Home › Forums › Discuss Your Gear › Why So Many Guitarist Are Turning Away from Gibson
- This topic has 11 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 5 months ago by Billy.
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October 18, 2017 at 3:10 pm #82632
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October 18, 2017 at 4:13 pm #82638
Meh, flawed company, overpriced products, dip in QC… but fortunately there are a bazillion wonderful used Gibsons on the market at fair prices.
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October 18, 2017 at 4:20 pm #82639
Couldn’t agree more. Very few guitars that I would shell out the money to buy a new one and Gibson wouldn’t be on that list.
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October 18, 2017 at 10:19 pm #82670
I wonder how long it will be until their reputation is so damaged that there is no turning back, Is it now possible to buy guitars with as good as if not better build quality for a fraction of the price, Is quality control the end all and be all to customer relations, this to me opens up so many questions to the way some businesses treat their bread and butter customers.
..Billy..
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October 18, 2017 at 10:36 pm #82673
I wonder how long it will be until their reputation is so damaged that there is no turning back, Is it now possible to buy guitars with as good as if not better build quality for a fraction of the price, Is quality control the end all and be all to customer relations, this to me opens up so many questions to the way some businesses treat their bread and butter customers.
Billy
Its well known that Gibson went thru a period known as the Norlin Era that nearly took them under.
From Wikipedia: On December 22, 1969, the Gibson parent company Chicago Musical Instruments was taken over by the South American brewing conglomerate ECL. Gibson remained under the control of CMI until 1974 when it became a subsidiary of Norlin Musical Instruments. Norlin Musical Instruments was a member of Norlin Industries which was named for ECL president Norton Stevens and CMI president Arnold Berlin. This began an era characterized by corporate mismanagement and decreasing product quality……The company (Gibson) was within three months of going out of business before it was bought by Henry E. Juszkiewicz, David H. Berryman, and Gary A. Zebrowski in January 1986
With the prices of new Gibson guitars and what seems to be an overall attitude of the management of Gibson, they are quite likely headed back to the same melee that they were in during the Norlin Era. There is one important difference today that they may not be allowing themselves to see.
Internet sales of not only quality imported guitars but so many quality used guitars may be final nails in Gibson’s coffin. It would be sad but they can only blame themselves.
I worked for NCR – National Cash Register – for a number of years. When cash registers went from mechanical to digital, NCR didn’t know how to adjust. They developed products and told their customer how they had to adapt to NCR’s equipment while our competitor asked the companies what they needed to accomplish their business vision.History records the outcome of that debacle. The NCR Corp is only a small company now and has nothing to do with the vision that John Patterson had for his company. Again, NCR can only blame themselves.
Time will tell what decision that Gibson makes concerning their future
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October 18, 2017 at 10:40 pm #82675
I just recently bought the Gibson Les Paul Studio guitar. I’m very pleased with it, although I kind of think the controls are not 100% the way they are, but other then that, it fits my dream guitar of having a Gibson. I did buy a new 92 Gibson Les Paul with the clear maple top, I thought I’d never buy another Gibson guitar, so I guess I was lucky on this Studio one. I don’t really mess with the tone nobs on the guitar, but in my opinion, if I didn’t live 3 hours away from where I bought it, I’d bring it back and see what they say about the controls seem not to be putting out the way they should.
I do agree, Gibson guitars at retail price = sticker shock here and probably every elsewhere around the globe. Fender prices, although, not cheap, I still feel they offer more bang for the buck.The melody of the notes is what expresses the art of music . 🙂 6stringerPete
It really is all about ”melody”. The melody comes from a language from our heart. Our heart is the muscle in music harmony. The melody is the sweetness that it pumps into our musical thoughts on the fretboard. 🙂 6 stringer Pete
Pete
Active Melody
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October 19, 2017 at 3:02 am #82689
This is what happens when MBAs take over a manufacturer and turn it into a “lifestyle brand.”
Not to worry, the Chinese will be buying them out soon.
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October 19, 2017 at 6:34 am #82693
This is what happens when MBAs take over a manufacturer and turn it into a “lifestyle brand.”
Not to worry, the Chinese will be buying them out soon.
The problem with this is that the current CEO is the same guy who saved the company back in the mid-80s. So its not simply a question of MBAs taking over. These MBAs resurrected a dying company and turned it into a multi-billion dollar brand. Even now, most people seem to consider only Fender and Gibson when talking about solid body guitars. The fact of the matter is that the story of Gibson is not the story of overcoming a bad reputation, but the opposite, how difficult it is for a company to overcome a good reputation. Both Gibson and Fender have been doing just that for almost 50 years, and they still have not succeeded in killing their brands despite lots of boneheaded decisions and terrible quality control.
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October 19, 2017 at 4:10 am #82690
Surely the sound of warning bells must be getting deafening by now for Gibson’s management.
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October 19, 2017 at 5:25 am #82692
We are not really getting a full story from that little snipped of an article, I would be surprised if a big manufacturer like Gibson doesnt get their act together if they are suffering sales losses
..Billy..
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October 19, 2017 at 6:52 am #82694
Just wanted to add that Gibson has recently bought several large electronics companies, including Cerwin-Vega, TEAC, Onkyo, and Phillips. None of those brands are exactly killing it in the market, and I’m willing to bet that this is the source of a lot of its debt. Also, it spent 11 years and $40 million dollars rolling out its auto-tune system, which it promptly abandoned as a complete loss.
While making those business mistakes, the market for musical instruments has shrunk. Its Baldwin Pianos brand is probably doing even worse than its guitars, even though Baldwin continues to make excellent instruments. People simply aren’t buying pianos anymore.
So, there are lots of reasons why Gibson might be in trouble. The fact that their guitars suck in comparison to many others you can buy new is only a part of the puzzle.
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October 20, 2017 at 5:42 pm #82766
Came across this story as I surfed the net tonight, dont know how much water it holds but time will tell I suppose.
..Gibson to Sell Memphis Guitar Factory..Billy..
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