Thoughts on Gibson's bankruptcy and where rock is headed now.

[RUSHHEAD666]

Killing me personally.

 

"Sheraton Gibson" by Pete Townshend.

 

Amazing tune.

 

Rock and roll will never die. But it will be on life support here in the US of Amateurs.

 

When I pass away, my girls will get it all. Praying for the Euro and Japanese market to still keep pressing those discs.

 

 

I only have Apple Music because my Audi is only bluetooth.

 

If I live to 100 death will be a welcomed reality.

 

Rock And Roll could die one day.

 

Hopefully I will die first.

[RUSHHEAD666]

Guitars? Compact Discs?

 

Nah! RIP!!!

 

It's a Synth World now. RUSH was so ahead of their time.

[RUSHHEAD666]

The band GHOST will be over in 6.66 years.

 

Tobias will be the new Steven Wilson and shitcan his band.

 

Solo pop shite ahead.

 

Signed,

 

POPESTAR

 

 

 

Says it all really.

 

Fukk Steven Wilson.

 

Does anyone want my ticket to see Steven live this Friday in SF????

 

I'm not wasting my time.

 

Don't worry Rush Fans. The ticket is FREE.

[djflex]

Just glad Debbie Gibson isn't bankrupt

 

Well, she did pose for playboy once so I'm guessing she probably was at some point.

 

She did?

 

I thought it was only in my drreams....

[treeduck]

[HemiBeers]

When Gibson announced that they filed chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a lot of people in the classic rock/classic metal community saw a perfect opportunity to resurrect the whole "rock is dead/guitar music is dead and people born after 1990 killed rock n roll" meme again.

 

Gibson did it to themselves. This is a direct result of what happens when you charge a huge amount of money for guitars that aren't worth that price. A friend of mine recently practiced on both a 2017 Gibson LP and an 2017 Epiphone LP and he was pretty hard pressed to find a difference between the two. One was $599 and the other one was $2,999. And we're surprised that Gibson is going through all these financial woes?

 

While it is true that my generation has some truly repugnant music (shit like Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Blood On The Dance Floor, mumble rap as a whole) and that we've caused rock and metal's popularity to wane, we've also been taking measures in the past few years to reverse that trend. We've helped put bands like Ghost and Greta Van Fleet on people's radars. Ghost is a pretty popular live act with a large cult following throughout the world, and Greta Van Fleet day by day is getting more notaritey and support.

 

However, 50-60 year old classic rock fans still continue to write their articles about how rock is dead, they've pretty much declared that Ghost and Greta Van Fleet suck by default just because they're new. Recently, I've learned that there really is no pleasing certain people in this community.

I'm not getting into the new music versus old music shit-storm, because that's a never ending pissing match I don't need to deal with.

 

Didn't someone else post a thread on Gibson bankruptcy? Oh yeah it was me.

 

Gibson's problems boils down to a combination of these:

1. Less use of guitar in music, leading to less interest to play guitar by younger people.

2. De-worse-ification into goofy consumer electronics acquisitions.

3. Older Guitars being reliable and preferred by many musicians (guitars can last for years if properly cared for).

4. Gibson pricing it's models so that only the affluent (i.e. old guys with cash) can afford them.

5. Other excellent choices available in the premium Guitar market.

6. Solid inexpensive alternatives for beginner and mid-level players.

7. Inconsistent quality, even in premium Gibson models.

8. Cut-throat competition for razor thin margins in the music hardware industry.

 

Combine all of these reasons and it can be summarized simply into a macro-level issue that people aren't buying new guitars as much as they have in the past. Regardless of size, they have many challenges and will need to make significant changes to survive. As I said in my other thread, don't be surprised if they actually eliminate some product lines that aren't as profitable.

 

 

I have a good amount of young friends who play guitar both professionally and as a hobby, each an every one of them told me that they would rather put the money down for a Schecter or an Ibanez as opposed to a Gibson.

that would be reasons #4 to 7. Too many alternatives, not enough customers. Even as an 'old guy' player, I can think of other manufacturers that would be my priority over Gibson. If or when I got around to wanting Gibson, I'd buy vintage over new.

 

Hell, even if I wanted new Gibson...I'd buy a Heritage instead (which is the Gibson plant after Gibson left Kalamazoo).

Edited May 9, 2018 by HemiBeers