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I hope those where fakes!! I gotta say seeing guitars get squished and ruined made me kinda uneasy... I was cringing, stomach flip and flop uneasy...

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Firebird X

Henry's folly.  The answer to a question that nobody was asking.

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I watched this on the You Tube page and I saw 2 people who were saying they were the real thing, apparently a 'Firebird X' model.  I've not heard of it myself but then I've never taken an interest in Firebirds - viewing in full screen mode there is an 'X' motif as the 5th fret marker.   If they're definitely the real thing it sort of feels like Gibson is giving mother nature the finger a bit, I mean if the wood has been harvested then it should be used, not bulldozered.  One or two of the other comments on YT gave me a grin, e.g.  'Gibson continues their public relations juggernaut' and ' New heavy relic method ? '  Interesting to see two posts arrive on this board on the same night, one where Peavey is auctioning off a ton of surplus to requirement stuff and Gibson is doing this instead.  It doesn't exactly do their image much good, they could have been sold off cheap, or donated to state school music depts, that would have been better PR ?

 

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What a waste. I know the aren't particularly good guitars but they ARE, or at least were, servicable instruments. There are a lot of young people who can't afford even a cheap guitar. How about donating these to a program that teaches music? There are a couple programs in my area that give lessons to kids and vets living in homeless shelters or who attend classes at the Y or community centers. Get the young'uns interested in playing so us old guys have someone to sell ours to wgen we finally hang it up.

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30 minutes ago, HamerDave said:

What a waste. I know the aren't particularly good guitars but they ARE, or at least were, servicable instruments. There are a lot of young people who can't afford even a cheap guitar. How about donating these to a program that teaches music? There are a couple programs in my area that give lessons to kids and vets living in homeless shelters or who attend classes at the Y or community centers. Get the young'uns interested in playing so us old guys have someone to sell ours to wgen we finally hang it up.

My thoughts exactly. Many may not have liked that guitar, but other would have enjoyed learning to play with one. 

 

Did they have a meeting at Gibson to decide how we can screw up more then the "we know who you r are video" ? I think they have topped it!

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7 hours ago, JGale said:

That just seems like an asshole thing to do. Jussayin.

I'm with you. Not as assholeish as Fender destroying all the Hamer stuff, but still pretty stupid.

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If there's one thing I hate, it's a missed opportunity.

All of those guitars should have been plugged in and feeding back at a high volume.
In a Townshend-like crescendo, they would one-by-one get crushed and muted, and when the carnage was completed, the tractor idles and then turns off as well.

And then an ominous silence.

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John Hiatt said it best: There outta be a law with no bail. Smash a guitar and you go to jail. With no chance for early parole. You don't get out 'til you get some soul.

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12 minutes ago, kizanski said:

If there's one thing I hate, it's a missed opportunity.

All of those guitars should have been plugged in and feeding back at a high volume.
In a Townshend-like crescendo, they would one-by-one get crushed and muted, and when the carnage was completed, the tractor idles and then turns off as well.

And then an ominous silence.

They tried to, but couldn't find enough Goldtone amps that worked.

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The lengths that corporations will go to "protect the brand"...
They could have donated them, but then you have hundreds of guitars on the secondary market not up to Gibson's demanding standards.

Now I will remove my tongue from my cheek.
Maybe they should focus on making better guitars that play well, instead of these monstrosities. The Firebird X?
 

gtfo.jpg

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Guys - simply donating these was really not a viable option - that’s not how corporations work.  Gibson spend millions (reportedly) on the R&D and production of these turdful instruments, they tried to force them on an unreceptive dealer and customer base, and ultimately, had to recall and store a TON of these unsold abominations in a warehouse...for years.

This is all an incredibly expensive proposition, and while I’m sure it seems super easy to just box these up and send them to inner city or depressed rural school music programs, that’s not the way that works either.  There’s a research cost involved with that, paperwork and labor expense and also determining what (if any) potential tax implications exist - favorable or not.  In the end, it is far more fiscally and justifiable to write them off as a loss, which requires them being declared unfit/unsafe, and then destroying them.  

This has been going on for years, and Gibson isn’t the only musical instrument company that does/has done this.  I’ve seen pallets of stringed instruments heading for the crusher/dumpster in New Hartford, seen nearly perfect, expensive  PRS guitars get band-sawed, and much more (yet, somehow, Heritage and Carvin still sent out their crap, but I digress...😆).

At the end of the day, it’s a corporate financial decision, and emotions and charitable thoughts have no place in that realm.

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3 hours ago, kizanski said:

If there's one thing I hate, it's a missed opportunity.

All of those guitars should have been plugged in and feeding back at a high volume.
In a Townshend-like crescendo, they would one-by-one get crushed and muted, and when the carnage was completed, the tractor idles and then turns off as well.

And then an ominous silence.

That would ruin some really good cables.

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53 minutes ago, cmatthes said:

Guys - simply donating these was really not a viable option - that’s not how corporations work.  Gibson spend millions (reportedly) on the R&D and production of these turdful instruments, they tried to force them on an unreceptive dealer and customer base, and ultimately, had to recall and store a TON of these unsold abominations in a warehouse...for years.

This is all an incredibly expensive proposition, and while I’m sure it seems super easy to just box these up and send them to inner city or depressed rural school music programs, that’s not the way that works either.  There’s a research cost involved with that, paperwork and labor expense and also determining what (if any) potential tax implications exist - favorable or not.  In the end, it is far more fiscally and justifiable to write them off as a loss, which requires them being declared unfit/unsafe, and then destroying them.  

This has been going on for years, and Gibson isn’t the only musical instrument company that does/has done this.  I’ve seen pallets of stringed instruments heading for the crusher/dumpster in New Hartford, seen nearly perfect, expensive  PRS guitars get band-sawed, and much more (yet, somehow, Heritage and Carvin still sent out their crap, but I digress...😆).

At the end of the day, it’s a corporate financial decision, and emotions and charitable thoughts have no place in that realm.

A term we in the accounting world use with food and other "perishables" is spoilage.  Keeps Cost of Goods Sold from taking a charge and increasing the profit.  Yup...

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And in a few years, they will collectable by Gibson addicts...worth $$$$.

1 hour ago, cmatthes said:

  In the end, it is far more fiscally and justifiable to write them off as a loss, which requires them being declared unfit/unsafe, and then destroying them. 

And just watch how Gibson addicts will make them "collectable" and skyrocket in "value."

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