Gibson... again...

[micguy]

smh! Such stupidity when those could have been donated to promote music classes all over the country (tax write off as well). They could have been marked specially by Gibson for donation so it didn't drop their so called name value in terms of quality.

The interesting thing is, if they did mark them as special in that way, collectors would, at least some day, likely be looking for them, and they're a limited run - they might be worth more as a result of trying to make them worth less and/or not dilute the brand.

 

[petrus61]

Gibson Firebird 'X' Redvolution 2012 | Studio Be

 

[Coolhandjjl]

I'm gonna veer a bit OT here. JUst about every band I see uses a mix of brands. Fender, Gibson, MM, Danelectro, Rick, Gretsch, it's usually a real mash-up. But I see some bands who are all Gibson only, never see a Fender axe or amp on stage at all. Anecdotally, it seems the southern bands are more all-Gibson oriented. Is this some sort of passive/agressive slam against Fender because Fender started making stuff in Mexico long before everybody started making stuff overseas?

 

[John Cribbin]

Maybe it's the new Gibson managments way, of publicly flipping the bird at Henry for pushing the failed project in the first place?

 

[lz4005]

FYI, I work for an equity fund and invest in companies, including manufacturers. If one of my partners had a video like this on YouTube, I would be very concerned about QC if these guitars were all defectives, the jerks responsible for this would be out of a job and a press release would be published right away. Dealing with customers means you care about your products. Gibson’s lack of response is a good indication of the quality of the management.

The jerk responsible for those guitars is already out of a job.

 

[giacomobass]

Gibson’s lack of response

Actually, they did respond, with a press statement: it's in the comments to the original video. Go read it, if you care or think it will make any difference...

Turns out those guitars were not even defective, just obsolete, and Gibson did not want them on the market. So, instead of donating them, or investing to salvage the recyclable parts, they chose to destroy them. That's how Gibson does "business". Shame on them forever.

 

[johnson79]

After researching the Firebird X I can honestly say having them destroyed was the best course of action. What a complete disaster of an instrument.

 

[jpmcbride]

I don't understand the outrage. Gibson owns the guitars, they can do whatever they want with them. If they determined that putting these into the market was a bigger liability to the company than destroying them, then its a good business decision. I'm sure they looked at repurposing the hardware and decided it wasn't profitable for them. Its just business, and these are just pieces of wood. Its no big deal.

However, I have to say if this video is legitimate, then Gibson needs some real help with marketing and PR. How could they let a video like this get out, and how could they not anticipate the reaction people would have to it? Gotta be smarter than that when running a business.

 

[Devnor]

This is a giant waste. These instruments, even if they were hated, could have at least been donated to schools or people who can not afford instruments.

I still believe the guitars were destroyed because they didn't meet RHOS and they couldn't apply CE marks. There's a paper trail and lots of documentation. If that stuff is not up to snuff, you can't ship.

What are the restricted materials mandated under RoHS?
The substances banned under RoHS are lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (CrVI), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), and four different phthalates (DEHP, BBP, BBP, DIBP).

Do you want that in your schools? If you can't certify your product does not contain these things below acceptable limits you can't sell or give it away to the poor.

 

[klejst]

Meh, personally I don't care much for Gibson anyways.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

This came out on YouTube :

Origin of the clip unknown but the destruction of musical instruments, fake or not, is always a bad idea.

Fender should sue them, they had the first road worn models!!

 

[micguy]

↑
I'm not sure if that much was destroyed by this. They're Gibsons!


By quoting me out of context, you have changed the meaning of what I said, but.... I am entertained by the alternate joke you made from doing that. ;-)

 

[jeffb28451]

If these qualify as “fakes” then nothing is safe. From what I see, these are not even close to being
guitars that could possibly be confused with or may or may have never been made by Gipson (sic).

 

[PullThePlug]

Okay bud, take a flippin’ walk. Think of all the work that went into these guitars. That’s THOUSANDS of man hours. I work for a high end guitar company. I know how much work goes into a single guitar. If the company I work for put out a video like that, of them destroying my hard work like that for no good reason, I’d lose my f-ing mind. I’d certainly quit faster than you could put out some stupid “who cares” remark. This makes me madder ‘n’ hell.

Think of what those guitars could have done. They could have donated them to kids. They could have given them out to employees. Hell, from a business standpoint, they even could have stripped the electronics and hardware. From what I could see, those were all Firebird X’s. Those things have whole computers inside ‘em. Those could easily be recycled for a tax break, at the very least. This is a total waste. Just another reason why I’ll never buy a new Gibson instrument.

So no, pal, they’re not just chunks of wood, especially to those of us who build ‘em every day. This one hurts.

Look man, I understand it's summer and you're out of school. Isn't there some mandatory summer reading you need to do with Ian McLaughlin?

 

[Allegrus]

Sure is a dramatic and expensive way to destroy a bunch of guitars. It's wood ... they don't have a fire somewhere?

 

[InhumanResource]

Maybe they are confiscated fakes?

Confiscated by who? The international counterfeit guitar and garlic compliance team? ICE?

 

[InhumanResource]

Why? They're just chunks of wood and metal.
I've destroyed several for fun.

Maybe because it is wasteful and there are kids, schools, less privileged people and institutions that would have put them to good use.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Businesses do this sort of thing all the time, destroy and discard obsolete or defective or unneeded merchandise.

What other companies have made a big PR stunt out of doing so?

 

[40Hz]

This thread shows that some people have no idea or a very naive idea about doing business.

Some of us have a very good idea about doing business, which includes an understanding of the importance of appearances when it comes to image and marketing in the wake of a major PR faux pas such as Gibson recently made.

Assuming all it takes to run a successful business is to pay attention to “the numbers” and make pronouncements without regard to public perception doesn’t tend to make a company prosper in a luxury market like musical instruments.

In my case I understand quite well why you might need to destroy inventory - if for no other reason than to satisfy the tax authorities of the veracity of a write-off.

My problem is with the childishly dramatic manner chosen to do so.

 

[40Hz]

FYI, I work for an equity fund and invest in companies, including manufacturers. If one of my partners had a video like this on YouTube, I would be very concerned about QC if these guitars were all defectives, the jerks responsible for this would be out of a job and a press release would be published right away. Dealing with customers means you care about your products. Gibson’s lack of response is a good indication of the quality of the management.

Thank you. Spot on.