By Brett Ratner

While the concerts and endorsees certainly provided newsworthy bits of information during NAMM week, the big news was obviously the new products from Gibson Musical Instruments.

NEW AXES

Gibson's Electric Guitar division unveiled six new instruments; the "Gem" series, the "Landmark" series, the long-anticipated "BluesHawks," the "Graceland Limited Edition," the "Smart Wood" Les Paul and the George St. Pierre Tie-Dye Les Pauls.

THE GEM SERIES

The Les Paul Gem Series consists of limited-edition Les Paul Studios available in all new colors inspired by precious gems. "Sapphire Blue," "Ruby Red," "Amethyst Purple," "Topaz Yellow" and "Emerald Green" round out an exciting lineup of color choices.

In the sound department, the unique and powerful sound of P-90 pickups supercharge this Les Paul into a tone-packed hybrid of vintage tones and modern looks. The famous Les Paul body style features a mahogany back and maple top with gold hardware. A limited-edition Gem Series decal decorates the back of every headstock.

THE LANDMARK SERIES

The beauty and majesty of America's National Parks and National Monuments is reflected in the new Gibson Landmark Series. Bright new colors inspired by National Parks and Monuments across America are the visual focus of this Nighthawk-style instrument.

The mahogany neck and bound mahogany body are topped with choice maple and outfitted with gold hardware. Each guitar receives a Landmark Series decal in the shape of the USA with a gold star noting the location of the National Park or National monument specific to each color. "Glacier Blue," "Everglades Green," "Navajo Turquoise," "Mojave Burst" and "Sequoia Red" are the new color options. Each is a shining example of the famous Gibson lacquer finish and is polished to a beautiful glow. Mini-humbucking pickups in both the neck and bridge positions complete this limited edition model. The crisp clarity and subtle warmth of these pickups make them suitable for any style of music.

THE BLUESHAWK

From the down home muddy Delta to the swinging Texas plains to the uptown shuffles of Chicago, the blues has been the touchstone for nearly all indigenous music styles. The simplicity of its form demands that each player speak from the soul, finding their unique voice in an instrument that can express a wide range of emotions. In the spirit of the blues, Gibson USA presents the BluesHawk.

Its bound poplar body is capped with a solid maple top for bright, stinging tone. The matched f-holes add a touch of class and contribute to the woody, natural sound. The one-piece Mahogany neck has the traditional feel of the classic Gibson electrics. A 25 =" scale makes string bending a breeze, and the beautiful rosewood fingerboard is inlaid with diamond-shaped position markers, tastefully echoed by the double-diamond headstock inlay. To enhance the performance of the specially-designed "Blues-90" single-coil pickups, a third "dummy" coil is installed in the body to reduce hum without affecting tone in any way.

The BluesHawk is available in Ebony or Heritage Cherry finishes, complimented by gold hardware and vintage style tuners.

GRACELAND LIMITED EDITION

The Graceland Limited Edition guitar is Gibson's commemorative to the legacy of Elvis Presley. Before Las Vegas before the Hollywood movies Elvis Presley was a groundbreaking recording artist and performer. He was a major contributor in the movement that forged a new style of music, blending R&B, gospel and country into the exciting blast that is rockabilly. Young America is still reeling from the shock.

Gibson's Graceland Limited Edition is based on the customized J-200 Gibson which Elvis carried to fame. The semi-hollow body is shaped with an acoustic outline and surrounded by Les Paul Custom-style binding. The beauty of the maple top is brought out with a warm honey finish, while the poplar back is sprayed with a burgundy finish. The unusual pickguard features a hot-stamped decorative trademark pattern from Presley's own guitar, now known as the "Elvis logo."

The comfortable neck is one-piece maple, fitted with an ebony fingerboard trimmed with white binding. As on Elvis' original J-200, acrylic mother-of-pearl inlays spell out his name, bordered by two inlaid stars. The special headstock has a white binding and is accented by an acrylic crown, topped by four genuine inset diamonds.

The Graceland Limited Edition sports gold hardware and features two P-90 pickups, a three-way toggle switch, a Tune-O-Matic bridge and an engraved stop bar tailpiece.

Rounding out this complete tribute package, the Graceland guitar comes with a white leather strap, adorned with rhinestones set in a starburst pattern. A special tweed case carries and protects this commemorative limited-edition musical investment.

