The maker of the Gibson guitar, omnipresent for decades on the American rock 'n' roll stage, is filing for bankruptcy protection after wrestling for years with debt. 
 
 Gibson guitars have been esteemed by generations of guitar legends. After Chuck Berry died, his beloved cherry-red Gibson guitar was bolted to the inside of his coffin lid. David Bowie favored the 1989 Gibson L4 when he fronted Tin Machine. Slash swears by them. 
 
 A pre-negotiated reorganization plan filed Tuesday will allow Gibson Brands Inc. to continue operations with $135 million in financing from lenders. 
 
 Gibson was founded in 1894 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee. It also makes the Epiphone and Wurlitzer pianos. 
 
 The company has already sold off some noncore brands, acquisitions that contributed to its burdensome debt load. ||||| For nearly every rock n’ roll guitarist there is a nearly-as legendary guitar. Think of Jimmy Page and his “#1” late ’50s Les Paul Standard, Eric Clapton’s “The Fool” SG he used in Cream and “Greeny”, the hallowed 1959 Les Paul Standard used by Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, Irish blues rock great Gary Moore and now in the possession of Metallica shredder Kirk Hammett. It’s fascinating to think of one guitar passing through the hands of three famous guitarists, though it’s more common than you might think. 
 
 
 
 
 
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 . Once he plugged it into a Marshall combo and cranked it up on John Mayall’s Blues Breakers album, the demand for vintage late ’50s Les Pauls caught fire. The only problem being Gibson at the time no longer made Les Pauls, and only about 1,700 were made in the golden years of 1958 – 1960 in the first place. With demand far exceeding supply, a high number of original ’50s Les Pauls have passed from one famous guitarist to another over the years. The same is also true of vintage Fender electric guitars like the Stratocaster and Telecaster. 
 
 Some of the most famous guitars in rock n’ roll have had more than one famous owner. You know that Jimmy Page Les Paul we were just talking about? It was originally Joe Walsh’s when he was in the James Gang. “The Fool” SG? Todd Rundgren owned it after Clapton. Check out our gallery of iconic rock guitars with multiple rock star owners to see how small and connected the community of genuine rock n’ roll guitar heroes really is. ||||| As expected, Gibson Brands Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Tuesday, the company announced today, with a turnaround plan that will give some of the company’s lenders equity ownership of the long-running guitar and musical equipment company that has become synonymous with classic rock and roll. 
 
 After several years of decline, the company has reached a restructuring support agreement with holders of more than 69.0% in principal amount of its 8.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2018, and its principal shareholders, that clears the pathway for the continued financing and operations of the musical instruments business as well as a change of control in favor of those noteholders. The petition estimated up to $500 million in debt, according to Bloomberg, and the lenders have agreed to an operating, or “debtor in possession,” loan of up to $135 million to fund operations. 
 
 “Gibson will emerge from Chapter 11 with working capital financing, materially less debt, and a leaner and stronger musical instruments-focused platform that will allow the Company and all of its employees, vendors, customers and other critical stakeholders to succeed,” the announcement reads. 
 
 Related Gibson, Iconic Guitar Company, Said to Be Nearing Bankruptcy 
 
 The change in control will give noteholders equity in a new company, replacing stockholders including Chief Executive Officer Henry Juszkiewicz, who owns 36 percent of the company, according to the filing. Those noteholders include Silver Point Capital, Melody Capital Partners LP, and funds affiliated with KKR Credit Advisors. Juszkiewicz and company president David Berryman will continue with the company upon emergence from Chapter 11 “to facilitate a smooth transition during this change of control transaction and to support the Company in realizing future value from its core business,” according to the announcement. 
 
 The Company’s Gibson Innovations business, an electronics division that Juszkiewicz has cited as a source of the company’s financial woes, will be wound down. 
 
 “Over the past 12 months, we have made substantial strides through an operational restructuring,” said Juszkiewicz. “We have sold non-core brands, increased earnings, and reduced working capital demands. The decision to re-focus on our core business, Musical Instruments, combined with the significant support from our noteholders, we believe will assure the company’s long-term stability and financial health. 
 
 “Importantly, this process will be virtually invisible to customers, all of whom can continue to rely on Gibson to provide unparalleled products and customer service.” 
 
 The company filed a series of motions that, pending court approval, will allow the Company to operate its business throughout the process in the ordinary course, and to provide support to critical business-partners including vendors, shippers, and suppliers, the announcement says. 
 
 Insiders say the company, which was founded by Orville Gibson in 1902, has been struggling for several years under the leadership of Juskiewicz, who has been pursuing other revenue streams, including the electronic companies it purchased in recent years, as guitar sales have fallen over the past decade. 
 
 The company’s struggles may initially come as a surprise to observers who see vintage Gibsons selling for six figures on instrument sites — indeed, a 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard could be yours today for a cool $595,000 — yet the company sees little material benefit from the sale of second-hand items and its newer models have not been widely successful. Conversely, its main competitor, Fender, has kept itself above water by introducing budget lines in recent years, a move Gibson only recently embraced. 
 
 The company has been synonymous with rock and roll since the 1950s with its models — the most popular include the Les Paul, the SG, the Firebird and several semi-acoustic lines — being used by virtually every iconic guitar hero, from Chuck Berry and B.B. King to Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton and Duane Allman to Slash and Johnny Marr to Gary Clarke Jr. Yet as rock music has fallen from mainstream popularity so have the guitar sales that form the bulk of Gibson’s business. 
 
 POPULAR ON VARIETY.COM: ||||| Storied guitar-maker Gibson Brands Inc., whose customers have included B.B. King, Chuck Berry and Jimmy Page, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday with a deal to hand control of the company, which has struggled with its debt load after a series of soured acquisitions, to bondholders led by private-equity giant KKR & Co. 
 
 The Nashville, Tenn.-based musical-instrument maker, founded in 1894, said the bankruptcy filing was prompted by looming debt maturities and the unsuccessful 2014 acquisition of Philips’s consumer-electronics...
– It made what VH1 calls "arguably the most famous guitar in rock," the Les Paul Standard cradled by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. Now Gibson needs help churning out its guitars also favored by David Bowie and John Lennon. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday, citing between $100 million and $500 million in debt from acquisitions of home entertainment and audio equipment companies, some of which have already been sold off, report the Wall Street Journal and Billboard. "The decision to refocus on our core business, musical instruments, combined with the significant support from our noteholders, we believe will assure the company's long-term stability and financial health," CEO Henry Juszkiewicz says. Variety reports the company will continue operating with a $135 million loan from lenders as its Innovations business, mostly located outside the US, closes down.