Guitar-maker Gibson Brands files for bankruptcy

[lenf12]

I'm a big fan of bottleneck style roundneck Dobro tone, but I'm definitely in the minority. I'm not sure the Dobro brand is worth anything now, after years of neglect by Gibson.

I am too. How do you think pre-Gibson dobros will fare in the market?

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[MikeEdgerton]

They would have to bring the suit through the bankruptcy court itself now. And if they were to win, that judgment is treated as an unsecured debt (which is usually wiped out).

Exactly.

[foldedpath]

I am too. How do you think pre-Gibson dobros will fare in the market?

Not very well, if my Ebay selliing history over the last few years is any indication. At one time I had four 1930's roundneck Dobros. All in decent condition -- one wood body slot-head, two nickel plated brass "fiddle edge", one painted steel "fiddle edge." Two of those had all original hardware. I wasn't playing slide guitar any more, so I sold off three and tried to sell the last one during the last couple of years. The wooden body sold for something like $1,100 and the two brass bodies went for just under $2k, which was less than I paid for them. I pulled the steel body from sale when it didn't break $1,500 on a Buy it Now, figuring I'll keep it for a while and see what the market does.

All these prices were less than I paid, when I got interested in these old 1930's Dobros. It's probably a more depressed market because they were roundnecks, but there are such great luthier-made squareneck resonators for the Bluegrass market, that I don't vintage squareneck Dobros would do much better. And I don't see the value going up just because the Big G went bankrupt. Vintage Dobros is a really niche area.

[Ron McMillan]

Facebook is alive with rumours that blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa is exploring the possibility of a financial takeover. That sounds to me like wishful thinking, either on the rumour-mongers' part or on Mr Bonamassa's part.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I'd personally like to see Gibson survive & continue to make their Guitars & mandolins,& maybe re-introduce a line of top quality banjos - like they used to do. How many guitar makers are there in the market right now,it's must be in the 100's. The number of makers of top quality banjos i'd imagine to be very much smaller = there's still room for a high quality banjo carrying the Gibson name,as long as they get their pricing realistic.

I know that as much as we like their instruments,business is also about making money for the company. Diversification into 'other' fields of manufacture is fine,if people want your product. Maybe a tad more market research wouldn't have gone amiss ?,
Ivan

[grassrootphilosopher]

... there seems to be some unanimous Henry Juszkiewicz bashing. And well, in the end he may be responsible for the fix that Gibson is in.

But I´d like to point out that in twilight days of Norlin-Gibson Henry (and some others) bought Gibson for 5 million USD, thus saving the brand and putting it back on track. So whatever happened in recent years, I still credit Henry for the revamping of the Gibson banjo line (think Greg Rich), the renovation of Gibson mandolins (think Charlie Derrington) etc. I do see that I am talking about an extreme niche market here. But still, hadn´t it been for the management skills in this area the MM or DMM wouldn´t have happened.

Would I hate to see Gibson go? Yes. Though in comparison I find that Martin does a really great job with "recreating" "authentic" guitars while I haven´t seen this happening in the Gibson guitar department. Their efforts seemed to be rather cosmetic than focused on sound. The mandolins are different though.

[MarkELynch]

This notice from the AP appeared in today’s Washington Post.

Gibson guitar maker files for bankruptcy.


The maker of the Gibson guitar is filing for bankruptcy protection after wrestling for years with debt. A reorganization plan filed Tuesday will allow Gibson Brands to continue operations with $135 million in financing from lenders.
Gibson guitars have been esteemed by generations of guitar legends. After Chuck Berry died, his beloved cherry-red Gibson was bolted to the inside of his coffin lid.
Gibson, founded in 1894, sells more than 170,000 guitars a year in more than 80 countries, according to a bankruptcy filing.
The company has sold off some non-core brands and has begun the liquidation process for its debt-plagued international Gibson Innovations division, which sells headphones, speakers and other electronics.
— Associated Press

[Jeff Mando]

Facebook is alive with rumours that blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa is exploring the possibility of a financial takeover. That sounds to me like wishful thinking, either on the rumour-mongers' part or on Mr Bonamassa's part.

I know he is a great player and successful, but I wasn't aware that he had the kind of mega-wealth required.....does he?

[Steve Ostrander]

Maybe they should have put the auto tune system on mandolins instead of guitars.

[woodwizard]

Wish them the best. I still love my Gibson mandolins and my J45

[DHopkins]

Maybe they should have put the auto tune system on mandolins instead of guitars.

That'll never work. It would work the tuner to death before it froze up then you would get a puff of smoke and a little whiff of ozone. Keeping a mandolin in tune for a complete set would be a miracle.

