Gibson bankruptcy??

chazmo

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A guillotine might seem a little harsh for Henry J., but I'm certain there are people who have worked for him who would think he'd be getting off easy.
 

AcornHouse

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Are we getting cake?:biggrin-new:
 

JohnW63

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I don't want Gibson to turn into a Chinese owned company. How long would it be before all production is IN China ?
 

adorshki

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I don't want Gibson to turn into a Chinese owned company. How long would it be before all production is IN China ?

W-e-e-e-l-l-l-l...I've told the story before: When I first saw the GAD series in the spring '04 Guild price list I thought the writing was on the wall, that within a couple of years Fender was intending to turn Guild into just another badge-engineered outfit like Epiphone......
Then I saw the Havens D40 model and decided I'd better try to get one more US-built Guild while I still could, called up Guitar Showcase and worked up a deal on the one they had in stock, and ran right down to pick it up, all within a couple of hours.
So maybe we better start pickin' up them US-built Gibbys while we can.
:eek:
 

twocorgis

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So maybe we better start pickin' up them US-built Gibbys while we can.
:eek:

There is some conjecture about whether Music Tribe might be the Chinese suitor, and if that's true, it's probably not good for long term US production, given the company's history. Gibson is a good fit for them too because it fits their MO of scooping up distressed companies. Let's hope for Yamaha!
 

txbumper57

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Picked up my SJ200 so I'm covered... Hope it doesn't come to that though:chargrined:

Speaking of the SJ200 Clyde, How are you liking it after playing it for awhile? I spent some time with my Guild F50 tonight and every time I pick up that Maple Jumbo I fall in love all over again. I am curious about some of the newer Gibson Jumbos as I have been crushing on a Limited Viper Blue heavily inlaid SJ200 but am most likely never going to drop $7000 on a Gibby Jumbo let alone any guitar, LOL!

TX
 

davismanLV

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Henry J is a JACKASS and he gets what he gets. Unfortunately, he takes a great American company down with him. How sad is that? But buy them while you can. I guess. It's a shame but there's really no one to blame but him....... such a shame. I've played a couple super nice Gibson's at GC and if they have 'em on sale..... maybe this is the time!! :encouragement:
 

bobouz

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So maybe we better start pickin' up them US-built Gibbys while we can.

Gibson's stocking demands have caused dealers to drop the brand for many years now. This continues to occur, and occasionally some very good deals come along.

Thought I was done buying new Gibsons, but last month I purchased a NOS Custom Shop 2015 J-50 from Rainbow Guitars in Tucson. They recently stopped carrying new Gibsons, and had some excellent prices on their remaining stock. The guitar is totally mint & stellar in every way, and I'm so glad I took a leap-of-faith on it.

Fuller's Guitar in Houston used to be a major Gibson dealer & had many special runs built for them over the years. They have also recently dropped Gibson. Whenever this happens, watch for low prices.
 

ClydeTower

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Speaking of the SJ200 Clyde, How are you liking it after playing it for awhile? I spent some time with my Guild F50 tonight and every time I pick up that Maple Jumbo I fall in love all over again. I am curious about some of the newer Gibson Jumbos as I have been crushing on a Limited Viper Blue heavily inlaid SJ200 but am most likely never going to drop $7000 on a Gibby Jumbo let alone any guitar, LOL!

TX

I'm loving the SJ200. Never having owned a maple jumbo, part of the love affair is discovering the sweet sound of a maple b&s big bodied guitar. The bell like treble coupled with that thundering bass... Wow! So I'm sure the F50 would be just as satisfying on that account. One thing I do like about Gibsons in general is the dry, woody tone. And this SJ200 fits the bill. LR Baggs pickup sounds good too. And the neck, gotta say, I think its one of the best necks for me personally I've ever played. I would say it feels half way between my D55 and my Taylor as far as depth and width. String spacing is just right, not to wide, not to narrow. The finish on the top, back and sides is first class as are the tone woods.

A few down sides: The tuners... it comes stock with Grover rotomatic and they're not good. They have some play in them and don't feel smooth at all. Maybe its a bad batch but its unacceptable that a guitar at this price point would have such ****ty tuners. I would consider swapping them out eventually. Also, the guitar comes with a TUSQ nut & saddle with plastic pins. I will definitely swap those out for bone from Bob Colosi, but again, at this price point, plastic pins... seriously?! That's like putting cheap chinese tires on a BMW. What are they thinking?

All in all, I love this guitar and the downsides can be easily fixed. Would I pay 6k for it? No. It is overpriced, without question. As is the case with most Gibsons. I got mine for $2800, its a 2017 store demo, but looks like it came straight from Bozeman. At that price, I think this guitar is definitely worth it.
 
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richardp69

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I'm loving the SJ200. Never having owned a maple jumbo, part of the love affair is discovering the sweet sound of a maple b&s big bodied guitar. The bell like treble coupled with that thundering bass... Wow! So I'm sure the F50 would be just as satisfying on that account. One thing I do like about Gibsons in general is the dry, woody tone. And this SJ200 fits the bill. LR Baggs pickup sounds good too. And the neck, gotta say, I think its one of the best necks for me personally I've ever played. I would say it feels half way between my D55 and my Taylor as far as depth and width. String spacing is just right, not to wide, not to narrow. The finish on the top, back and sides is first class as are the tone woods.

