Gibson All American II

Very simple guitar...mahogany body and neck, based on the old Melody Maker design, but with 24 frets and a much smoother joint to the body. The pickups and electronics consist of one volume, one tone, and two single-coils with exposed (but fixed) polepieces, the neck being reverse wound-reverse polarity for hum-cancelling in the middle position (standard three-way toggle pickup selector). Has a vintage Fender Stratocaster-style tremolo bridge. I bought this one used in a pawn shop, and I got only the guitar itself...no case, or whammy bar (a Fender replacement bar screws right in, however). Nice, clean, and simple...very similar to a Telecaster in that respect.

The tone and sound of these pickups is remarkable. I'm a professional player, and live I need to cover everything from country to hard rock, usually in the same set, and this guitar had no problems doing that. The pickups were much meatier than the usual stock Fender single-coil pups, and must have been very well wax-potted...I had no problem whatsoever with microphonics in high-gain applications. The hum-cancelling feature in the middle position is nice, but for single-coils, these are surprisingly quiet pups. I'm surprised Gibson hasn't used them on more models. It's not an overly-bright guitar (due in some part, I suspect, to the mahogany body), but it's certainly not muddy like some of its humbucker-equipped brethren. It lacks the spank of a Tele, but it can get punchy if you pick it right. At the time I owned mine, I ran it through a Fender Blues Deluxe amp, with an overdrive pedal between the guitar and the amp's input (everything else ran through an effects loop, so that's not really an issue). Through long cables, the guitar retained its tone and output pretty well. The Blues Deluxe was a very bright amp, and seemed to compliment this guitar very, very well.

Here's where I encountered the guitars only real problems. Starting with the trem, which may not be fair, as all of these types of trems have tuning problems...it's essentially useless UNLESS...and here's a cool trick you'll thank me for...you get this Teflon-based lubricant from Radio Shack and apply it liberally to the nut (it comes in what looks like an ink-pen). No more tuning problems! The biggest problem (and the one that ultimately led to me selling off the guitar) is the cheapish fretboard. The neck was nice and straight (a bit chunky, like an Explorer), the frets were fine, but the fingerboard's edges started to spread out with time and sweat, making the fretboard edges very uncomfortable. This guitar would have been perfect if Gibson had payed more attention to the fretboard's edges...they started out way to squared-off for me, and when they began to expand, it was a nightmare...I loved everything else about this guitar. The only other thing that was a bit annoying was the balance when it was strapped on...it tended to be a bit neck-heavy. No big deal, really. As far as the finish and hardware, all were excellent (mine was solid black...not too thick of a finish, which is good in my opinion...lets the guitar resonate a bit more). This guitar had a nice ringing tone unplugged, and sustained very nicely. In spite of the fretboard edges, the action was very nice...tight with no buzz-out when bending.

I used to use this guitar without a backup. Everything about it stood up just fine to live playing, with the exception of the fretboard. Keep in mind, this was with heavy gigging, but it only took two months before the fretboard edges started going. For a semi-pro player or used as a backup, I believe it'd be fine...that, or maybe have a professional hand-roll the fretboard edges and apply some kind of sealant. The finish took a lot of abuse in great stride, never rubbing off or dulling, and the trem springs never started to sag.

The last time I dealt with Gibson's customer support was back in the Norlin Industries days (early '80s), and they were always very helpful. I honestly can't say what they're like now, I haven't even heard from others.

I've been playing for 20+ years, and have owned several Gibsons. This one overall seemed to live up to the name, with (you guessed it!) the exception of the fretboard edges. I've always been impressed with Gibson's practical use of technology (RWRP neck pup, useful tone/volume knob configuration/wiring, set-necks, tilt headstocks, comfortable shape), and in most respects, this guitar lives up to that. Bottom line, these WERE cheapos to begin with, and go for even less used. Overall, well worth the money, especially as a beginner's axe or a standby/second for a pro. A US-made guitar with these features and the Gibson name for $200 is a pretty good deal. These seem like a Fender-y guitar for a Gibson-enthusiast, which is fine.

This has been covered here in other submissions. I don't know if the mahogany body is laminated or not: mine is black. Not sure how much this would affect the sound of the guitar anyways. Mine is a '96, which makes it NOS. The point of this guitar is too keep things simple, so features are light, and that is ok.

