The Latest Breaking News from Mat Koehler

“It holds a special place in Gibson history. As one of our earliest limited-edition instruments, it helped establish a lasting legacy within hard rock guitar culture”: Gibson unveils Custom Shop reissue of a Michael Schenker and Kirk Hammett favourite

They only made 350 of them back in the day but the 1971 Flying Medallion takes flight once more with a stunning VOS reissue

MusicRadar · Jul 15

“It was kind of a wild idea in 1960 to call a guitar a Hummingbird. As wild as calling your band TheBeatles”: How Gibson became an icon of acoustic guitar – 100 years on from its first flat-top

Gibson’s Mat Koehler charts a century of flat-tops – and how the J-45, SJ-200, Dove and Hummingbird took over the world

Guitar World · Jul 8

“Our headstocks have their quirks. However, there have been 60 years of constant attention to this”: Gibson sets the record straight on headstock breaks – and what the brand has been doing for the past 60 years to fix it

The guitar giant had been accused of “never changing” its headstock design to address breakages. Gibson’s Vice President of Product, Mat Koehler, explains what the brand has been doing to tweak and reinforce its design – and why many players still prefer the original

Guitar World · Sep 23, 2025

“Updated and more authentic than ever”: Epiphone rolls out the Gibson headstock for its latest high-end Inspired by Gibson Custom Shop drop, including a new 1959 Les Paul Standard – and a pink J-180

Epiphone has lifted the curtain on its “new crown jewels”, all featuring the iconic open book headstock

Guitar World · Apr 2, 2024

Gibson's CEO has just revealed some guitar-shaped easter eggs: Three new Epiphone models with 'open book' headstocks are on their way

The Gibson-style headstock is currently only available on the Adam Jones and Greeny Epiphone signature Les Pauls – but that looks set to change

MusicRadar · Mar 28, 2024

“I think there were actually two paths. One was the wild pointy-shape things. The other was what I believe led to the 335”: The 1955 ‘missing link’ guitar designs that offer intriguing clues to Gibson’s Golden Era developments

The images inspired the recent production of the Theodore solidbody, but could also fill some crucial gaps when it comes to our knowledge of Gibson’s 1950s R&D process

Guitar World · Mar 26, 2024

“Inspired by original drawings from 1957”: Gibson announces the Theodore Standard – bringing the unearthed archive design to the firm’s core USA line for the first time ever

First released exclusively as a Custom Shop model based on a sketch from the ’50s, the Theodore is back – and it’s come with some choice tweaks

Guitar World · Mar 19, 2024

“It’s the higher-profile artist associations that tend to attract the big money – things like your Pearly Gates and your Jimmy Pages”: Why Gibson’s replicas of famous Les Pauls are commanding almost as much as vintage guitars

Gibson’s highest-tier replicas are seriously sought after on the collector's market. We find out what all the fuss is about and examine a rare recreation of Jimmy Page’s fiendishly complex #2 Les Paul Standard

Guitar World · Mar 6, 2024

“Our Epiphone and Gibson Custom Shop teams are continually collaborating”: Gibson’s Mat Koehler confirms open-book headstock will roll out on more Epiphone models

The much-talked about Gibson-aping headstock will feature on the brand’s new top-tier Inspired by Gibson Custom Shop builds

Guitar World · Nov 22, 2023

Epiphone unveils Kirk Hammett ‘Greeny’ 1959 Les Paul Standard – a top-tier collab with the Gibson Custom Shop and “amazing opportunity for more players to experience the spirit of Greeny”

The Metallica guitarist’s new model replicates one of the most famous Les Pauls ever and features the first Gibson open-book headstock on an Epiphone production build since the '80s

MusicRadar · Nov 21, 2023