Gibson 2016 - no basses?

[scourgeofgod]

Well hopefully they can take this year and do some R and D to discover bass products that we want and not the overpriced junk they have been trying to sell us

The only thing you can count on with Gibson is that whatever they put out, it will definitely be overpriced, junk or not.

 

[hopsbb]

My point makes total sense. What part are you having troubles understanding?

Using your logic, Gibson should also discontinue Tobias, Slingerland drums, Valley Arts and Kramer guitars. Just because a company has multiple products that each have a very small market share, the sum of the whole CAN be significant.

Gibson basses are a very small part of Gibson's overall business. I don't think anyone can argue that.

Should they discontinue them and would that make good business sense? Not if they sell a couple/few thousand MIA instruments a year and are making a few hundred bucks in margin on each one.

You miss my point in I don't think bass sales are an insignificant part of their total sales.Without #'s to back that claim up its just hearsay.Do I agree they sell more guitars than basses? Yes but is it insignificant ? No, I don't think so because if it was they would have stopped producing them when sales went below expectations for a few yrs.

 

[40Hz]

Considering it's a very privately held corporation, that's run like a medieval fiefdom by one of the more...um...'eccentric' and 'peculiar'(?) CEOs in the music biz, I'd be hard pressed to speak with any semblance of authority about anything concerning Gibson's business strategies or finances.

That said, despite the many people who diss the Norlin years at Gibson - that was also the period when Gibson was at it's most innovative when it came to genuinely forward looking bass designs.

 

[ReiPsaeg]

Not a big loss, most gibson and epiphone basses were better off as trees anyways.

 

[josiah goldfish]

Not a big loss, most gibson and epiphone basses were better off as trees anyways.

Save rainforests, don't buy Gibson guitars!

 

[CrUiSeR]

HeY

Don't be that guy

 

[Jughead6]

May have missed my chance, but the recent ES335 bass was beautiful. The Midtown was pretty darn attractive too. And don't get me started on the RD Artist... Whoa mama.

Gibson basses definitely have a different kind of mojo to other manufacturers.

Now, I personally think the Thunderbird and SG should stay in the Gibson line-up, and the Epiphone Jack Casady and Allen Woody should be moved over to the Gibson name. They're all proven winners.

JMO.

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

I read somewhere that they were going to discontinue making basses for a year or two, and do some R & D, and that when they did re-introduce them, they'd be gluten free. At least that's what I read.

 

[scourgeofgod]

HeY

Considering I'm not the first or only person to say as much, even in this thread alone, I'm not that guy, but I am with those guys.

For the record I think Gibsons, both guitars and basses, are cool, just severely overpriced, it's been that way for a long time.

 

[A-Step-Towards]

With how terrible they made the 2015 Les Pauls they probably are dealing with huge losses. Worst Les Pauls ever made were in 2014 and 2015, lots of terrible changes.

 

[Burwabit]

I knew I should have jumped on that MF stupid deal a few weeks ago.

 

[Hevy T]

I would love to see Gibson do a proper reissue of the Tobias name with at least the same quality of the old music yo ones

 

[Pudge Fish]

My point makes total sense. What part are you having troubles understanding?

Ah, TalkBass... I see you have found your nutshell.

 

[Baird6869]

Ah, TalkBass... I see you have found your nutshell.

Thanks for chiming in. Your $0.02 is really adding to this thread.

 

[two fingers]

If basses were such an insignificant part of Gibson sales then they would have done away with them long ago.Sure they sell more guitars than basses but if it weren't profitable they wouldn't continue to do it.That makes no sense.

Here's what I was told by some buddies of mine who got a couple radio hits on country radio, and then a Gibson deal. They pretty much kept making basses for one reason. They wanted to be able to make deals with bands and keep Fender basses off of their stages. They didn't want to sign their guitar players with LesPaul guitars and then let the bassist bring a Fender on stage and get then just as much promo.

They haven't profited much at all in years
Pretty much had a small bump when Motley Crue and a couple other T bird players were showing them off. Since then bass manufacturing has been a big hole they keep dumping money into.

I think this is a smart move for them. Stopping production will cause a small mania over their stuff and they will be able to sell through all of those basses none of you bought before. Then they can reboot the Victory (or whatever that thing was that kind of looked like a Fender anyway) and a Grabber/Ripper reissue. That will sell 10X what the other neck divers did.

 

[two fingers]

This!
IMO the 335, midtown, EB, short-scale thunderbird and flying V, various Les Pauls and money bass, have all been "exciting" and NOT worthy of discounting.

You are very much the exception and not the rule.

 

[two fingers]

Here's what they should do. This will net them more sales than they know what to do with. Make a double cutaway, rounded edges, active/passive, two octave, 4 and 5 string (with lefties) that has a P bass pickup at the neck and a tap switch bucker at the bridge.

That will piss of every MM AND Fender fan and generate more sales than either.

 

[woodyng]

I have a brand new one of these for sale....Get it while you can.

I already did!

But seriously,folks,these are nice,well put together instruments with quality components. A little fret dressing and it's pretty much perfect.

 

[madmanmerc]

I actually have the epi tobias and its really good for a 200 dollar bass.

 

[hopsbb]

Here's what I was told by some buddies of mine who got a couple radio hits on country radio, and then a Gibson deal. They pretty much kept making basses for one reason. They wanted to be able to make deals with bands and keep Fender basses off of their stages. They didn't want to sign their guitar players with LesPaul guitars and then let the bassist bring a Fender on stage and get then just as much promo.

They haven't profited much at all in years
Pretty much had a small bump when Motley Crue and a couple other T bird players were showing them off. Since then bass manufacturing has been a big hole they keep dumping money into.

I think this is a smart move for them. Stopping production will cause a small mania over their stuff and they will be able to sell through all of those basses none of you bought before. Then they can reboot the Victory (or whatever that thing was that kind of looked like a Fender anyway) and a Grabber/Ripper reissue. That will sell 10X what the other neck divers did.

I just don't see them stopping production.If anything I see them cutting prices in the next few yrs and coming out with new and different models.I think some of there recent offerings such as the 2014 SG special basses was just a test run on the market to see how well new finishes would do and cheaper price points.Gibson basses have come along way in the past few yrs.I think the price increases this past yr was also just testing the waters to see how far they could push things and still make a profit.Plus they had to cover the cost of being raided by the Feds twice over some import bs.