Gibson Guitars

[El Presidente]

I always wanted to be a guitar player. I had a couple of years worth of lessons but was pretty much hopeless.  I promised myself that if I had any talent at all, that i would one day buy myself a Gibson guitar.  I had never seen one at the time but that was the strength of the brand. 

it will be a sad day if it goes 

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Following months of rumours, Gibson, the legendary guitar manufacturer, has filed for bankruptcy with debts of between US$100m and US$500m. More significantly, the company also announced plans to reorganise and restructure its business, saying it has agreements with holders of more than 69% of its debt that would allow it to continue to operate. To me, this is the real story here and it speaks volumes.

When the opportunity arose to write this article, I was asked what my angle would be. My initial response was: “Quite simply, Gibson is the sound of rock.” But it’s so much more than that. The warm tones of the 335, one of their earliest electric guitars, dominates jazz and blues music. BB King was a lifelong player – his famous guitar “Lucille” is still a popular signature series instrument.

Continued 

http://theconversation.com/gibson-guitars-sound-of-rock-that-will-never-go-out-of-fashion-96036

 

[ayepatz]

What’s Angus going to play now? ?

[Colt45]

It seems like they have a solid plan - that they are jettisoning most / all non instrument related acquisitions. I've three Gibsons, my fave being my 1981 Les Paul Standard ( tobacco sunburst)

P.S. from the Guitars who's got 'em thread:

 

[Buck14]

If it’s not a Les Paul, it’s not a Gibson!

Even my cheap ass ‘56 Gold Top Epiphone with P90 pickups agrees!

[JohnS]

Yeah...and if Sir Paul McCartney continues to tour can you imagine him not playing his beautiful left-handed Cherry Sunburst Gibson Les Paul or more importantly, his original 1962 Epiphone Casino (Epiphone are owned by parent company, Gibson) if it ever saw its end?

John Lennon played his Epiphone Casino so much that he had to retire it around 1972. He replaced it with a Gibson Les Paul Jr.

I agree, I think Gibson have a solid business plan to re-structure their business (and debts).

The world needs Gibsons (and Epiphones)!

[Buck14]

I’d let you take all my Cuban Cigars and all but one of my firearms before I’d let you touch any of my Les Pauls!

HANDS OFF!

[PrairieSmoke]

I was shocked when I heard the news, but as everyone has said, I don’t think this is the end of their guitar making days.


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[luv2fly]

Staple business here.  Been on the news for a bit. 

Hope they can make it.  Hate to loose a local business this iconic.

[Smallclub]

Hey guitar players (I'm a drummer), do you know which Gibson guitar does Frank Zappa play in the tune "Transylvania Boogie" in the live album "Chunga's Revenge" (1970)? This guitar sound is one of my all time favorite; I believe it's a 335 but I'm not sure…

[Grateful13]

It's been a long time coming. They made bad moves a few years ago and bought some consumer electronics companies which just hemorrhaged money.  They'll simply shed some debt and reorganize control in bankruptcy and the guitar building will continue business as usual.  Though who knows what the new owners will do in the future.

I don't own any Gibson electrics now (used to) but I do have an Advanced Jumbo

 

[SigmundChurchill]

It will be a very sad day if they stop making guitars,  They are a huge part of Rock history.  There is no sweeter sound than a Les Paul paired with a Marshall stack.

 

My ‘59 reissue Les Paul is my go to electric guitar.  

 

 

[SMQQKIN]

Heard about Gibson's troubles the other day. Makes me sad but not surprised. Rock n roll is about dead. The days of garage bands are long gone & today's music is mostly electronica. Put down the video game controllers & pick up a Les Paul. I've never heard of anyone getting laid for being a good video gamer. I'm showing my age...?

[GavLew79]

This happened to my trusty '05 SG...waiting to get it fixed by a luthier. Have owned a Les Paul too but too damn heavy when gigging...Mesa Boogie amps and cabs all the way

[ComancheKeen]

Sad to see such an iconic brand going downhill.

Me and my Les Paul. Fitting for this forum that the colour is Tobacco Burst.

[CigarAsh]

I've heard a lot of knowledgeable guitar players say that Gibson's guitars the past several years were just not up to standards, especially considering the premium price Gibson charges. The fit/finish aspect was really hit or miss.  They were pressuring stores that carried their product to buy large quantities of product at beginning of each year instead of  more on demand small batch purchases. Drove a number of small shops out of carrying Gibson because they couldn't afford to hold the inventory - that and they were pissed about the quality. 

Considering the recent bankruptcy reorg - it all makes sense. They were bleeding cash and were apparently looking to improve cash flow by cutting corners and pressuring their distribution system. It's really opened the door for smaller manufacturers to grow and get a toehold  - notably Paul Reed Smith (PRS) who is making some really gorgeous guitars.

[Doctorossi]

I think they're gonna be fine. The guitars are actually doing quite well; they just expanded into a bunch of other stuff that didn't pan out for them. They're jettisoning that other stuff now so, after a while, they should be good to go.

[SCgarman]

29 minutes ago, CigarAsh said:

I've heard a lot of knowledgeable guitar players say that Gibson's guitars the past several years were just not up to standards, especially considering the premium price Gibson charges. The fit/finish aspect was really hit or miss.  They were pressuring stores that carried their product to buy large quantities of product at beginning of each year instead of  more on demand small batch purchases. Drove a number of small shops out of carrying Gibson because they couldn't afford to hold the inventory - that and they were pissed about the quality. 

