Heritage HISTORY (re-post)

[FredZepp]

Pre-Heritage (Parsons Street / Kalamazoo ) History

Orville Gibson moved to Kalamazoo , MI in 1891, where he worked as a shoe salesman for 5 years and performed as a musician.

He started building mandolins in the back of his apartment around 1894 and then opened a small shop in Kalamazoo.

The oldest guitar made by Orville is dated 1897 and he received a patent for his carved top/back design for mandolins (and guitars) in 1898. He experimented with unusual designs including mandolins with a partially hollowed out neck to improve tone.

The mandolin was enjoying a era of widespread popularity in America. One dealer found that he could sell every mandolin that Gibson sent to him.

When Orville was asked for a price quote and delivery date for 500 mandolins... Orville's answer was.." $100 per instrument and 500 years for delivery."

A group of five investors started the "Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Company Ltd." in 1902. Orville was paid $2,500 for the patent and the use of his name and was to work as a consultant.

But showing others how to make his instruments did not sit well with Orville. And in May 1903, the board passed a motion that " O.H. Gibson be paid for the actual time that he works for the company."

Soon he was no longer a consultant , but worked out a royalty arrangement with the company that paid him instead.

Orville had purchased 60 shares in the company for $600 in Nov 1902... which he sold for $600 in July 1903.

The first catalog of standardized instruments from the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Company was issued in 1903.

"The Gibson" logo was first used on pegheads in 1905.

In 1912, Gibson published catalogue "H" .." The Most Exhaustive Treatise on Instrument Architecture Ever Issued by Any Manufacturer "...it was 100 pages of technical data, formal arguments, testimonials, and photos.

Gibson used a factory on Harrison Court in Kalamazoo from 1911 to 1917. It is now a vacant lot. And then.....

The famous Gibson factory at 225 Parsons St. was opened in July, 1917 and used by Gibson for 67 years, until 1984.

It is in this plant that Ted McHugh first invented the adjustable truss rod , and Lloyd Loar personally inspected and signed the first F-5 mandolins and L-5 guitars.

It is here that Guy Hart's staff created the Super 400 and J-200 guitars.

And Ted McCarty and his designers conceived the Les Paul , Explorer, ES-335 and the Firebird.

A proud work force turned these ideas into instruments that represented the ultimate combination of modern design and traditional craftsmanship for generations of musicians.

In 1984, Gibson moved their manufacturing to Nashville. But the original 1917 plant at 225 Parsons Street was re-occupied by the Heritage Guitar Company.

The company started by longtime Gibson employees, Jim Deurloo, J. P. Moats, and Marv Lamb, to continue the tradition of hand crafted instruments from Kalamazoo.

( edited with info from Gibson Guitars: 100 years of an American Icon )

[FredZepp]

The three founders of Heritage Guitars (Marv Lamb, J.P. Moats, and Jim Duerloo ) all hired-in Gibson within two years of each other ( 1956 - 58).

They all started in white wood sanding and they all progressed to senior management in the 1970's.

They did a vast variety of jobs, hands on, including sanding, carving, finishing, neck sanding, repairs , custom shop, pattern making, tooling, wood inspection, etc. ..

Marv Lamb:

" My father worked at Gibson. I was working at a bakery in Kalamazoo in 1956. He started in January and I got him to get me a job.

Dad started working in the lumber yard, that is where they cut the lumber in the "rough mill". " [ Marv's brother and sister-in-law would also eventually work at Gibson in Kalamazoo also ]

Going back to the 50's, where did you go to work after sanding?

" After about a year , or a year and a half, I went to work in the neck department. Making necks, belt sanding necks."

Was there a saw or something to carve the neck?

" It was done by hand. The necks came from the mill room in a rough shape. We would take them and glue the fingerboards on them, glue head veneers on them. Then I would take and shape that neck with s slack-belt sander. And we had a guy that would carve the heels; the heels were kind of square. He'd use a spindle carver; it was like an eight blade knife sticking out on a spindle. He would carve the heel and the flair. Then I would take and roll the neck on that slack-belt sander, and round the neck. Then sand it up. Then I'd go over to a spindle sander, which was basically like a spindle carver. Then I'd have a tube sander, and I'd sand it up some more."

Now you had quite a bit of control over the shape of the neck then?

" Absolutely. I hand shaped a lot of necks. ....."

" We had gauges to measure the thickness and we had radius gauges for the curvature of the neck- the roundness. There were certain gauges for certain necks, and certain fixtures for certain necks.

And as much hand work as we did on them, I promise you, they varied. But we got as close as we could, once you learned how to do a thing, you'd get them pretty consistent.'

" I was doing all that white wood work and neck work during that period 1956-59 ( on the first floor of the original building ) When I went out to the new area (the 1960 expansion ) I was still a 'line leader'. At that time, we hired a lot more people."

