Japan superstar Tak Matsumoto joins the ranks of legendary Gibson signature artists

Gibson has been the choice of legendary guitarists since early in the century. From Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery to Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Joe Perry. Even though Gibson is played by a virtual "whos who" in the annals of music history, the selection of Gibson Signature artists has been a highly exclusive honor which has not occurred more than a dozen times.

The latest addition to the Gibson signature artist club which includes superstars such as B.B. King, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry and Ace Frehley is Tak Matsumoto. The average American music aficionado may wonder who this is, but to fans in Japan, Tak Matsumoto is fast approaching legendary status as a rock guitar icon.

As leader of the Japanese rock band, Bz, Tak Matsumoto has taken his trademark Gibson Les Paul to the top of the charts with album sales of nearly 60,000,000. Sold-out stadium tours and media clamor surrounding Tak Matsumoto caught the attention of Gibson who quickly made him their first Asian signature artist. "There is a lot of great music coming out of Japan right now and Tak is the number one guitar player in Asia and in Japan, no doubt," said Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. "Hes a loyal Gibson player, a major influence on young guitarists and a superstar. We couldnt be more proud to work with Tak to produce a Signature Les Paul."

The Tak Matsumoto Signature Les Paul is one of Gibsons strongest selling models this year with backorders well into the year 2000.