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Mesa/Gibson corporate BS over free speech

Why did Fluff backtrack and agree that he should not have posted the firing? He should have told them to bugger off.... and obviously
it was the truth, as Randall stated it in the video.... "The truth?, you can't handle the truth...."
He MAY have decided it's not smart to bite the hand that feeds him?

The statement COULD NOT change or reverse the "well within the owners rights" decision.

The statement made served no purpose except an outpouring of angst.
 
Well, since Gibson bought them they have switched to the Dad-rock nostalgia reissue business model with the reissued Mark and Rectifier guitar amps.

For me, this is a good thing, since I can't wait for a reissue of the Bass 400+ and a return to the aggressive "in-your-face" Boogie bass philosophy of years past, before they got lightweight both literally and tone-wise.
As an owner of several Subway amps, and a previous owner of a 400, a 400+, Titan ..
Also current owner of a Heritage 50th SVT,

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY disagree.

That said: most of the Major "brands" are in a reissue mode ( so are the Movie Studios)

The McRib is back! For a limited time.. (leveraging FOMO)

It's profitable marketing.
 
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Ya'll can go back and forth about corporate tenancies, rights of ownership, etc. I am buying a new amp this week and it was down to Mesa and GK, with the edge going to Mesa because of their factory support. Given they way I expect Gibson to change Mesa and their policies, I don't expect that kind of support to stick, so now I'm leaning GK. I'm also a fan of voting with my dollars (which I encourage any of you concerned with the ethics do also do), and anyone that's going to fire Randall isn't getting my $$.
 
Zero idea why I'm getting an email out of nowhere to post in this thread specifically, let alone for this site at all, but whatever. I saw this video last night and I'm glad someone brought it up. Universally negative press for gibson everywhere but here, where nearly everyone takes gibson's side. A few smug, mealy-mouthed old-timers here even boasting how God-given rights "do not apply to corporations" (which they cannot ever see backfiring on them, a world of their own make). I wonder why, or not.

I'm just not glad at the naivete of bringing it up here. I don't know what the op expected, but this site (as a site frequented by bassists) is not exactly a paragon of bravery and dissent to power. I can't tell you how eye-opening it was during a previous thread when people were attacking me and insulting me over and over again for pointing out bassists are being replaced by recordings live. This was months before all the news outlets and social media "influencers" brought up the same topic. Of course, people in comments were against it, but - as usual - any of the actual bassists present were either non-plussed seeing the harbinger of their erasure or were DEFENDING the bands who do it.

I learned this lesson in a lesser way on this very site close to 15 years ago. Bassists always kneeled towards post-modernist power, just as long as that "power" had no Legitimate Authority. Think bandleaders, corporations, or liberal governments: abstract, arbitrary, artificial entities of pillaging and managerial control, all of which who can do no wrong. Any representations of Legitimate Authority as would be considered in any age prior to 1500 ie. God, Church, Kings are viciously denied and attacked. There's a lot of words used to describe people like that, none of them Good, but we can add "bass player" to the list without reservation.

There's nothing wrong with the instrument. I'd actually say bass is the best instrument available. In fact, in the ancient world, the three-stringed, longer-scale, thicker-stringed, lower-tuned ancestor of the bass was the lead/melody instrument. The four stringed, short-scale, thin-stringed, higher tuned ancestor of the guitar was the rhythm/harmony instrument. The problem is the advent of rock music and the purposeful relegation of the bass to a mimicing subwoofer role.

Such abuse means more level-headed and assertive men either want nothing to do with the instrument, or crypto-bass-"enjoyers" like myself end up playing "lead" instruments like guitars to be the bandleader while writing basslines backstage. If there is one single thing this site was good for when I was first starting out, it was learning that bass is a dead end. Bassists will kneel before local, unworthy authority, do whatever you want, never speak up, and push their glasses up their nose with a cunning smile for doing so.

