How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

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Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

Well the first and most important step is get rid of Henry. Since that’s being taken care of, I’m sure they will bring in people that actually know what they are doing. Gibson was very mismanaged.


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Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

Yep, then the consolidation of product line, the re-establishment of proper QC checking, plus the focus on the end product rather than bottom line cost cutting.
 
Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

DavidRavenMoon said:
Well the first and most important step is get rid of Henry. Since that’s being taken care of, I’m sure they will bring in people that actually know what they are doing. Gibson was very mismanaged.


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Click to expand...
Yeah, you got that right. Henry certainly didn't bring the best of Harvard business. The big question is what kind of management they bring in. If they disinvest the ancillary brands they certainly have time to regroup.

But if they don't refocus and figure out what differentiated value they bring, its unlikely they can grow. There's too many strong competitors accross the board.

I dont think there is any doubt, this is the opportunity to overhaul... If they fallback on PE, let's get the money management, I think the tail end of the ride will be long and sad...

But if they take a page from Yag, Ibi, Fender and PRS playbooks, they really could grow... Rebuild the brand, say we're sorry and ready to be good, and inspire young people with great quality instruments at great values...

Business Transformation isn't rocket science...But it does require good planning, patience and reliable key performance indicators... We shall see...



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Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

AlexR said:
Yep, then the consolidation of product line, the re-establishment of proper QC checking, plus the focus on the end product rather than bottom line cost cutting.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the current article adds customer centric product development to that list... Boutiques can get customer requirements from users as they go along, but mass production requires tight specs upfront to meet quality and value points because margins are thin... Fender, PRS,etc have the process knowledge to balance multiple markets, but this isn't something G has done well.

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Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

zionstrat said:
Yeah, the current article adds customer centric product development to that list... Boutiques can get customer requirements from users as they go along, but mass production requires tight specs upfront to meet quality and value points because margins are thin... Fender, PRS,etc have the process knowledge to balance multiple markets, but this isn't something G has done well.
Click to expand...

Yeah but Gibson customers often shoot themselves in the foot. Every time Gibson wanted to improve something, like adding back the volute to the neck to help stop the all too common headstock breaking off, people complained it wasn’t like the vintage guitars. Which got their headstocks broken too. These people just want to pose with the guitar in the mirror and pretend it’s a ‘58 LP and they are their favorite rock star. Lol.

I’m a luthier. I’ve had customers ask for things that I felt were a poor choice, and I steer them away from that and explained why. The builder generally knows more than most of their customers.

Gibson needs to start by getting their quality up and focus on their core models. And get rid of all these brands they bought. Then change the name back to Gibson Guitar Corp.

Some of their recent ideas were good. I see nothing wrong with circuit boards in the guitar. There’s no magic mojo in wires. And dumb things like (mostly fake) paper-in-oil caps don’t change the tone. That’s all marketing. Selling snake oil to insecure guitarists.

They sure make some ugly models under Henry!
ad4cf49513186e7e1461ec911b097d7b.jpg


But the robot tuners weren’t a great idea, along with the butt ugly Firebird X. And almost all their new designs were dreadful. They need a real guitar designer in there. Although I suspect it was Henry and his ego calling the shots.


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Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

Wow, I hadn't seen all those abominations in one picture. If there ever is a court case in all of this, that pic needs to be submitted.
 
Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

ad4cf49513186e7e1461ec911b097d7b.jpg


DavidRavenMoon said:
it was Henry and his ego calling the shots.
Click to expand...

Mincer said:
Wow, I hadn't seen all those abominations in one picture.
Click to expand...
Abomination is the most appropriate word to describe the content of that picture, that I'd call "Landscape of dread".

Anyway, there've been some good designs, too. So, let's give credit where credit is due, shall we? Here's a couple that caught my eye:



The 2018 Archtop Modern. Good design and construction concept. I'd get one, if it cost 60% less, LOL!



The 2018 ES-275 Figured. Way overpriced, but simply a timeless, beautiful design.

/Peter
 
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Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

The Robot tuners I like and serve a purpose, if they were limited to one model and offered as an aftermarket option. Problem is Gibson made a bad deal with the developer on the tuners, Tronical, and shoved it down everyone’s throat to meet the demands of the contract

I have several Les Paul, and when I change tuning on them, they never stay in tune and the intonation is off. For some reason the one I have with the Gforce tuners fixes that, intonation and tuning are spot on.And the guitar stays in tune better than my other Les Pauls.

