Gibson has a very weird marketing team.

Everdying

New member
yea, you read that right.
their way of making cheap guitars are unlike other companies who source overseas but use good wood...
rather Gibson are now using questionable wood to make cheap guitars so it can still bear the Made in USA stamp.

the first product is the new Gibson LP melody maker, USD349.

Gibson Les Paul Melody Maker Electric Guitar Features:

* BODY
* Body Species: Santa Maria or equivalent

NECK
* Species: Spanish Cedar or equivalent

for all you know, equivalent could be balsawood.
the other specs are standard.
just two days ago, the specs were proper mahagony...then it got discontinued...and now the new one is up.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibson-Les-Paul-Melody-Maker-Electric-Guitar?sku=512640
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Heard so much about Gibson's deteriorating quality over the years. Especially, about them using less quality items to produce even their high end guitars. The cost of production is so high in the US like wages, material and also other operating costs like electricity bills and rents have forced the company to cut corners in producing their guitars. The obvious victims here would be the guitars that they produced.
 
this is what happens when one builds up the goodwill of one's brand name only to be reckless with subsequent handlings, especially so when the world sets your brand name as the standard.

i see Fender & Gibson as the foremost names in the industry but putting them in perspective today, their craft isn't exclusive as more brand names continue to set newer standards in craftsmanship.

no offence to Fender/ Gibson- i own a few of each.
 
That's why I always find that buying china made or indonesian made guitars are worth it......cos no need to pay the expensive workmanship
 
Actually I have a different perspective. This makes their Custom Shop Historics even more valuable and can justify higher selling prices in future as there are still many old school ppl who thinks brand name = mojo and will settle for nothing less than "Gibson"

Has anyone seen a Heatley Tradition? A Gustavsson Bluesmaster? A Collings? Compared to a USD$7k R9 Les Paul these (esp. the Gustavsson) are way more value for money using old growth wood.

For Fender there's Tyler to compete. I'm not familiar with S-style guitars.

Even PRS faces stiff challenge from Huber, Schroeder etc.
 
Plankton is the key =D Damn I like that term.

No but seriously, it is a brilliant strategy by Gibson longterm wise by limiting their really quality products and churning out rubbish currently. In 10 years time their Custom Shop stuff will be USD10k per piece.

They are also limiting the no. of dealers btw.
 
Assuming demand meets supply.

imo, Gibson are catering to people who want to get a Gibson brand guitar nowadays. Not people who value the price-quality of a good guitar. It's a business decision, and I frankly don't care for it even if I wanted to get an LP. I'll just get another brand other than Gibson.

And I rarely get anything firsthand in any case. The secondhand market is pretty good if you're looking at semi-seasoned guitars (assuming you believe in guitar seasoning).

Pricewise, a high end Gibson now sells for more than quite a few other boutique LP, so I don't see the point of getting a Gibson. Epiphone Elitist models are also highly regarded, so the informed player has quite a few other choices to choose from.
 
quote reez_rock: ...cos no need to pay the expensive workmanship

if the less costly workmanship displays some applaudable standards, it's worth the consideration, otherwise the lower end guitars never fail to incite dissent. manufacturers out there should learn from the chinese Ibanez Artcore experience (among others).
 
It's not about workmanship alone, a big factor is the quality of woods used. Technical expertise can be practiced anywhere, but the materials are part of the big equation of resonance and tonal response of the instrument. A great pair of hands can't make any wood better than what it is in nature and vice versa.

Give any luthier a piece of plywood/MDF blank and ask him to dish out a stellar guitar :roll:
 
Give any luthier a piece of plywood/MDF blank and ask him to dish out a stellar guitar

hey didn't reverend did it? :lol:

nicest guitar in the world! too bad he look east already.
 
Actually the team of plankton is doing a pretty good job from a business perspective.

Guitars bearing the MADE IN USA status are charged higher for a reason.

In Singapore there is no need to declare the country of manufacture,
it is mandatory to state country of manufacture in USA . you cant make something in china or korea, bring it to USA and install the electronics and hardware in US and coin it MADE IN USA, there are strict guidelines in the USA market.

Actually alot of items we use daily, we "think" are from certain countries. due to their strong branding, but are actually made in china or india etc...

Gibson has a really really long history of building guitars in the USA and moving production out of the country would literally be branding suicide.

kinda like how toyota - a brand which has been built on quality and efficiency, they moved some production to Thailand and the instant consumer perception is that those cars are not on par with Japanese quality.
Thats millions of dollars in branding efforts down the drain.

Gibson's main market is the USA. Where MAde in USA matters.
 
but how does this explain the Godins?
parts made in Canada, assembled in the US and with also called Made in US right?

or the tex-mex strats? with parts all made in Mexico, but also assembled in the US and stuck with a Made in US label.
 
edder: dey, i think the original USA series were not MDF/plywood la....it's a composite moulded material or stuff like that. Sawdust and "9 layer cake" different from patented material ma :lol:
 
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