SMART WOOD

Gibson Musical Instruments and the Rainforest Alliance have announced the first-ever production-line guitar made completely of "Smart Wood," wood harvested without destroying the environment.

Two years in the planning, the first Gibson Smart Wood guitar, a Les Paul Standard model, has been finished. All the wood for the guitar was certified by the Rainforest Alliance, the international non-profit environmental organization. Maple makes up the face of the guitar while chechen wood is the fingerboard and mahogany is used for the body and neck. All are certified wood.

The Gibson Les Pauls are the first guitars of the successful Smart Wood program, which certifies environmentally responsible forest management. It is the oldest and largest wood certification program in existence, with nearly 10 million acres registered globally. Its goal is to reduce the negative environmental impacts of logging and ensure sustainable forest development. Certification requires that companies protect local biodiversity and watersheds, minimize damage to remaining forests, develop positive relationships with local communities and workers and plant trees on cleared or degraded land. Companies that meet these requirements can use the Smart Wood "seal of approval" on their products.

"As a global leader in the production of the world's finest musical instruments, Gibson is committed to set the standards in terms of the environment and helps provide a reliable, long-term supply of resources for everyone," says Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Musical Instruments. "Needless to say, we've used a lot of wood in the first hundred years at Gibson. By using the Smart Wood, we'll be certain that our most precious resource will be available for another hundred years."

"Smart Wood represents the cutting-edge of market-driven conservation," said Daniel Katz, Executive Director and co-founder of the Rainforest Alliance. "The producers we certify gain access to the expanding market for environmentally-responsible products for green consumers and musicians. Gibson is to be congratulated for taking the lead and positioning the music industry as good environmental stewards."

GEORGE ST. PIERRE

Tie-Dye - The phrase brings to mind images of the fabulous '60s with carefree hippies frolicking at the free concert in the park while their favorite bands their classic instruments through set-long extended jams. It was an era of exploration in all phases of society. Men walked on the moon, while their earth-bound brethen found alternative means to leave the planet. Fashion took a decidedly casual turn, and Tie-Dye dresses and T-shorts were the uniform of the exploding youth movement.

On May 23, 1954, the artist who "always loved colors" was born in Denver, Colorado. George St. Pierre traveled the cuntry compliments of the U.S. Army. His father was stationed at various times in Oakland, San Francisco, Okinawa, Clovis, Phoenix, Atlanta and Tampa, among other culturally-diverse locations. George loved to work with his hands and drifted toward woodworking, furniture building, carpentry and construction.

College days, spent in part at Auburn University, offered George a chance to expand his creative inclinations. The pre-veterinarian medicine student tried acting for a time, and wound up in radio as a DJ, doing voice-overs and commercials. He also promoted concerts, a talent that led him to a position as manager of the largest dinner theater in America at the time, in Montgomery, Alabama.

George St. Pierre arrived at Gibson USA nearly six years ago. He continued his tie-dyed shirt making hobby and expanded it into a custom order business with help from his wife, Dorothy. Meanwhile, George was experimenting with a unique tie-dye process with a scrapped guitar body during break periods at Gibson. George finished his prototype and presented it to Gibson USA CEO Henry Juszkiewicz in October, 1995. In February of the following year, Henry gave George a project - design and build 103 tie-dyed Les Pauls for the summer NAMM show. The results are in. The Tie-Dye Les Paul Series is a collection of individually-numbered and signed works of art - a fascinating testament to the vision and creative spark of George St. Pierre and Gibson USA.

EPI ELECTAR

Epiphone was no slouch in the new products department either. The big news at Epiphone's is the "Electar" line of P.A. gear.

Rugged, powerful and packed with features, these brand-new powered mixers, speaker cabinets and even rack-mount stereo power amps, Electar brings high-performance within reach of the aspiring musician or band.

You really need to check this stuff out for yourself. But to name a few features off the top, think about digital effects, rugged cloth covering, name brand speaker cones and horns, phantom power and plenty of signal-routing capabilities in a reasonably-priced P.A. system. Pretty cool, huh?

Also new from Electar is an all-tube vintage-style combo amp with a sweet-sounding 10" speaker! New from Epiphone is a line of tweed-style, feature-packed solid-state guitar amps, including an acoustic guitar amp.

