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If Gibson Were Gone..............


Steadfastly

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Why all of the Gibson bashing lately? Jesus, just don't buy a Gibson and call it done. And to be honest, at $1,200, a Gibson SG Standard is not overpriced.

 

 

if gibson went under, there would probably be more to worry about, in regards to guitar manufacturing/playing in general, than one guitar manufacturer going out of business. Like asking what if Ford or GM went out of business

 

 

Heads up, GM already went out of business in 2008. Now they are partially owned by Fiat and the U.S. government lol.

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Gibson guitars are used by a high proportion of pro musicians and artists.


They make 'industry standard' guitars.


I'm finding it hard to understand why the OP can't see how much Gibson would be missed.


Maybe try and play one sometime?

 

 

buy a heritage and never look back.

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Gibson as a name is one of few remaining American icons from a bygone era. I think that is why people get pissed at the way things are run now. It seems that the Gibson brand and its cachet gets tarnished further at every turn regardless of the fact that it's not the same company anymore. I can't envision it being gone though...the name carries too much value.

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Constantly bashing on a brand is the sign of a weak mind trying to express itself forcibly.

 

 

Not always. Gibson's shotty quality speaks for itself IMO. They charge a huge amount for what they're making and I've played so many guitars that were twice the quality and half the price of a Les Paul standard that I don't think I'd ever buy a Gibson. It doesn't bother me if others buy Gibsons (especially considering the amount of awesome LP pictures on here).

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Would the guitar world suffer if Gibson was out of business?


With so many manufacturers putting out excellent guitars I can't see it making any difference. What's your opinion.

 

 

Of course its gonna make a difference, they are one of, if not the most influential guitar brand in the world. I really don't understand why so many people come on here and bitch about Gibson.

 

If you can't afford one or don't think their value for money then good for you. Myself on the other hand as you will see by my sig, love Gibson guitars, hell I grew up watching and listening to the likes of Jimmy Page, Peter Frampton, Slash, Clapton in Cream etc What do they all have in common?

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Of course its gonna make a difference, they are one of, if not the most influential guitar brand in the world. I really don't understand why so many people come on here and bitch about Gibson.


If you can't afford one or don't think their value for money then good for you. Myself on the other hand as you will see by my sig, love Gibson guitars, hell I grew up watching and listening to the likes of Jimmy Page, Peter Frampton, Slash, Clapton in Cream etc What do they all have in common?

 

 

I'm not sure about Frampton, but weren't Page, Slash, and Clapton all junkies at one time or another.

 

On a serious note, someone would buy the name and trademarks. I'd like to see PRS buy Gibson. PRS guitars seem to be a love/hate thing with most players, but you can't deny PRS has exceptional build quality and consistency from guitar to guitar.

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So the question isn't based on reality?

 

 

Like someone said already, if they did go out of business, someone or a couple of companies would buy the right to the name and produce guitars under that name. That's not a lot different than what's happening now with Gibson getting factories in Asia to make guitars for them and then selling them under the Gibson name.

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Gibson guitars are used by a high proportion of pro musicians and artists.


They make 'industry standard' guitars.


I'm finding it hard to understand why the OP can't see how much Gibson would be missed.


Maybe try and play one sometime?

 

 

Because there are better guitars out there for less money. Don't you think that is a good reason? Brand conscious people like yourself might miss them but those paying for the best guitar for the buck wouldn't. Regards, Steadfastly

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Of course its gonna make a difference, they are one of, if not the most influential guitar brand in the world. I really don't understand why so many people come on here and @#!*% about Gibson.


If you can't afford one or don't think their value for money then good for you. Myself on the other hand as you will see by my sig, love Gibson guitars, @#!*% I grew up watching and listening to the likes of Jimmy Page, Peter Frampton, Slash, Clapton in Cream etc What do they all have in common?

 

 

1) They all play guitars, different guitars from different manufacturers.

2) They all sing.

3) They are all male.

4) They are all millionaires.

5) They all get their guitars given to them from the manufacturers.

 

That's only a few of the similarities, of course.

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I would regret losing Gibson as a brand (hypothetically since there is no sign of its imminent demise) as much as I would regret losing any other iconic American brand, whether it be Coke or Pepsi. Most Americans haven't heard about PRS, or Dean, or Ibanez or even Taylor for that matter. But most Americans know or have heard about Gibson and Martin, whether they play or not. Just like they've always heard about Campbell Soup and Snickers Bars. You start losing them, you start losing a little bit of America, a piece at a time.

