Banjopickinmike - Posted - 03/09/2009:  12:58:11

I will be in Tennessee in the next few days and was curious where the Gibson banjo factory was (address) and if they give tours.

Isaiah 38:20
The Lord was ready to save me, therefore I will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of my life in the house of the Lord.

Docmhc - Posted - 03/09/2009:  13:27:14

Here's a link to the Gibson site that has location and tour times,

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Locatio...actoryTours/

Don

"I have a higher and grander standard of principle than George Washington. He could not lie; I can, but I won''t." Mark Twain

david in ky - Posted - 03/09/2009:  14:06:19

In Nashville its located in the Opry Mills Shopping Mall, just across the parking lot from the Opry and Opryland Hotel. Don't know about tours there, but just about all the workshop can be seen from the sales floor. I don't think they work in shop on weekends.

vincentbanjogh - Posted - 03/09/2009:  15:53:55

Mike,
If you're expecting a factory, prepare yourself for a shock

www.keithkline.com

Bizdoc - Posted - 03/09/2009:  17:27:05

I guess i was too. Is it just a little shop with a few craftsmen, like I picture Stelling and Crafters of Tennessee??

eagleisland - Posted - 03/10/2009:  05:19:49

The tour linked to above, I would suppose, is all about electric guitars. Gibson's high-end acoustic guitars are built out in Montana.

Banjos, dobros and mandolins are built at the Opryland Mall. As noted, much of the workshop is behind glass and you can see a lot of the work being done from the Gibson Showcase store there. I don't believe that there are organized tours, although if you were to call the store I'm sure they could tell you. From the store you can see some of the banjo work being done, and a lot of the dobro and mando work being done. You cannot see the finishing area or the repair shop.

eagleisland

"I was halfway to Old Kentucky when the drugs began to kick in." - Hunter S. Monroe

Banjophobic - Posted - 03/10/2009:  07:51:44

This location is for 'show' purposes. Sad to say that Gibson doesnt build much of anything 'in house' and hasnt for a few yeas now. The banjos are made at First Quality and shipped to Gibson for assmbly, fretting spraying and set up. The OpryMills place is really a representation of how Gibson used to be. If youre in Nashville anyway, you should stop and see it just to do it.