| March 17, 2023 |

Introducing the Gibson Family of Brands

More than just guitars

NAMM concert

GIBSON  

What began out of a Kalamazoo, Michigan workshop in 1894 grew into a celebrated dynasty—a family of brands. We are the world’s leading manufacturer of excellently crafted musical instruments. For over 125 years, Gibson’s master craftspeople partnered with musicians to shape the sound of music across genres. Our primary craftspeople have decades of experience in their respective disciplines, resulting in instruments with delightful playability, craftsmanship, and tone.

The Gibson Family of Brands comprises Epiphone, Kramer, Steinberger, KRK Systems, MESA/Boogie, Maestro Electronics, and (of course) Gibson. Gibson and our family of brands innovated and collaborated with artists to create the best instruments and music production gear on the market.

Epiphone

EPIPHONE  

Epiphone is one of America’s oldest instrument makers. Since 1873, Epiphone has made instruments for every style of musician and has played a central role in every great era of popular music: from the mandolin craze of the early 1900s to jazz age guitars of the 1920s, from swing-era archtops through post-war pop, jazz, R&B, and early rock n’ roll, and from the “British Invasion” to heavy metal, punk, grunge, and thrash. Epiphone continues to be a brand for every player, For Every Stage. From garages to stadiums, our instruments are the most authentic and accessible.

Played by the likes of Joe Pass and The Beatles, Epiphone made its stamp on music history. Players love Epiphone guitars for their accessibility, craftsmanship, features, and tone that serve entry-level or professional players.

Kramer

KRAMER  

Made to Rock Hard. Born in 1976, the original hard-rocking guitars of the 80s defined a new generation and a style of counter-cultural player oblivious to the rules. Kramer is fast, loud, and statement-making—continuing to instigate shredders of all ages. For a time in the 1980s, Kramer was the world’s largest guitar brand based on the popularity of Eddie Van Halen and his use of Kramer guitars on stage and in the studio.

“A Step Ahead” has always been Kramer’s motto, and it has held true to the groundbreaking style and radical features like aluminum guitar necks, Floyd Rose® Tremolos, and Seymour Duncan® Pickups. This “A Step Ahead” mentality is what Kramer continues to push in the crafting of hard rock guitars. In recent years, Kramer reissued classic guitars and limited runs with custom art. The future is wide open.

Steinberger Spirit

STEINBERGER  

Historically important in the field of guitar and bass design, Steinberger’s legacy is one of innovation and revolution. As the ultimate travel guitar, the Steinberger instrument series features the legendary “headless” design and high-performance pickups. Reliable, ergonomic, and easy to play, the collection offers guitarists and bassists big sound you can take anywhere, even airline overhead compartments. Steinberger’s craftspeople, artisans, and technicians create instruments to impress and inspire the most demanding artists, with new designs on the way in collaboration with Mr. Ned Steinberger himself.

KRK  

For decades now, KRK, named after founder Keith Rowland Klawitter, has made speakers with superior clarity and accuracy for those rooms where pristine audio is essential. Our equipment delivers a stunning level of aural fidelity and reference-quality frequency response for producers and engineers in recording and mixing suites. Some of your favorite songs and sounds were undoubtedly mixed and mastered on KRK monitors. Over time, those same core technologies trickled down to a wide variety of consumer products for the home studio, podcast booth, and listening room.

KRK’s founder first created studio monitors out of a necessity for highly accurate and clear sound for movie production. Since 1986, KRK has achieved innovation and excellence with monitors, subwoofers, and headphones that provide artists with truthful sound.

Mesa/Boogie Mark VII

MESA/Boogie  

The original boutique amplifier brand! From humble beginnings to worldwide recognition, MESA/Boogie remains the original boutique craftory, hand-making amplifiers of uncompromising quality from the world’s finest materials. Founder Randall Smith instilled a few simple, basic principles: passion, drive, integrity, and excellence. Randy’s insistence on making the very best musical products guided half a century of breakthrough innovations, which elevated the amplifier into an instrument in its own right—one with the power to shape and create musical genres.

Every MESA/Boogie product improves an artist’s ability to perfect and project their unique tonal expression.

Maestro pedals

MAESTRO  

Maybe you’ve never heard of Maestro, but you’ve definitely heard Maestro. Starting with that opening Fuzz-Tone riff on the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction,’’ the world’s best musicians and producers use our pedals and effects to shape the sounds that defined generations of music across genres. Recently relaunched and re-energized, Maestro is committed to continuing that legacy of empowering expression with a whole new world of sonic possibilities for you to explore.  

Sixty years later, Maestro returned with new designs based on classic effects, providing the same excellence in functionality and modern aesthetics.

Where we go from here . . .  

Gibson has been on a 125+ year mission to provide the absolute best for musicians, and that will never change. Together, Gibson and our family of brands have legacies that changed music production for the better. We are extremely proud to have partnered with each brand as we all continue to innovate and push the boundaries of the industry forward. From Gibson’s acquisition of Epiphone in 1957 to our relaunching of Maestro in 2022, we are committed to excellence and innovation.