Considering the recent bankruptcy reorg - it all makes sense. They were bleeding cash and were apparently looking to improve cash flow by cutting corners and pressuring their distribution system. It's really opened the door for smaller manufacturers to grow and get a toehold  - notably Paul Reed Smith (PRS) who is making some really gorgeous guitars.

This coupled with 10% profit margins on Gibson while the cheaper imported guitars apparently net well over 100% profit. Sounds like a lot of bullying on the part of Gibson towards it's dealers. And if quality is hit or miss like Cuban cigars, folks are not going to drop 1500-3000 USD for a new Les Paul. There are plenty of good used ones for sale in the market. This and venturing into other businesses other than guitars which was losing tons of money. I give the company a 50/50 shot to survive. Nothing is guaranteed.

[dominattorney]

I think they screwed up by expanding out into other markets, echoing the sentiments of others. However, they have all sorts of ridiculous bells and whistles special edition guitars too that really threw me for a loop. Stick with the basics, gents. Make guitars, make em simple, make em well. 

[Colt45]

53 minutes ago, dominattorney said:

However, they have all sorts of ridiculous bells and whistles special edition guitars too that really threw me for a loop.

Same here - can be frustrating. I think if were in the market, I'd check out a Knaggs Kenai

[Stump89]

My Les Paul is one of the few things I own that no one else is allowed to touch without my supervision lol

[Buck14]

1 minute ago, Stump89 said:

My Les Paul is one of the few things I own that no one else is allowed to touch without my supervision lol

I fixed it for you brother!

[dominattorney]

1 hour ago, Colt45 said:

Same here - can be frustrating. I think if were in the market, I'd check out a Knaggs Kenai

That's the other issue, when you get over a certain price point (I.E.the price point of their ridiculous limited editions) you could get a custom guitar or a high-end semi-custom guitar from a smaller luthier.  While I'm partial to Knaggs, if I were going to splurge, I'd get Lieber Guitars to make me something cool with an OBEL and custom pickups. 

@Buck14, no dig against your Les Paul collection,  btw.  I've got one too, and a limited SG.  I paid less than 2K for each of my Gibsons though, and I don't know if their custom shop is really up to par with the custom custom builders like Languidoc, Scarlet Fire, Nik Huber, to just name a few that I've drooled over. 

[Colt45]

20 minutes ago, dominattorney said:

That's the other issue, when you get over a certain price point (I.E.the price point of their ridiculous limited editions) you could get a custom guitar or a high-end semi-custom guitar from a smaller luthier

I think if I were to go spendy / smaller, I'd love to have an Echopark '59, but I'm not sure he'd build what I have in mind So purely for conversation, a couple of my ideals for guitars are resonance and sustain. When I used to look into a new (electric) guitar, I'd play extensively unplugged. I've had a number of people question me re my LP as to it's sustain, and though I don't know it's weight, I've been told it's heavy. The V is a 1983, and nothing fancy - but it's tone is undeniable - chunky with raisins! Back to tone / sustain / resonance, one of the things I like most about a good, well played violin is that I can hear the wood resonate. That's kind of what I look for in a guitar - for me the PUs should simply articulate the guitar's nature.

For what it's worth, I am the original owner of the LP, V, and Boogie in the pic I posted...

[Grateful13]

1 hour ago, dominattorney said:

That's the other issue, when you get over a certain price point (I.E.the price point of their ridiculous limited editions) you could get a custom guitar or a high-end semi-custom guitar from a smaller luthier.  While I'm partial to Knaggs, if I were going to splurge, I'd get Lieber Guitars to make me something cool with an OBEL and custom pickups. 

no dig against your Les Paul collection,  btw.  I've got one too, and a limited SG.  I paid less than 2K for each of my Gibsons though, and I don't know if their custom shop is really up to par with the custom custom builders like Languidoc, Scarlet Fire, Nik Huber, to just name a few that I've drooled over. 

No doubt, buying used is the only way to buy a Gibson these days IMO.  I bought my 2008 AJ a few years ago, already well played in and opened up (acoustics are like cigars in that the wood tone gets better with age, it develops within the first couple of years in particular as the woods continue to dry).  I went to the local Sam Ash a few days later and they had a brand new one for double what I paid, even though the rosewood was significantly lower grade.  Which brings up another issue, it's harder for these big companies to find enough quality woods due to costs, scarcity/bans, and legal issues.  Don't forget, the Feds under Obama raided Gibson several years ago under very specious/spurious pretenses - which Gibson later commemorated with special guitars, of course, made from the seized wood that was later returned (imagine the legal fees).

Once you get into the $5k+ range for one of the new reissues and custom shop stuff I think you're way better off getting something custom made by a smaller luthier like others have said or, better yet, buying vintage.  You can get an awesome 330 or LP/SG Junior or Special made in the 50s or 60s, or a mid-late 60s 335 or SG once you get into that range.  One of those or a 2018 R9?  I know which one I'm picking...

This isn't really to bash Gibson or anyone though - they still make great guitars, I'm sure I'll own another LP at some point in the future again.

@Colt45 Is that an original Mark I?  Nice!

[GuitarZan]

Yeah it sucks. I have a 2010 Gibson Les Paul Honeyburst. I got it plecked, and a bone nut installed now. Plays like a dream. Definitely my main guitar.

I have heard that their quality has shit the bed, and yeah their custom shop guitars are super expensive. This is coupled with the fact that apparently more and more kids are picking up acoustics thanks to Sheeran and Taylor swift. Attention spans are also going down in our instant gratification world, much easier to pick up an acoustic and strum a few chords...

Gibson is super iconic. I am glad they are restructuring, hopefully the bad companies they bought will be a lesson to them. I would hate to see them get sold to some corporation overseas.