HeavyXIII wrote:They also hid a disclaimer at the bottom saying that people who donate are not entitled to a refund should they fail. Their "minor risk" is really enormous, as they're not likely to make enough money to get Gibson to even turn its head, no matter what they're actually worth. Seems like such a waste though; they ought to be able to just market the hell out of their own brand, with lower start up costs along with their incredibly limited selection of instruments and ideologies about what a good instrument is.
I actually heavily disagree with that campaign's ideology. Returning Gibson to the "good old days" would be foolish and selfish, IMO. They demonstrate great disillusionment when claiming that hand crafted instruments are by definition infinitely superior to instruments constructed partly with CNC machines. This is just wrong since the bulk of the poor quality being shipped from Gibson's factories is as a result of poor hand work and QC—at least from the way I see it. The setup, the finishes, the fret work, the marketing, the redesign choices, the price hikes, these are mostly man-made and purely business-minded.
Speaking of business-mindedness, the campaign talks about distancing the Gibson brand from business and returning it to its origins. This would be terrible. We need companies like Gibson and Fender mass producing affordable instruments as they can reach markets all over the world. You're not going to see Huber or EGC in some small shop in South Africa or the Philippines. You're going to see Gibson and Fender. These small countries can't afford to distribute such expensive and niche brands. To regress Gibson back to hand crafting would reduce production numbers astronomically, as well as raise prices even further. We have plenty of options if we want handmade instruments. Nik Huber is a perfect example. Their prices are the same as the upper tier of Gibson guitars, yet they're handmade, one at a time in a small workshop in Germany by master luthiers. Gibson's prices have reached boutique level, yet they're mass-produced with machines and offer poor quality in comparison. This does not make any sense. With each new and more advanced CNC machine and each new Pleking machine they purchase, consumers should see greater consistency, greater production levels and lower costs. Gibson are churning out more guitars, but their quality control is poor and their prices are ridiculous.
assface jackson wrote:I wouldn't have picked up the guitar if it wasn't for Zeppelin- and the Who to a lesser but still noteworthy extent. And of course SABBATH
Same. Hendrix, Zeppelin these were the bands that got me into playing guitar.
