Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Is SWR gone?
- Thread starter 456string
- Start date
Actually.....You'll find that in most cases, as soon as the FOUNDER leaves....it's history. The original ideas leave and things change rapidly. There are, however, exceptions......
Eden being one example.
Why is it that nobody ever faults the company founders who put themselves so far in the hole that they had no choice but to be "bought out". Companies like Fender and Gibson are doing what every corporation does: eating the competition and crapping out their ashes. They are staking their survival on the bones of weaker little guys. That's what they're supposed to do.
LOL!
FYI, Leo got very sick when he sold Fender. That was why he sold, not because he mismanaged Fender. Of course, that was almost 50 years ago. Time to let it go.
FYI, Leo got very sick when he sold Fender. That was why he sold, not because he mismanaged Fender. Of course, that was almost 50 years ago. Time to let it go.
That's exactly it! People move on and build legacies and start new companies. Leo being a good example of someone who went on to innovate regardless. Nobody gives him crap...the same way Jess Oliver and Bill Lawrence went on to do. They established themselves beyond a brand name.
Time to let what go? It will be interesting to see what Fender does with the GB absorbtion, but knowing them, don't expect much. As someone who didn't use GB, I have no dog in the fight, but I think it will be a good gauge on whether they pay attention to a devoted few or just swallow them whole and let god sort it out. I very much agree that trends sealed SWR's fate at the end of the day. It just seemed that the market they catered to drifted or changed completely. If I were to go by what I've seen locally, Eden replaced SWR, followed by Epifani and Aguilar, which were trumped by GB, which is now turning into a hodgepodge of GK, Ampeg and some more obscure boutique samplings...pretty much the typical cycle of things. I owned a 750 and 350 and used both as power amps. The 750 I sold and the 350 took the long dirt nap. My sentiments pretty much fell in line with the cliched "too clean/scooped" right from the get, so the eventual shift seemed natural when music started getting more root focused and away from exaggerated styles and avant garde.
Fender continued to be VERY strong after Leo was gone.
Sure the Fender/CBS engineers had a LOT of idle time and did some truly stupid things to their amps in the late 60's but most any of those Fenders are still very collectible quality amps.
Even the Strats and Teles the first years of Fender/CBS are very very collectible, same with P and J basses......of course things got somewhat weird again in the early 70's with guitars too.
Sure the Fender/CBS engineers had a LOT of idle time and did some truly stupid things to their amps in the late 60's but most any of those Fenders are still very collectible quality amps.
Even the Strats and Teles the first years of Fender/CBS are very very collectible, same with P and J basses......of course things got somewhat weird again in the early 70's with guitars too.
I just don't understand the "Evil Fender Empire" syndrome that prevails some people's thoughts. It's a name and a business.
What some here need to remember is that Fender didn't specifically buy Genz. Rather, Fender bought Kaman, which owned Genz and a number of other companies. My guess…..Genz wasn't even on Fender's radar during that purchase (which happened years ago BTW) and they've just gotten around to dealing with it.
Studebaker, Packard, Edsel.
Things change. I have my SuperRed head and it might be the best sounding amp I have.
I have a micro Eden that sounds better than anything that small should.
I can hold it in hand like a sandwich.
If you really want an SWR check out ebay or craigs.
They'll be around for decades.
Things change. I have my SuperRed head and it might be the best sounding amp I have.
I have a micro Eden that sounds better than anything that small should.
I can hold it in hand like a sandwich.
If you really want an SWR check out ebay or craigs.
They'll be around for decades.
If FMIC continues it's current policy, at some point even when buying Gibson you'll be buying it from Fender. Buying everyone out is faster than developing your own products and competing for the maket. Capitalism at it's best leaves everyone out except fot the guys on top of the food chain.
That's not capitalism at its best imo but that's another argument.
The problem with a company like modern Fender is they flood the market with cheap product...now some of it is okay, but much of it is still cheap consumable goods....much of it basically throwaway.....especially electronics.
I did not say "all" modern Fender is throwaway...I said much of it, especially on the lower end....like Behringer who doesn't even bother repairing much of their product.
Leo Fender never designed "throwaway" goods...ever....that's why all of my Fender gear is pre 1972 basically.
I don't buy Fenders modern stuff, not even strings.
I have no problem with a modern Fender but I won't buy their goods either...at least so far LOL!
The problem with a company like modern Fender is they flood the market with cheap product...now some of it is okay, but much of it is still cheap consumable goods....much of it basically throwaway.....especially electronics.
I did not say "all" modern Fender is throwaway...I said much of it, especially on the lower end....like Behringer who doesn't even bother repairing much of their product.
Leo Fender never designed "throwaway" goods...ever....that's why all of my Fender gear is pre 1972 basically.
I don't buy Fenders modern stuff, not even strings.
I have no problem with a modern Fender but I won't buy their goods either...at least so far LOL!
doesn't peavey own the trace elliot name, and didn't fender buyout sunn a while ago???
I use to love the swr workingman combos, they sounded great especially the single 10.
I use to love the swr workingman combos, they sounded great especially the single 10.
- Jan 27, 2010
- 4,141
- 471
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Genz Benz Amplification
- Sep 5, 2011
- 774
- 130
- Disclosures
- Uncompensated endorsing user: fEARful
AFAIK you have to have two parties to do a deal! A buyer and a seller! So blaming the buyer is never 100% of the story. Someone on the selling side had an interest, too.
My workgiver acts the same way on the business floor - buy small companies, take over their R&D and portfolio, keep what's interesting, throw out what is not of any profit. Sometimes the brand-name is worth more than the company itself, and sometimes only the two R&D guys or the salesman is of any interest.
I hate that it is that way novadays - that companies cannot co-exist anymore because they need to make more profit than the year earlier, which in return means another company makes less profit and maybe, dies. Nothing against companies colaborating and doing great things both of them wouldn't be able to on their own (see Behringer's digital mixing line thanks to Midas know-how and Behringers infrasctructure).
All this results in a very fast and short-thinking business, where companies are owned by huge investment banks who try to sell within 3-5 years with max profit. So the whole business strategy is designed for 3-5 years, and what's coming afterwards is a surprise. We been there, nearly got extinct.
If a company wants to keep that principle going, in the end there's one man in the factory building all the guitars in the world. That's the ultimate end of the "we have to make more profit next year" principle
My workgiver acts the same way on the business floor - buy small companies, take over their R&D and portfolio, keep what's interesting, throw out what is not of any profit. Sometimes the brand-name is worth more than the company itself, and sometimes only the two R&D guys or the salesman is of any interest.
I hate that it is that way novadays - that companies cannot co-exist anymore because they need to make more profit than the year earlier, which in return means another company makes less profit and maybe, dies. Nothing against companies colaborating and doing great things both of them wouldn't be able to on their own (see Behringer's digital mixing line thanks to Midas know-how and Behringers infrasctructure).
All this results in a very fast and short-thinking business, where companies are owned by huge investment banks who try to sell within 3-5 years with max profit. So the whole business strategy is designed for 3-5 years, and what's coming afterwards is a surprise. We been there, nearly got extinct.
If a company wants to keep that principle going, in the end there's one man in the factory building all the guitars in the world. That's the ultimate end of the "we have to make more profit next year" principle
