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Thursday December 12th, 2002

Gibson USA continues commitment to environment
with SmartWood Les Paul Studio

Gibson USA has created a new, full-size Les Paul Studio model in Muir wood as part of its ongoing Les Paul Smartwood Exotics guitar series. The new guitar reaffirms Gibsons commitment to producing quality instruments that utilize only Forest Stewardship Council and SmartWood Certified Woods. Gibson partnered with the Rainforest Alliance six years ago when it introduced the worlds first line of eco-friendly SmartWood guitars.

"Ultimately, our goal is not to promote certified-wood guitars as something special, but to bring our industry to a point where the use of certified wood is standard procedure," says Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson chairman and CEO. "We utilize sustainable harvested wood as much as possible with all of our models"

The new Les Paul SmartWood Exotic guitar has a Muiracatiara, or Muir, top and a mahogany back. Muir grows extensively in Brazil but ranges from southern Mexico through Central America to the Amazon Basin. The beautiful grain varies from shades of brown to red with irregular stripes that range from dark brown in the heartwood to grayish white in the sapwood. The fingerboard is made of the species Preciosa (Prec) and is inlaid with pearloid dots.

Gibson USA will produce as many Muir guitars as the companys supply of certified wood will allow. After that, the model will continue with a different exotic wood, and production again will limited by the supply of certified wood.

Gibson USAs newly designed truss rod cover with a floating leaf is now the official logo for the SmartWood series. The guitar case has an eco-friendly burlap cover that bears the Gibson USA Certified stamp logo.

Gibsons first SmartWood guitar was based on the companys famous Les Paul Standard model, an icon for rock and roll music, and was introduced in 1996. A line of exotic-wood models, based on the thinner-bodied The Paul model, was added two years later. The new Smartwood Exotic returns to the full-depth Les Paul style.

FSC and SmartWood programs guarantee that harvesting practices are managed properly. They take great steps towards preserving the ecosystem and the cultures in these sensitive environments, and deforestation is not allowed.

For more information on the new Les Paul SmartWood Exotic, go here, call Gibson Customer Support anytime at 1-800-4GIBSON or send us an email.