Such abuse means only a very specific, low-value person remains to thrive in the field as all Man-With-Chest behavior is to be ostracized on the spot. The singular way a low-value person can compete with others is through obedience, and the results of which are disastrous for all, where all under the control of weakness turns to ash (figuratively, and as people are sadly finding out is literal as well!). Therefore, this soon-to-be-replaced-by-a-tape-recorder kerfuffle occurs, and it can't come soon enough.

Let's Hope gibson gets replaced with a tape recorder too, only fair! Certainly, would be an improvement.

Back to the hosts file this site goes, and hopefully this site recognizes my unsubscribe commands as more than playing hard to get this time.

ALL of your curses are Consummately Returned By A St Michael Prayer And A St Benedict Prayer!
 
Zero idea why I'm getting an email out of nowhere to post in this thread specifically, let alone for this site at all, but whatever. I saw this video last night and I'm glad someone brought it up. Universally negative press for gibson everywhere but here, where nearly everyone takes gibson's side. A few smug, mealy-mouthed old-timers here even boasting how God-given rights "do not apply to corporations" (which they cannot ever see backfiring on them, a world of their own make). I wonder why, or not.

I'm just not glad at the naivete of bringing it up here. I don't know what the op expected, but this site (as a site frequented by bassists) is not exactly a paragon of bravery and dissent to power. I can't tell you how eye-opening it was during a previous thread when people were attacking me and insulting me over and over again for pointing out bassists are being replaced by recordings live. This was months before all the news outlets and social media "influencers" brought up the same topic. Of course, people in comments were against it, but - as usual - any of the actual bassists present were either non-plussed seeing the harbinger of their erasure or were DEFENDING the bands who do it.

I learned this lesson in a lesser way on this very site close to 15 years ago. Bassists always kneeled towards post-modernist power, just as long as that "power" had no Legitimate Authority. Think bandleaders, corporations, or liberal governments: abstract, arbitrary, artificial entities of pillaging and managerial control, all of which who can do no wrong. Any representations of Legitimate Authority as would be considered in any age prior to 1500 ie. God, Church, Kings are viciously denied and attacked. There's a lot of words used to describe people like that, none of them Good, but we can add "bass player" to the list without reservation.

There's nothing wrong with the instrument. I'd actually say bass is the best instrument available. In fact, in the ancient world, the three-stringed, longer-scale, thicker-stringed, lower-tuned ancestor of the bass was the lead/melody instrument. The four stringed, short-scale, thin-stringed, higher tuned ancestor of the guitar was the rhythm/harmony instrument. The problem is the advent of rock music and the purposeful relegation of the bass to a mimicing subwoofer role.

Such abuse means more level-headed and assertive men either want nothing to do with the instrument, or crypto-bass-"enjoyers" like myself end up playing "lead" instruments like guitars to be the bandleader while writing basslines backstage. If there is one single thing this site was good for when I was first starting out, it was learning that bass is a dead end. Bassists will kneel before local, unworthy authority, do whatever you want, never speak up, and push their glasses up their nose with a cunning smile for doing so.

Such abuse means only a very specific, low-value person remains to thrive in the field as all Man-With-Chest behavior is to be ostracized on the spot. The singular way a low-value person can compete with others is through obedience, and the results of which are disastrous for all, where all under the control of weakness turns to ash (figuratively, and as people are sadly finding out is literal as well!). Therefore, this soon-to-be-replaced-by-a-tape-recorder kerfuffle occurs, and it can't come soon enough.

Let's Hope gibson gets replaced with a tape recorder too, only fair! Certainly, would be an improvement.

Back to the hosts file this site goes, and hopefully this site recognizes my unsubscribe commands as more than playing hard to get this time.

ALL of your curses are Consummately Returned By A St Michael Prayer And A St Benedict Prayer!
Wow, aren't you special!
 
Zero idea why I'm getting an email out of nowhere to post in this thread specifically, let alone for this site at all, but whatever. I saw this video last night and I'm glad someone brought it up. Universally negative press for gibson everywhere but here, where nearly everyone takes gibson's side. A few smug, mealy-mouthed old-timers here even boasting how God-given rights "do not apply to corporations" (which they cannot ever see backfiring on them, a world of their own make). I wonder why, or not.

