Gibson Guitars

If you have any knowledge of any form of popular music of the last 100 years, whether it be Jazz, Blues, Country, Rock, Pop or any of a zillion genres and sub-genres, then you surely must know the name Gibson, makers of some of the best loved electric guitars in the world. This is relevant because, while taking a look at the Second Life grid near the site of my last post I espied a Gibson Island. I zoomed in my map view. "Hot damn, that looks like the business end of a Les Paul" thinks I, and in a "we are not worthy" moment, I found myself teleported to the surface of the sim. But first, some background...

The Gibson Guitar Corporation has a history dating back to 1902 - further, if you want to include Orville Gibson's mandolin design of 1898. That great rock icon, the Les Paul, first saw the light of day in 1952, followed by other famous and much loved models like the Flying V and the SG. Over the years the company has diversified to cover a broad range of instruments, and also owns Epiphone, who produce cut price versions of the big sellers. ( I must confess an interest here , as I am the owner of a left-handed Epiphone SG - though it rarely gets out for any exercise these days).

The Gibson Island sim describes itself as: "Gibson Guitar Corp's official world on Second Life. Its a fun place for musicians and music fans, with lots to see and do, free concerts by SL and even RL musicians who endorse Gibson's family of products." It is in part of the grid that has many new sims, and many more in the early stages of construction. This sim is no different. The main feature is a combination of terraforming and object creation that forms the shape of the Les Paul guitar body, complete with strings, controls and pickups. However, it looks like a first cut at the moment - a "build it and see what it looks like" experiment that may be developed into a more fully-fledged version in due course. One side of island has more practical public spaces - an acoustic stage, a diner/dance hall and an electric stage. However, it is immediately obvious when you arrive that the island is quite a way off being ready. There are various odd bits of things dotted about the sim, seemingly is varying stages of test.

As I've commented before, opening the doors too early is not necessarily a good idea, since you end up with non-reports like this one. I can't really make any fair comment on the sim because it is so incomplete - but that's because I am of a generous disposition. A meaner "me" might treat any open sim as public and hence fair game, and review it accordingly. It is better to get the sim to a state you are happy to consider complete before letting in the hordes.

Here's a photoset so you can see what's there at the moment: