More Gibson Bankruptcy Chatter

[zhunter]

Originally Posted by Ed-in-Ohio

Should have never left Kalamazoo...physically nor philosophically.

Things aren't all that rosy in Kalamazoo right now. Heritage is working through problems.

hunter

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by Roseland67

Always thought that Gibson should develop
their own complete amplifier line.
Something to compete with say Mesa Engineering.
25/50/100 heads and combos,
tube, solid state, hybrids Etc.
Very complimentary, could offer package deals on both.
Sponsor using both to musicians.

They can't compete with the competition or they would do it. Getting into the amp business and being profitable at it takes a lot of money, time and marketing. It would be a real uphill battle and Henry has enough uphill battles as it is, right now.

[jjrpilot]

This is from over at another forum:

A user named Jinder just posted this......it doesn't look good for this company:

"Hi all,
The latest on the pile of embuggerance that’s befallen my Dove (for newcomers to the topic, bought new by me in summer 2016, babied and barely used, in early Feb the tenth fret fell out onstage, followed by the third and fifth upon removing strings to investigate when I got home)...

I was asked to send it to Gibson Europe in the Netherlands 2.5wks ago, which I did, to be repaired under warranty.

I emailed for an update yesterday and received a very rude email back today, saying they’re “taking their hands off this one” and sending the guitar back to me unrepaired, as their engineers believe it isn’t a warranty issue, denied that the frets could have fallen out in the way i described at all due to fretboard shrinkage or whatever has caused them to drop out, and said the frets would have been knocked out of the guitar due to the guitar being subjected to a blunt impact to the back of the neck which effectively smashed them out of the fretboard.

This is absolute nonsense-I’ve only ever taken perfect care of the Dove and all my other many Gibsons i’ve owned over the years.

I’m offended and rather upset by the inference that I’m a liar or am trying to make a fraudulent warranty claim. When I wrote to Gibson it was to explain the problem and ask their advice-I was told that it would “certainly be covered under warranty”, otherwise I wouldn’t have shipped it to the Netherlands in good faith.

I’ve expressed this in reply, and have asked that the rejection of the guitar be reconsidered.

I’ve been playing Gibsons for 20yrs, several of those spent in a working relationship with Gibson UK as an endorsee artist, and have sung the praises of these guitars to everyone and anyone who will listen. I’ve also made my fair share of excuses for the brand to friends and colleagues who have bought unacceptable product from them-guitars with finish issues, neck issues, underset necks and allsorts.

Unfortunately, if this (the only warranty claim I’ve made in 20yrs and 25+ guitars) issue can’t be resolved, Gibson will have lost my respect and loyalty entirely. I dearly hope that isn’t the case."

[rwmct]

Originally Posted by mouselim

If Gibson wishes to carry on business, they will have to innovate more in terms of different models, lower production cost and improve overall quality.

I agree with the last two points, but not the first one. They need to focus on their iconic models. That is why people buy Gibson.

[gitarro]

I certainly don't have any technical knowledge but any Blunt Force that is strong enough to knock fresh off the fretboard would probably be strong enough to break the neck itself?

[dcmey]

Originally Posted by jjrpilot

This is from over at another forum:

A user named Jinder just posted this......it doesn't look good for this company:

"Hi all,
The latest on the pile of embuggerance that’s befallen my Dove (for newcomers to the topic, bought new by me in summer 2016, babied and barely used, in early Feb the tenth fret fell out onstage, followed by the third and fifth upon removing strings to investigate when I got home)...

I was asked to send it to Gibson Europe in the Netherlands 2.5wks ago, which I did, to be repaired under warranty.

I emailed for an update yesterday and received a very rude email back today, saying they’re “taking their hands off this one” and sending the guitar back to me unrepaired, as their engineers believe it isn’t a warranty issue, denied that the frets could have fallen out in the way i described at all due to fretboard shrinkage or whatever has caused them to drop out, and said the frets would have been knocked out of the guitar due to the guitar being subjected to a blunt impact to the back of the neck which effectively smashed them out of the fretboard.

This is absolute nonsense-I’ve only ever taken perfect care of the Dove and all my other many Gibsons i’ve owned over the years.

I’m offended and rather upset by the inference that I’m a liar or am trying to make a fraudulent warranty claim. When I wrote to Gibson it was to explain the problem and ask their advice-I was told that it would “certainly be covered under warranty”, otherwise I wouldn’t have shipped it to the Netherlands in good faith.

I’ve expressed this in reply, and have asked that the rejection of the guitar be reconsidered.

I’ve been playing Gibsons for 20yrs, several of those spent in a working relationship with Gibson UK as an endorsee artist, and have sung the praises of these guitars to everyone and anyone who will listen. I’ve also made my fair share of excuses for the brand to friends and colleagues who have bought unacceptable product from them-guitars with finish issues, neck issues, underset necks and allsorts.

