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Just seen some friends who did the Gibson Tour in Nashville and their comments were "it was highly disappointing and the tour guide seem totally disinterested in taking anybody around. but they did find the "Sun" recording studio tour highly interesting".

We've just done the Gibson Memphis tour, the Sun Studios tour and the Graceland tour.

If I'd had a choice of Gibson sites, it would have been Nashville (where the solid guitars are made, where the Custom Shop is located, and where the electronics are made) for me. However, there has been no visitor facility at Nashville since the flood.

The Memphis tour was interesting, and we saw operations we never saw at Fender (including the sawmill and spraying). Memphis makes the ES range of semi-acoustics, which are among the more interesting Gibsons. Our guide seemed knowledgeable and relatively patient. He could also shout very loud, which is necessary in the factory environment.

Unexpectedly, the Gibson Memphis facility is right in the downtown area of the city, a stone's throw from Beale Street.

JN

Presumably, the facility at Bozeman, Montana, is where the acoustic/flattops are produced, the climate there being more conducive for the purpose than that in Nashville.

Bill

Yes the Bozeman Montana plant where the acoustics are made are well set up for tourists or they were in 2004 when I had a one to one tour - ended up buying a Custom shop J200.
Phil