Hitting a High Gibson USA Proves That Manufacturing in America ROCKS
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APRIL 2006 / VOLUME 58 / NUMBER 4 ➤ BY MIKE PRINCIPATO Hitting a high Gibson USA proves that manufacturing in America ROCKS. In the second installment of our Made in America series, CTE colum- nist Mike Principato learns what it takes to make the legendary Gibson Les Paul guitar. ure, they ship tens of thou- sands of the most desired elec- tric guitars in the world every year. Yes, they sell every one they make for prices that would cover two or three of your mortgage payments. And, of course, they’ll make you your very own model if your name happens to be Jimmy Page or Slash. But the most impressive thing about theS folks at Gibson USA and the leg- endary Les Paul guitar they produce is that they have somehow mastered the art and science of making a handmade, custom guitar in a mass-production setting. Think of it: Even as you’re note reading this, dozens of musicians are purchasing an instrument that bears all the hallmarks of a customized product, from its electronics to its high-gloss finish, an instrument that emits a sound as unique and desired by Les Paul afi- cionados as the characteristic “potato- potato” sound is by Harley-Davidson fanatics. And thousands more are sav- ing their hard-earned money with the dream of buying one. Although Gibson USA, Nashville, Tenn., makes a huge variety of guitars and musical instruments, none has The legendary Les Paul guitar. the storied history of the Les Paul. Designed and launched in 1952 in co- operation with its namesake, a virtuoso electric guitars. Les Paul the inventor gle-coil electronic devices that literally jazz guitarist, the Paul was one of the was also an avid electronics innovator. “pick up” the sound of the strings—in world’s first commercial solid-body His unique pickup system—two sin- combination with Gibson’s vision for an electric guitar that was as much The tracing mill, artwork as instrument, made the new or “guitar copier,” model an instant hit. rough-planes How is it possible that a product de- bodies of the Les Paul. sign that has remained essentially un- changed for 54 years, sold in an indus- try notorious for starry-eyed dreamers and marginal profitability, and priced above—way above—the majority of its competitors is setting sales records today? That question and others, including whether or not there would be time to buy some cool souvenirs at the Gibson gift shop, were on my mind as I arrived at Gibson USA’s Nashville manufac- Gibson turing plant, home of the famed Les machining mahogany, maple and rose- wood” with an FSC stamp. Marlow Paul, SG, Firebird and Flying V, among wood, the woods used by the truckload noted that Gibson uses a huge amount other iconic electric guitars. to make the typical Les Paul’s body, of this environment-friendly wood. Today, I would be the guest of Gib- top and neck, respectively. I wondered “We won’t use Brazilian rosewood son Support Coordinator Eric Marlow, if Greenpeace would be slashing the or Honduran mahogany, for example; a pleasant young man who greeted me tires of my motorhome in the Gibson whenever possible, we use sustainable, at the entrance of the plant, a sprawling, parking lot, payback for my support of replantable woods,” he said. pre-engineered, one-story steel struc- a company that seems to be consuming My conscience assuaged, I turn my ture that by its bland exterior could just an entire rainforest. attention to a 20'-wide tracing mill that as easily be the home of Acme Fork Not to worry, Marlow assured me. Marlow calls a “guitar copier.” Like a and Spoon Manufacturing Inc. Turns out that Henry Juszkiewicz, mammoth key-duplicating machine, Adopting my best investigative jour- chairman and CEO of Gibson, is an the machine is pure old-school Gibson. nalist practices, I quickly ascertained environmentalist who’s allied with the It rough-planes the distinctive contours that, yes, Marlow plays guitar (a Les Forest Stewardship Council, a nonprofit of the Les Paul body, 12 at a time. For a Paul Junior model), yes, lots of his fel- organization that protects rainforests company the size of Gibson, I told Mar- low Gibson employees also play guitar from depletion by certifying “good low, it’s rather Rube Goldberg-ish, no? (sometimes engaging in impromptu He agreed, and then led me jam sessions during lunchtime), and, about 50' down the factory aisle no, my credentials from CTE would to a CNC version of the same not be sufficient for his company to machine, chugging