I'm just not glad at the naivete of bringing it up here. I don't know what the op expected, but this site (as a site frequented by bassists) is not exactly a paragon of bravery and dissent to power. I can't tell you how eye-opening it was during a previous thread when people were attacking me and insulting me over and over again for pointing out bassists are being replaced by recordings live. This was months before all the news outlets and social media "influencers" brought up the same topic. Of course, people in comments were against it, but - as usual - any of the actual bassists present were either non-plussed seeing the harbinger of their erasure or were DEFENDING the bands who do it.

I learned this lesson in a lesser way on this very site close to 15 years ago. Bassists always kneeled towards post-modernist power, just as long as that "power" had no Legitimate Authority. Think bandleaders, corporations, or liberal governments: abstract, arbitrary, artificial entities of pillaging and managerial control, all of which who can do no wrong. Any representations of Legitimate Authority as would be considered in any age prior to 1500 ie. God, Church, Kings are viciously denied and attacked. There's a lot of words used to describe people like that, none of them Good, but we can add "bass player" to the list without reservation.

There's nothing wrong with the instrument. I'd actually say bass is the best instrument available. In fact, in the ancient world, the three-stringed, longer-scale, thicker-stringed, lower-tuned ancestor of the bass was the lead/melody instrument. The four stringed, short-scale, thin-stringed, higher tuned ancestor of the guitar was the rhythm/harmony instrument. The problem is the advent of rock music and the purposeful relegation of the bass to a mimicing subwoofer role.

Such abuse means more level-headed and assertive men either want nothing to do with the instrument, or crypto-bass-"enjoyers" like myself end up playing "lead" instruments like guitars to be the bandleader while writing basslines backstage. If there is one single thing this site was good for when I was first starting out, it was learning that bass is a dead end. Bassists will kneel before local, unworthy authority, do whatever you want, never speak up, and push their glasses up their nose with a cunning smile for doing so.

Such abuse means only a very specific, low-value person remains to thrive in the field as all Man-With-Chest behavior is to be ostracized on the spot. The singular way a low-value person can compete with others is through obedience, and the results of which are disastrous for all, where all under the control of weakness turns to ash (figuratively, and as people are sadly finding out is literal as well!). Therefore, this soon-to-be-replaced-by-a-tape-recorder kerfuffle occurs, and it can't come soon enough.

Let's Hope gibson gets replaced with a tape recorder too, only fair! Certainly, would be an improvement.

Back to the hosts file this site goes, and hopefully this site recognizes my unsubscribe commands as more than playing hard to get this time.

ALL of your curses are Consummately Returned By A St Michael Prayer And A St Benedict Prayer!
OK, I guess.

🤔
 
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Zero idea why I'm getting an email out of nowhere to post in this thread specifically, let alone for this site at all, but whatever...

Back to the hosts file this site goes, and hopefully this site recognizes my unsubscribe commands as more than playing hard to get this time.

ALL of your curses are Consummately Returned By A St Michael Prayer And A St Benedict Prayer!
Gee, seems a bit early in the day for posts like this.
 
From the way outside looking in, I'm thinking Mr Smith, with 50-odd years of his life invested in M/B, was looking for not just any buyer, but someone who would continue the Mesa reputation. Gibson, in its post Henry J iteration has restored the brand and smartly expanded the brand. It makes perfect sense for Gibson to acquire Mesa, as it instantly buys them instant credibility as an upmarket amp to pair with their upmarket products, and immediately saved them a kings ransom in not having to grow an organization like that.

Furthermore, the acquisition only makes sense if the plan is for Mesa to remain a top-shelf, world-class line at a time when in a practical sense tube amps are mature, ampless stages and emulators are making inroads, and cheapening the brand name would be a ticket straight downhill that would wreck the reputation, to never be recovered. The smart people would leverage the Mesa brain trust for inexpensive amp designs to be sold as Gibson or Epiphone amps, or maybe a new brand name.

