Gibson’s Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox Offers Most Comprehensive Home       Music System Available

Gibson Audio Division Sets New Standard for Home Digital Music

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…Las Vegas, Nevada….January  04, 2005….... Gibson Audio, the consumer electronics division of the Gibson Guitar Corp, will exhibit a new line of “digital jukeboxes” designed specifically for the home, and to be sold under the world’s most famous jukebox name – Wurlitzer. While the name Wurlitzer can conjure up images of bubbles, colored light tubes and ’50s diners, the new Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox is in a different category altogether, featuring a sleek, contemporary design and cutting-edge functionality that makes it the most comprehensive digital music solution to date.

The Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox features include:

·        Allows the user to store a huge CD collection in digital format (up to 1000 CDs), then control that music collection from a wireless touch-screen remote that features a remarkably elegant and simple user interface.

·         Provides direct access to the Wurlitzer Music Service, a digital music service that offers 100 channels of digital radio plus a full download store where the user can purchase and download over 750,000 songs directly to the jukebox.

·         Allows the user to take any of this music and build personalized playlists or create “mix” CDs.

·         Provides top quality audio with a custom-designed speaker and amplifier system from Klipsch Audio Technologies.

Non-tech consumers. While the cutting-edge functionality of the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox will certainly appeal to technophiles and early adopters, the product was developed specifically for the non-technical consumer.

 “We believe that there is a significant untapped market of folks who are aware of the power of digital music—or have a ‘techie’ friend who swears by it—but who continue to use physical CDs because they have yet to be offered a user-friendly digital music solution,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp. “The Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox is just what they’ve been waiting for.”

CD organization. One of the great advantages of the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox is its ability to instantly digitally organize a CD collection. When a CD is inserted, the jukebox automatically captures and stores the relevant digital information including Artist Name, CD and Song Title, Genre, and most uniquely, Cover Art. Users can then sort and access music in any way they want from the wireless touch-screen remote.  Perhaps best of all, they can take those hundreds of CDs that are cluttering their living room and box them up in the garage.

Audio quality. In addition to its powerful functionality and extreme simplicity, the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox also features high-end audio quality. CDs can be stored in various compression levels (160, 256, 320 kbps) as well as uncompressed digital format for the most discriminating audiophile.  Even more important to the audiophile, however, is the speaker and amplification system.

The Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox features a premium speaker and amplification system by legendary audio company Klipsch Audio Technologies. Gibson Audio carefully selected Klipsch as a “best of class” partner to deliver true audiophile quality to the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox.

 “Gibson Audio is very excited about the opportunity to bring together the legendary Wurlitzer and Klipsch brands,” added Juszkiewicz. “Klipsch’s audio engineers have delivered a customized speaker and amplifier system with sound quality that has exceeded even our own extremely high expectations.”

Two models. The flagship model of the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox line is a floorstanding, all-in-one design that evokes the historical Wurlitzer look, but with a modern flair. It stores up to 1000 CDs, comes with a wireless touch-screen remote, and features a Klipsch speaker and amplification system with floorstanding loudspeakers and a subwoofer built into the base of the jukebox unit.  For consumers who already have significant investments in stereo equipment, there is a component version, the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox “CP” that is functionally identical to the floorstanding device, but without speakers and in a “stereo rack” form factor designed to fit comfortably in existing home entertainment systems.

“Because Gibson is new to consumer electronics, we set out to make a statement with the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox. We knew that to establish Gibson Audio in this space as well as to do justice to the great Wurlitzer name, this product would have to be ahead of anything else on the market in terms of functionality, design, technology, sound quality, and most importantly, the simplicity of the user experience,” stated Juszkiewicz. “The Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox brings together the best of both of computing and consumer electronics . . . an entire world of music at your fingertips, instantly accessible and controllable from your living room couch.”

Gibson Audio. Gibson Audio was launched in May 2003 as a convergence company to design, develop and bring to market consumer audio products at the point of convergence between cutting edge digital technology and traditional consumer electronics. With its slogan “PURE & SIMPLE,” Gibson Audio products feature PURE audio quality combined with utterly SIMPLE user interaction. 

Headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.’s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Slingerland, Maestro, Valley Arts, Baldwin, Hamilton, Chickering and Wurlitzer. Visit Gibson’s website at www.gibson.com.

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Gibson contacts:         Caroline Galloway – GIBSON               440-338-3469 ph.  

caroline.galloway@gibson.com

                                    Jason Padgitt – ROGERS & COWAN   310-854-8140 ph.

                                                                                                jpadgitt@rogersandcowan.com

                                    Walter Carter, GIBSON                                    615-871-6500

                                                                                                walter.carter@gibson.com