away at the produce a Mike Principato Signature same task. “We’re still evaluat- Les Paul, particularly given the fact ing this machine,” he explained, that I am a drummer. “to be sure that it produces the Such interrogations out of the way, same body as the old machine.” I was ready to enter what is hallowed It was not the last example of a ground for this aging, recreational rock clash of technologies I saw. ‘n’ roller. Minutes later, I was introduced to “Mack,” a 29-year veteran of Old School Meets New School Gibson, methodically slicing The “artwork” part of making a Les rosewood into guitar necks. Paul begins in the company’s rough Mack’s job, like many of Gib- mill, a humidity-controlled, 60,000- son’s experienced craftsmen, sq.-ft. building that’s the world’s larg- is critical. He has to quickly est wood shop. One step inside and the and accurately detect and wonderful aroma of sawdust took me slice along the grain of each right back to high school and my first unique plank of wood to en- turn on a lathe. sure the Les Paul’s characteris- This sawdust, however, is a lot more tic sound and feel. He’s a man expensive than the pine stuff my shop of few words who’s accustom- Gibson teacher allowed me to generate by the Guitars hang for 4 to 5 days to allow the ed to plant visitors. I got the feel- bucket. It is the byproduct of rough- lacquer to fully dry. ing that if I were B.B. King I’d Lust, thy name is Les Paul n every manufactured-product universe there are brands— might say, play a guitar like he was ringing a bell. In Klotz’s Iand then there are solid-gold brands. The latter bear the case, it was a gold-top Les Paul Standard. kind of mystique and cachet that marketing execs dream That guitar, and the preternatural skill with which Klotz about, an aura that transcends its respective industry. Think wrung its trademark wailing, searing, sustained-longer- Mercedes-Benz, Tiffany and Godiva. than-a-Baptist-preacher’s-sermon sound out of it, instantly In the guitarists’ world, the Gibson Les Paul has that aura. transformed its owner from awkward adolescent to a local I can barely play an F chord (hey, gimme a break, I’m a drum- Eric Clapton. Every garage band in the neighborhood, and mer!) and I’ve wanted a Les Paul since I was 12 years old. beyond, wanted Klotz as their lead guitarist. And every teen- That lust was inspired by a 15-year-old guitar god with the aged girl wanted him as her leading man. very un-rock hero name of Bob Klotz. Over the 34 years since then that I’ve drummed with rock Klotz looked more geek than god, with his skinny frame, and jazz bands, I’ve played with a lot of guitarists who swear unkempt long hair and thick, aviator-frame glasses. He didn’t by Les Pauls. But I’ve never forgotten the first one I ever have much of a personality, either, as saw, in the hands of a kid I haven’t seen I recall. But he could, as Chuck Berry since. —M. Principato get the same greeting. use of vertical integration as with the His work, along with everyone else’s skilled, and in many cases, veteran in the Gibson manufacturing opera- craftsmen who still perform the most tion, is constantly checked at random crucial guitar-making operations by by quality-control staffers who report hand. directly to the general manager. Mar- low told me that the general manager’s Art of Neck Rolling Gibson policy regarding QC is simple: “All is Les Paul himself playing one of his Consider, for example, the 10 men forgiven EXCEPT passing along poor famous guitars. working in Gibson’s “neck rolling” quality.” The plant produces less than department. They are masters at shap- 1 percent scrap and less than 2 percent veneer that attaches to the guitar’s ing the necks of the company’s various rework. No factory outlet here for “ir- headstock, for example), the Les Paul guitar models and ply their trade more regular” merchandise. is made entirely from parts produced at by feel than by mechanical gage. I As we moved from the roughing the Nashville plant. stood watching them for a few min- area to the next stage of guitar produc- But it isn’t the mere collective of utes and noted the intensity of their tion, I began to understand one of the raw materials and machinery that concentration as they carefully and reasons for Gibson’s success: verti- make a great product, or, in this case, methodically sanded individual gui- cal integration. Other than a handful a great guitar. No, the Gibson plant’s tar necks, inch by linear inch, under of relatively minor components (the success has as much to do with the rolling buffing wheels.