Gibson acquires MESA Boogie

**Lobomov** · 01-10-2021, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by silvertonebetty

Then fender shut them down making everyone loose there jobs for what?

And what I am saying is that I'm not so sure about the above ... Sure some lost their jobs, but the main part of their people where making strings and other stuff for Fender and they kept doing what they had always done except that their labels now said Fender instead of Squier as far as I can tell

**DRS** · 01-10-2021, 01:13 PM

I've bought 2 new Epiphone guitars in the last 4 years.
An Epiphone ES339 which was a very well made guitar with average pickups and an Epiphone Johnny A that is an extremely well made guitar with really good Gibson USA pickups. Both are products of the new direction Epi seems to have taken in the last few years.
If Gibson lets Mesa run as an autonomous unit, there could be hope. But if the parent company of both decides to squeeze the juice out of Mesa, the brand is done.

**silvertonebetty** · 01-10-2021, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by ccroft

It might. Here's a tip from a long time Mesa player: if you're looking for a better jazz tone, take that Boogie face plate off. (see my 22+). You can always put it back on when it comes time to cash out :-)

Yeah . Tbh I have no interest on selling the old amp . It might be overkill for my needs but it there

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**Stringswinger** · 01-10-2021, 02:49 PM

Originally Posted by ccroft

Danny: love the short shorts. Those were the days! What's that white thing on the stand to the right?

FWIW: I wonder if what Randy says = what Randy does these days

RP: when I pick up my Quilter I feel like I got gypped. To me it just seems like a 'real' amp should be as heavy as my ol' Mesa!

The term gypped is an ethnic slur against the Roma people and is just as bad a saying that you were jewed down in a deal or that something was nigger-rigged.

I suggest people who use that term cease and desist from doing so.

**ccroft** · 01-10-2021, 03:53 PM

Gak!! Sorry about that. Not something I commonly use. Post deleted.

**2bornot2bop** · 01-10-2021, 04:16 PM

Oh here we go again, making needless acquisitions instead of building things, oh I don’t know, like ES175’s for a start!

**Stringswinger** · 01-10-2021, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

Oh here we go again, making needless acquisitions instead of building things, oh I don’t know, like ES175’s for a start!

An ES-175 played through a Boogie is a wonderful thing. Just sayin'

There is a big demand for Mesa amps, ES 175's? Not so much. In business it makes good sense to offer that which the marketplace craves.

175's will get reissued one day, I hope.....

**2bornot2bop** · 01-10-2021, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by Stringswinger

That is certainly not my world view. I see the big capitalist corporations as being proof that if you bring a great product or service to a free market, becoming "big" is the reward. And we all gain when incentive is there to motivate people to do great things. Sometimes the big companies fail to innovate and stagnate, but in a free market, they will be overtaken by those with the drive to "build a better mousetrap".

Mesa has built some of the best guitar amplifiers ever and Gibson has built some of the best guitars ever. Both companies can benefit from this merger regardless of the musings of armchair quarterbacks on the Internet (most of whom have never done anything entrepreneurial in their lives).

Oh, so if you’re not an Entrepreneur you’re not worthy in this society? How about all of those Entrepreneurs who’ve outsourced everything that used to be built here? Entrepreneur worship is overrated, imo.

**jazzkritter** · 01-10-2021, 07:21 PM

No entrepreneurs, no new jobs. Pretty simple.
Someone has to start the ball rolling for jobs for people that don’t want the risk on their back.

you know, like Leo Fender, or the The Heritage guys, or Paul Reed Smith.

**ThatRhythmMan** · 01-10-2021, 10:03 PM

FWIW, the Epiphone USA Casino is available fir pre-order.

**silvertonebetty** · 01-10-2021, 10:36 PM

Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan

FWIW, the Epiphone USA Casino is available fir pre-order.

I’d admit that’s intriguing

. Although I’m not sure how well it will sell. People are just too use to thinking of epiphone as a”over seas student line”

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**rabbit** · 01-11-2021, 01:57 AM

Originally Posted by Lobomov

Plenty of chains run a wide range of businesses successfully .. Henry J and his gang that got Gibson entangled in questionable expansions is what it is, but the chain argument is not universally true. Good business men are good business men.

Lobomov,

Do you think this is an example of 'good' in the world?

**Litterick** · 01-11-2021, 03:28 AM

Besides, those are not chains; they are brands.

**Lobomov** · 01-11-2021, 03:37 AM

Originally Posted by Litterick

Besides, those are not chains; they are brands.

Unlike Gibson?

