Features

The Gibson Logo

The most innovative and revolutionary stringed instruments of all time have carried the name Gibson — the Les Paul, the ES-335, the Flying V, the SG, and now the new Eye Guitar from Gibson USA. The list goes on and on. There is no mistaking the classic, silk-screened logo. It is the most recognizable in all of music, representing more than a century of originality and excellence. There is simply no equal.

• The Gibson Logo
  Angled Headstock

  The angled headstock is another example of Gibson’s industry-changing way of thinking. Every Gibson headstock is carved out of the same piece of mahogany as the neck. It is not a “glued-on” headstock, and the process takes craftsmanship, time, and effort. But the rewards are worth the effort. The headstock is carefully angled at 17 degrees, which increases pressure on the strings and helps them stay in the nut slots. An increase in string pressure also means there is no loss of string vibration between the nut and the tuners, which equals better sustain.

• Angled Headstock
  Adjustable Truss Rod

  The adjustable truss rod is a Gibson innovation that revolutionized the guitar. Before this ground-breaking discovery in the early 1930s, the truss rod was used only to strengthen and stabilize the neck. By making it adjustable, the truss rod now allows a guitar to be set up using a variety of string gauges, as well as string heights. This easily accommodates any style of playing, and allows a limitless range of set-up options. And by placing it at the base of the headstock, the adjustable nut is easily accessible, even while the strings are still on the guitar.

• Adjustable Truss Rod
  24-Fret Ebony Fingerboard

  Ebony has always graced the fingerboards of the world’s finest stringed instruments, including many of today’s Gibsons. The fingerboards on the new 2009 Limited Run Series Eye Guitar from Gibson USA are constructed from the highest grade ebony on the planet. The ebony is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled wood experts before it enters the factories. The resilience of this dense and durable wood makes these fingerboards extremely balanced and stable, and gives each chord and note unparalleled clarity and bite. The 12-inch radius of the fingerboard provides smooth note bending capabilities and eliminates “dead” or “choked out” notes, common occurrences on fingerboards with lesser radiuses.

• 24-Fret Ebony Fingerboard
  Nickel and Silver Alloy Fret Wire

  The fret wire on most Gibson models is a combination nickel and silver alloy (approximately 80 percent nickel and 20 percent silver) specifically designed for long life and superior wear. Gibson’s traditional “medium/jumbo” fret wire is first shaped by hand then cut to an exact 12-inch radius. After hand pressing it into the fingerboard, a machine press finishes the job to eliminate the gap between the bottom of the fret wire and the fingerboard.

• Nickel and Silver Alloy Fret Wire
  Set-Neck Construction

  Like all classic Gibson guitars, the necks on the new Eye Guitars from Gibson USA are distinguished by one of the more traditional features that have always set them apart — a glued neck joint. Gluing the neck to the body of the guitar insures a “wood-to-wood” contact, no air space in the neck cavity, and maximum contact between the neck and body, allowing the neck and body to function as a single unit. The result? Better tone, better sustain, and no loose or misaligned necks.

• Set-Neck Construction
  Solid Mahogany Body

  The most eye-catching detail of the new 2009 Limited Run Series Eye Guitar from Gibson USA is its brand new body style. Gibson’s legacy for pioneering new body styles is unmatched, and the new Eye Guitar certainly keeps the tradition going. The ultra-pointy new look features offset double cutaways made from solid mahogany. It is finished in a bright Fire Engine Red finish that’s matched on the headstock, with powder-coated pickup covers that echo the theme. The swooping, symmetrical pickguard accents the body’s stylish curves, and harks to the custom creations of the ’70s, but offers a totally original and unique look. The mahogany goes through the same rigorous selection process as all of Gibson’s woods, and is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled wood experts before it enters the factories. Inside the Gibson factories, humidity is controlled to ensure that all woods are dried to a level of “equilibrium,” where the moisture content does not change during the manufacturing process. This guarantees tight-fitting joints and no expansion, and controls the shrinkage and warping of the woods, in addition to reducing the weight. It also improves the woods’ machinability and finishing properties, which means every Gibson guitar responds evenly to temperature and humidity changes long after it leaves the factory.

• Solid Mahogany Body
  Gibson’s 490R and 498T Pickups

  The mid to late 1960s saw the emergence of a very different type of music coming from the clubs of England. This new genre’s players were demanding more powerful amplifiers with increased volume outputs to satisfy their sonic explorations. This led to a call for a more versatile pickup, and Gibson answered the call with the 490T and 490R pickups (“T” for treble, and “R” for rhythm), humbuckers with the tonal characteristics of an original PAF, but with a slight increase in upper mid-range response. The Gibson 498T bridge pickup is the 490’s ideal complement. Taking the 490 one step further, the 498 swaps the Alnico II magnet to an Alnico V, thus making it slightly hotter with emphasis on mid-ranges and highs. The pole pieces on the 498T are also aligned a little further apart to accommodate the spacing of the strings at the bridge, which is different than the spacing of the strings at the neck.

• Gibson’s 490R and 498T Pickups
  Tune-O-Matic Bridge

  The Tune-o-matic bridge was the brainchild of legendary Gibson president Ted McCarty in 1954. At the time, it was a true revelation in intonation, and set a standard for simplicity and functionality that has never been bettered. This pioneering piece of hardware provides a firm seating for the strings, allowing the player to adjust and fine-tune the intonation and string height in a matter of minutes. It also yields a great union between the strings and body, which results in excellent tone and sustain. It is combined with a separate “stopbar” tailpiece, essentially a modified version of the earlier wraparound bridge. To this day, the Tune-o-matic remains the industry standard. It is the epitome of form and function in electric guitar bridge design, and is one of the most revered and copied pieces of guitar hardware ever developed.

• Tune-O-Matic Bridge
  Nitrocellulose Finish

  Applying a nitrocellulose finish to any Gibson guitar — including the bright Fire Engine Red finish on the new Eye Guitar — is one of the most labor-intensive elements of the guitar-making process. A properly applied nitro finish requires extensive man hours, several evenly applied coats, and an exorbitant amount of drying time. But this fact has never swayed Gibson into changing this time-tested method, employed ever since the first guitar was swathed with lacquer back in 1894. Why? For starters, a nitro finish dries to a much thinner coat than a polyurethane finish, which means there is less interference with the natural vibration of the instrument, allowing for a purer tone. A nitro finish is also a softer finish, which makes it easily repairable. You can touch up a scratch or ding on a nitro finish, but you can’t do the same on a poly finish. In addition, a nitro finish is very porous in nature, and actually gets thinner over time. It does not “seal” wood in an airtight shell—as a poly finish does—and allows the wood to breathe and age properly.

• Nitrocellulose Finish