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Gibson facing bankruptcy


Kiwi

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11 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

Gibson: how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.

Here's the new 'Modern V' - apparently a new take on the 1967 V

5a8b611072ae5_gibsonmodernv.jpg.b714f7941d0294c0f3ecb74250c6e668.jpg

OK, not all bad, you think.

You look closer and see a list price of $4499. Ouch! But - still - there's something about it that intrigues you.

Then you discover it's got a richlite (compressed paper and resin) fingerboard. Alright, Martin use richlite on their cheaper (but still nice) acoustics. And you know that at least one reasonably well-known luthier's refretted a richlite board and pronounced it acceptable.

But Richlite on a four-and-a-half grand guitar? Even so, the look still tugs at you. It's one of the less butt-ugly models Gibson have put out recently. Unique, almost.

Then - being of a certain age - you dimly remember the Jackson Roswell Rhoads which first came out in the 1990's.

 

5a8b62bbdc227_roswellrhoads.jpg.8c84533b54914dcecc6b37686ae89c50.jpg

 

Wow, must be worth a fortune, right. Secondhand Roswell went for just under £700 on Reverb just before Xmas. Another one went on the bay for £1500.

So, $4499 for a slightly less-than-unique V mash-up with a richlite board. Thanks, Gibson. Thank you so very f**king much.

To be fair, the Gibbo is set neck not bolt on, and it comes with two pickups.  The aluminium Roswell is the one to have too..

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1 hour ago, cetera said:

A rather well known shop local to me had a very large shipment of Gibsons in recently. 90% of them needed a full set up before hitting the showroom floor....... and some 20%+ were sent back as being unacceptable.

Not what you would expect from a legendary and expensive brand!

But actually very reminiscent of the late 70s, early 80s, when the current group took over

 

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3 hours ago, Nicko said:

To be fair, the Gibbo is set neck not bolt on, and it comes with two pickups.  The aluminium Roswell is the one to have too..

Indeed so. I saw and played an aluminium Roswell when they first came out. Interesting but not quite right for a pub blues band.

I also agree that the Modern V and the Roswell (whether aluminium or wood) are not strictly comparable in terms of construction or accoutrements. The issue for me is the body shape. :)

Edited by skankdelvar
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Gibson is one of the best examples I know of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.  It really, really grieves me because I have such a soft spot - aka my brain?? :D - for the brand (as opposed to the company).  I gigged a couple of delightful '70s LP Triumphs for years followed by a 2008 SG re-issue for some more years.  The current management have taken a heritage that money just can't buy and pi55ed it up against a wall.

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On 19/02/2018 at 15:21, Geek99 said:

they ask a lot of money for their product and pretty much only because its made in America. Whilst I appreciate that Americans are paid more than the Chinese; its not proportionately better for being made in the US, or each one absolutely perfect . Its not like each one is carefully blessed by magic pixies upon completion. Just priced out of its market. I'd say the same about US fenders.

I had an epiphone les paul that blew a real gibson out of the water once i'd replaced the pickups. Worth the extra to go Gibson? I didn't feel so.  

Hmm that basically echoes what I reard on the radio today, where a guitarist said something like "lots of other companies now make Gibson style guitars that are better than gibsons.

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6 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

The issue for me is the body shape. :)

You and I both. When I first saw the Modern V, my very first thought was not "oh look, a contemporary take on the classic Flying V" so much as "oh look, a completely unimaginative and no doubt stratospherically priced ripoff of the Roswell Rhoads". I suspect this may not be the reaction Gibson were hoping for.

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4 hours ago, Rich said:

You and I both. When I first saw the Modern V, my very first thought was not "oh look, a contemporary take on the classic Flying V" so much as "oh look, a completely unimaginative and no doubt stratospherically priced ripoff of the Roswell Rhoads". I suspect this may not be the reaction Gibson were hoping for.

