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Eden was just purchased by Marshall

Mar 10, 2004
2,531
1,830
CA
This should be a positive development:

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"Hello Eden Forum members. A special announcement and press release regarding the future of Eden will be going out tomorrow but we wanted to let you, the faithful and Eden fans know first.

"Effective immediately, Eden is no longer owned by U.S. Music Corp. but has been purchased by Marshall Amplification. Yes, THAT Marshall Amplification.

"So, what does this mean for Eden? I’ve bulleted the main points below, after which is a greeting and message from Luke Green, the new Brand Manager for Eden.

o Eden will now be able to take advantage of Marshall’s vast distribution network in Europe and throughout the rest of the world.

o Eden will remain its own entity completely separate from Marshall.

o Eden will keep its USA identity and more of Eden’s manufacturing will return from off shore back to the United States.

o U.S. Music Corp. will remain the Eden distributor for North America.

o Key members of the Eden team will continue to work for Eden.

o Under the leadership of Luke and with the backing of Marshall, Eden will move forward and continue to grow with its legendary bass products and innovative new products.


"And now may I present Brand Manager, Luke Green:

"Marshall Amplification is really excited to be associated with such a strong Brand in the Bass market. Eden really is truly one of the few remaining brands in the Bass market that holds any historical value in my opinion, and my first objective is to really look at trying to drive Eden forward focusing on Making Product in the USA again and spending time finding out what Edenites and other non Eden players are asking for from their Bass products.

"Although Eden is now owned by Marshall one thing that I was very clear on from the beginning was that Eden must remain a free entity. Both Marshall and I didn’t want to see the company get swallowed up into another brand which is often what happens in situations like this. A big part of the deal is that we will be continuing to use some of the current (and longstanding) team from Eden, their passion and knowledge is undeniable and without those kinds of people, driving Eden forward would be impossible. I am also seriously considering visiting some of the ghosts of Eden’s Past as I think they might also have a lot to offer. I have already spoken to some "important" people about Eden and moving it forward and everyone who has heard about the plans I have were very positive about the things they have heard.

"An official press release is expected to be issued within the next 24 hours."
 
does anyone wonder (marshall has their own bit of a spot in the bass market) if marshall bass amps will change? they now own one hell of a product in eden, why wouldn't they want to use repackaged eden products? like selling yourself something you already own- just makes corporate sense. i'm not any kind of market expert, but isn't eden got a much wider base (pun, sweet) than marshall for the bass guitar arena?
 
i'm not any kind of market expert, but isn't eden got a much wider base (pun, sweet) than marshall for the bass guitar arena?

It does indeed. But not only that. Eden is also qualitatively differentiated from Marshall - by quite a stark degree. Eden is historically associated with the boutique, hi-fi end of the market, widely used in pop, jazz, fusion, reggae, R&B, gospel and adult contemporary genres (as well as rock), while Marshall is often thought of as lo-fi, repurposed guitar gear, suitable only for hard rock. :hmm:

For those reasons, I don't see components or products from these two brands co-mingling. I think Marshall would be smart to keep them as separate as possible. Or even phase out Marshall bass gear entirely, in order to put its full energies into revitalizing the Eden brand.

MM
 
I expect reliability of newer Eden products to considerably plummet. Marshall's good at that.

Based on any statistical evidence?

Many guitarists that I've played with have Marshall gear and don't seem plagued by reliability problems. In fact, having grown up within 20 minutes of the Marshal factory in Bletchley UK, many of those guitarists have been able to nip into the factory to get their amps serviced and have described the individual attention they've received as quite amazing. Still, different experiences...

IMHO though, one thing that Marshall have never really grasped is how to make a truly world class bass amp, so let's hope that the Eden aquisition changes all that.
 
Man... its too bad they bought them with their reputation so low... its going to take some SERIOUS repair, but the market is so saturated with great companies right now... thats going to be hard
Back in the day its competition wasn't so high... well, good luck!
 
This is all part of a bigger scheme. Marshall just recently ended their longtime North American distribution deal with Korg USA and their newer distributor is, guess what...

U.S. Music Corp.

So... I estimate that it's not that Eden gets rid of U.S. Music influences (e.g. offshore production and OEM products from Taiwanese vendors), it's that Marshall and U.S. Music (and all the brands within) will merely begin to operate closer and closer interchangeably as a team.

The bulletins are nice sales pitch for potential customers and investors. I don't think for a moment that they'd tell what really might happen in the future since it might not sound too promising. When U.S. Music acquired Eden did the bulletins say that Eden production will be branched all over the globe, particularly to Asia and to business entities owned by the U.S. Music conglomerate. Bargain product ranges made in China will be introduced, and some of the products will be bought OEM from Taiwan. Oh, and that David Nordschow will quit in a few years. I don't think so. We'll see what becomes of this....