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Why Gibson, Why?

2134 Views 64 Replies 25 Participants Last post by  LanceT
Looks like Gibson is shitting the bed again:


Burstdriver™ Les Paul Standard Lightly Figured



And even their marketing department seems to be useless these days:


Gibson shows a chipped and damaged $4799 Les Paul on its website - gearnews.com
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Onboard effects are nothing new actually.

However the damaged guitar is kinda a big oops
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Haha
Well at those prices I'm not buying either--but maybe that chip was an example of a very light relic job...
;)
LOL. Like the colour tho.

Onboard fx are such a groaner. Nothing new and certainly not for Gibsoon (see all the F versions of things that had onboard Maestro Fuzz built in). Foot actuation is much more convenient and with a pedal you're not stuck with the (usually shitty, with some exceptions - see the Vox Repeat Percussion) onboard effect and can change the chain easily. I know it's custom shop vs standard range, but you're pretty much paying like, what, 1k more for an onboard effect that would cost a couple hundred tops as a seperate unit?
I like those burst colours, the gadgets not so much.
Well, if they end up selling for the same price as a a second hand Electra MPC or one of those Danelectros with the built-in effects, that won't be so bad.

Did Henry ask himself how on earth, in the face of so many hundreds, and even thousands, of existing and in-production overdrives, and in the face of so many hundreds of amps in the price range of someone who would spend over five big ones for a LP that have built-in overdrive that one can engage with your feet, that somehow one single overdrive circuit would somehow be the "magnet" to bring the customers. Maybe they need to add that overdrive to the Zoot Suit SGs so that the remaining stock will finally leave the warehouse.
That is just awful... and for those prices? I don't think I'll be buying another Gibson anytime soon.
It's not damaged - its reliced! And the price just went up.
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Steadly to jizz in 5...4...3...2...
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I also like that Oxford Gray colour scheme. I think it'll age nicely.
It's not damaged - its reliced! And the price just went up.
Lightly...
But they fixed the picture on the website...
These Burstdrivers are beautiful visually, but this onboard Overdrive is solving a problem nobody had or needed solved. That's what amps and stomp boxes are for. These should have just been marketed as the new Les Paul Traditionals and wired the traditional way with no pcb's or gadgets.

Ah well, what can ya do. At least this is just one model and not the whole lineup like they did in 2015 with the robot tuners and drunken sharpie scribble logo.

On the flip-side of this though, must be tough as a guitar manufacturer these days because if you make traditional guitars, people complain that they keep making the same boring old guitars year in year out. So you try new ideas and people complain that you changed the guitars too much and took away from the traditional thing.

People are never happy no matter the product line, and Gibson keeps striking out with their new ideas...

Meh. I'll go play my Gibsons and be happy with those, as they are wired and loaded with exactly what I wanted - closest I can get them to custom shop without buying into the club.

Best values with Gibson Les Pauls in my opinion (for the bound tops and fretboards) are Traditionals and Classics. Anything above that is marketing (ahem, Standards) or Custom Shop. In the case of Burstdrivers, both.

Anybody remember Fender's Strats with interchangeable Personality Cards?


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Someone needs to explain how this is even a thing....

$20,799 Peter Frampton "Phenix" 1954 Les Paul Custom

Not the original, a copy.

Apparently the quality of something no longer matters. Put a big price tag on it and people will assume it must be good, right?

None of this makes any sense to me.
On the flip-side of this though, must be tough as a guitar manufacturer these days because if you make traditional guitars, people complain that they keep making the same boring old guitars year in year out. So you try new ideas and people complain that you changed the guitars too much and took away from the traditional thing.
So true - damned if you do, damned if you don't. This is also why most little independent guitar makers just sell their versions of the classic guitar shapes. Guitarists are a conservative bunch. Look at Taylor - a very reputable and capable maker whose slightly different solid body guitar shapes/sounds didn't take hold in the market - despite playing like a dream so they dropped the whole line. I have one and I love how it sounds, plays and feels in the hands.
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On the flip-side of this though, must be tough as a guitar manufacturer these days because if you make traditional guitars, people complain that they keep making the same boring old guitars year in year out. So you try new ideas and people complain that you changed the guitars too much and took away from the traditional thing.

