Gibson Unveils Les Paul Smartwood "Exotics"

July 10, 1998 -- With the introduction of the Smartwood Les Paul in 1996, Gibson made world headlines by becoming the first guitar manufacturer to craft a cost-effective model composed entirely of certified Smartwood, wood which has been harvested in an environmentally friendly manner. Now, Gibson USA is delighted to offer six new Les Paul Smartwood models, the Les Paul Exotics.

Fashioned from certified Mahogany backs and Curupay fingerboards, the Les Paul Exotics; feature exquisite carved tops made from Taperyva, Guasa, Cancharana, Peroba, and Ambay Guasa -- some of the world's most prized and rare tropical woods. The woods are harvested in Paraguay and the guitars highlight the woods' beauty by leaving it to its natural texture and color, completed with a UV-cured matte finish to bring out every nuance and detail.

Smartwood is a program of the Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit conservation organization, and was the first and most extensive timber certification program in the world. Utilizing innovative methods, exotic species of certified forest products are now being produced on a perpetual basis, since tropical hardwoods such as these are elsewhere moving swiftly towards extinction. Smartwood is produced so that craftspeople and customers alike can be confident that their use of these exotic products will strengthen the forests from which they came.

Gibson was applauded for being the first company to offer the consumer a musical instrument made of certified wood at a mid-price level, and most other guitar companies have followed in Gibson's footsteps with certified-wood instruments of their own.

Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson, said, "Gibson and its craftsmen have always been the leaders in innovation...from Orville H. Gibson and Lloyd Loar to Les Paul and Chet Atkins. Today, we mark a new era in the production of cost-effective musical instruments whose manufacture does not jeopardize the life-giving rainforests of the world."

Each Les Paul Exotic guitar will retail for $1,299, features a Certificate of Authenticity, and a portion of all sales will be donated to the Rainforest Alliance. The guitars will be unveiled at a press breakfast in Nashville on Friday, July 10th.

For more information, visit their web site at www.gibson.com.