The Nashvi l le Sound—

Plating for

Music’s Stars

This Les Paul Standard, “Jimmy Page Signature” guitar has many of the same features as the Les PaulClassic Plus outlined in the accompanying table.

Gibson USA, Nashville, TN, makes electricguitars that are used bymusicians all over theworld. Among those whoplay or have playedGibson guitars are B.B.King, the Beatles,Aerosmith, Chet Atkins,Guns N’ Roses, PearlJam, and guitar pioneerLes Paul, who designed aGibson model in the

1950s. That model devel-oped into the company’s

most popular series andcarries the famous entertainer’s

name. Whether country, jazz,blues or rock, most of the great

stars have played a Gibson.

In the early 1980s, recession tookits toll on many companies, andGibson was no exception. Thenowned by Norlin Industries, thecompany’s reputation began to slip.“The company had become toosluggish and inefficient,” said JohnHiggins, senior buyer for the Nash-ville plant. “In 1986, it was purchasedby a team of new owners, headed byHenry Juszkiewicz and DavidBerryman, who were willing to trynew things. A lot of changes tookplace, and we made a transformationon the same order of Harley-Davidson(U.S. makers of the Harley-Davidsonmotorcycles). We started to payattention to the things that madeGibson successful in the first place,”Higgins said.

For most guitarists and guitar lovers,the name Gibson brings to mind quality

and innovation in electric guitars. Formore than 100 years, the high standards

set by Orville Gibson, the company’sfounder, have been more than specifica-tions. Quality has become a tradition thathas made Gibson the most famous name

in electric guitars. The hand-craftedcare used to make each instrument is

evident in every step of manufactur-ing. The plating process for the

metal hardware receives the samecareful attention as all other

areas. If it’s going to be usedon a Gibson, it has to beright.

8 PLATING & SURFACE FINISHING

A Peop le CompanyGibson practices total quality man-agement (TQM) throughout the plant,and many of the company’s suppliersalso subscribe to TQM practices.

Emphasis is placed on teamwork,and the company hosts family-oriented activities throughout theyear. The concept has resulted in aworking-family atmosphere at theplant.

“We really are the Gibson family,”Higgins said. “It’s that kind of close-knit relationship between employees,and extending to include families ofemployees, that makes our entire staffvery special. Many are musicians, soit’s more than just a job for them.”

The family concept has worked sowell that suppliers are now includedin the company’s inner circle.Suppliers are encouraged to visit theplant, attend company functions,discuss production with employees,and become more involved with thecompany’s mission. “We’ve foundthat the more our suppliers knowabout us, the better job they can dofor us. And, it makes it easier to workwith suppliers that you know. When Icall a supplier with a problem, I wantan answer in 10 minutes,” Higginssaid.

What’s So SpecialAbout a Gibson?“Gibson quality comes with a lifetimewarranty,” says Higgins. “They’remade to perform and last. We onlyuse the highest quality materials andwe know that if the quality is there in

our products, our products will alwaysbe in demand.”

Wood is the primary material in theguitars. The company uses only thebest mahogany and curly mapleavailable for the bodies and necks.Rosewood and ebony are used forfretboards (fingerboards). Wood ispurchased from areas all over theworld, and each piece is selected tomeet Gibson’s requirements.

Two basic policies were establishedby Orville Gibson that are continuedtoday: Buy or invent machines fordangerous or repetitive opera-tions requiring great accuracy,and employ highly skilledworkers when the human touch,or a musician’s ear is needed.

The wood is planed, cut andkiln-dried when it arrives at theplant. Drying can sometimestake as long as 10 days,depending on the wood.Tops and backs arematched and gluedtogether to produce“blanks.”

Precisionmachines are usedto cut each blankinto the desiredshape for aparticular kind ofguitar body or

neck. From there, each step of themanufacturing process is mostlycompleted by hand. “It’s that indi-vidual, hand-crafted touchthat makes each guitarspecial and helps keepour quality high,” saysHiggins. The wood isallowed to restbetween each stageof the productionprocess. “Some-times a cut in thewood will cause itto change, so werest it to be surenothing happensto change thecontour of thewood, or affectthe next stage ofproduction,”Higgins said.The wood issealed andfinished withfive coats ofhigh-glosslacquer in avariety of

A limited number of theGibson Centennial

Collection was manufac-tured in 1994 to commemorate

100 years of production ofGibson guitars. The hardware is

plated with 24-karat gold.

Special control buttons were made depicting “Gibson 100” for use on the Gibson Centen-nial Collection. This photo shows how buttons appeared before (left) and after plating with24-karat gold.

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colors, dependingon the model.

The material forall parts in thehardware ofGibson guitars isspecified andmanufactured onlyfor Gibson,according toHiggins. “Anyvariation willaffect the sound ofthe guitar, so weare very particularabout quality andconsistency,” hesaid.

At each stage ofthe manufacturingprocess, the partsare checked and re-checked. Eachfinish goes througha series of inspec-tions. Whencomplete, eachguitar is checked,tuned, and playedby a guitarist onstaff. It has to beperfect. Everyguitar produced inthe plant is given a final check by aseasoned guitar player. If it passesinspection, it becomes a Gibson.

Metal FinishingBecause he likes to work closely withall suppliers, Higgins stays withcompanies that consistently deliverhigh quality. He uses only two metalfinishers for plating hardware—Electro Chemical Finishing, Inc.,Wyoming, MI; and Advanced Plating,Nashville, TN. Both are jobshops thathave enjoyed a long relationship withthe guitar maker.

