Just a minor addition: in my opinion they wouldn't even have to change, just "expand their horizons"... It's kinda ironic that that in a sense they were the original innovators, Gibson turned "The Log" into an iconic instrument and Fender made its own indelible mark on guitar and rock music, yet seemingly they wish not to keep the tradition of innovation, but rather that of sitting on their laurels and snuffing out anyone trying to take their place in perfecting and elevating electric guitar.
Of yourse there are the plain and disgusting ripoffs and fakes that add nothing to the instrument but only use the visuals to sell inferior products to earn cash, which should be dealt with properly But as always, it is we, the people who buy inferior/counterfeit/not up to par originals who are keeping this thing alive and moving oftentimes in bad direction. George Carlin used to say that once you willingly take part in a game you have no right to criticze the outcome (he used this in the context of elections, but not only is politics banned here, but I hate it wholeheartedly, hence the change to "game"), however, if you do not take part in it, you have all the right to point out its flaws. Of course, reality is not as simple as it writing a forum post about it, it"s way more complicated than that. Also, I will keep buying Indonesian Jacksons and I also won't quit calling out the big companies for making mistakes or overpricing their products.