 

You can argue quality or value until you're blue in the face. There are great Gibsons, there are terrible Gibsons, there are great Martins, and terrible Martins, ad infinitum. Personally, I would put my J-45 up against any similar acoustic on the planet. It's that good, IMO. I would say the same for my great Martin OM-21. But I have also played dud examples of both. For a company that builds as many and as many different guitars as Gibson does annually, I think their overall quality is very high. Since they continue to be very popular, price notwithstanding (a Gibson J-45 is not overpriced when compared to a new Martin D-28, since they're priced nearly identically), a considerable number of people agree. It's why you see them on stage so much. As they say, when you find a really good or great Gibson, they're keepers. Moreover, Gibson's Chinese plant in Qingdao is turning out some very high quality instruments as well.

 

Value for the money? Not much. You can purchase a very nice looking and well built J-45 Blueridge knockoff for less than half the price that are pretty good. But at its greatest, the best Blueridge will never hold a candle to even a merely good Gibson tonewise, at least in my personal experience. The quality of the products coming from the MIC factory is approaching the American factory in the electric market. Put an upgraded set of pickups in an a good Epi Les Paul, and it will likely be as good and as good sounding a player as its American big brother for a 1/3 the price. But Les Paul people will tell you that for some reason, the American made models just have more sonic heft and complexity than the MIC versions, and, based on what I've heard, I agree with them.

 

Gibson does make some very good value priced guitars these days. The SG Standard is right up there with the American Standard Strat/Tele as one of the best values out there for an American brand. And, Gibson just released the Midtown Series at $1,499, so they are beginning to fill some of their glaring price gaps. I played one at the Sunset/Hollywood GC this past weekend. Fantastic value for a Gibson semi-hollow, gloss finish, Gibson Custom headstock, Burstbuckers.

 

I wouldn't be writing Gibson off so soon.

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Shame about the way said company is currently managed, though.

 

 

The same thing has been said in the past about Fender and now FMIC is one of the biggest and most successful companies in the music business.

 

FMIC bears little resemblance to Leo's original company but it has successfully built on the reputation that Leo established and I can't see anything less happening with the Gibson brand.

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If Gibson was gone then who would the other brands copy?

 

 

Well, since the designs that are copied are all 50+ years old I don't see it making much of a difference. Gibson haven't been innovative since at least 1970.

 

At this point I don't think it would make a difference if Gibson disappeared. Plenty of companies that make the same designs so no loss there. Someone else would step in to fill the gap left Iif Gibson disappeared

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The Gibson lead in producing cutting edge guitars ended in the early sixties. Granted, they were argueably the best the world had seen, and their electrics are great enough to have really ruled the scene, jointly with Fender, for the last 60 years. However, the Les Paul and several other models can be mass produced very accurately and cheaper in Asia and, in fact, are. At this point, the niche Gibson filled can be filled elsewhere. They no longer produce anything that can't be found elsewhere, with just as high a quality.

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Originally Posted by Musicscotty

Gibson guitars are used by a high proportion of pro musicians and artists.


They make 'industry standard' guitars.


I'm finding it hard to understand why the OP can't see how much Gibson would be missed.


Maybe try and play one sometime?




buy a heritage and never look back.



Yeah, because there are hundreds of established recording artists that use Heritage guitars ... right?

Heritage undoubtedly make quality guitars but they are not - and never will be - an industry standard guitar.

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Of course its gonna make a difference, they are one of, if not the most influential guitar brand in the world. I really don't understand why so many people come on here and bitch about Gibson.


If you can't afford one or don't think their value for money then good for you. Myself on the other hand as you will see by my sig, love Gibson guitars, hell I grew up watching and listening to the likes of Jimmy Page, Peter Frampton, Slash, Clapton in Cream etc What do they all have in common?

 

 

Besides Page, they all annoy me? (well cream was ok but I hate friggin Clapton).

 

I think we bitch about Gibson because we see what could be a great guitar company not doing their best, while acting like asses.

 

I picked up a beautiful solid mahogony sg with a set neck for 70$. Board might be ebony. Good fit and finish. Better action than a Gibson. Pups are only ok and the nut is cheap, I can replace both for a few dollars if I ever care. I don't know why a real SG is $1200 more and made of inferior wood.

 

Shame Gibson hasn't picked up on the one thing we never bitch about, their pickups. That's the industry standard for a bucker. They'd probably charge 1500 a pup if they did realize it though.....

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