As most of these acquisitions go, the original brain trust is kept around for a period of time to finish projects and aid the integration, and at the conclusion of that process, they usually move on to a deserved retirement or possibly new interests. In the meantime, tongues wag, but I can tell you that Gibson under Mr Guelkian is a different universe than the Henry days, and as such, I'd be very surprised, stunned, if Randall Smith had to suddenly turn in his badge and keys and he escorted off the property.
 
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Zero idea why I'm getting an email out of nowhere to post in this thread specifically, let alone for this site at all, but whatever. I saw this video last night and I'm glad someone brought it up. Universally negative press for gibson everywhere but here, where nearly everyone takes gibson's side. A few smug, mealy-mouthed old-timers here even boasting how God-given rights "do not apply to corporations" (which they cannot ever see backfiring on them, a world of their own make). I wonder why, or not.

I'm just not glad at the naivete of bringing it up here. I don't know what the op expected, but this site (as a site frequented by bassists) is not exactly a paragon of bravery and dissent to power. I can't tell you how eye-opening it was during a previous thread when people were attacking me and insulting me over and over again for pointing out bassists are being replaced by recordings live. This was months before all the news outlets and social media "influencers" brought up the same topic. Of course, people in comments were against it, but - as usual - any of the actual bassists present were either non-plussed seeing the harbinger of their erasure or were DEFENDING the bands who do it.

I learned this lesson in a lesser way on this very site close to 15 years ago. Bassists always kneeled towards post-modernist power, just as long as that "power" had no Legitimate Authority. Think bandleaders, corporations, or liberal governments: abstract, arbitrary, artificial entities of pillaging and managerial control, all of which who can do no wrong. Any representations of Legitimate Authority as would be considered in any age prior to 1500 ie. God, Church, Kings are viciously denied and attacked. There's a lot of words used to describe people like that, none of them Good, but we can add "bass player" to the list without reservation.

There's nothing wrong with the instrument. I'd actually say bass is the best instrument available. In fact, in the ancient world, the three-stringed, longer-scale, thicker-stringed, lower-tuned ancestor of the bass was the lead/melody instrument. The four stringed, short-scale, thin-stringed, higher tuned ancestor of the guitar was the rhythm/harmony instrument. The problem is the advent of rock music and the purposeful relegation of the bass to a mimicing subwoofer role.

Such abuse means more level-headed and assertive men either want nothing to do with the instrument, or crypto-bass-"enjoyers" like myself end up playing "lead" instruments like guitars to be the bandleader while writing basslines backstage. If there is one single thing this site was good for when I was first starting out, it was learning that bass is a dead end. Bassists will kneel before local, unworthy authority, do whatever you want, never speak up, and push their glasses up their nose with a cunning smile for doing so.

Such abuse means only a very specific, low-value person remains to thrive in the field as all Man-With-Chest behavior is to be ostracized on the spot. The singular way a low-value person can compete with others is through obedience, and the results of which are disastrous for all, where all under the control of weakness turns to ash (figuratively, and as people are sadly finding out is literal as well!). Therefore, this soon-to-be-replaced-by-a-tape-recorder kerfuffle occurs, and it can't come soon enough.

Let's Hope gibson gets replaced with a tape recorder too, only fair! Certainly, would be an improvement.

Back to the hosts file this site goes, and hopefully this site recognizes my unsubscribe commands as more than playing hard to get this time.

ALL of your curses are Consummately Returned By A St Michael Prayer And A St Benedict Prayer!
Who took the gem out of your donut?
 
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Zero idea why I'm getting an email out of nowhere to post in this thread specifically, let alone for this site at all, but whatever. I saw this video last night and I'm glad someone brought it up. Universally negative press for gibson everywhere but here, where nearly everyone takes gibson's side. A few smug, mealy-mouthed old-timers here even boasting how God-given rights "do not apply to corporations" (which they cannot ever see backfiring on them, a world of their own make). I wonder why, or not.