A few down sides: The tuners... it comes stock with Grover rotomatic and they're not good. They have some play in them and don't feel smooth at all. Maybe its a bad batch but its unacceptable that a guitar at this price point would have such ****ty tuners. I would consider swapping them out eventually. Also, the guitar comes with a TUSQ nut & saddle with plastic pins. I will definitely swap those out for bone from Bob Colosi, but again, at this price point, plastic pins... seriously?! That's like putting cheap chinese tires on a BMW. What are they thinking?

All in all, I love this guitar and the downsides can be easily fixed. Would I pay 6k for it? No. It is overpriced, without question. As is the case with most Gibsons. I got mine for $2800, its a 2017 store demo, but looks like it came straight from Bozeman. At that price, I think this guitar is definitely worth it.

I'm right there with you. I picked up a SJ 200 Std. just a couple months back for $2,300. It's pretty exceptional. I also love my F 50 Guild. To me they are different guitars with a different sound and they complement each other well.
 

ClydeTower

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I'm right there with you. I picked up a SJ 200 Std. just a couple months back for $2,300. It's pretty exceptional. I also love my F 50 Guild. To me they are different guitars with a different sound and they complement each other well.

Sweet deal! What year is it? Any issues with the tuners?
 

fronobulax

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Gibson's stocking demands have caused dealers to drop the brand for many years now.

FWIW the stocking demands are not exclusive to Gibson. New Hartford era Guild had an overall minimum and allegedly got a lot of pushback from potential dealers. They changed to a line based stocking requirement (NH Guilds, MIC Guilds, Arcos Guilds and Newark Street, as I recall) and picked up a new dealers but then got customer pushback because not all Guild dealers stocked the particular instrument a customer was interested in. They didn't really solve the problem before NH closed and CMG Guild seems to be back to a brand wide stocking requirement.
 

chazmo

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Beat me to it, fro! Right on the money... This is definitely not unique to Gibson.

I don't know how onerous Gibson's dealer requirements became, but Guild lost dealers for several years during NH for this reason. Of course, they continued to gain other dealers, notably Sam Ash, while others couldn't cut it.
 

bobouz

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FWIW the stocking demands are not exclusive to Gibson. New Hartford era Guild had an overall minimum and allegedly got a lot of pushback from potential dealers.

Doesn't sound like it worked out well for NH either. Unfortunately, Gibson essentially began dismantling a solid dealer network after their big box/online hookup with GC/MF in 2001. Many major dealers, as well as small mom & pops, dropped them at that time, and it still continues to happen to this day.

And while all this has been going on, these same dealers manage to work just fine with the likes of Martin, Taylor, Fender, Collings, and others. Whatever arrangements these companies have with dealers to stock & sell their products, it clearly is more reasonable than what Gibson has been demanding. So while independent dealers sell & promote these other brands, get them into the hands of players, and create more buzz for those products, Henry's brand languishes away with beat-up examples on the forgotten walls of Guitar Center - a marketing decision that, imho, was limiting & shortsighted from it's inception.

As for Guild/Cordoba, guess we'll just have to wait & see how it all pans out for them, but like Gibson, I would advise them to not be too picky. These dealers and the industry can survive just fine without them.
 
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bobouz

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I'm right there with you. I picked up a SJ 200 Std. just a couple months back for $2,300. It's pretty exceptional. I also love my F 50 Guild. To me they are different guitars with a different sound and they complement each other well.

Yes, that's exactly how I feel about my maple Guild & Gibson jumbos.

Each has it's place, and both are a joy to play.
 

Quantum Strummer

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Thought I was done buying new Gibsons, but last month I purchased a NOS Custom Shop 2015 J-50 from Rainbow Guitars in Tucson. They recently stopped carrying new Gibsons, and had some excellent prices on their remaining stock. The guitar is totally mint & stellar in every way, and I'm so glad I took a leap-of-faith on it.

I got my '71 LP Recording from Rainbow last month at a very reasonable price considering its excellent condition and top-quality wood & components. It's a model I've had my eye on for years, and the changes likely coming soon (maybe including higher prices on vintage stuff) did influence my decision to finally get one.

-Dave-
 

fronobulax

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Doesn't sound like it worked out well for NH either.

"Worked out" is a matter of perspective. The dealer who explained this to me was ecstatic about Guild's making the stocking requirement (essentially) factory based because he did not have to invest in instruments he knew he could not sell in order to get access to the ones that flew out the door. FMICs stocking requirements (at the time) were a pain in the neck because he had to deal with a different person at FMIC for each (sub)brand he wanted to carry. Sometimes orders for one subbrand could be bundled with other subbrands to meet stocking requirements but sometimes they couldn't. Then there is a different store store who told me they could not get Fender, Taylor, Martin, Gibson or Guild because of the stocking requirements.

Why is he going on about this, you might ask? Some folks seem to act as if stocking requirements are something Henry J is personally responsible for creating. That is not true. Depending upon what kind of dealer you are, Gibson's requirements may be more onerous than those of other manufacturers but that cannot be blamed entirely on Henry J.
 

AcornHouse

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I've played a couple super nice Gibson's at GC and if they have 'em on sale..... maybe this is the time!! :encouragement:
I’ve just...boy, this is hard to admit...ordered a...gulp...Gibson SG Special from Sam Ash, on sale. It’s a 2017 with mini-humbuckers. For $600 with 36 months to pay at peanuts per month, I thought I’d give it a stab. At least I’ll have one.
 
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