?Gibson guitars in Memphis is a great tour. Located right next to Beale street there's plenty of parking and it's only $10 bucks a pop.Weekday tours start?on the hour each hour beginning at 11:00 and ending at 4:00. They are about 45 minutes long so you get plenty of time. There are different times on the weekends so check Gibson's web site for more details. You'll get a complete tour of the building process from start to finish. I would recommend getting there early and checking out all the?guitars in?the showroom. You can play them and It's incredible,?they also have all the T-shirts and accessories you could imagine, pretty much Gibson?heaven.


?First stop?you'll see a 335 body before the building begins?. The 335's and other semi hollowbodies Gibson makes have laminated tops. Poplar for the middle woods?and maple for the outsides or tops. These tops are then steamed and pressed to take on that carved form.?They also make some Les Paul Customs and the doubleneck that Jimmy Page made famous.Rock 'n' Roll! The guitar bodies?are CNC machine?cut .The necks
are made in Nashville but are not finals. They install the frets then hand shape the necks to get the Gibson feel and spec.


?Once the seperate pieces are done they install and glue in the necks and route the bodies. They are then smooth sanded for paint. After the paint is applied logo's are installed and the Nitro lacquer is sprayed. It takes up to 10 days for all the coats of Nitro to cure and be sanded. Many vintage buffs believe that the Nitro finish improves the tone and doesn't dampen tone?like many of the new poly finishes.


?Once those steps are done they are sent to the women who remove any lacquer or paint overspray. Only women are employed here as their small hands and patience leave them more suited for this work, that's Gibson's own words so don't shoot me for that one. Then on to the buffers for the great Gibson luster in the finish. Once that's completed electronics and hardware are installed. Guitars are?strung up,?tested and then final inspected with a play test before being boxed up for shipment. I was surprised that they don't really spend a lot of time getting the intonation set. I have a previous article on how to set your intonation that really works.


Gibson makes about 40 guitars a day in Memphis and many of their finished products are on display in the showroom. So if you get a chance check this tour out, even if your not a Gibson fan you'll enjoy it. Be sure to check out the pics below that?I was able to snag with their permission of course!!


Guitar Guru