Gibson Declares Bankruptcy

[phdhorn 6224]

Not surprising.... probably a few things; 1) the age of the "Gibson gods" (i.e. big guitar slingers) is long over; 2) that whole little kerfluffle with the illegal Madagascar Ebony wood, cost them in a big settlement in 2012; 3) sorry, they're great guitars, but they're too damn expensive (at least they can't compete with Fender's (and others') smart modeling and marketing).

Pity, though.  I guess we'll see what comes out, if anything, on the other side.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/05/01/gibson-guitar-chapter-11-bankruptcy/567821002/

Gibson guitar maker files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Nathan Bomey, USA TODAYPublished 7:56 a.m. ET May 1, 2018 | Updated 8:19 a.m. ET May 1, 2018

 

Guitars used by iconic musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Paul McCartney hit the auction block on Saturday in New York City. Video provided by Reuters Newslook

(Photo: Paul Buck, EPA)

The company that makes Gibson guitars and Baldwin pianos filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Tuesday amid what it called a "devastating" financial fall.

Nashville, Tenn.-based Gibson Brands requested court protection from its creditors, saying it had support from many of them for a deal that would allow the company to survive.

Founded in 1894, the company said it planned to continue designing, building and selling musical instruments and equipment, including other brands such as Wurlitzer, Dobro, Epiphone, KRK and Cerwin Vega.

But the company said it would kill its Gibson Innovations unit, which makes Philips-branded headphones, speakers and other electronic accessories.

Known for providing instruments to stars such as Elvis Presley, BB King, Keith Richards, Pete Townsend and Lenny Kravitz, Gibson sells more than 170,000 guitars annually in more than 80 countries, according to a court filing. The company claims market share of more than 40% in electric guitars above $2,000.

But sales have declined significantly, and cost-cutting efforts haven't been enough to stop the bleeding. In recent months, lenders required accelerated repayment as the company's business deteriorated.

"Over the past 12 months, we have made substantial strides through an operational restructuring," Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz said in a statement, adding that Gibson will "refocus on our core business" of musical instruments, which "we believe will assure the company's long-term stability and financial health."

Juszkiewicz owns 36% of the company, according to the bankruptcy petition.

To be sure, the best-laid plans of companies that file for bankruptcy often go awry in court.

A federal judge will be required to sign off on the company's plan to shed debt, which has the support of 69% of secured lenders on notes due in 2018.

Unsecured creditors, such as other lenders and vendors, could object to the restructuring plan and demand liquidation on the grounds that they'd be better off with the company going out of business.

Gibson's guitars include the Les Paul, SG, Flying V, Explorer, J-45 and Hummingbird.

The company sells its products in more than 3,000 places, including physical retailers and websites.

The company has long trumpeted its made-in-America guitars. Gibsons are manufactured in Nashville, Memphis and Bozeman, Mt. 

Gibson's musical instruments business has more than 875 workers.

[Deej 77672]

 

[Litig8r 418]

Edited May 1, 2018 by Litig8r

[Litig8r 418]

I have not found an acoustic guitar that has the sound of Jumbo Gibson.  If you know of one that has that deep bass response and cost less, let me know.  I have a Epi Masterbilt that is close but not totally there.  I really want a J-45 Custom.  

[Chad Fuck 18092]

All that's left now is for some Chinese knock off firm to buy the name and start producing cut rate guitars.  

[tbone_ 14411]

They'll keep making guitars. Looks like its all the money they borrowed to buy a bunch of random companies that is the problem.

[DougO 5261]

23 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

All that's left now is for some Chinese knock off firm to buy the name and start producing cut rate guitars.  

Just hire the guys that make all the Chinese fake Gibsons, people will hardly notice. And then the old counterfeit Chinese Gibsons will be real Gibsons. It's a win/win.

[Celery Man 21076]

On 5/1/2018 at 9:48 AM, Litig8r said:

I have not found an acoustic guitar that has the sound of Jumbo Gibson.  If you know of one that has that deep bass response and cost less, let me know.  I have a Epi Masterbilt that is close but not totally there.  I really want a J-45 Custom.  

Brool cory stro.  I’ve got a J-45 Custom.  Great guitar, though my big Martins actually have more on the low end.

 

Gibson would be fine in good hands.  But they’re not.

[hullabelew 3730]

I played a J-45 Custom on Litig8r back porch about a year ago.  LOVED that thing.   I'm still battling over my next acoustic guitar purchase.  Always wanted a J45 because of Peter Case mainly, but that Martin low-end is hard to beat.  

[Bogeywon 2546]

On ‎5‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 3:29 PM, hullabelew said:

I played a J-45 Custom on Litig8r back porch about a year ago.  LOVED that thing.   I'm still battling over my next acoustic guitar purchase.  Always wanted a J45 because of Peter Case mainly, but that Martin low-end is hard to beat.  

hummingbird or j-45? that's the question I keep asking myself and I have zero answers.  I have to sit down and play them and find the one I like the best.  just because they are the same guitar doesn't mean they are alike

[Celery Man 21076]

They're not the same guitar - J45 is fullbody slope shoulder, Hummingbird is square shoulder.  The Hummingbird Pro is a Hummingbird minus the decorated pickguard.  And the J-45 is mahogany backed while the custom is rosewood.

Hummingbird is on my list.  Not sure if I'd want the pickguard or not.

[smuggs 9394]

On 5/1/2018 at 11:43 AM, OatmealRaisinCookie said:

Guitar company is slowly dying

Gently weeping?

