Whatever happened to "affordable" Gibsons?

**multidon** · Jun-26-2012, 1:02pm

Why did Gibson stop making the A-9 "minimally appointed" mandolins? They seemed to be pretty popular. The post flood production seems to be all $4000 plus F styles. Seems like lots of folks getting into mandolin would love something from Gibson but the current production is just too much for most people. My guess is going to be that a lot of folks are going to say that there was just no money to be made in that price niche. But if that were the case, Collings would stop making their MT and Weber would discontinue Gallatins. I think there are a lot of people that would opt for "Gibson" on the headstock if there was a Plain Jane A style to be had.

**catmandu2** · Jun-26-2012, 1:11pm

Here you go:

http://spokane.craigslist.org/msg/3096129266.html

seller to prospective buyer:

a. oh, sorry, I forgot to say...it's actually an Epiphone by GIBSON...but just as good...

b. oh, sorry, I guess it's actually an Oscar Schmidt GIBSON LES PAUL CUSTOM...but just as good...

c. oh, sorry, I left off a "zero"

**mandroid** · Jun-26-2012, 1:36pm

Gibson folks have families to raise, off their wages, & the retailer has to make a living too?

**multidon** · Jun-26-2012, 3:20pm

Gibson folks have families to raise, off their wages, & the retailer has to make a living too?

Yes, this is true. But it was equally true when they WERE making the A-9, and is also true for the workers who make (and the retailers who carry) Breedlove American series, Weber Gallatins, and Collings MT's. They seem to be able to make money making and selling quality, affordable, no-frills A styles. If they weren't profitable they wouldn't make or sell them. It just seems to me this is a segment of the market that Gibson, for whatever reason, has abandoned and the above mentioned companies have filled the void. But what does one do if "only a Gibson is good enough"?

**JEStanek** · Jun-26-2012, 3:26pm

Rather than pricing and families to raise, I suspect the answer is they're still in a backlog of orders for the higher end ones. The Jam Masters and A/F9 are still on their website. Maybe you could contact an authorized dealer to see if they can find out the expected due date for those models.

Jamie

**multidon** · Jun-26-2012, 4:10pm

I took Jamie's advice and asked someone who should know, Dennis at the Mandolin Store. He says these models are no longer produced nor does he expect production to resume in the foreseeable future. He says that materials are hard to come by and those materials they are able to lay their hands on are going to the high end models. This is unfortunate and I would expect that used examples will therefore sell quickly and have high resale values to meet the demand.

**Chuck Ficca** · Jun-26-2012, 4:26pm

Janet Davis Music has an A9 on her website.

**250sc** · Jun-26-2012, 4:28pm

You mentioned other's who are building stripped down models. Check them out. I used to own one of them and it was a great instrument. There are also single person operations that are building great instruments. Besides, there is the used market. Lots of options for buyers right now.

**Capt. E** · Jun-27-2012, 9:20am

You mentioned the one thing that explains it all: "Flood"

Gibson is a business after all. Many manufacturers would be out of business after an event like the flood Gibson experienced. Lucky for them that their production wasn't in one place. Give it a few years and I expect Gibson may renew the building of more affordable instruments. The competition from the Chinese is pretty heavy though and perhaps Gibson just doesn't feel it is necessary to compete at the lower price points.

**allenhopkins** · Jun-27-2012, 11:17am

Wouldn't be surprised to see G get back into the "affordable" market. Look what C F Martin has done expanding its "low end" with guitars made from HPL (high pressure laminate, or, "Formica"). Gibson is selling "Maestro" electric and acoustic guitars with the "Gibson" logo on them, though I'd venture to say that if they're made by the same company that has been making Maestro instruments for awhile, they're Chinese-built. (Gibson website is, not surprisingly, a bit vague on the subject.)

I've been impressed -- not entirely favorably -- by Martin's energetic expansion of its "Martin"-branded product line. Seems to be working for them, and once the major flood-produced backlog of Gibson orders is caught up (assuming that happens), G may want to again be a player in the mid-range, US-built, quality mandolin market.