Unfortunately, if this (the only warranty claim I’ve made in 20yrs and 25+ guitars) issue can’t be resolved, Gibson will have lost my respect and loyalty entirely. I dearly hope that isn’t the case."

Fretboard shrinkage causing the problems, one thing that I would want to know is how the guitar was stored.

[gitarro]

If Gibson were slimmed down and pared down to building great guitars and run with the focus and discipline of Collings or Santa Cruz and made into a boutique small shop operation instead of a big factory, then they can start deserving the high prices they have been charging for their wares and befitting the storied name and matchless reputation that they have.

[The Growler]

Originally Posted by rct

They parlayed Trace Elliott into the Goldtone amps. They were fabulous, throaty, roaring, loud amps, right up the alleys of us(at the time) starting to age 70's kids playing arena stuff. Great with pedals and bulletproof.

Heavier than any amp should ever be, more expensive than the booteekiest of boutique hand wired turret fly fished no boards unobtanium cap amps.

Too bad. I would have gladly used a couple except I'd have to carry them. No way.

rct

I have one of the GA 20-RVT from a few years back and it's a great amp.

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by gitarro

If Gibson were slimmed down and pared down to building great guitars and run with the focus and discipline of Collings or Santa Cruz and made into a boutique small shop operation instead of a big factory, then they can start deserving the high prices they have been charging for their wares and befitting the storied name and matchless reputation that they have.

May I change that to "matchless reputation that they HAD"?

[Elroy Bean]

Originally Posted by mrjop1975

...the way they treat a lot of smaller stores that want to be Gibson dealers is not right. A local store where I live has said that as soon as what Gibson products they have are sold, they are done. Too much investment for what Gibson wants. They already carry Martin & Taylor, so they do not need another high end brand in the store.

Just my own observations for whatever it is worth.

My local store attempted to add Gibson to their inventory but Gibson's demands were too steep. One of the things told to me was Gibson expected the local store to commit to an extreme number of orders each year. It would have left the store mostly pushing Gibson, at the heavy expense of their Martin and Tak offerings.

[Zigeuner]

My brother and I had a small guitar shop in Los Angeles ca. 1969 to 1981. We tried to get the Gibson line, especially the electrics, but they refused to sell to us because they said that we were too small and there were other dealers close by.

Out of the goodness of his heart, the sales rep who came to the store offered to sell us their Chinese Epiphones. I respectfully declined. He never returned. LOL

I admire the original Les Pauls and Les Paul himself and I recognize that Gibson has been a great name in music. That said, what needs to happen is a buy out by some company or conglomerate that could absorb the debt and fix the management of the company in such a way that it could be profitable again.

The present management with Henry J. simply has managed the company out of business, especially with those audio company acquisitions a while back.

Changes need to be made and fast, or Gibson is toast.

[lowrider]

My thought is that yes, Gibson is toast as an American guitar company. Whether or not it's deserved, for different reasons, they have too bad a reputation with too many people. I think they eventually will go under, the factories will be liquidated, employees let go, and the name sold.

The new owners will take production overseas and make what will basicly be Gibson reproductions.

They will be better made and sound better to most customers, but to the players who loved Gibson guitars, they will be nothing like what they have been playing all these years.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by jjrpilot

"...Unfortunately, if this (the only warranty claim I’ve made in 20yrs and 25+ guitars) issue can’t be resolved, Gibson will have lost my respect and loyalty entirely. I dearly hope that isn’t the case."

Frankly, I suspect that's of little if any concern to them...

Looks like the old '60s CBS/Norlin/Uni/Avnet etc. deal all over again - when the suits think they understand what this business is all about. sheer product volume becomes the end game, and quality goes down the crapper. Sad to say they're not alone in this respect: there's at least one other long-standing outfit (who, quite frankly, should know better) that succumbed to the same mentality, cashing in on, as stated above, "the matchless reputation they had" - non multa sed multum yielding place to "chicken-in-every-pot" market saturation and an "end-user" attitude toward owners of their instruments...

Meanwhile, Rickenbacker - admittedly a niche manufacturer - still soldiers on, doing what they've done best for the last 85 years: catering to a comparatively small but steady client base, producing quality instruments, swiftly shutting down anything that smacks of intellectual-property infringement, and maintaining a certain air of exclusivity that once characterized the first-tier makers...

At the same time Taylor - whose founder was/is a luthier first and foremost and whose Customer Service is second to none IME - appears to be securing its legacy with the likes of Andy Powers...

Let's just see which corporate model the new owners of the Gibson marque will choose to follow - or continue...