[Thermos H. Christ 478]

I've heard a million stories about their horrible quality control in recent years, and their prices are outrageous. They're putting out guitars with serious fit and finish issues, often playability issues, that cost as much as Fender Custom Shop stuff. Morale within has been notoriously low for years (seriously read glassdoor about working at Gibson, it sounds like a nightmare). See also endorsers jumping ship because they can't be bothered to listen.

Quote

Earlier this month, a high-profile former Gibson endorser, Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher, revealed why he stopped working with Gibson and instead jumped ship to ESP—just like Metallica frontman James Hetfield before him.

"They kept fucking up my guitars that I was asking for," Kelliher said in no uncertain terms to Ultimate Guitar. "I didn't ask for a lot – I just had a few certain things that I would like with my guitar – I told them I didn’t want it chambered and they made my second guitar chambered."

He goes on, painting a picture of disarray at Gibson, saying the A&R department was constantly turning over making it impossible for him to maintain a relationship.

Further, Kelliher's signature guitars were being shipping without being properly set up. He says he would regularly get messages from fans asking why their guitars didn't sound right.

"They weren’t even tuning the guitars to my settings or specifications – just little things like that." 

Plus apparently their minimum buy is outrageous if you want to sell them, to the point that many mom n pop shops have had to drop them entirely. And on the side they're trying to be a general consumer electronics company. Sure, guitar-centric music isn't the all-encompassing cultural juggernaut it once was, but people are still buying and playing guitars. Plenty of them.

This isn't that hard. Follow the Fender plan. Sell versions of all your iconic models at basically every imaginable price level, and take advantage of the advances in CNC to deliver really high quality instruments at a price point previously undreamt of. By all accounts, Epiphones are pretty decent. But you gotta get people talking about them the way they talk about Squier Vintage Modified - having their minds blown by the professional-quality instrument they got for $300. You can still sell $3,000-$5,000 guitars to a tiny number of people, but the boomers are dying off and millennials are poor as shit. You have to make it where people can buy an LP worthy of the Gibson name for like $600. And you definitely can. Other people are doing it. The "Standard" Les Paul should not be $4,800. And when you're asking someone to pay $4,800 for a guitar, it has to be perfect. It has to be beyond perfect.

[DougO 5261]

That's why I bought an SG faded. I figure if I find a flaw in it I just assume it was supposed to be that way.

[dcbc 14643]

Is this where we post our pre Chapter 11 Gibsons. 

1970 ES335TD

 

2008 SG Faded

 

2014 Les Paul Traditional

[tbone_ 14411]

In the middle

[Celery Man 21076]

2013 Custom Shop J45 Custom

with vagina book matching


1986 Gibson Les Paul

Causes more erections than the J45, strangely enough

[BoomMF 1401]

Man, Celery, that 86 is nails.

I fired up the DSLR and lights for this pic (posted in the other thread too), I need to take good pics of the others too.

2017 Les Paul Standard HP in Blueberry Burst

[Celery Man 21076]

Fire and ice broseph. We should form a band.

 

That is some niiice tight flame, damn. I was ogling that in the pron thread.

[BoomMF 1401]

Oh, shit. "Fire and Ice." I went from wanting a sunburst to needing a sunburst.

[DougO 5261]

2016 SG Faded

 

1979 Les Paul Standard

[Celery Man 21076]

Do you still have that 79 LP?  I really like the non flame sunburst as well.  It's got it's own thing going - it's pretty but it's here to fuck you up.

 

also, the inlays look great, and slightly back on topic - the green plastic block inlays that Gibson puts on some of the lesser (but still expensive) Les Pauls is one of those.... why?  I don't know if the company is really well run enough to follow the Fender model of a wide variety of high quality guitars at different price points.  If I was in charge, I'd almost investigate.... really making sure Epiphone was run as its own thing with great leadership doing the high quality broad spectrum offerings, and then clean house at Gibson and just focus on high end and custom shop guitars.  Like PRS - the on branch doing quality offshore manufactured guitars, the other nothing but the absolute best.

Edited May 18, 2018 by Celery Man

[DougO 5261]

3 hours ago, Celery Man said:

Do you still have that 79 LP?  I really like the non flame sunburst as well.  It's got it's own thing going - it's pretty but it's here to fuck you up.

 

also, the inlays look great, and slightly back on topic - the green plastic block inlays that Gibson puts on some of the lesser (but still expensive) Les Pauls is one of those.... why?  I don't know if the company is really well run enough to follow the Fender model of a wide variety of high quality guitars at different price points.  If I was in charge, I'd almost investigate.... really making sure Epiphone was run as its own thing with great leadership doing the high quality broad spectrum offerings, and then clean house at Gibson and just focus on high end and custom shop guitars.  Like PRS - the on branch doing quality offshore manufactured guitars, the other nothing but the absolute best.

 

Yes, I've had it since the early 90s when I bought it from a friend who needed cash, but I didn't get it dirt cheap for the time. I keep it stashed away safely from my grubby hands so I don't ruin it. I pull it out every couple of years and wish I had the ability to deserve playing it. I've been feeling a bit of an itch for it lately, so probably about time for a new stringing and a little twanging. I've gotten better over the last year or two so maybe it will come out more often. I'm not even sure what it is worth now, but it never seemed to appreciate in price that much every time I checked over the years. Guitars never seem to be worth what they're worth, not that I would ever sell it. I just regret that I don't have a kid to pass it on to someday.

I used to envy the flame top guys, still do to a degree. But there's something real and authentic about the plainish wood finish underneath the vintage cherry sunburst that's done just right, not too bright or contrasty.

Edited May 18, 2018 by DougO

[DougO 5261]

When I look at that bridge saddles in the pic it doesn't even look like I ever had the intonation done right, they look pretty flat straight across. That's how little I've messed with it. I always try to tweak my guitars to the best they can play nowdays.