Some of the parts are made of zincdiecast, while others are made ofbrass, depending on its use. The metalpickup covers are made of a propri-etary alloy.

Other plated parts include tailpieces, jack plates, and ABR bridgesthat were initiated by Gibson. In themusic industry, the company isknown for innovation and a willing-ness to try new things.

The basic finishes required for partsare gold, silver, nickel and chromium.Some models, however, are availablewith black chromium hardware.

The Les Paul ® ClassicP r e m i u m P l u s

The 1960 Les Paul Standard was the first Gibson to feature the modern “slimtaper” neck. With a thickness graduation of only about a tenth of an inch from thefirst fret to the twelfth, while maintaining a precisely controlled width-to-thicknessratio, the “slim taper” neck promotes speed while reducing player fatigue. For thisreason, many players consider the 1960 Standard the best version of the Les Paul.

The Les Paul Classic Premium Plus features the 1960 neck pattern and blends itwith a select grade AAA, two-piece flamed maple top on a solid mahogany back.

F e a t u r e s• Slim-taper ’60 neck specs• Hot ceramic magnet Gibson pickups• Premium grade AAA, bookmatched maple top

Pickups: Rhythm: 496-R ceramic magnet HBTreble: 500 T ceramic magnet HB

Controls: Two-volume, two-tone, 3-way switchHardware: Nickel

Scale/Nut width: 24 3/4 in./1.6875 in.Fingerboard/inlay: Rosewood, 22 frets/

“Aged” Trapezoid inlayNeck shape: 1960 “slim taper” LP

Binding: Body/NeckBridge/Tailpiece: Tune-o-matic/stop bar

Material : Two-piece grade AAA figured maple topMahogany backMahogany neck

Finish: Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Honey Burst, TranslucentAmber, Translucent Red, Translucent Purple, VintageSunburst.

The Fall 1995 edition of Gibson’s Les Paul Classic comes in a variety of colors. The user-friendly features make it themost popular model produced by the company.

10 PLATING & SURFACE FINISHING

Advanced P la t i ngAt Advanced Plating in Nashville,owners Steve and Sheri Tracy say thatpreparation of parts is the key to thequality finish required by Gibson.“We do a lot of polishing, cleaningand buffing,” says Steve Tracy.

All parts go through an alkalinesoak cleaner, and are hand-cleanedwith toothbrushes prior to beingplated with copper. The shop uses acyanide-copper solution because itprovides the best results. The copperfinish is polished to eliminate imper-fections, and to remove excessdeposits that could keep parts fromfitting properly. After buffing andinspection, the part goes throughanother alkaline cleaning process, amild acid etch and bright nickel,followed by the final finish of eithergold, silver, or chromium. Only 24-karat gold plating is used. Each part isplated by hand, except for screws andnuts, which are barrel-plated to matchthe colors of the hardware they will beused with.

“I consider Gibson’s requirementsto be a jewelry-type fin-

ish,” said Tracy, whose primarybusiness is built around plating partsfor antique automobiles. “It’s veryhigh-quality and requires a lot of handwork.”

Electro ChemicalF in i sh ingAbout 75 percent of Gibson’shardware is plated at Electro Chemi-cal Finishing, which has two jobshopsin Wyoming, MI. The shop thatfinishes guitar parts processes onlyhigh-quality plating with an all hand-dipped process. The plant has morethan 200 customers and also handles avariety of parts for the federalgovernment.

Electro Chemical’s Betty Paintersays the company has been platingGibson parts for many years. “We goway back, so Gibson is a very specialcustomer for us,” she said. FounderOrville Gibson started his business inKalamazoo, MI, in 1894, so thecompany has had close ties to the areafor years.

Electro Chemical provides mostlygold, nickel or chromium finishes forthe guitar parts. Plating thickness

varies, depending on the part, with

some of the gold deposited at up to 10mil. Last year, the jobshop plated thespecial centennial hardware in 24-karat gold that was used on thelimited Gibson Centennial Collectionguitars—some of which are priced atmore than $200,000.

Electro Chemical also plates partsfor Gibson’s other plants. Tobias andSteinberger guitars are made inNashville, where the company’sCustom Shop is also located. Twoplants are located in Bozeman, MT—Gibson’s Acoustic Factory that makesacoustic guitars, and Gibson’sFlatiron Factory that makes banjosand mandolins. Another plant islocated in California, where Dobroguitars are manufactured.

Both plating shops provide Gibsonwith parts that meet its high stan-dards. Higgins says all parts on aGibson must be polished smooth, freeof blemishes and pits, and withoutmanufacturing marks. The final shapeand size of the parts are also critical,because they must fit and operateproperly.

“We’ve worked with both of ourplaters for a long time,” Higgins says.“They know what we expect, so wehave very few rejects. If we do have aproblem, they’re always here to fixit.”

They Just Get BetterGood music is the real drive behindGibson guitars, but there is somethingto be said for their value as collectoritems. They appreciate over time.

When Gibson introduced the firstLes Paul model in the 1950s, little didthe company know that it wouldbecome the standard of the industry.That first model sold for $240 each.Today, those same guitars, in goodcondition, are selling for $50,000–$100,000. Even Gibson guitars thatare only a few years old will sell foras much or more than their originalpurchase price.

“Remember, our guitars come witha lifetime warranty,” says Higgins. “Ifa part ever does wear out, we replaceit free. That’s why we put so muchcare and quality into the construction.If you take care of a Gibson, it just

gets better with time.” ee

Advanced Plating owners Sheri and Steve Tracy pose in the lobby of their shop, where anumber of refinished antique car parts processed at the facility are displayed.

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