Gibson Custom Jimmy Page Signature Model Guitar Nominated for The Music & Sound Award for Best Electric Guitar of 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE...Nashville, Tennessee...January 17, 2005 The Gibson Custom Jimmy Page Signature Les Paul Guitar has been nominated for the prestigious Music & Sound "Best Electric Guitar of 2004" award. The Music & Sound Retailer Awards ceremony will take place during the Winter NAMM Show on Thursday, January 20, 2005 at 6:30pm at the Anaheim Hilton, Pacific Ballroom D. The Anaheim Hilton is located at 777 Convention Way.

The Music & Sound Awards recognize excellence among manufacturers and dealers in the music products industry. According to the magazine, winners are determined by polling manufacturers and retailers: manufacturers vote on awards for dealers, while dealers vote on awards for products.

"This is a great recognition of the prestigious work the Gibson Custom Division continually produces," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. "The Jimmy Page Signature model has been an enormous success since it came out and to work along side of such a legendary performer was remarkable."

Rock and roll guitar legend Jimmy Page inspected, played and signed each of the 25 guitars in the initial limited run of the Gibson Jimmy Page Signature Les Paul models, produced by Gibson's Custom Division. As a testament to Page's enormous influence, two of the instruments have already been sold for a reported $55,000 to anonymous buyers -- more than double its suggested list price and a record price for a new, first-run Gibson guitar.

Page, best known for his innovative guitar work and songwriting as a member of Led Zeppelin, signed and numbered each of the first 25 guitars on the back of the headstock. The signature model replicates the dings, scratches, playing wear and the unique neck shape of Page's "Number One," a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard that he acquired in 1969 and used on virtually every Led Zeppelin album recording thereafter, including such hits as "Whole Lotta Love" and "Rock and Roll."

Gibson Custom has offered three versions of the model: 25 signed guitars, with "aging" by renowned vintage guitar restorer Tom Murphy; 150 unsigned guitars, also aged by Murphy; followed by an open run of Page models featuring Custom Authentic aging. The first run of 25, as well as the second run of 150, were sold out as soon as they were offered.

Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins and banjos. Gibson's digital guitar represents the biggest advance in electric guitar design in over 70 years. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, MI, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.'s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Slingerland, Maestro, Baldwin, Chickering and Wurlitzer. Visit Gibson's website at www.gibson.com.