Has Gibson Bought Any Gear Companies And Made Them Better Than They Were Originally?

[Bbreaker]

.....or were they just buying to stifle the competition?

[bjcarl]

maybe they'll buy Fender sometime this year

[bjcarl]

maybe they'll buy Fender sometime this year

[Bbreaker]

 

Originally Posted by bjcarl

maybe they'll buy Fender sometime this year

 

They fubar'd OMI (Dobro); Epiphone; Kramer and Spector.

[Bbreaker]

 

Originally Posted by bjcarl

maybe they'll buy Fender sometime this year

 

They fubar'd OMI (Dobro); Epiphone; Kramer and Spector.

[Deadbeat Son]

 

Originally Posted by Bbreaker

They fubar'd OMI (Dobro); Epiphone; Kramer and Spector.

 

If anything, Kramer is much better now than it was before their purchase. However, I do agree the company is still miles away from its former glory.

[bjcarl]

In fairness, all the companies you mentioned are "better", I'm assuming...if by better, you mean more profiitable. Epiphone, however, really doesn't make "better" instruments(unless you're talking the high-dollar MIA stuff)...

[Virtual Pariah]

No.

[fuzztone]

I think They did quite alot to add to Epiphone's Legacy.

[craigny]

Cant see how Kramer is doing better than it was back in its 80's heyday when Eddie was rocking them...if you mean cause of Gibson their still alive..i guess but dosent Kramer only make a handful of models now?

[Virtual Pariah]

Originally Posted by fuzztone

I think They did quite alot to add to Epiphone's Legacy.

I'm not sure. Epi now is nowhere near as good as in the past.
Gibson treated things differently back then vs since Henry has owned them.

[Help!I'maRock!]

Originally Posted by Virtual Pariah

I'm not sure. Epi now is nowhere near as good as in the past.
Gibson treated things differently back then vs since Henry has owned them.

Norlin bought Gibson in '69 and introduced Japanese Epiphone models in 1970, 16 years before the current ownership group bought the company. Epi's success has always been tied to the ownership group of the time. if anything, it's a more successful company now than at any time in the past 60 years.

[rog951]

Valley Arts would be a "no" as well...

[fuzztone]

Originally Posted by Virtual Pariah

I'm not sure. Epi now is nowhere near as good as in the past.
Gibson treated things differently back then vs since Henry has owned them.

I'm not sure I understood the original question but by legacy I just meant most of the iconic Epiphone guitars like the Casino and all the solid bodies(Coronet,Wiltshire,Olympic,Crestwood etc) were all created after Gibson bought Epiphone.

[D Carroll]

The take over of Garrison Guitar company went okay.

[bjcarl]

With respect to Dobro(OMI)...I don't know enough about either company post-Mosrite...I'm guessing that they were in or on the verge of bankruptcy when Gibson acquired them in the early 90's.

I do know that there are some sweet Dobros being produced today-both high-end domestic made stuff and cheaper imports...

[D Carroll]

Epiphone was also about to go under before Les informed Gibson that buying them was a good idea.

[Deadbeat Son]

 

Originally Posted by craigny

Cant see how Kramer is doing better than it was back in its 80's heyday when Eddie was rocking them...if you mean cause of Gibson their still alive..i guess but dosent Kramer only make a handful of models now?

 

Who are you talking to, me? I never said Kramer is better than it was in its heyday, I said it is doing better than it was before they bought it. Before they bought it, the brand was DEAD. Kramer had went out of business. They were no more. No new Kramer guitars were produced for almost a decade. How can their current state be worse than that?

[bjcarl]

True...a handful of models is better than no models

On another note-no one's mentioned Steinberger...personally, I don't know enough about Steinbergers to give any opinion, but I know Gibson bought them at the height of their(Steinberger's) popularity...

[billybilly]

 

Originally Posted by Bbreaker

.....or were they just buying to stifle the competition?

 

Could be they are just incompetent. I mean, even "real gibsons" are renowned for their quality control problems.

[Bbreaker]

Originally Posted by billybilly

Could be they are just incompetent. I mean, even "real gibsons" are renowned for their quality control problems.

I think Q/C has been a real problem in the Henry and Norlin years.
Not bad during the Ted McCarty era.

It's odd that Slash's go to LP that Gibson cloned was made by Max.

The purchase of Epiphone was made during the McCarty years and Epi became mostly a budget brand.

There was a short time when the Dennis Berardi Kramer Co was rumored to be interested in buying Gibson.

[McHale]

By "BETTER" do you mean charging WAY more for products than they are worth?

Then:

[Bbreaker]

Originally Posted by McHale

By "BETTER" do you mean charging WAY more for products than they are worth?

Then:

IMO, Gibson has yet to buy a competitor and make their product better in quality than it was originally manufactured.
I think Gibson has made Epiphone a profitable line but not a better product.

[Help!I'maRock!]

Originally Posted by Bbreaker

IMO, Gibson has yet to buy a competitor and make their product better in quality than it was originally manufactured.
I think Gibson has made Epiphone a profitable line but not a better product.

while i agree with this, it's simply not in the company's best interest to have Epiphone directly compete with the Gibson name.

[theManfromAlabam]

Has Fender (FMIC) Bought Any Gear Companies And Made Them Better Than They Were Originally?