A World without Gibson is not a Better World

With everything that is going on in 2018, the big news from the electric guitar industry has been this whopper: Gibson is on the brink of bankruptcy. Others have delivered that message in an  even more apocalyptic version and have announced the end of the company, mentally flirting with their demise etc...The press generally likes the hype. We like Gibsons.

In the meantime, how could it be otherwise, Henry Juszkiewicz, the American company’s CEO got fed up with giving explanations about what was really going on in the company and has shed some light on the problem (although it’s quite certain that he didn’t explain everything, and many point out that he is to blame for this headache).  

At GuitarsExchange we got in touch with the people at Gibson Spain who sent us the answers of their global CEO and reassured us by saying that they didn’t have any news of restructuring or a change in their plans, which gives us peace of mind as if  workers in a company are this calm, things can’t be that bad. Some of the light shed on the affair which we referred to are for example, Juszkiewicz’s comments on the good state of the electric guitar company itself, which means that Gibson,  such a legendary brand loved by all and dedicated to making guitars, is still more than solvent and profitable. The problem arose from the delusions of grandeur in Juszkiewicz himself, who wanted to make the company even more gigantic by taking control of a handful of electric component companies that didn’t turn out like he had hoped, which set off alarms.    
According to the official version, it seems that they aren’t going to have refinancing debt problems, and will get out of this mess promptly. However, companies who watch the financial world, like Moody's, aren’t so sure. We shall see and keep an eye on what happens for the rest of this year, as these debt payments should be paid this summer. 

Meanwhile, here at GuitarsExchange we want to give a boost to the brand that has marked us for life, thanks to those who have used their guitars including legends such as Robert Johnson, Elvis, Peter Green, Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Angus Young and a million more wizards and we have made a list of low-priced Gibsons with which you can start falling in love with this brand, if you don’t already have one at home, or because you’ve spent too much on vacation, but if you still need to get a new guitar for the new school year: 

Gibson Les Paul M2

€369. We knew Gibson had put a new series of cheaper guitars on the table, but not like this. At least we haven’t seen anything like this, with no less than 2 pickups they have fitted on the M2. In its day, but more expensive, the old Melody Maker had just one pickup on some models, which brought the cost down. In short, not much more to say about a Gibson made with poplar wood instead of the mahogany used in better models and is fitted with 2 Gibson ProBucker pickups. And lastly, we mustn’t forget to mention its minimalistic design along with that beautiful strawberry milkshake colour we like so much.



Gibson Firebird Zero

For less than €400 Gibson puts at your disposal one of the most talked about  designs over the last few years upon its rupture from the classic Firebird we all have in mind thanks to artists like Johnny Winter. With the body made of poplar, the neck is maple, fitted with 2 Humbucker pickups, which makes this guitar the ideal choice for getting into the sound of this kind of pickup, which is already a classic on Gibsons but always found on much more expensive models like Les Pauls.   



Gibson SG Fusion

Watch out now, as with this model, still under €400, we are getting into guitars with a mahogany body like the better Gibson models. Of course the neck is made of maplewood and the pickups are Double Slugs, which aren’t usually found on its older SG sisters, this makes the SG more appetizing in relation to its quality, material, fabrication and price.  



Gibson Les Paul Custom Special

Seeing Gibson Les Paul Custom written, followed by a price of less than €500 raises red flags of possible falsification, but that’s not the case with this Gibson ‘Custom Special’, which when it comes to construction, woods, and pickups is exactly like the SG Fusion we just mentioned, which reduces the chances of an everyday Les Paul, because although it is fitted with 2 pickups, it only has one tone control knob, and another for volume, instead of the 4 that the  the better Les Paul has.



Gibson Les Paul Faded

For less than €700 you have everything you need and everything a real Les Paul has. Let’s be clear, it is the cheapest everyday Gibson Les Paul in the market. No gimmicks: 2 classic pickups already in the Gibson world like the 490s. Four power meters to get the most juice out of each one of them. Mahogany body, a maple top and neck on a guitar that is without a doubt, an absolutely fabulous guitar at a more than affordable  price. For this writer, who had the luck to own a Gibson Les Paul Studio Faded in 2008, (although it wasn’t exactly the same, it looks a lot like it), I can say that over these 10 years I have held many Les Pauls (some much more expensive) and the one I kept was  this one.