I'm just not glad at the naivete of bringing it up here. I don't know what the op expected, but this site (as a site frequented by bassists) is not exactly a paragon of bravery and dissent to power. I can't tell you how eye-opening it was during a previous thread when people were attacking me and insulting me over and over again for pointing out bassists are being replaced by recordings live. This was months before all the news outlets and social media "influencers" brought up the same topic. Of course, people in comments were against it, but - as usual - any of the actual bassists present were either non-plussed seeing the harbinger of their erasure or were DEFENDING the bands who do it.

I learned this lesson in a lesser way on this very site close to 15 years ago. Bassists always kneeled towards post-modernist power, just as long as that "power" had no Legitimate Authority. Think bandleaders, corporations, or liberal governments: abstract, arbitrary, artificial entities of pillaging and managerial control, all of which who can do no wrong. Any representations of Legitimate Authority as would be considered in any age prior to 1500 ie. God, Church, Kings are viciously denied and attacked. There's a lot of words used to describe people like that, none of them Good, but we can add "bass player" to the list without reservation.

There's nothing wrong with the instrument. I'd actually say bass is the best instrument available. In fact, in the ancient world, the three-stringed, longer-scale, thicker-stringed, lower-tuned ancestor of the bass was the lead/melody instrument. The four stringed, short-scale, thin-stringed, higher tuned ancestor of the guitar was the rhythm/harmony instrument. The problem is the advent of rock music and the purposeful relegation of the bass to a mimicing subwoofer role.

Such abuse means more level-headed and assertive men either want nothing to do with the instrument, or crypto-bass-"enjoyers" like myself end up playing "lead" instruments like guitars to be the bandleader while writing basslines backstage. If there is one single thing this site was good for when I was first starting out, it was learning that bass is a dead end. Bassists will kneel before local, unworthy authority, do whatever you want, never speak up, and push their glasses up their nose with a cunning smile for doing so.

Such abuse means only a very specific, low-value person remains to thrive in the field as all Man-With-Chest behavior is to be ostracized on the spot. The singular way a low-value person can compete with others is through obedience, and the results of which are disastrous for all, where all under the control of weakness turns to ash (figuratively, and as people are sadly finding out is literal as well!). Therefore, this soon-to-be-replaced-by-a-tape-recorder kerfuffle occurs, and it can't come soon enough.

Let's Hope gibson gets replaced with a tape recorder too, only fair! Certainly, would be an improvement.

Back to the hosts file this site goes, and hopefully this site recognizes my unsubscribe commands as more than playing hard to get this time.

ALL of your curses are Consummately Returned By A St Michael Prayer And A St Benedict Prayer!
I hope this is AI.
 
So, for those of us who don't want to watch lengthy videos about some kind of corporate insider baseball and You Tuba influencers, is this the precis?

- Gibson bought Mesa/Boogie
- Gibson got rid of the former head of M/B (this is normal in acquisitions, by the way)
- "Fluff" made comments about them getting rid of the old CEO
- and Gibson/Mesa/Boogie pulled "Fluff"s endorsement

???

Seems normal.

YouTuba is a company, not a governmental entity; Gibson is a company, not a governmental entity. There is no guarantee of free speech on the company's dime. You may agree with this, disagree with this, or think that the lines ought to be drawn differently, but there's over 200 years of settled case law on the subject. I know that pretty much any full time employee of a company signs various NDAs and other contractual documents, among which are acknowledgements of "at will" employment and acknowledgements that one's personal speech has to be kept separate from company speech. I don't know this next bit, but I"d be darn surprised if endorsees don't have to sign similar agreements.

Whole thing looks to me like yet another tempest in an internet teaspoon.
Bold of you to assume that youtube, also known as google, isn't a government entity. There are undercover military intelligence and government agents in EVERY major industry. Most likely especially in Google, one of the backbones of communication on this planet.
 
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Randall sold the company and I'm assuming he received a nice payout. The downside is that you give up operational control of the company you sold. The purchasing company is going to have ideas of their own and generally there is at least some level of conflict behind the scenes. Any of us are just guessing at what happened.
Yeah, and I infer from quite a few of the posts I see on TB that, how ever well-meaning some TBers may be, some are utterly unqualified to comment and seem to get most of their exercise from jumping to conclusions.
 
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