Gibson files for bankruptcy

[treborillusion]

Legendary U.S. guitar-maker Gibson files for bankruptcy

(Reuters) - Gibson Brands Inc, the maker of guitars played by the likes of B.B. King and Elvis Presley, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday with a plan to reorganize its musical instrument business under the new ownership of its lenders.

Nashville-based Gibson, whose legendary brands include Les Paul and SG, has been suffering under $500 million in debt linked to the acquisition of its consumer electronics business overseas, where sales have been in sharp decline.

In a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Gibson said the overseas consumer electronics business will be wound down, allowing it to re-focus on its core guitar-making and audio businesses.

Continue reading here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ker-gibson-files-for-bankruptcy-idUSKBN1I23VR

 

[BikerDude]

It's actually good news IMO.
They will be shedding the source of their difficulties.
The electronics brands that they borrowed so much money to buy.
Mainly from Phillips. It was a stupendously stupid investment.
If they get back to just building Guitars they will be fine.
They screwed up by trying to be more than a Guitar company.
But it depends on the aims of the new ownership.
You can bet that the creditors are predominantly financial institutions who don't give a hoot about the brand.
Only bottom line. And probably aren't interested in being involved for the long haul.
It could go wrong.
I'm reminded of the AMF Harley Davidson years.
They nearly killed the company because they just weren't "motorcycle people".
http://www.strategosinc.com/harley-davidson.htm

In 1969, American Machine and Foundry (AMF) bought the company, streamlined production, and slashed the workforce. This tactic resulted in a labor strike and lower-quality bikes.[3] The bikes were expensive and inferior in performance, handling, and quality to Japanese motorcycles. Sales and quality declined, and the company almost went bankrupt.[3] The "Harley-Davidson" name was mocked as "Hardly Ableson", "Hardly Driveable," and "Hogly Ferguson",[54][55] and the nickname "Hog" became pejorative.[citation needed]

 

[treborillusion]

I bought a 2005 Gibson VOS R7 Les Paul for £3, 995.00 last November; used (from a guitar shop in Soho)... Brand new they're £7, 000.00
I've got two of them, Gibson Custom Shop and Gibson VOS Les Pauls, different specifications.
I don't know how much a Gibson Custom Shop costs brand new, but in 2011 I spent £1,985.00 on my 1996 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Standard and it was marked down from £2, 800.00 and it was love at first play. I guess people like me the world over, not buying them new, but used (for whatever reason be it sought after year of production variant or just because brand new they were too expensive when ordering a reissue VOS from a Gibson dealer)...
In the UK, we don't have Guitar Center, and all our Gibson Dealers (the ones I knew in Soho) stopped dealing with them, so after a while, I couldn't even order in a new one offline.

 

[treborillusion]

The problem about brand new Gibsons are; they're either too pricey or horrible (brand new).
My Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul would have been £6, 000.00 brand new according to Google.

 

[Old Dude]

I play an Epiphone copy of a Gibson ES-335. At Musician's Friend mail-order company, prices for those start at $380. You can pay more for fancier looking models, but they all play and sound pretty much the same, which is excellent. The cheapest Gibson ES-335 starts at $2,900! Gibson offers the "stripped down" version of the ES-335, their "studio" model, which doesn't have fancy bindings or other frills, for $1 shy of $2,000! Gibson OWNS Epiphone. It's their bargain priced, import line. The Epiphone instruments are excellent quality, while the US Made Gibsons are developing a bad reputation for quality flaws.

Granted, a lot of the problem is unthinking guitarists who fall for meaningless marketing hype like "custom shop", which is code for "We jacked up the price for no good reason". Gibson overcharges for their guitars for the same reason dogs lick their balls. Because they can.

Currently, there is absolutely no reason on earth to buy an overpriced Gibson when similar guitars by Epiphone, PRS, and many, many other makers are out there with the same sound, the same playability, and often at half the price or less. That's the problem Gibson has to solve. I don't hold much hope for that happening.

