Mat Koehler on Honoring Gibson’s Legacy While Designing for the Future | Inside the Noise (S3, E5)

In the fifth episode of season three of Inside the Noise, Gibson Vice President of Product Mat Koehler joins Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto to discuss how Gibson preserves the soul of its legendary ’50s instruments while designing guitars that inspire today's musicians.

From vintage 1959 Les Paul Standards and Gibson’s Murphy Lab recreations to Epiphone's experimentations with modern designs, Koehler explains how Gibson blends history, craftsmanship and innovation without losing sight of what made its instruments iconic in the first place.

A “Guitar” Family

“As far back as I can remember, I've been around guitars,” says Koehler, explaining how his passion about guitars started early. “My older brother is 13 years older than me, so when I was five, I was just learning guitar and he was 18 and shredding Eddie Van Halen licks. So, you know, I had a lot of hand me downs. Then, one of my uncles managed a guitar shop and another uncle was a luthier. Both of them also lived in my hometown, so there was a lot of guitar sales, repairs and playing—instruments were everywhere. Ironically, I'm also from Les Paul's hometown. I can't get away from Les Paul. I was able to meet Les, and the stories he told and all the stories about him could fill manybooks. But as a character, Les Paul just emitted joy.”

Why Koehler loves the 1959 Les Paul

“I was a huge Jimmy Page fan when I was little, and I wanted to know, ‘What is that guitar he's using to make those incredible sounds?’ Eventually, I got really deep into the specifics of what makes a 1959 a 1959, and that led me to an aspirational quest to not only get a ’59 into my hands somehow someway, but also to start evaluating the ’59 reissues. Happily, the Les Paul forum community online really helped develop the ’59 reissue into what it is—both the lore, and the legacy of the model, and also to get it more accurate over time. I never thought any of it would be possible we would get as accurate as we are today. Now, do you want the $500,000 original, or do you want a replica that's 99.9% as accurate for 1% of the price?”

Three Ways Gibson Continues to Improve Building Guitars

Many of the challenges faced by Gibson’s Nashville factory today are similar to what the original Kalamazoo factory experienced during the 1950s: Focusing on aesthetic details, ergonomic details and sonic details.

"We know how important it is for something to retain the soul of the 1950s," says Koehler, "but we also bring things forward."

Why Epiphone Has Freedom to Experiment

Koehler views Epiphone as the company's laboratory for contemporary ideas.

"At Epiphone, we don't fear backlash from the historic police," he says.

Because Epiphone isn't constrained by the same historical expectations as Gibson, the design team has greater freedom to introduce flashy finishes, contemporary appointments and new product franchises, such as the Prophecy and Futura series, as well as Guitar Center-exclusive collaborations like the Epiphone Widow models.

Music Matters More Than Ever

"Guitars are a symbol of music mattering," says Koehler. “It becomes the center of a cultural movement and certainly an area of joy, empathy and expression. Personally, why I love the guitar is the community it creates. It’s where you find your people.”

Dig Deeper

Catch the full conversation and other episodes of Inside the Noise with Gabe Dalporto on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any of your favorite major platforms. When you subscribe, you’ll get new episodes every Tuesday at 3 p.m. PT.