Gibson, Epiphone win Acoustic Guitar Players' Choice Awards

Both Gibson and Epiphone won coveted 2000 Players' Choice Awards (PCA) from Acoustic Guitar magazine, including a PCA for Gibson as one of only three brands that received the most votes overall as well as a Gold award in the Jumbo category.

"These awards recognize our tradition and continuing commitment to build great acoustics of hand-crafted excellence," said Gibson Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz.

"Nothing beats a good jumbo-size flattop for sheer volume and bass response" Acoustic Guitar's Teja Gerken said."Gibsons J-200 has been called 'the king of the flattops,' and it is fitting that the companys line of jumbos received the Gold."

Gibson also received a PCA for the large numbers of votes it received for various dreadnought-size models as well.

Epiphone won for "steel-strings up to $500." Epiphone offers "proven lines of affordable guitars with great sound, playability, and prices," Gerken says.

The winners were chosen by "a write-in voting process that allows real guitarists to voice their opinions about their favorite gear in four overarching categories: guitars, accessories (including instructional materials), performance gear, and recording gear," Gerken says. For these awards, Acoustic Guitar tallied almost 5,000 ballots (that came in via mail or through their web site, www.acousticguitar.com, and created 39 award categories, reflecting the types of guitars, accessories, and related gear that received the most votes.

The complete results are in the August, 2000 issue of Acoustic Guitar.

In the same issue is a feature "What They Play" about the legendary Everly Brothers by author David Simons. "When it comes to the unmistakable acoustic sound of the Everly Brothers, size matters. For their live work, the brothers lugged around a pair of mid-1950s sunburst Gibson J-200s, although Don says that a 1953 Gibson Southern Jumbo powers those 50s Cadence tracks. 'That was my first guitar,' he notes, 'the one my dad got for me in Knoxville (TN). Ive still got it right here.' The SJs extra big box was especially handy for all those low-tech, one-mic affairs", Simons says.

"At the height of their popularity in the early 60s, the Everlys designed a guitar in conjunction with Gibson that addressed some of the most persistent problems theyd encountered. First introduced in 1962, the Gibson Everly Brothers model-featuring a trend-setting black finish-was slightly smaller than the J-200 (16 inches wide instead of 17 across the lower bout), but its maple back and sides and X-braced top offered the same distinctive tone. To protect against the brothers vigorous strumming, Don devised double tail-fin pickguards that extended below the bridge."

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