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Hey it's Mat from Gibson Product Development - AMA

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ADP

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Nice! Crazy how nobody who worked on it remembers it being light weight. Any way, I sure hope Gibson changes hands again very soon.
 
matkoehler

matkoehler

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Stephens said:
Interesting, thanks for all the contributions Matt. Are you saying it’s actually easier to manufacture korina guitars overseas due to the wood being more easily available there vs. the US? Just curious on the challenges, is it a CITES issue still?
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Not exactly. Firstly we can make a lot more at our GQ factory in China than we can at the tiny Custom Shop in Nashville. But the specific issue we've been having is quality of the trees when they arrive and the resulting billets. Had to pause for a bit while we sent a tree back and got a different one. Paperwork and freight definitely does complicate things. But to your point it is a lot more expensive and difficult to land a tree from Africa here in Nashville than it is going to China. Working with Korina requires special considerations and precautions as well, as you may know.
 
Wilko

Wilko

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ADP said:
Nice! Crazy how nobody who worked on it remembers it being light weight. Any way, I sure hope Gibson changes hands again very soon.
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Really? Peter Frampton says it's "light" and the Phenix limited edition are weight relieved to match the 8.5 lb range. Average burst is 8.85 pounds. Customs are commonly well over 9 pounds.
 
Midnight Blues

Midnight Blues

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Wilko said:
Really? Peter Frampton says it's "light" and the Phenix limited edition are weight relieved to match the 8.5 lb range. Average burst is 8.85 pounds. Customs are commonly well over 9 pounds.
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You're right Wilko. Frampton has always said that it's light and would jokingly (maybe seriously?) said that Mark Mariana had over sanded it. Believe it or not, Frampton wasn't a fan of Les Pauls because of the weight, but the weight of the "Phenix" is really what attracted him to it in the first place, along with it's playability. He fell in love with it that night at the Fillmore West and the rest, as they say, is history. Given that, it's hard to believe that he's stated that if he had only one guitar to play, it would be his '64 335. He's been a fan of 335s since his early Humble Pie days.

With respect to the limited edition (35) Phenix model, it/they wasn't/weren't weight relieved. However, the ones currently being made in the Custom Shop are.


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LPJ17

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Hi Matt,

First of all, thank you for doing this! This is the best I have read in a long time… you’ve already talked about it but how is the process of releasing the “new historic” parts going? If I remember correctly last year you said they will be avail end of ‘23? I’m trying not to go after market but the wait is being awful…;)

Thanks and keep the good work!
 
Midnight Blues

Midnight Blues

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Wilko

Wilko

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“Gibson has used an “ultra-lightweight” weight-relieved mahogany body, along with a slim profile mahogany neck in keeping with the original model from 1954.”

Yeah nobody remembers it being light…
 
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