My dear wife took me on a surprise trip to Lynchburg TN. On the way, we passed by a wonderful sign. We had to take a picture.
To think, one stop shopping!!!!
A week or so later, got the chance to take a tour of Gibson’s Custom/Historic Division here in Nashville. It was quite fun to see how they make the Historic Les Paul’s from start to finish. Here is a picture of the racks of guitars that are being readied to ship out.
Notice that there are also cardboard bins going 20 feet in the air that are also filled with guitars. Here is a shot of my buddy Jay holding a maple top that will be used for an R9, or 1959 Historic Les Paul.
They put aside the best looking maple for the R9’s.
Here is a shot of a mahogany body that has had its maple top glued on, but has yet to see the CNC machine that will carve the top. 
The R8 signifies it will be a ‘58 Historic.
Here is a R7 Gold Top that has seen the CNC machine, but not the sander.
After going to the finishing department, some of the instruments get the “VOS” treatment. Its a compound that is rubbed on the finish. Here it is in all its funky glory.
The last step is of course final inspection. Here the instrument is tuned and tested, and given the OK
Looking through the racks, we found a R9 that had such a nice top on it, they had not put a pick guard on it