Not to mention if you want to drop tune quickly and accurately, you just press a button and strum.

They’re not user friendly, you need to learn how to use them with their menus. But there’s a place for them- I always thought Jimmy Page’s Self tuning guitar was genius but out of the reach of most players- Gibson made it affordable yet there’s backlash
 
How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

jmh151 said:
The Robot tuners I like and serve a purpose, if they were limited to one model and offered as an aftermarket option. Problem is Gibson made a bad deal with the developer on the tuners, Tronical, and shoved it down everyone’s throat to meet the demands of the contract

I have several Les Paul, and when I change tuning on them, they never stay in tune and the intonation is off. For some reason the one I have with the Gforce tuners fixes that, intonation and tuning are spot on.And the guitar stays in tune better than my other Les Pauls.

Not to mention if you want to drop tune quickly and accurately, you just press a button and strum.

They’re not user friendly, you need to learn how to use them with their menus. But there’s a place for them- I always thought Jimmy Page’s Self tuning guitar was genius but out of the reach of most players- Gibson made it affordable yet there’s backlash
Click to expand...

My experience with the g force is opposite yours. I bought a LP Special when Sam Ash was blowing them out. I wanted to like the g force but it only worked 3/4 of the time. That might be fine for the at home guitar player or a home recording player that likes to experiment with tunings but a gigging player needs that to work 100% of the time.
And it doesn’t, IME.
Plus the he brass nut is an abomination. I replaced it with a tusq graphtech one and now it’s perfect.
Oh, I had to replace the crap tailpiece too. You can’t even intonate the one Gibson ships with the guitar. It only puts it close enough. Yes, I know intonation isn’t a perfect process but I like more control over it than Gibson gave me.
 
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Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

If you want to save Gibson, you have to get somebody like Katy Perry or Cardi B to sign up as an endorsee and go onstage with a Flying V or something. Guitar based music is at a low point and the demand for guitars overall is shrinking. Everybody is going to have to start fighting for a bigger slice of a shrinking pie.
 
Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

I do like these designs, but other companies are doing the 'redesigned archtop' thing better and cheaper. And archtops don't get press (I hadn't heard of the Archtop Modern until now). Redesigns of LPs barely get press. What does are their classic designs in the classic colors.



The 2018 ES-275 Figured. Way overpriced, but simply a timeless, beautiful design.

/Peter[/QUOTE]
 
Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

Wow, great examples of the beauties and the beasts... they might just show up in future installments;)

This thread does a good job setting the wide continuum from bad to good and love to hate that is killing the brand. But it also demonstrates there is something worth saving or we would just let it go.

The article focuses on "what does Gibson want to be when they grow up" and provides a logical path to growth...

My concern is they avoid change management (because it is uncomfortable...not business as usual) and all the "beauties" get lost in the mud.

Thanks for great feedback and please like the article and post some comments on Linkedin!

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Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

Some people @LP forum believe Joe Bonamassa is going to ride in on a white horse and somehow save Gibson...maybe some truth in this as part of the solution.
 
Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

Discharged said:
Anyway, there've been some good designs, too. So, let's give credit where credit is due, shall we? Here's a couple that caught my eye:



The 2018 Archtop Modern. Good design and construction concept. I'd get one, if it cost 60% less, LOL!



The 2018 ES-275 Figured. Way overpriced, but simply a timeless, beautiful design.

/Peter
Click to expand...

Those are really old designs if you think about it. Just like the Les Paul or SG. [emoji16] they needed to stick with the groundwork laid by others.


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Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

justFred said:
Some people @LP forum believe Joe Bonamassa is going to ride in on a white horse and somehow save Gibson...maybe some truth in this as part of the solution.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I hope that's a fantasy... Deep pockets without process knowledge rarely work...look at Henry for case in point.

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Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

zionstrat said:
Yeah, I hope that's a fantasy... Deep pockets without process knowledge rarely work...look at Henry for case in point.

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Click to expand...

Joe’s pockets ain’t that deep! The figure thrown around is $500 million.


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Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

Joe as a front man...Yamaha money and how to run a successful musical instrument business would do the trick....
 
Re: How to save Gibson- Part II- There's a lot of hope if they use Ch 11 wisely

justFred said:
Joe as a front man...Yamaha money and how to run a successful musical instrument business would do the trick....
Click to expand...

They don’t need Joe. What’s the point? He’s not even that good.


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