Gibson Guitar's 2016 Line-Up, the Insanity of 2015 is OVER!

Did you hear that loud “Pop”?   For Gibson guitar lovers, it was a sweet sound.  Word on the street is that it was the sound of Gibson Guitar’s proverbial head popping out of a very, very dark place.

Just in case you, dear reader, are the one guitar player who didn’t catch it, Gibson really screwed the pooch in 2015, imposing “improvements” upon almost every model guitar.  It was by all accounts guitar atrocities. The most offensive of which were:

• G-Force automatic tuning system
• Zero Fret Adjustable Nut
• Wider neck and compound-Radius fingerboard with flatter frets
• Les Paul 100th birthday signature
• Only high-gloss finishes

Yep, EVERY 2015 model had those awful e-tuners; and what the heck, an “adjustable” zero-fret nut?   Flatter frets??  Man, remember those 70’s “fretless Wonders”?  Ugg.   And, who the heck this side of 1989 has been calling for wider necks on Gibson’s?  I guess the same folks who wanted a compound-radius fingerboard.  No one!

To me, the ultimate example of how insane the 2015 line-up was would be the 2015 Les Paul Junior … long the hallmark of striped-down punkish rock energy.  Imagine this guitar with its electronic tuners, big adjustable brass zero-fret nut, high-gloss finish, and wide neck with flat frets and a compound radius.  Holy crap batman, it looks like an evil guitar villain has been at work. It's like putting automatic transmission, air shocks, and cruise control on a vintage hard-tail Harly!

But today is a new day, as Gibson has just announced a return to the pre-ridiculous 2015 models!  Yep, Gibson is gonna scrap such 2015 “improvements” as the Zero nut, Les Paul commemorative headstock inlay and automatic tuning machines on every guitar.  The line-up will be similar to that of 2012 including faded finish guitars.  Whoo-hoo.

There was one more issue with the Gibson 2015 lineup: the price.  All models were priced through the freeking roof, some called it criminal, I just called it stupid, kinda like Gibson saying “we really don’t want to sell any more guitars”.   Again, 2016 brings good news; Gibsons will still be a bit pricey, but will be right back on-par with the pre-insanity 2014 models.  On average, this will be about 20-30% below 2015 prices.  Woo-hoo again.

So there, Gibson fans relax.  For now at least, the craziness has subsided.

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