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Changes at Gibson


MikeRivers

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Whoever was calling the shots there needed to go... they ran a thriving company into the ground. Some really questionable business decisions were made that pretty much overextended Gibson`s reach and expertise. Whatever the case, hopefully they'll get their act together but I doubt Craig will be returning there. I doubt he'll give us much info here either...

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Here's the text. You've seen (and taken) enough pictures of Gibson Guitars:

 

By Soma Biswas

 

Sept. 7, 2018 1:18 p.m. ET

 

 

Gibson Brands Inc. has reached settlements with key creditor groups that will allow the famed guitar maker to exit bankruptcy in the hands of new owners led by funds managed by KKR & Co.

Gibson’s biggest creditors, including Blackstone Group LP’s credit arm GSO Capital Partners LP and electronics maker Koinklijke Philips NV, have been pushing the company to find an alternate buyer rather than hand control of Gibson over to the bondholder group led by KKR.

 

Gibson, however, has reached a deal with key creditors, that will allow the company to stop marketing itself to other potential buyers and to cease any talks that may have started during the course of the company’s bankruptcy, according to court filings.

Jamie Baird of PJT Partners , an adviser of Gibson’s new owners, said the guitar maker’s business “has performed well” during the bankruptcy case.,

“With an anticipated exit from bankruptcy less than one month away, Gibson is poised for growth on strong consumer demand, significant available liquidity, and a debt free balance sheet at emergence,” said Mr. Baird.

 

Silver Point Capital and Melody Capital area also part of the bondholder group set to take control of the company once it exits bankruptcy.

 

GSO, which is owed $77 million on a secured loan, had called Gibson’s sale process “halfhearted” and argued that the guitar maker could find a higher offer than the recent valuation of the company in its restructuring plan.

Under the new plan, the company’s official committee of unsecured creditors has also dropped threats of lawsuits against GSO Capital and the company’s owners Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman.

 

The unsecured creditors committee had been looking into a possible challenge of the secured status of GSO’s loans as well as the role Messrs. Juszkiewicz and Berryman played in the company’s slide into insolvency.

The Nashville, Tenn.-based guitar maker filed for bankruptcy in May with a plan to convert the KKR-led bondholder group’s in debt to equity.

 

Gibson was privately owned by Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman, who acquired it in 1986.

 

 

Write to Soma Biswas at soma.biswas@wsj.com

 

 

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Maybe Fender will buy Gibson. :D:D

 

 

Henry has run Gibson longer than anyone. They have done some great things in the past 30 plus years, however, they have done some pretty not so good things that have been costly.

 

Personally I just get back to doing what they do or did best, making quality old school guitars, mandolins, I'd bring back the banjo division and dobro. Fish out some of the old tooling out of the Cumberland River. Possibly reissue some amps.

 

What the world doesn't need is another Les Paul variation Right now there are almost 300 varieties of Les Pauls. Customs, Standards, Deluxe's, and some poor mans Jr's. The Custo Shop could still knock out Limited Edition high-end stuff, that is if anyone has an extra 10 grand to spend.

 

Epiphone needs to be streamlined too.

 

I believe Gibson will be in a better place in the future.

 

KRK make some nice reference monitors. I have an old pair that predates the Gibson purchase of that company.

 

Onkyo makes a nice receiver, but I'm not sure who's buying that stuff these days?

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You are correct, I wouldn't go back - but not for any reason other than I believe in always going forward. Gibson was the first and only "job" I ever had, and it was great, but self-employment agrees with me. That said, though, I wouldn't be surprised if I end up doing some consulting. I do miss Gibson, and many (actually, most) of the people there, on several levels.

 

As to the "info," it's really pretty basic. Acquiring Philips was a situation where none of the stars were in alignment. The company had internal issues, the value of the Euro dropped immediately after the purchase, and consumer electronics has thin enough margins as is. I think Henry had the right idea about diversifying to a broader base of consumers, but he simply bet on the wrong horse with Philips. He had a 30-year run, which is a very long time for a CEO, and overall was very successful. Sometimes it's time for a change. IMHO it was taking a toll on Henry and although it must be wrenching to leave something you've been devoted to for 30 years, sometimes fate forces us to do what in retrospect we realize was the right thing. For example I would never have left Gibson on my own, but being fired has opened up all kinds of opportunities I didn't have before. My book series for Hal Leonard would never have happened if I was still at Gibson.

 

I wish Henry nothing but the best in his future endeavors, he's not the kind of person to buy a condo in Florida and play golf all day. It will be interesting to see what he does next. As to Gibson's future, I'm pretty sure the people who will be in charge will concentrate on the core business. Not sure what that means for the pro audio companies, though, which I think could do quite well with a little love.

 

 

I have many guitars and many Gibson guitar, some have been with before Henry took over some after Henry took over. I love my Gibson guitars.

 

I even bought a Gibson mandolin , which had and issue after a year of owing it. I have never set anything back for repair work in my life ( talk about nervous). David Harvey took care of me. He was gonna build me a new one. I got to speak to him by phone a few times, and he ended up replacing my F5G with one that came from the Gibson Showroom. The wood on it is even prettier than the first on I had.

 

Turned around a year later when I was looking for a nice jazzbox, and ended up with a ES 275 in Montreux Burst. I was looking at a ES 175, and they are very nice, this just seem to fit me better. OMG, that thing plays like butter. It does have a richlite fret-board, but so far so good, and it feels pretty much like ebony. I thought my ES 335 was my favorite guitar in the Gibson line up, till I got the ES 275.

 

I don't consider myself a collector, but after 40 plus years of playing you collect a few guitars along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Turned around a year later when I was looking for a nice jazzbox, and ended up with a ES 275 in Montreux Burst. I was looking at a ES 175, and they are very nice, this just seem to fit me better. OMG, that thing plays like butter. It does have a richlite fret-board, but so far so good, and it feels pretty much like ebony. I thought my ES 335 was my favorite guitar in the Gibson line up, till I got the ES 275.

 

 

Those are sure nice guitars!

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Imagine what will happen if Guitar Center goes under.

 

Everyone will start buying accordions.

 

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Great idea!

 

Meanwhile, back to Gibson...think we'll see more P90 pickups now? I have a 2014 Melody Maker and I love those P90s.

 

P90s are my favorite pickup. I have them in my ES-330 and Casino. In my Parker NN522NS (NN for Notes Norton) I had them put Duncan P-Rails with triple shot rings in at the factory. I get an excellent P90 sound, a decent but not extraordinary rail sound, and a very good series or parallel humbucker sound.

 

It's become my gigging guitar because of the "Swiss Army Knife" pickups.

 

I do hope Gibson turns it around. It's a historic brand. And while I agree we don't need 500 models of Les Pauls, if some people like that and it's profitable for Gibson, why not? There are a zillion strats and teles too.

 

Notes

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What I really like about the P90 is the clear tone. Plus when picking hard, it pings better than anything else I've tried, and when you pick softly it just purrs. Add to that great dynamic range and after playing P90s exclusively for 2 years, everything else just sounds dull. But I'll use the rail or humbucker setting on my P-Rails when I need to, however 90% of the time, I'm P90.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

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