Compared to some of Gibson's recent and more loathsome efforts it's not actually that bad. Have a gander at these lovelies (pukes into his shoe):

Les Paul Hot Pink Fade

md_115d2d15e2e186209f4a931eea80c8f7.

Reverse V

5a8cae4e45cbb_lawndart.jpg.0e442971e0e7512a32822ef72950391a.jpg

 

The N-225

n225.jpg.200c4a78512484004aee3da7935bfe7c.jpg

 

The Holy Explorer 

5a8caf345813e_holyexplorer.jpg.5886d6faf1ed804598c7fdcd7f9b9ee1.jpg

 

The Firebird X

5a8cafaede8d8_firebirdx.jpg.a1df66db06d35561c63e46c41f0f6036.jpg

 

Some Sort of Hideous Zakk Wylde Mash-Up

5a8cb08583c66_zakkwylde.jpg.f20376f7d313cc1bffd8303f900813d5.jpg

 

The 'Every Expense Spared' Firebird 

5a8cb2ab9a9bf_firebirdcheap.jpg.bd0d2d25f88d869fd756aad001519beb.jpg

 

The SG Zoot Suit

5a8cb13d23a2a_SGzoot.jpg.72f08c9b010a30eb160e7847b1ff88d2.jpg

 

 

... and winner of the 'We're Only In It For The Money' Award

The Gibson Authentic Hendrix Strat

5a8cb321c13ff_gibsonstrat.jpg.d36997fe3cf4ff59e4fc3d61b2344109.jpg

 

I've left out some of the recent Melody Maker cheapos, in part because I don't want to upset MacDaddy and in part because they're not actually very ugly. Well, only a bit.

Edited by skankdelvar
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27 minutes ago, skankdelvar said:

Compared to some of Gibson's recent and more loathsome efforts it's not actually that bad. Have a gander at these lovelies (pukes into his shoe):

These are Dire, not just 1 or 2 naff ones in a range, but absolutely horrible

 

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1 hour ago, skankdelvar said:

Compared to some of Gibson's recent and more loathsome efforts it's not actually that bad. Have a gander at these lovelies...

Jesus H Christ! Surely these can only have been deliberately produced specifically to bring the company to its knees?? I'm no guitar designer me, but I could do better than that with both eyeballs stuffed up my rectum.

That 'Strat' looks like a haggis drawn from memory by a chimp. :|

Edited by discreet
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To be fair, even though the solid-bodies bear the brunt of criticism the acoustics out of Bozeman and the semis are all pretty nice. This may be because Gibson senior management are completely unaware that they own those two other guitar-making divisions and have therefore not taken the opportunity to fly in and FTUBAR.

The Epiphone re-issues are rather jolly little chaps. And even the entry level Epiphone Les Paul suggests a bit of thought has gone into the looks.

Epiphone '66 Century

5a8cd1e8472cd_epiphonecentury.jpg.793003b33df56788231700a50556485b.jpg

 

Epiphone '62 Sorrento

5a8cd2ab11d36_62sorrento.jpg.8d139f598d81b1b4572c7ddcdea197ce.jpg

 ^ I've got one of these (but with aftermarket P90's) ^ Beautifully made, replica period hard case, plays nice, sounds lush.

 

Epiphone Embassy

5a8cd3f79c844_epiphoneembassy.jpg.700c53c7741026192ab959a242640ab6.jpg

 

Bonamassa Firebird I (with proper banjo tuners)

5a8cd4ca63f40_bonamassafirebird1.jpg.8ff8cccb602c68c83cb10600d7681306.jpg

 

Epiphone Les Paul SL - bolt on neck, £89.00. Pretty.

5a8cd68b00d5f_epiphonesl.jpg.404a44ae8bf52676691d8d45642d40b6.jpg

Edited by skankdelvar
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I never really got the Gibson bass thing. If it wasn't for Jack Bruce and Andy Fraser I wouldn't have given them a 2nd look

Guitars? They have some nice ones but I preferred the old Guilds to be honest. I have a Guild LP at the moment. 

