Comments on: Is This The End? Gibson in Financial Troubles

By: Dwayne Kittle

Dwayne Kittle — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 21:39:11 +0000

I bought an epiphone sg for 45 bucks the ground wire was broken off it ppays awesome…i aso just bought a washburn mavrick qt for 50 bucks love it!!! One of my goals is to get an unknown Henson model no one sings wester like mr Henson

By: Steve in Brooklyn

Steve in Brooklyn — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 18:23:01 +0000

I can’t speak for others, but allegations of poor treatment of employees, together with the company’s combative, “Help I’m being repressed” response to being caught on imported wood violations, have not made we want to give them my money.

By: Grey Jedi

Grey Jedi — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 18:16:50 +0000

The man who rescued Gibson some 30+ years ago needs to go. Henry J. is naked and no one at Gibson has had the courage to pint out that the Emperor’s suit of clothes don’t exist. When I can buy an Asian manufactured clone of any of the iconic Gibson electric guitar models for about 20% of the street sale price of the original model and it’s fit, finish, playability and tone are comparable, that’s a wake up call for Nashville. I’ve bought such Asian made instruments as long as 5-6 years ago (who knows how much longer than that they’ve been available?) and I stopped being a “brand fanboy” in general even longer than that. If it feels, plays and sounds good, it is good. Henry J. has shown that he lacks the vision to deal with the kind of market that can sell essentially the same instrument at 20 cents in the dollar compared to his. The name on the headstock and the geography of manufacture dies not justify the kind of upcharge that Gibson is requiring as the price for admission.

By: Blind Walker G

Blind Walker G — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 18:05:51 +0000

First, the guitar market is getting smaller. Young generation is more interested in technical stuff to run productions at home, guitars start to be more “the thing my father noodles on”.
Second, the quality of Korean and Chinese made instruments raised a lot over the years. In the $300-500 range are lots of real nice guitars. All those “under a grand” budget Gibson guitars are really something which needs some work out of the box. In this price range the Epiphone quality is much better. Very strange company politics, the budget brand is much better for the same price as the main brand. At the top end the Custom Shop models, offering the quality of 60’s and 70’s stock Gibsons, if you’re lucky, are way to pricey for a hard working musician. There is Heritage, for example, offering better than Gibson quality for half of the Custom Shop price, and so many others do the same. Only way for Gibson is to strip down. Good quality Epiphones for the budget line and US made Gibsons only highclass series but affordable. Others show this is possible, maybe it’s the point for Gibson to accept the times to make money just with the name are gone forever.

By: Doug C.

Doug C. — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 17:04:18 +0000

Too bad, it seems as Gibson Memphis is making the new-late 2017-58 es-335 better than ever. It would be shame to lose the memphis shop or quality in these guitars because of financial problems. Yes, these (memphis 58 es-335) guitars cost too much but they are some of the best ever produced by Gibson.

By: Toby Venar

Toby Venar — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 16:57:37 +0000

I recently bought a 2016 Les Paul Traditional HP (inventory clearance – for about half of the original price) and I have to say, it’s a fine instrument (even with the robot tuners, which are novel, but not necessary). I have an 80’s LP Jr (which I love, but does not have great fretwork and the quality is marginal – I have worked on it and made it into a good instrument). The new LP is near my PRS Studio in quality (and this is the best guitar I own – not because of it’s value, but the way it plays). I own a couple more American guitars and a bunch of Korean, Chinese and Indonesian guitars. All of those are very high quality as well, although not to the level of the American builds – likely just due to the amount of time a luthier can spend on the instrument. I have a $300 Steinberger GT Pro (made at the Epiphone factory 10 years ago) that has some of the best fretwork I’ve ever see. Point is, there are good luthiers and guitar companies all over the planet. Gibson needs to lear to compete with these companies (and they have with Epiphone) but they need to resist high volume at any cost – crappy American made guitars are not better than well made Chinese instruments. Restructuring is likely what they need – lower volume on the high end and even in the lower price ranges – quality over volume. There’s no reason to put out a crappy instrument any longer. If they listen to their customers and take Fender’s queues in getting kids interested, they’ll stick around.

By: Allen Lam

Allen Lam — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 16:55:20 +0000

Here is an opportunity for some rich, talented, guitar-loving musicians (you know who you are) to wrest control of Gibson away from the bankers and lawyers and pursue ,once again, the practice of making great guitars, as opposed to that of trying to buy everything in sight, which generally puts companies into the hands of the bankers and lawyers. Jus’ sayin’.

By: JAMES PRESTON

JAMES PRESTON — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 16:25:47 +0000

I JUST BOUGHT A MITCHELL GUITAR….
2 HUMBUKERS, LOCKING TUNERS, SPLIT PICKUPS
THRU BODY STRINGING, LIGHT WEIGHT, STAYS IN TUNE AND FOR $300…..BUT THATS NOT ALL, PLAYS BETTER THAN MY GIBSON LES PAUL WITH P-90S ($900.00)AND SOUNDS SO MUCH BETTER.
GOOD BYE GIBSON, YOU HAVEN’T BEEN TRUE TO YOUR CRAFT, FOR YEARS….