pictures from my tour of gibson montana

[MissouriPicker]

Excellent pictures. A picture is worth a thousand words and your pics tell a great story. ............Play all the guitars you can. Then find yourself a Gibson.

[00-28]

I was suprised to see how early in the production process the neck was attached as compared to Taylor and Martin. .....Mike

[Riverwolf]

Originally Posted by jpd

Great to see. I'm surprised at how small of an operation the acoustic dept. is.

Yes, me too. Silly question maybe, are ALL Gibson acoustic guitars made in this factory?
OP thanks for all those photos!

[davenumber2]

Yes. All Gibby acoustics are made in Bozeman.

[mtsusean]

does anyone have a definitive answer why Bozeman, MT was chosen as the site for Gibson acoustic? I'm curious.

[ewalling]

I thought Gibby employees were supposed to be tyrannized, underpaid, abused and malnourished.

What's going on here ...

Originally Posted by mtsusean

does anyone have a definitive answer why Bozeman, MT was chosen as the site for Gibson acoustic? I'm curious.

Gibson purchased the Flatiron Mandolin company which was located in Bozeman. Eventually they transitioned acoustic guitar production up there. Here is a quote from the Gibson website:

In 1987 Gibson bought the Flatiron Mandolin Company in Belgrade, Mont., initially with the aim of co-opting the excellent carved-top, F-5 style mandolins that this small outfit had begun to manufacture. All of Gibson’s mandolin manufacturing was moved from Nashville to Bozeman, a larger town near Belgrade where the new facility was to be established, and for a time the Flatiron workshop successfully produced mandolins under both its former and the new Gibson brand names.

Headed by the talented luthier Ren Ferguson, the small but skilled team in Bozeman established a new standard for quality hand-made mandolins, and the shop’s achievements were quickly acknowledged in the marketplace. As much as the mandolin had been a cornerstone instrument for Gibson back at its founding nearly 100 years before, however, the flat-top guitar was clearly the instrument that players and collectors most wanted to see brought back from the brink of extinction. With a team of artisans now in place, Gibson’s new management saw the wisdom in making acoustic guitars in Bozeman, and in 1989 it began moving flat-top production entirely from Nashville to a new plant that was just being finished on the outskirts of this Montana mountain town. Mandolin production was, in turn, soon moved back to Nashville in order to make room for this new priority out west. Gibson’s goal was nothing short of reestablishing the reputation for quality acoustic flat-top guitars that the company had enjoyed in its heyday, but this was bound to be an uphill climb.

[J185-4Me]

A quick edit for you: It's 'Sheri' Catterlin, who is the receptionist, not 'Jeri'. :-)

Fred

[Brendan @ Heartbreaker Guitars]

These are great shots! Thanks for the tour

[jaybones]

Did you get any free samples at the end of the tour? I know wineries and breweries you do...

[51 Relic]

Nice to see where "Gabby "my new J45 was born

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by mtsusean

does anyone have a definitive answer why Bozeman, MT was chosen as the site for Gibson acoustic? I'm curious.

Hi m…

It's really pretty out there. If that's not the reason, it should be.

[Gasworker]

Very cool! Thanks so much for the tour.

[CRM]

Thanks for taking the time to takes us along with you on your tour.

[eljay]

Originally Posted by mtsusean

does anyone have a definitive answer why Bozeman, MT was chosen as the site for Gibson acoustic? I'm curious.

and to add to mark's good answer: i asked don if gibson moved the acoustic work to bozeman because that's where ren was.

he told me that montana was selected because of the low humidity--much better than tennessee for building acoustic guitars. ren's presence was a contributing benefit. fwiw.