Winter NAMM 2005: Brian Wilson, Neal Schon, and Other Highlights from Gibson

by Tom Watson
Photos by Vaughn Youst

Some of the highlights from the Gibson [website] exhibit at the 2005 Winter NAMM Show included the announcement of a forthcoming Brian Wilson Gibson Valley Arts [website] Signature Model bass guitar and a rare appearance by Brian Wilson [website] at the Gibson exhibit where he and Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewcz introduced the model.

Guitarist Neal Schon [www.journeymusic.com] debuted the new Neal Schon Signature Les Paul model that, among other things, features a Floyd Rose tremolo system.Gibson also debuted the Alvin Lee Signature Model ES-335 that features the body graphics on the ES-335 Lee used in his 1969 performance at Woodstock.Billy Morrison [interview] [journal] of the groups Doheny [website] and Camp Freddy [website], who's been test driving the latest version of the Digital Les Paul [website], was on hand to see and try Gibson's new models and talk at length with the Gibson development team about his experiences with the Digital Les Paul.Among many others, celebrity visitors (see images below) to the Gibson exhibit included Nancy Wilson of Heart [website], The Nelsons [website], Sugarcult [website], Nick Sterling [website], and Wayne Static [website].

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