[RFMando]

I surely hope they survive and most importantly keep the brand intact. The problem w/the auto-tuners was making everyone just have to take them, had they made them a boutique by request only option for a number of years that may have been a hip thing that became desirable. I will say the 2015 Midtown guitar I have stays in tune better than any instrument I've ever owned and the burst bucker pickups are really nice. I'd love to add a Gibson mandolin to the arsenal one day ;-)

[bobrem]

"Juszkiewicz ... is known as a temperamental executive, once inviting company executives to join him shooting up Fender Stratocasters at a gun range.”
https://www.theguardian.com/business...tcy-protection

[rcc56]

"Juszkiewicz ... is known as a temperamental executive, once inviting company executives to join him shooting up Fender Stratocasters at a gun range.”
https://www.theguardian.com/business...tcy-protection

He might have tried offering buyers more products that were competitive in price with Fender instruments. Especially during a recession.

In the late '90's, I was doing repair work at a shop was both an authorized Gibson dealer and a Fender dealer. The shop owner was concerned about how slowly his Gibsons were selling, and was trying to make a decision about whether he wanted to renew his dealership for another year. I pointed to three guitars on the showroom floor, and said: "For the price of one of these [Gibson Les Paul Standard], a customer can buy one of these [Fender American Stratocaster] and one of those [Fender American Telecaster], and have enough money left over to get an imported bass.

20 years later, not much has changed, though Fender has just increased their prices on American made instruments. Today, the new customer might have to forget about the imported bass.

He also might have tried attracting new dealers by offering a significantly lower yearly minimum order and removing restrictions on what models they were required to order.

Yes, I know, the current financial woes are said to be due to the failure of the Phillips acquisition. But the problems go a lot deeper than that.

$520 million [or $560 million, according to one report] is quite a large debt.

I would love to see Gibson's profit and loss statements for the past five years. I would also like to see what models sold well and which sold poorly.

It will be interesting to watch how this all finally shakes out.

It's risky to get your news from Facebook.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Greg Rich was indeed at the forefront of the Gibson banjo production at one time. Of course he left to join up with Mark Taylor to form the ''Rich & Taylor'' Co. to produce high quality Guitars & banjos of their own. Greg Rich was also called in to oversee the set up of the Chinese ''Gold Star'' banjo production line with Scott Zimmerman (''Desert Rose'' banjos), & i can personally testify as to their stunning quality.

Guys like Greg Rich & indeed currently,Dave Harvey, are IMHO,almost priceless when it comes to maintaining high standards of production. Maybe if Greg Rich had still been at Gibson,they might have produced better banjos than the subsequently did.

It's all conjecture,& all we can do is to wait & see what happens. I sincerely hope that Gibson survive,to be re-structured with an eye to producing the superb instruments that it was once world famous for,
Ivan

[rcc56]

The Gibson name will survive. Whether or not that name will be associated with quality American made instruments remains to be seen.

Remember that Gibson's primary focus now is electric guitars, and has been for quite a while.

The good news is that we are living in the midst of a golden age of lutherie. Some of the finest instruments made in decades are being made right now.

Does anyone remember that in the '70's and early '80's, new high quality mandolins were not available?? Banjos were hit and miss at best, and we only had a couple of individual makers building really good acoustic guitars. Of course, prewar Martins and Gibsons were a lot cheaper in those days.

[DataNick]

The bankruptcy filing is available on pdf... I downloaded it and here it is for those so inclined to check it out...

[dhergert]

... Does anyone remember that in the '70's and early '80's, new high quality mandolins were not available?? Banjos were hit and miss at best, and we only had a couple of individual makers building really good acoustic guitars. Of course, prewar Martins and Gibsons were a lot cheaper in those days.

Yup, it was so bad that many of us who couldn't afford a real pre-war Mastertone were driven to make our own. I still have mine, and it's still better than many original pre-wars.

I've got a couple of real pre-wars now, but ironically my best banjo in tone, playability and appearance, and my main player today, is a 1982 RB-800. From the dark ages of Gibson's banjos, but it's a rare beauty.

[Austin Bob]

The Gibson name will survive. Whether or not that name will be associated with quality American made instruments remains to be seen.

Yep, I agree. The Gibson name has too much brand recognition to let it die completely. I hope they somehow manage to make the transition back to a profitable company and continue to make mandolins, but it will be very difficult.

[mgap]

So what happens to Epiphone is all this mess?

[SincereCorgi]

https://www.theonion.com/guitar-make...tcy-1825743140

[rcc56]

There was a meeting at the Nashville plant today. The employees were told that their jobs are not in jeopardy. Most of the other discussion restated what has been printed in the Bloomberg article.

[rcc56]

So what happens to Epiphone in all this mess?

I don't work there, but my guess is that Epiphone generates a profit, and will continue to operate.

[JonZ]

There are so many custom builders making great instruments here in the US, and very high quality US and Asian factory-made instruments. They are as good as or better than what you can find in the range of Gibson products.

My only thought is, “meh”.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Don - Your RB-800 looks stunning. One of my favourite models of Gibson banjo,was the RB-250 sporting the 'open book' style headstock,available as either a flathead or archtop. I've played several,& without exception,they were terrific. One of those was the first Gibson banjo i ever played ,& it blew my socks off. The only thing i didn't care for,was the clunky looking Kluson tuners,
Ivan