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My reliable source confirmed something....

#41
I think it's a bad marketing decision. if fender keeps SWR, GB & fender items on the shelf they triple their exposure to unknowing clients (lets be honest, most clients fall into that catagory). the illusion of choice and variety evaporates if it all becomes just fender.
ha well, i've heard of companies buying out the competition to either shut them down or to steal the employees.
 
#44
This is spades... easy to call conspiracy theory..:ninja:

jnewmark said:
Hmmm, this is the THIRD thread about Fender shutting down Genz Benz, yet NOTHING OFFICIAL has been issued by Fender stating this. When the sky starts to fall for real, let me know.
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regardless, this is also [DEL]true [/DEL]what i agree with

NWB said:
Genz has offered innovative amps and cabs with unparalleled quality and customer service. IMO, it would be a huge loss to the bass playing community even if the designs are assimilated by Fender.

The top-notch customer service would be gone along with the "coolness" of the Genz Benz name.

Genz had their own manufacturing facility in Taiwan and I have a hard time believing the Fender wouldn't move manufacturing of Jeff's designs to China with the attendant loss of quality.

I should really pick up a SM 9.2 since I have confidence it would last longer than almost any other amp out there and deliver massive tone.

I'll be very sad to see them go if all this is really true.:crying:
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I could be callous and say that Fender has not introduced a new guitar in 40 years.. but in reality the success of new brands of bass and guitar is a direct result of Fender rigidly sitting on P, J, tele & Strat laurels and doing not much to improve the brand
 
#45
Someone needs to confirm this one way or another soon because if GB is going under then I'm about to drop a couple grand on their cabs so that I'll never have to worry about finding them used. Yeah, I like them that much.
 
#46
Did GB make a decent profit on their own?
Did they make a decent profit when Kaman ran them?
If the answers to the above are yes, then it is a lock that these amps will continue with the possibility of a new name on the front.

It's all about the money!!
 
#47
it makes more sense, to me anyways, that fmic might kill off the low selling brands but roll the technology into it's current lineup of products. the auto industry has done this forever. you cant produce 200 products that basically all do the same thing and expect to make much profit. in the end it's profit that keeps the whole business going. dumping cash into a brand with a such a small market share is not the secret to success when you have shareholders to keep happy.
a new line of amps and cabs, think Rumble II, built with technology from GB and SWR would open up a lot of new sales just because it has the fender logo on it. every fender fanboy/girl in the world would want one, it's worked for their guitars and basses for over 50 years. plus it would give fender amp market coverage from practice amps all the way through high level ss and tube amps.
 
#48
From an organizational perspective, divisions come with a certain amount of overhead. If they reorganized and moved products and people into one group, things can be done more efficiently. This happens all the time in business.

At the same time, they are always evaluating their product lines. In general, a company like Fender makes the most profit on amps that sell in large numbers. Anything that dilutes those numbers affects profits. They don't like to see a less profitable SWR or GB product take away from optimizing profits of a big selling product.

Unfortunately, they aren't in business to make musicians happy by offering a wide and diverse product line. Musicians are simply a means by which the company makes money. Or so the bean counters see it. I hope that they don't prevail.
 
#51
Fender: Guys, we aren't selling as much of our gear in the new acquisitions department as we were... We need a strategy to move mico-amps and light cabs.

Marketing Team: Wait, I got it, Let's float a rumor at NAMM about Genz and SWR going down the tubes, issue a discount to retailers, and watch it disappear!

Fender: Genius.
 
#54
kdogg said:
Just checked amazon. Didn't see any indication of a fire sale going on. :confused:
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Ditto I just checked MF, Zzounds, Music 123, and SA. All are showing good in stock and no indications of "fire sale" discounts.

Which means nothing because there's been no "official" word from anyone involved so I suspect business as usual for GB. At least as far as sales of existing product.

Now as to service at the "personal" level that we've seen in the past from Jeff and the gang, IMO that's gone! Just call or email GB and you get Fender CS. They will direct you to a service center or answer questions.

So until we hear differently it is what it is. If you're worried, paranoid, or whatever about it, you can always sell your GB stuff now and move on.

Personally I'm keeping my Contour 500-115 and Focus 15 cab.
 
#59
mystic38 said:
I could be callous and say that Fender has not introduced a new guitar in 40 years.. but in reality the success of new brands of bass and guitar is a direct result of Fender rigidly sitting on P, J, tele & Strat laurels and doing not much to improve the brand
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Like you would do any different if you owned Fender. Rule number one is "If it sells, it stays." And the P,J, Tele, and Strat all sell bigtime to this day. If they didn't, they would be gone. As a matter of fact, until Hendrix came along, the Strat was about to get cut and he saved it. It isn't the manufacturers driving the market...it's the market driving the manufacturers.
 

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