Old Hickory Gibson Les Paul guitar
This guitar was played “as is” with no prior set up. It held it’s tune very well, considering the age of the original strings.
Gibson to Build 200 Guitars from Historic Tree
July 10, 1998 — Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Musical Instruments, announced today that Gibson will build up to 200 “Old Hickory” guitars using a historic tree that was downed at The Hermitage during the tornado that ravaged Nashville in April, making national headlines.
The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson, suffered extensive damage in the storm, especially the loss of a 275-year-old tulip poplar tree - a state record holder in age and size, and already an old tree when Andrew Jackson lived at The Hermitage from 1804 to 1845.
Gibson has teamed up with The Hermitage to secure the fallen tulip poplar tree and produce the highly collectible guitars. Each one features Andrew Jackson’s portrait inlaid on the headstock, the name “Old Hickory” inlaid on the hickory fretboard, and a portrait of The Hermitage mansion on the pick guard. Three special guitars will have a mother-of-pearl banner inlaid on the body, highlighting key dates in the life of Jackson and The Hermitage.
The first “old Hickory” guitar will be given to the Smithsonian Institution and the rest will be made available to the public, with proceeds going to support The Hermitage restoration. While no price has been set for the guitars, one collector estimates that they will cost “a number of Jacksons”.
Henry Juszkiewicz says, “Mother Nature has truly tested our resolve, and we can think of no better way to respond than by creating the “Old Hickory” guitar from the ancient wood of a beautiful 275 year-old poplar tree that once was a cool and shady place for the 7th President of the United States and his family. We hope the guitars will always symbolize the boundless courage of the people of Tennessee and the undaunted American spirit that has been so prevalent through the many natural disasters of the last year.”
The “Old Hickory” will be unveiled at a special public ceremony at The Hermitage, on July 12th, 3:00-5:00 p.m. Guitar legend Chet Atkins will be on hand as well as other political luminaries and musicians
This past April 16 marked the tenth anniversary of a savage series of tornados that ripped through the city of Nashville, TN in 1998. The extent of damage to the city and surrounding rural areas was massive.
A major victim of this natural disaster was The Hermitage, the historic family home of the 7th U. S. President, Andrew Jackson (nicknamed “Old Hickory”). “Although the 177-year-old mansion was virtually untouched, more than 1200 trees on the extensive grounds, some planted by Old Hickory himself, were devastated.”
One of the fallen trees was a 275-year-old tulip poplar, which was at the time the tallest and oldest tulip poplar in the state of Tennessee. With wood harvested from this fallen behemoth, the Gibson Custom Guitar Shop set out to produce 200 Custom Les Pauls to commemorate both the horrific storm of April 16th, and the memory of Andrew Jackson and The Hermitage. The fingerboard itself was to be fashioned from a hickory tree which fell next to the grave of Jacksons wife, Rachel.
The first “Old Hickory” guitar was unveiled at The Hermitage on July 12, 1998 —- with many political and musical dignitaries present, including Chet Atkins and then vice-president Al Gore (see photos). Subsequently, this guitar was donated to the Smithsonian Institution.
We are offering this immaculate Old Hickory guitar at $6,900 or best offer. It is a very early model with a serial number of OH 027. The grain pattern is very unique compared to other Old Hickory guitars, and is quite striking. Although Gibson intended a run of 200 guitars, I have heard that the goal fell short at around 188 because the source of tulip poplar wood ran out. Please do email for additional photos and details.
Although not technically a vintage guitar, the value of this instrument will be determined by the unique nature and history of the materials from which it was crafted. Unlike ANY other popular guitar model —- vintage or otherwise — there can NEVER be a “Reissue” of an Old Hickory.
Please review the links below for more information on the Old Hickory guitars, as well as a remarkable (and frightening) You-Tube VIDEO depicting the storms that swept through Nashville that April day in 1998:
http://www.gibson.com
Duration : 0:5:7
Read more…
Technorati Tags: Andrew, dloganfoster, GIBSON, GUITAR, Hermitage, hickory, jackson, LES, Nashville, old, PAUL, tornado
Guitar wizard, inventor, architect of rock ‘n’ roll…the legendary Les Paul tells his own rags-to-riches story in this feature-length documentary shot in HD. From his hometown in Waukesha to Chicago, Nashville, Hollywood and the National Inventors Hall of Fame, follow the life and times of this irrepressible superstar. Featuring a wall-to-wall soundtrack of greatest hits, Les Paul: Chasing Sound! also includes interviews with B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Tony Bennett, Jeff Beck, Merle Haggard, Steve Miller and many more.
Tribute to the late and great guitar player, Joe Pass and many other fine jazz musicians like Miles Davis or Barney Kessel.
A short demo on the Seymour Duncan STL-1B Vintage Broadcaster Lead for Telecaster pickup. I have the pickup fitted into a Tele project that I recently completed. The body and neck were pretty cheap, due to this being my first attempt, and I’ll probably upgrade in the future. I apologise for the sound quality, but I had microphone problems and so had to use the webcam mic…
Barney Kessel Orfeo Negro Medley
Official Seymour Duncan Product Video
Hi, this is my first youtube vid. Some intro from Cliffs of Dover as well!
Slash and Les Pauls go hand in hand, and the new Slash Signature Les Paul Goldtop from Gibson USA represents everything Slash loves in his personal Les Pauls, and more. Hear why Slash loves his Les Pauls, and how he brought rock and roll back from the brink with a Gibson Les Paul slung over his shoulder all exclusively from Gibson. http://www.gibson.com/
Guitar:
http://www.frettedamericana.com/details.php?id=601&counter=0