As a Les Paul player, the clean and punchy bass response on the neck pickup is a revelation. However the bridge pickup is very tinny and I'm not sure how useful it will be. There is some noise, but it is not bad. The middle pickup selection is very nice. Basically, this is a great sounding guitar to play clean. It lacks punch in dirty mode, and really you would want to be playing something else if you're hard driving.
The whammy bar is a bit gimmicky as it tends to send it out of tune too easily and only bends one way. I took mine off to remove the temptation... ;)

Action was good except the middle strings were set too high, producing uneven volume from the pickups. I have yet to fix this as I can't work out how to adjust the saddles on the "vibrola" bridge. The neck was the main reason I bought this. It feels like a good quality guitar, not an el-cheapo Korean job.
The tuners are awesome, even better than my Les Paul Std.

Not really an issue. It's not so beautiful that one would cry if it got a bit beat up, and that's the best part. Dunno how well it will stay in tune if thrashed, or if whammy is used (at all?)

Not dealt with Gibson.

The guitar fulfills my need for a cheaper, lighter (although not by much), and different sounding guitar to compliment the Les Paul. I am contemplating changing the pickup(s). The main key for me was the fact that it feels like a solid performer, that plays well, for a minimal cost. Plus, it's a Gibson.

This is an all American made Gibson made in their Nashville factory. It has 24 frets. 24 3/4 " scale length. All mahogony body and neck. Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays. Grover chrome tuners. Chrome vibrola tailpiece with whamy bar. Two single coil pickups. volume,tone, three way selector. It is designed after the Melody Maker of the 1960's. It has a beatuiful wine colored finish. This guitar is part of Gibson's All American series. The goal of this series by Gibson is to provide a quality All USA guitar for under $1000. In my opinion, Gibson did not market this guitar very well and because it is single coil equipt rather than humbuckers, this guitar did not sell well and for 1998 it is being discontinued. The way they saved money on manufacturing this model is by reducing the number of expensive components in the pickups, without reducing the quality of sound. In my opinion they succeeded. The single coils on this guitar are hotter than on my vintage Fender. If you run both pickups at the same time ( the middle position), they act just like a single humbucker, because of the hum cancelling effect of running two single coils in this manner.

I am primarily a blues and classic rock player, with some interest in alternative styles. I have been playing for 33 years. I am currently in a studio band, creating original music. My amps are a pair of Fender Pro Juniors run in stereo. I use a Zoom 1010, a ts-5 Tubescreamer, a Boss digital delay pitch shifter and sometimes a Big Muff. This guitar is remarkable for blues. It also has that fat Gibson sound, even with the single coils. I can cover Led Zep very nicely with it. It is unlike other Gibson solid bodies in that it is truly versitile. You can go from Sparkling clean to slightly distorted to grunge all with a little tweaking. This is not a one trick pony like the Les Paul, in this respect it is more like a Fender, but it still retains the classic Gibson sound. It does have a slight bit of that single coil noise, but it is less noticeable than the hum on my Fender (1981 bullet S3).

The store where I bought the guitar does the final setup, therefore I cannot comment on Gibson's settup. There are some small blemishes in the finish where the fingerboard meets the body. There are no problems in playability or sound.

I also have an Epiphone Les Paul Junior. Allthough that guitar sounds great with it's P-90 pickup. A quick comparsion of build quality and material content to the All American II makes it obvious that the Gibson is going to last a lifetime. It is very solid!

I like the Gibson website but have not dealt with them.

Folks, this guitar is an incredible value. It has all of the quality and sound of a Gibson plus the versatility of a Fender. On top of that because they are being discontinued, you can buy them cheap. If you can find one buy it!! I plan on holding on to mine for a lifetime and for me that is unusual because I trade often to get the sound I want. I waited patiently for 2 months to save the cash to buy this guitar I would buy it again indeed!

This Guitar is All U.S.A. Its got 24 jumbo frets. 1 volume 1 tone knobs and 3 way pick up selector. It gots 2 single-coil pickups. The guitar is solid Mahogany witha rosewood fingerboard. This guitar is black also available in wine red. Its a double cutaway and resembles a little bit like an SG. Its wammybar eqiuped so its got a vibrola tail piece. Its got Grover chrome tuners. The neck is on the Phat side like a Les Paul.

I like to play rock, Metal yada yada. At home i just use a fender champ110. It has a bright bluesy sound but it ain made for bangin on. Whatch your treble though it can get high soundin if gain is on high. it gives a nice clea sparklein sound. Its decent souning

Factory set up the guitar is ok. The finish has some flaws and it scratches real easy.The knobs are nice and smooth and the selector doesnt make noises while switchin.

The hardwear will last definitlly come on its a gibson! The finish is ok. The strap buttons are real solid. I depened on it but if ever get on stage i would really consiter a back up!

Ive been playin it for 2 years and if it got stolen or messed up bad i wouldnt buy it again. Id buy somthing more for my needs.