THE DAWN OF A GREAT ACOUSTIC AMP

Utilizing its exclusive "180 degree" technology, Dawn unveiled it's APS-180 acoustic amp. Featuring the ability to mix, for example, vocals with acoustic guitar, this system could prove to be the ultimate tool for the performing songwriter and acoustic musician. Soon to be available to the public, we will provide more information on this unique product (available in attractive mahogany covering) as it becomes available.

GIBSON'S IN CHARGE

Wouldn't it be great to have a Gibson that could fit in your wallet? Better yet, what if it could be used to purchase more Gibsons? Well, your wish is our command as the Gibson Master Card was presented to the public at a press conference at Henry's Coffeehouse in Nashville during N.A.M.M. On hand for the event was Marty Stuart and top Nashville Producer/MCA Records President Tony Brown. In celebration of the event, $10,000 was donated to one of Stuart's favorite charities, Operation Smile.

SLINGERLAND EPIC DRUMS

To realize the goal to create a great-sounding but affordable line of drums worthy of its namesake, The Slingerland Drum Company unveiled its new SPIRIT line at the Summer N.A.M.M..

"Slingerland is proud to introduce to the percussion market three things that made America great in the last century," Henry Juszkeiwicz, Gibson Musical Instruments C.E.O. said. "Those three things are: innovative material and hardware, the labor of highly skilled American craftsman, and an unbelievable value pricing! This is truly the most innovative drum introduction in 15 years."

Featuring a U.S. manufactured material called "Tensorite," the SPIRIT's shells are environmentally-friendly, acoustically sound, and guaranteed not to warp. Add to this an exclusive, heat-impervious, scratch-resistant finish and the Spirit line achieves unheard of levels of durability in a drum.

The SPIRIT 4, 5 and 6-piece kits come complete with quality, double-braced hardware (including snare stand, kick pedal, hi-hat and cymbal stands), a SPIRIT snare drum and Remo heads.

The three configurations of the SPIRIT line offer a high degree of flexibility as well. The 4-piece kit is comprised of a 10x12 tom, 14x14 floor tom and 16x22 bass drum. The 5-piece contains 10x12 and 11x13 mounted toms, a16x16 floor tom and a 16x22 bass. The 6-piece adds a 9x10 tom. All sets come with a 51/2x14 chrome finished snare.

MAGNAMAXX AND EPIC

Even the best performer is useless without a great supporting cast. With this in mind, Slingerland Drum Company offers two new lines of top-quality hardware worthy to uphold 78 years of Slingerland heritage. Examples of both were unveiled at the 1996 Summer N.A.M.M. event in Nashville.

Magnamaxx is hardware designed to provide durability, flexibility and portability under the most rigorous road use.

Magnamaxx cymbal stands feature ultra heavy-duty double bracing and a unique three-tiered design with a fully-adjustable base. Add to that an exclusive "360 Tilter" swivel head and you get a cymbal stand with a dizzying array of heights and positions, including the ability to assume "straight" and "boom" positions. To ease transport, the stand collapses to accommodate even the smallest of trap cases. The Magnamaxx family also includes a sturdy snare stand with a convenient "ball and socket" joint which enables the player to precisely and securely adjust the height and angle of their snare drum. High quality Magnamaxx double tom, hi-hat stands, kick pedals and bass drum mounts are also available.

For the ultimate in performance and style, Slingerland presents the first piece in its exclusive Epic line.

Epic combines the cutting edge technology with old-world craftsmanship to create what is simply the finest hardware available. First introduced in the thirties, our latest Epic drum pedal combines an elegant cast footboard with a precision-machined frame. All movable joints use ultra-smooth bearings, while the need for a chain has been eliminated due to this pedal's innovative design. The result is an exceptionally fast pedal with a solid feel.

"Magnamaxx and Epic stands and pedals combine the beauty, styling, and advantages of vintage hardware with the technology of the future," Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson Musical Instruments CEO, said. "These two series in their respective price ranges, offer the drummer what he has been looking for years to find."

Watch for other Epic and Magnamaxx models in the future.

QUALITY, PRESTIGE & INNOVATION

Gibson certainly lived up to its reputation for the 1996 version of Summer N.A.M.M. in Nashville, Tennesse. From guitars to amps to drums to P.A. gear and even to credit cards, Gibson has something new and exciting for every member of your band.