Edited by Pinball
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6 hours ago, discreet said:

That 'Strat' looks like a haggis drawn from memory by a chimp. :|

Quote of the thread... 

Can't believe this is a Gibson. Just add it to their list of crimes... including mauling SWR and Tobias to death, and most recently my considerable investment (time, expense & PROPRIETARY FILE FORMAT) in Cakewalk...

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2 hours ago, Pinball said:

I never really got the Gibson bass thing. If it wasn't for Jack Bruce and Andy Fraser I wouldn't have given them a 2nd look

And I'm completely the opposite. When I was getting into music in the 70s the for the vast majority of my favourite bands if the bass player wasn't sporting a Rickenbacker then it was a Gibson - usually a Thunderbird or EB3.

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2 hours ago, visog said:

Quote of the thread... 

Can't believe this is a Gibson. Just add it to their list of crimes... including mauling SWR and Tobias to death, and most recently my considerable investment (time, expense & PROPRIETARY FILE FORMAT) in Cakewalk...

actually I quite like that strat.

Those are quite brave designs (I particularly like the pink les paul) although I do prefer the look of the epiphones slightly

Edited by Geek99
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7 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

Bonamassa Firebird I (with proper banjo tuners)

5a8cd4ca63f40_bonamassafirebird1.jpg.8ff8cccb602c68c83cb10600d7681306.jpg

 

Epiphone Les Paul SL - bolt on neck, £89.00. Pretty.

5a8cd68b00d5f_epiphonesl.jpg.404a44ae8bf52676691d8d45642d40b6.jpg

As much as I like the idea of new instruments that sport all the correct features of the model they are based on, as an owner of a Firebird with banjo machine heads, this is one original feature I could live without. The minimalist look to the front of the headstock is great, but the machine heads themselves are horrible to use and the case for the Firebird is twice as big as a standard guitar case simply to accommodate the extra depth of the machine heads.

As for that Les Paul SL, it really does shown that aesthetics are completely subjective. Personally I think it looks horrible. It has all the grace of the worst kind of 70s Woolies special guitar - although considering that in real terms it probably costs less, I shouldn't really be surprised.

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9 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

The Firebird X

5a8cafaede8d8_firebirdx.jpg.a1df66db06d35561c63e46c41f0f6036.jpg

I have to say I have a bit of a soft spot for the Firebird X.

Also I guarantee you that some time in the next 20 years there will be a big-name guitarist who uses one of these as their instrument of choice, causing the price of the few remaining examples to go through the roof, and whoever owns the Gibson brand at that point to hurriedly bring out a re-issue that incorporates none of the important features, and only just about gets the shape right.

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7 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

Epiphone Embassy

5a8cd3f79c844_epiphoneembassy.jpg.700c53c7741026192ab959a242640ab6.jpg

 

This isn't totally horrendous, but why it isn't short or medium scale I don't know, absolutely lends itself to that!
Even so, I'd prefer a Serek (totally different price-point I know).

Si

Edited by Sibob
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30 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

I'd be amazed if this was true ^

Be prepared to be amazed then.

Remember that when they were first produced the Flying V and the Explorer were desperately unpopular. It took almost 20 years before you started seeing lots of musicians in well-know bands playing them.

They are already selling half the price they were when originally released. At some point they will become affordable while still being unpopular and then someone will come along at make it his or her "own" guitar of choice.

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8 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

............ and Rickenbacker.

 

Ok, I made that up.

I once had a guy blue in the face mad with me when I worked in a guitar shop when he told me Gibson owned Rickenbacker.

Rosetti who was the distributor for Ric was also acting for Gibson at the time was the cause for confusion but he simply would not have it at all.

Anyhow, Ibanez ownership would be a sweet irony...

Edited by AndyTravis
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