[ NOTE: Les Paul Standard 'Burst owners are well aware the the 1960 Les Paul Standards neck has a pronounced flat profile verses the rounder U-shaped neck of the 1959 'Burst. The neck machines were relocated in late 1959/ early 1960 at the same time the neck profiles changed. Neck profiles changed back to the U-shaped profile in 1963. ]

( Edited from Gibson Guitars: Ted McCarty's Golden Era )

[FredZepp]

Excerpts from "50 years of the Gibson Les Paul: Tony Bacon" ( with some editing to remain on-topic)

The original intention was to keep both the Kalamazoo and Nashville factories running, and that the Nashville plant would produce only acoustic guitars. Unfortunately the new acoustic project allocated to Nashville was the Mark series of models, some of the least successful of Gibson's flattops. After this failure, management decided to transfer the production of the bulk of the Les Paul line, by far the most successful Gibson solidbodies at the time.

Kalamazoo had always been what is known technically as a "soft tool" factory. This means that the machines and fixtures used to make the guitars could be modified and adapted at will, as circumstances dictated. In other words, things could be changed easily. Nashville started life as a "hard tool" facility, which means that it had a lot of heavy machines and fixtures on which the settings were never changed. So it was that the character of the two factories that Gibson ran during the remaining years of the 1970s and into the early 1980s was quite different.

Nashville was set up to produce very large quantities of a handful of individual models , where Kalamazoo was more flexible and had the potential to specialize in small runs. Nashville was therefore the obvious choice to produce the highest volume models in Gibson's solidbody line at the time - the Les Paul Custom and Les Paul Deluxe- along with various other solid models.

In the 1970s, some US dealers who specialized in older instruments began to order from Gibson's Kalamazoo plant selected Les Pauls with "vintage correct" appointments. Since the onset of Gibson's new Nashville factory in 1975 the original Kalamazoo plant had leaned more heavily toward shorter, specialized runs of guitars. Jim Deurloo, by the early 1980s plant manager at Kalamazoo, remembers dealers such as Leo's of California, Jimmy Wallace of Texas, and Guitar Trader of New Jersey ordering special vintage-style Les Paul Standards. These dealers and their customers were looking for features such as an exact old-style carving shape and a particular neck feel, as well as a number of small visual details - and Kalamazoo provided an approximation.

A typical ad for these dealer specials came in Guitar Traders May 1982 newsletter, " Guitar Trader and Gibson announce the ultimate Les Paul reissue" , claimed the blurb, alongside a repro of the original Standard entry from Gibsons 1960 catalog. A list of features followed: "Dimensions as per 1959 model shown".... These instruments will be produced in strictly limited quantities at the original Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, MI and represent a special investment value. Guitar Trader added that if you ordered your "59 Flametop" immediately for summer '82 delivery they would install original 1950's Patent Applied For pickups, subject to availability.

Jim Deurloo recalled that dealer specials like the Guitar Trader instruments were selected from the production line at Gibson, but were custom built to some degree. " I remember that Guitar Trader selected each top, and they were very picky about the color."

Meanwhile, the head of R&D managed to persuade Norlin to put a vintage-flavored Les Paul into production, the Heritage series Les Pauls. But not as a standard Les Paul, however, but rather as separate, premium items, touted as "limited editions" and not included on the company's general pricelist. In 1982 , Kalamazoo put out the limited-run Les Paul Standard 82, distinguished from the Heritage Standard 80 primarily by its one-piece neck and the fact that it was made in Kalamazoo.

In July 1983 Gibson president Marty Locke informed Jim Deurloo that the Kalamazoo plant would close. The last production at Kalamazoo was in June 1984, and the plant closed three months later, after more than 65 years of worthy service since the original building had been erected by Gibson.

Tim Shaw recalls, "Jim Deurloo, to his credit, fought a hard battle to keep Kalamazoo open, and he lost. When the announcement came down, he got the entire factory together and said look , they've made the decision to close this place. You people have been with the company for a long time and I'm very sorry that it worked out this way. But you're all professionals, you've worked here a long time, you have a heritage to be proud of, and as we downsize and close I want you to remain professionals.

Some of the key people were offered positions at Nashville. But Deurloo, together with Marv Lamb, who'd been with Gibson since 1956, and J P Moats, a Gibson employee of equally long standing, decided to leave. They rented part of the Kalamazoo plant and started the Heritage guitar company in April 1985. As Marv Lamb puts it, " we all grew up building guitars and we didn't know too different. We could have searched for another job, but we wanted to do what we know how to do best..."

[FredZepp]

Excerpt from " The Gibson Guitar Book"- Walter Carter

The heart and soul of Gibson was still at 225 Parsons St. in Kalamazoo, where the core group of guitar builders had stayed, and in 1983 Mary Locke told Jim Deurloo that he planned to close the Nashville plant. Apparently that was a riskier option than closing the Kalamazoo plant and , according to Deurloo, within three weeks one of Locke's strongest supporters at the Norlin corporate level left the company and Locke reversed himself. He announced that the Kalamazoo plant would close and all production would move to Nashville.

In June 1984, the last Gibson guitars left the loading dock of 225 Parsons St.

If there was still any magic or mystique about Gibson in Kalamazoo, it remained there, as many Kalamazoo employees refused to uproot their families for an insecure future in Nashville.

