NAMM 2025: Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian seems to have all-but-confirmed the return of the Gibson RD – an oddball electric guitar from the 1970s which once found favor with players such as Dave Grohl.
Under Gueikian’s leadership, Gibson has often turned to the history books for inspiration. It brought back the Gibson Victory last year, for example, and even went as far as to resurrect a never-used archival design with the Theodore.
While those models served 1980s and late 1950s flavors, respectively, Gueikian has now seemingly championed the return of a model first released in 1977, which offers a slightly pointier take on the Gibson Firebird.
Over the course of its life, the RD body shape was used for electric guitar and bass builds, with the six-strings notably getting a 25.5” scale length, in contrast to the 24.75” length that Gibsons are traditionally bestowed with.
The first time around, the guitar didn’t quite take off and was ultimately discontinued. Some blamed its design, others the active circuitry – which saw a switchable bright mode/treble and bass boost installed on some models.
Nevertheless, it was used by some big-name players, including Dave Grohl – who played one during the early Foo Fighters days, and who reportedly used one to track Everlong – and members of the Tobias Forge-fronted Ghost. Its bass variant was also used by Krist Novoselic.
Despite this fleeting popularity, Gibson will hope the RD has better luck this time. And, if Gueikian’s caption is anything to go by, it looks in good stead for that.
“This fiddle is “Really Dope,” his Instagram post says. “I’ve already played it 14 times this month of January 2025 through a 2-channel top-secret Mesa amp solo; without pedals!”
The amp adds a little extra allure to the post, too. Gibson acquired Mesa/Boogie in 2021, seeing the legendary amp manufacturers as a vital part of its stable moving forward. That relationship has already helped revive Gibson Amps, while the Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ is officially back after 40 years away.
It’s also notable that Gueikian is playing Tool in the video. With Mesa/Boogie famed for its high-gain tube amps, could this be a more metal-minded release from Gibson? Only time will tell, but with NAMM 2025 right around the corner, the wait for answers surely won’t be a long one.
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