Galt's Gulch

Gibson Guitars says "bite me" to the government

Posted by Non_mooching_artist 11 years, 2 months ago to Business
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I love these guys because they haven't just taken the crap the govt has dished out!
SOURCE URL: http://patriotupdate.com/2014/02/tns-gibson-guitar-creates-government-series-disputed-wood/

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  • Posted by Robbie53024 11 years, 2 months ago
    Unfortunately they did take "a lot of crap" before finally coming out on top. They still didn't get all their specialty wood returned, and suffered huge losses while it was impounded not to mention the millions in legal fees.
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    • Posted by Non_mooching_artist 11 years, 2 months ago
      This whole debacle, and utter contempt that this regime has for free spirited entrepreneurs is staggering. Our once free, sky is the limit ingenuity is getting snuffed out by regulations that would choke a whale, and punitive raids and vindictive intimidation for speaking freely. Apparently, I need to be disabused of the notion that the Constitution is my guarantee of freedom from oppression.
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      Posted by Boborobdos 11 years, 2 months ago
      Actually it's clear they were working to get around the law. Check out: "Participants on the trip, including the Gibson employee, were told that a law passed in 2006 in Madagascar banned the harvest of ebony and the export of any ebony products that were not in finished form. They were further told by trip organizers that instrument parts, such as fingerboard blanks, would be considered unfinished and therefore illegal to export under the 2006 law."

      For the rest of the story you can go to: http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2...

      You can see how Gibson dodged the bullet and settled by viewing an actual copy of the agreement at: http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Fe...
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  • Posted by DaveM49 11 years, 2 months ago
    I don't know if I would want a "government series" guitar. Chances are it would never stay in tune, would change keys without warning, would produce unpredictable feedback, and might buckle during tough times.

    Most likely, replacement parts will cost around one hundred times the fair market value, too. AND require 25 pages of specifications, submitted in triplicate, not to mention a bidding process.
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    • Posted by $ Susanne 11 years, 2 months ago
      Replacement knobs for the pots start at $962.35 each, the pots themselves are $11,736.62 each. The pickups in the low 6 digits, and you need a DOD restricted list waiver to purchase them, one at a time. There is a 14 year wait for approved replacement string sets, which need to be sent to a federal "music armory" for replacement, and are only guaranteed not to break for the first 14 minutes of play. Seems like a good deal!
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      • Posted by DaveM49 11 years, 2 months ago
        No doubt it will be impossible to get the strings you want. Rather, "the strings specified per contract" will be available.

        My guess is that the design process takes around seven years and costs ten times as much as usual as well.

        I once had half of a set of guitar strings stolen by the TSA from a guitar case that was checked as baggage (I know, a dumb idea, but it was not my "Number One" guitar, it was an airline-rated case, and a LOT of extra padding was added). I have heard since that musical instrument strings are verboten as carry-on articles (apparently to prevent musicians from garroting anyone), but from a CHECKED bag? And why take three strings and leave the others (plus another complete set)?

        I suppose a government guitar would go to eleven, too. When it was set on six.
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        • Posted by Robbie53024 11 years, 2 months ago
          Plus, you would be required to purchase a "supervisor" guitar, and "union steward" guitar would be required to be on-site. All musicians would be required to chip in to fund the music studies of other, less fortunate musicians.
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  • Posted by $ Susanne 11 years, 2 months ago
    Just looked... seems all the retailers have sold out. Between the build options and the unique history, the price was a steal.

    Kudos to Gibson for standing true to their principles, and not folding to the looter's lack of same.
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  • Posted by MikeJoyous 11 years, 2 months ago
    The Gibson folks lost a third of a million bucks to the Feds. The big point for me, though, is that their competitors, who donated to a politician named Obama, received no citations, no fines, though they used the same exotic wood. Can't the government be sued for unequal application of the law?
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  • Posted by RobertFl 11 years, 2 months ago
    That "Government Crap" is fertilizer and promotes growth. I'm sure Gibson's sales are up due to the actions of the government, which in turn stimulated the economy.
    That's my spin.
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    • Posted by $ Susanne 11 years, 2 months ago
      And the dotgov will, of course, spin their discrimination of Conservatives into somehow taking credit for stimulating the economy. There is no end to the insidiousness of these people...
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      Posted by Boborobdos 11 years, 2 months ago
      I have to agree Robert. Just like with gun sales Gibson has taken advantage of a market niche of panic among wild claims. Hey... If folks buy willingly on the basis of politics instead of music quality who am I to argue?
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