People are never happy no matter the product line, and Gibson keeps striking out with their new ideas...
Disagree. People would be fine if Gibson stuck to traditional stuff. Or at least kept the trad line and mnade seperate models for whatever experiments they wanted to try (like this year doesn't bother me; the all robotubner year was bullshit). See Heritage; nobody gives them shit; they have a thing and they stick to it.

It is nothing new with Gibson. They were always innovators. The difference now is they think any change is an innovation. Many of their previous innovations weren't accepted at the time either (and they gave up on them ) and are only appreciated now (LoZ pickups; active electronics; crazy guitar shapes; F/TBirds). I doubt these will follow suit. If anything the problem with Gibson is that they are so fickle; they gave up on those classic innovations too easy. ... kinda glad Henry J is so impatient as regards new initiatives being profitable though.
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Disagree. People woulkd be fine if Gibson stuck to traditional stuff. Or at least kept the trad line and mnade seperate models for whatever experiments they wanted to try (like this year doesn't bother me; the all robotubner year was bullshit). See HJeritage; nobodygives them shit; they have a thing and they stick to it.

It is nothing new with Gibson. They were always innovators. The difference now is they think any change is an innovation. Many of their previous innovations weren't accepted at the time either (and they gave up on them ) and are only appreciatred now (LoZ pickups; active electronics; crazy guitar shapes; F/TBirds). I doubt these will follow suit. If anything the probnlem with Gibson is that they are so fickle; they gave up on those classic innovations too easy. .,.. kinda glad Henry J is so impatient as regards new innitiatives being profitable though.
My comment on it being tough for manufacturers was implied for all manufacturers in general, hinting at why Gibson might be trying dumb ideas. We're basically on the same page when it comes to Gibson.

It's like the Fender Telecaster. Leo got it right the first time, and it hasn't changed much since, heck they still make the '52 AVRI Tele because ppl keep buying em. With Gibson, either go Custom Shop Reissue '58, '59 , whatever's your flavour if you have that budget. Otherwise, grab a Classic (retire it to 50's if it's the Onboard Boost model) or Traditional used for a good deal, pull out the '57 Classics or whatever's in it and stick some good handwinds in there and giggle all night at your tones. Everything else Gibson passes off as a Les Paul is mostly marketing smoke and mirrors.


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Someone needs to explain how this is even a thing....

$20,799 Peter Frampton "Phenix" 1954 Les Paul Custom

Not the original, a copy.

Apparently the quality of something no longer matters. Put a big price tag on it and people will assume it must be good, right?

None of this makes any sense to me.
Gibson Corp trying to capitalize on a guitar that has quite the story, by making replicas hoping diehard Frampton fans have deep pockets and a penchant for buying overpriced guitars.

$20,799 for THE guitar from Frampton's cold rich hands I could maybe understand... MAYBE. This is marketing trickery at play again. Buyers would be better off getting a black beauty custom and playing the sh*t out of it until it looked worn like that one.


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I think Gibson just needs to reintroduce a few of their oddball models for a reasonable price. I don't want robot tuners or onboard effects. Give me an RD or a maurader at the $1000-$1500 range and call it a day. Don't have a limited run every year; introduce a new version of a classic style and price it reasonably. Gibson already has the plans to make a great guitar, but instead they're peddling crap at unrealistic prices.
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As a huge LP fan, I feel a little insulted by one phrase in the write up regarding the built in "distortion pedal"..

"the level, tone, and gain controls can be adjusted using a guitar pick." No Shit.

Maybe I'm a bit nitpicky and old school, but Wat?

It does have some nice finish's and other features though.
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