 

[treborillusion]

Gibson make fine guitars for £6k - £7k+ brand new...
And if you can find them not brand new but old new stock (an unsold 2015 reissue for example) or even pre owned, it's half RRP of brand new/same guitar, half the price, £1, 000, 000.00 worth of fun (any day).
And by brand new, I mean, fresh from the Gibson factory/brand new 2018/2017 guitars.
£1, 985.00 (which was on sale reduced from £2, 800.00) for my first Gibson I fell in love with that I got in 2011 despite thinking it was ugly until I had the pickups I like put in which also matched the pickup rings Gibson put on, but this 1996 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Standard (60's neck profile/chambered body); was a £6, 000.00 guitar brand new.
Gibson had zebra head pickups in there, I put in black pickups which suite this red sparkle top/dark back Custon Shop Gibson, and now I think it looks sexy.
It's got a transparent/clear no colour scratch plate too and the hardware is niche, like Schaller or Tone Pros, but if it's Tone Pros, than my 2005 R7 Gibson USA gold top dark back ha a different model Tone Pros.

 

[treborillusion]

I spent £3, 995.00 on a 2005 Gibson R7 Gold Top Dark Back because that one's like £7, 200.00/£7, 500.00 maybe even £7, 800.00 (close to £8k) brand new, and it's the one I've always wanted, and, I was shopping for one that day in my native London in UK's answer to Tin Pan Alley that I know.
My budget was £4k on one, thinking, looking for ones I've tried when I didn't have the budget, and I found but didn't love this chambered flame top for £3.2k and that was old new stock from 2015, that was a VOS I think, or an R9 or whatever, it was a burst with a 59 neck, but it was light, and, my first Gibson was light, and this was £3.2k... walked to another place, saw my guitar on the wall with the sticker price...
I went guitar shopping and then figured out a budget seeing a lot of nice guitars which would have put me in the poor house with no cushion, so I was seeing what else I could get; walked in, saw my £7, 800.00 when it was brand new hard to find personally sought after finish guitar with a £3, 995.00 sticker and I had £4k in mind as a limit for one, and yeah, £4, 200.00 getting it to my spec/spec it's in now (pickups/bridge update.
So had I have got a 2017 one last November, I'd had to have at least £8k but I love it; I wouldn't drop a budget like that if I didn't love it, if I did, I'd have bought this old new stock VOS/R9 that was a burst that was chambered for £3.2k.
I mean, I assumed that day I'd be getting a burst, didn't expect to find the one I wanted but thought I could never find in my budget, that's amazing because it turned out, my favourite/sought out finish isn't as common as the Gold Top/bright back, which I don't think looks sexy personally, this guitar is sexy, and sexier with the parts I wanted installed.


Gibson make guitars so fine, I walked in, saw it, asked to play it, they asked if I wanted to plug in, I said no.... I played for all of 5 minutes before saying "I'll take it".
I decided after 15 minutes I didn't want this chambered R9 for £3.2k in the first place, and within 5 minutes (almost to confirm really) that I wanted my R7 from the second place for £3, 995.00 - based on weight, look and feel.
I wanted a thicker neck profile than the thinner 60's neck profile 1996 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Standard I got in 2011.
I heard tale of the 1980's change of hands at Gibson and heard how they switched to make their Les Pauls lighter like my 1996 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Standard; so I wanted a heavier one too, just didn't expect to find any so wasn't holding my breath, so when I found my favourite sought out after harder to find finish, in budget, after playing it of course and feeling that '57 neck profile compared to what I used to; I bought it.

Both of my Gibsons are very nice, I cannot stress this enough; love at first play nice, 'nice enough for me to happily part with money nice' in a town full of options in budget and aspirations out of budget.
I just bought a £6, 000.00 guitar that is really nice when it was 15 years old for £1, 985.00 when it was reduced in a sale from £2, 800.00 and an £7, 800.00 easy guitar that is really nice when it was 12 or 13 years old for £3, 995.00
£1, 000, 000.00 worth of fun (at least), love these Gibsons I got, in fact, if I didn't, I wouldn't have bought them.

 

[treborillusion]

Guess when you don't buy brand new, you get the same guitar for half the money, but then the company goes bust (and if they do, then your guitar might increase in value when no more can be produced)?

 

[treborillusion]

Circa 2015

Used high end Gibsons, half the price, all the fun.

 

[nedkelly]

Nothing new under the sun. Whatever happened to Slash's offer to invest personally in Gibson !??!