for his role in the development of the Master series, ie the L-5 guitar, the F-5 mandolin, the H-5 mandola, the K-5 mando-cello and the Mastertone banjo construction. On top of his contribution to some of Gibson's finest stringed acoustic instruments ever made, Loar designed experimental electrics during his 5-year stint with the company. His meticulous approach to acoustic physics and instrument playability apparently led him to believe that the only way to produce instruments with tonal consistency was to electrify them. In the early 20s, his views were favourably considered by Lewis A. WILLIAMSwho was one of the founders and major stockholders of the Gibson company, and its secretary and general manager at the time. Williams was also a pioneer in the field of loudspeakers and sound reproduction. He is thus credited with several innovations in instrument design such as the elevated fretboard and pickguard, while being a central figure behind the Master series. This explains why Williams brought in Loar at Gibson and supported his efforts in the development of modern stringed instruments. But differences of opinion within the company as to Gibson's product focus and marketing strategy brought about a reshuffle at management level. It can be argued that electrical instruments were certainly part of the discussions which took place. Loar's (and Williams') conceptions were probably ahead of their time but deemed insufficiently marketable by the riskaverse board of directors chaired by the venerable John . ADAMS. They were consequently relegated to a back seat in favour of less adventurous designs. This boardroom row led 1. A. Williams and C. V. Buttelman, then sales and advertising manager, to resign at the end of 1923. Lewis Williams was briefly replaced by someone called FERRIS, before the position of general manager was entrusted to a newly hired accountant named Guy HART. Lloyd Loar soldiered on for about a year after Williams' departure, but he did not get along too well with his new general manager. Their lack of entente prompted the termination of Loar's contract at the end of 1924. Eventually, both Loar and Williams joined forces in their post-Gibson days and went on to form together the ACOUSTI-LECTRIC Company in January 1934 (later renamed the VIVI-TONECompany in February 1936). The earliest Gibson electric instruments were reportedly perfected by 1924 and then shown to some of the compan agents who at that time were mostly artists and teacher. However, these agents were not ready yet, musically and otherwise, to accept such a radically novel concept for which no music was specifically written. In the face of a negative reaction from its prime sales force, the new management of Gibson then resolved not to go ahead with the experimental electrics.
CONTENTS
FOREWORD .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .
PART ONE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRICS UP TO THE MID-60s .
INTRODUCTION: Who invented the electric guitar? .
CHAPTER 1: The first production electrics (1935-1939) .
CHAPTER 2: The second wave of pre-war electrics (1940-1942) .
CHAPTER 3: The early post-war era (1946-1948) .
CHAPTER 4: The apogee of the amplified guitar (1948-1951) .
CHAPTER 5: The first solid body electric (1951-1952) .
CHAPTER 6: The expansion of the electric line (1953-1955) .
CHAPTER 7: The first thinline electrics (1955-1957) .
CHAPTER 8: The advent of the humbucking pickup (1955-1957) .
CHAPTER 9: The Modernistic Guitars (1957-1959) .
CHAPTER 10: The double cutaway thinline electrics (1958-1960) .
CHAPTER 11: The inception of restyled solid bodies (1958-1963) .
CHAPTER 12: The hollow body Artist models (1960-1965) .
CHAPTER 13: The original Firebird series (1963-1965) .
EPILOGUE: The end of an era .
CHAPTER NOTES .
COLOUR SECTION: 30 YEARS OF GIBSON ELECTRICS .
PART TWO: THE PRODUCTION ELECTRICS UP TO THE MID-60s .
INTRODUCTION .
CHAPTER 1: The pre-war electrics (1936-1942) .
CHAPTER 2: The post-war full body electrics (1946-1965) .
CHAPTER 3: The solid body electrics (1952-1965) .
CHAPTER 4: The thinline electrics (1955-1965) .
PART THREE: THE IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS UP TO THE MID-60s .
INTRODUCTION .
CHAPTER 1: Factory-order numbers (1936-1961) .
CHAPTER 2: Serial numbers (1936-1961) .
CHAPTER 3: Serial numbers (1961-1965) .
INDEX .
Italiano
English