Among those were four key Gibson employees - Jim Deurloo, J.P. Moats, Bill Paige and Marv Lamb - who stayed not only in Kalamazoo but in the Parsons St. factory, where they formed the Heritage guitar company and found success as the company that, more than Gibson, continued the Gibson tradition.

>this is from a book about Gibson ...>

"The heart and soul of Gibson was still at 225 Parsons St. in Kalamazoo, where the core group of guitar builders had stayed"

"They formed the Heritage guitar company and found success as the company that, more than Gibson, continued the Gibson tradition."

[FredZepp]

from Gibson Guitars: 100 years of an American Icon. Walter Carter ) Edited to remain on-topic.

In 1978, Jim Deurloo was tapped for the job (plant manager) - A natural selection, considering that he had worked his way through almost every aspect of the company since coming to Gibson fresh out of high school in 1958. Except for 5 years at Guild , he had spent his adult life intimately acquainted with Gibson's processes.

As the recession of the early 80's wore on, Norlin decided in July 1983 to close the Kalamazoo plant. "There were feasibility studies going back and forth for years, you know." says Deurloo. "One week it was decided that Nashville would be closed, and then a couple of weeks later, it was decided that Kalamazoo would close."

Norlin didn't particularly care about Gibson's lifelong identification with Kalamazoo.

" I had said that Kalamazoo is Mecca," Deurloo says. "A lot of people tried to argue that, but it didn't matter. There's an assumption that if you can make widgets in one place, you can make them in another. But I say that only Rembrandt paints Rembrandts."

One longtime employee summarizes the situation in this way:"The spirit of the company was disappearing. There weren't enough people with soul, with sensitivity towards guitars."

The doors at 225 Parsons Street - Gibson's home since 1917- closed in the fall of 1984. Jim Deurloo, J.P.Moats, and Marv Lamb, all longtime Gibson employees, decided not to go to Nashville and instead formed the Heritage guitar company and rented out part of the Parsons Street factory.

(J.P. Moats started in final sanding in 1957, and was quality control manager when the Kalamazoo plant closed in 1984).

[FredZepp]

Jim started sanding rims, the vertical “side” of a guitar as the instrument lays on its back. Also white wood and neck sanding. He then moved into the mill room where he operated band saws, routers, joiners and shapers for the guitar prior to the color coat being applied.

He went to pattern making, his favorite job, then to engineering and assumed responsibility for jig construction. He became supervisor of the pattern makers and machine shop, and then plant manager.

J.P. started sanding white wood , moved to cleaning and buffing, and then became cleaning inspector. From there, it was a quick step to quality control. After a stint as wood purchaser, which took him to forests in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Mississippi, the West Coast, Germany and other parts of the world, he returned to quality control and supervisor of the service department.

Marv, in his early days as a hand sander, expressed his desire to learn all he could about guitar making. He became an inspector, then a line leader, and then a supervisor. He was the line leader for the neck construction as they moved the department to the new section of Parsons Street in late 1959. He also started the first night shift at Gibson, and then returned to the day shift as a supervisor. He became foreman of whitewood, assembly and finishing, and, finally, plant superintendent.

Each agrees: “Heritage is a natural name for us.”

At the same time, the evolution from being a Gibson employee to a Heritage founder is tinged with a hint of vinegar.

“When Gibson closed,” Jim begins. “No, let me say it like it is — when Gibson left us, we could have gone to Nashville, but all of us would have been redundant there.”

[Vanschoyck]

Bravo Fred!

[Gitfiddler]

Excellent history lesson!

 

I think this thread should be pinned.

[Polo]

Excellent work per usual Fred.

 

This info holds a TON of historic value.

 

Thank you!

[FredZepp]

Yeah... the old posts of these didn't come up in the search engine anymore... so I thought I'd post them all together as one.

[FredZepp]

https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/james-deurloo <<< Video link

 

https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/marvin-lamb <<< Video link

 

https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/ren-wall <<< Video link

[pressure]

Thanks for that Fred.

[bolero]

Yes, Bravo Fred

 

[DavesNotHere]

Thanks again Fred! This should be a sticky.

[skydog52]

Thanks Fred!

You have one of the finest pieces of music and art from that Great Place!

[DetroitBlues]

Thanks so much for putting this together Fred!

 

 

Ladies and Gents!

 

After reading this, I realized, next PSP will truly be a magical year.

 

Next year will be the 10th year of PSP and 100 years of Guitar Building at 225 Parsons Street.

 

I think we should make it a very special occasion!

[Einerbe]

Thanks very much for this!

 

Ralph

[Gitfiddler]

Thanks so much for putting this together Fred!

 

 

Ladies and Gents!

 

After reading this, I realized, next PSP will truly be a magical year.

 

Next year will be the 10th year of PSP and 100 years of Guitar Building at 225 Parsons Street.

 

I think we should make it a very special occasion!

 

That will be quite a milestone!

[bolero]

Thanks so much for putting this together Fred!

 

 

Ladies and Gents!

 

After reading this, I realized, next PSP will truly be a magical year.

 

Next year will be the 10th year of PSP and 100 years of Guitar Building at 225 Parsons Street.

 

I think we should make it a very special occasion!

 

wow, great observation! pretty neat