Gibson Files for Bankruptcy, But Not Because of their Guitars

Right now, most guitar players are laughing at Gibson and telling all of their non-guitar playing friends and family that Gibson is filing for bankruptcy because their guitars are too expensive and poorly made.  And they are WRONG.

People who really understand the guitar industry, or at least follow it closely, know that the last thing Gibson has to worry about is its guitar line.  Still, that doesn’t stop the average guitar-playing morons from shooting their collective mouths off.  I’ve already seen it in social media and everywhere.

So am I saying you’re a moron if you’ve been shooting off your mouth on this topic without knowing any facts?  Yes.  But you can save face by learning the facts and then you can correct all the other morons you come across.

Here’s one big reason for the above misconception – in some ways, Gibson are charging too much money for a product that often isn’t as good as it should be.  But guitar sales are ok.  Not great – they’re actually down a bit – but that’s not Gibson’s big problem.  Nope, the problem is that Gibson decided to diversify and they screwed it up.  They got into consumer electronics and didn’t know what they were doing, and it put them into their current mess.  In other words, extremely bad leadership is the problem.

It really is that simple.  Look around.  What kind of a moron would think it’s a good idea to invest in consumer electronics companies like Onkyo, Teac, and Royal Phillips?  Couldn’t they get the rights to sell Panasonic Thruster Speakers or BSR turntables?

Gibson will be dumping all the consumer electronics crap, which is good.  But as they shift their focus back to instruments, they’re facing a market where there are a ton of used guitars out there, and the guitars coming in from overseas have been getting better and better and better.  But many players still long to own a real Gibson Les Paul or SG.  Quality control at Gibson does seem to be an issue, so I’m hoping that Gibson will turn their attentions to making better guitars for less money.  There are big challenges in the guitar business, but not if you have one of the two biggest brand names in the world.

I did notice that Gibson is hanging onto Baldwin so they can keep making… pianos.  Hmm.  Um…  maybe Gibson still hasn’t figured out it’s 2018?

I love my two lower end Gibson Les Pauls.  I love them.  They sound amazing.  I also own two Epiphone Les Pauls.  They sound almost as good, if you replace their nasty overwound pickups.  But they don’t play as well.  I’m not sure where I’m going with that.  I like Epiphone, but I think they’re a little nuts on the pricing of some of their high end guitars.  You can grab a used Epiphone Les Paul any day of the week for around $300.  And I think that’s a great deal.

Anyway, Gibson will likely be fine.  If they do go out of business, some other company will buy the name and keep making Les Pauls and SGs.  But I hope they don’t.  Like I said, I love my Gibsons.