Sendt fra min SM-G981B med Tapatalk

**Litterick** · 01-11-2021, 07:02 AM

Gibson makes guitars.

**silvertonebetty** · 01-11-2021, 07:43 AM

Originally Posted by Litterick

Gibson makes guitars.

Did Gibson ever make there own amp?

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**jazzkritter** · 01-11-2021, 09:34 AM

From 1935 to 1967

**silverfoxx** · 01-12-2021, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by citizenk74

Same here. A guy I knew had a string of 'em starting with the Mark I and going at least through Mark IV. He continually irked me by selling them to other people, without even letting me know they were for sale. I would have paid any price asked or bettered any offer. He could play quite well, but whenever i asked him what he was playing, he couldn't (or wouldn't) say "this is a Cm7#9" or that it was minor or 7th or #9 or even, in fact, it was a C. A certain cognitive dissonance there. Could play Holdsworth licks; couldn't name notes. Any way, never got a Boogie, now it's physically out of the question. Oh well....

There is an alternative, acquire a Mk V,25 or a MkV 35 head only . if you have an 8ohm , or 4 ohm good speaker then
its far lighter to haul around than the Combos , which can be hernia inducing

Best regards Silverfoxx

**GNAPPI** · 01-13-2021, 08:14 AM

Originally Posted by Stringswinger

The term gypped is an ethnic slur against the Roma people and is just as bad a saying that you were jewed down in a deal or that something was nigger-rigged. I suggest people who use that term cease and desist from doing so.

There goes my FIAT means "Fix it again Tony" expression huh? Or are we Italians still open season?

Gads, humanity needs to grow some skin. A-holes getting "hurt feelings" over such trivial things.

**Stringswinger** · 01-13-2021, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by GNAPPI

There goes my FIAT means "Fix it again Tony" expression huh? Or are we Italians still open season?

Gads, humanity needs to grow some skin. A-holes getting "hurt feelings" over such trivial things.

I have made many friends in the European Roma community playing Gypsy jazz. They are rightly offended by the stereotypes about their people being dishonest. Those who spread such stereotypes are, IMO, the A-holes.

FIATs earned their reputation and it is not a slam on Italians (I think Mazzerattis and Alfa Romeo's are pretty well respected) ." Fix it all the time" is an appropriate acronym for the FIATs of the past (even though it does have an extra T) .

Your comparison is faulty. "Fix it again Tony" is in no way comparable to calling someone of Italian origin a "WOP" (which rises to the level of using the term Gypped).

**Lobomov** · 01-13-2021, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by Stringswinger

FIATs earned their reputation and it is not a slam on Italians (I think Mazzerattis and Alfa Romeo's are pretty well respected) ." Fix it all the time" is an appropriate acronym for the FIATs of the past (even though it does have an extra T) .

FIATs of the past?

So you're saying that despite FIAT's of the present being good cars, but have no problem with the expression that cause it originates in well documented issues in the past?

**HeyNow** · 01-13-2021, 02:10 PM

Florida Man

**GNAPPI** · 01-13-2021, 02:18 PM

Regardless when FIAT got their reputation, it was in fact earned at least here in the U.S. I know it (as do several family members and friends) first hand. How good are they today? Regaining a good reputation is definitely going to be a tall order getting people to trust the company with a purchase, a bad name takes a long time to recover from if it can. Who would buy a Hugo? Not me, not ever, not a Fiat either.

As far as slurs go, I guess I have a different view of old stereotypes and whether they're an insult or not. Maybe my skin is thicker. Still we're not living in a kindergarden and an innocent remark like being gypped that's not tied deliberately to an ethnic class should be treated as such just an innocent remark.

**Doctor Jeff** · 01-13-2021, 02:41 PM

Hey, my fiancee and I had a Fiat 500L for several years, and I bequeathed it to my son 2 years ago. It survived the hailstorm from Hell in 2018, which did more than $10,000 damage to the Fiat and more than $20,000 to my (brand new) WRX.

It is still going strong with, IDK, 80K miles or so with no major issues. I wouldn't put it in a league with Toyota or Honda for reliability, but modern Fiats are not bad at all (just hard to get serviced these days, since most Fiat dealerships have been subsumed into Chrysler and they don't have parts nor know s**t about servicing Fiats).

(Full disclosure: I went to school with Giovanni Agnelli's grandson. He was a year or 2 behind me, so not a close friend. He took over their Vespa division when he was 30 or so but died not long after from cancer. He was considered the heir apparent to the Fiat conglomerate.)