I'm not a big Gibson fan, Fender Strats are my guitars of choice.
I hope that the courts will find in their favor
Who's next? Fender?
Please write your congressman and ask them to repeal or modify the Lacey Act
Thanks
Mike

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1985 Fender Squier Bullet
1987 Kramer Striker
1983 Fender Strat Elite
1995 Fender Strat Plus
2001 Carvin DC127
1999 G&L Legacy
2002 Melancon Classic Artist
2009 Paul Reed Smith SE Singlecut
2010 Fender Deluxe American Strat
2006 Fender MIM Fat Strat

This one, same subject, got out of hand and was locked.

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=60693&start=120

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

My impression was it got locked because political debate is not what we log in here for. I think Brad has enough criteria to allow expression, as this is a relevant subject. But yeah, who wants to see people getting nasty on the Fender site? We never really have enough of the facts to debate properly on these kind of scandals anyway. The Gibson raid is a sad piece of news. We shall have to wait and see. Let us show discipline and integrity, just as we do when talking pickups!

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FIGHT!

Not looking to ruffle feathers just asking everyone to call their senators and congressmen or email like i did and support Gibson's cause.
Not trying to bash anyone.
Gibson's ceo said when asked if any other manufacturers are coming to their aid,
they can help by contacting their representatives and expressing their opinion.
I guess i picked a poor title for this thread
maybe Gibson vs the feds??
again not looking for trouble just trying to help the second most historic guitar manufacturer of all time.
We #1!
Mike

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1985 Fender Squier Bullet
1987 Kramer Striker
1983 Fender Strat Elite
1995 Fender Strat Plus
2001 Carvin DC127
1999 G&L Legacy
2002 Melancon Classic Artist
2009 Paul Reed Smith SE Singlecut
2010 Fender Deluxe American Strat
2006 Fender MIM Fat Strat

Mike, if that's really the intent of your post you need to edit your original post to both change the title and remove some of the more inciteful remarks. Otherwise it's going to result in the same heated political debate that has been causing threads of this nature to be locked on this and other guitar forums all over the Internet.

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Brad
thanks, edited original subject and post hope that works better.
just trying to help the guys out.
Thanks
Mike

_________________
1985 Fender Squier Bullet
1987 Kramer Striker
1983 Fender Strat Elite
1995 Fender Strat Plus
2001 Carvin DC127
1999 G&L Legacy
2002 Melancon Classic Artist
2009 Paul Reed Smith SE Singlecut
2010 Fender Deluxe American Strat
2006 Fender MIM Fat Strat

I won't be writing to my congressman. If Gibson broke the law then they should face the consequences. If FMI (or Gibson) has not broken the law then they have nothing to worry about.

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Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

The problem that I see is there are folks who work for Gibson who don't know what the future holds in store for them...the everyday,40 hour a week guys,I know a couple of them since Gibson/Nashville has quite a few people working there.
It seems like every American company is losing it's workforce to overseas production...or at least somewhere south of the border.
At least in my job we distribute electricity generated in America,whether it be solar,wind,hydro,fossil fuel generated or whatever...someday they might find an alternative,but I'd like to see China generate electricity and ship it here!

As a woodworker, I can see both sides, however, if the feds went in and closed up shop it wasn't without prior warning. This issue goes back quite a long time, it is not all of a sudden.
Question really is when was this issue addressed within Gibson and was it dismissed or was it sent thru the corporate channels.
Now as far as the employee's being out of work...That is a two edge sword, they also have a responsibility in the outcome....You don't work in a guitar building industry without over time being aware of the depletion of certain materials due to excessive un-renewable harvesting methods. That in itself should always have been a concern of everyone employed at Gibson. Not voicing concern at the very least makes one part of the problem not part of seeking a solution.
An Unrefutable fact is that we ( the world ) are depleting our natural rescources faster then natural replenishment can keep up.
To digress a bit, in my industry ( residential/renovation ) we as builders were part of the problem in this current housing morass. We built them cheaply, with no concern for building a home rather than a house. There is a distinctive definition between those two words. The oversupply of unsold new ( meaning built but never occupied ) house's illustrates the point that a speculative piggy bank does not make a very accomodable home. It is just a source of increased revenues....
So the same applies to Gibson...If the focus is on generating revenues at the expense of all else, then the supply of materials or more specifically "Where" that supply originates becomes irrelevant when the bottom line is concerned. Very short term goal which eventually results in long term decline to possible if not probable exterior causes ( like the Feds showing up ).

I'm awaiting to see where this leads, but it illustrates an all too common trait. We know something is not right, nevertheless, we wait until what was once an easily resolved problem, has now reached critical mass and the resulting effect is a devastating scenario. ( personal leverage anyone...??? ).

Once a government agency steps in, it is never a surgical procedure. It is always a wide sweeping measure and the collateral damage is widespread.
This big stone that was thrown in the middle of the pond will affect everyone.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Its not and issue of the wood but who is finishing the wood.

I really hope this whole mess doesn't come down to what the definition of finishing is.

I hate ending a sentence with a preposition. I think there is a joke in there someplace.

No joke intended

+1000

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When fender uses the Indian Rosewood is it completely finished to include inlays and frets by those in India? If so then I guess my Custom Shop strats arn,t completely done in the Custom Shop. Im just asking the question because this seems to be the issue.

why would the Feds raid Gibson since mahogany is a endangered wood species? I use alder all the time for my custom bodies i make since i know how to make guitar bodies. but why would they? mahogany is a beautiful wood. My local music store has a acoustic with the mahogany back and sides

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Musos can be a pain!!!

But if you have 15,000 they will give you free Fenders