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Post subject: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 7:51 am
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Risking flames, but decided to share today's experience.

I have a fake Strat SSS and wanted to buy an Epiphone Les Paul to expand my sonic possibilities. The Les Paul is a beautiful guitar and I've dreamed of one for eons.

But Gibson disappointed me today. I wanted to try different Epis out, so I stopped by at a huge music store. Two floors, everything you can imagine, from violins to electric guitars to drum kits to trumpets... everything. Except Epiphones and Gibsons. I asked why and the answer was that Gibson apparently demands that their products cover at least 60% of the space guitars are allocated. Fender, Ibanez and all the other brands they had make no such demands. Communication is a lot more relaxed. So they gave up on Gibson/Epiphone, focusing their attention on offering all the Fenders they can sell.

Not only was I disappointed that I couldn't try the Epis out and potentially buy one, but the company doesn't sit well with me after this.

Mind you, this is the second store that doesn't stock Epis. The other stated difficulty dealing with Gibson, but this one explained exactly what the problem was.

So, is it going to be a fat Strat instead? A real one? I really don't know. I wanted the Gibson sound, but may turn into a full time Fender man. I hate bullying.


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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:31 am
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VGA wrote:
Gibson apparently demands that their products cover at least 60% of the space guitars are allocated.

Hi VGA: that's odd. I know lots of guitar shops that sell Gibs and Epiphones and not one of them devotes 60% of their space to that brand alone, or anything like. If Gibson are making that demand where I live nobody is paying any attention.

Fenders are great. And Gibsons and Epiphones are great too. And many others. If I were you I wouldn't let one experience in a store put me off owning any and all of them.

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:39 am
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Thanks for the reply, Ceri. I find it a pretty draconian business practise, if true. They'd probably end up with a few dedicated Gibson dealers and the rest wouldn't stock them. No idea if this is all true, but thought I'd share.

As much as I love the Strat, I have this strange idea in my head that it should be SSS and that humbuckers should be taken care of by Les Paul models. Maybe that would change if I had more guitars, but I have one electric and am thinking about a second. Guess one has to start with the classic sounding models.

So, if Fender is listening, here is a birthday wish. A Charcoal Transparent SSS with maple neck. You have three months until my big day to release it. I promise I'll buy it. ;o)


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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:51 am
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VGA wrote:
Thanks for the reply, Ceri. I find it a pretty draconian business practise, if true. They'd probably end up with a few dedicated Gibson dealers and the rest wouldn't stock them. No idea if this is all true, but thought I'd share.

I've a feeling that in my country the 60% thing would constitute a "restrictive practice" and therefore be against competition law. For sure, there are sellers of all kinds of products who concentrate largely or solely on one brand, but I believe it's illegal for a brand to insist upon such an arrangement. It must be the shop's own choice.

I'd have thought that would be the same in your country too - anti-trust legislation? But who knows...


VGA wrote:
As much as I love the Strat, I have this strange idea in my head that it should be SSS and that humbuckers should be taken care of by Les Paul models. Maybe that would change if I had more guitars, but I have one electric and am thinking about a second. Guess one has to start with the classic sounding models.

So, if Fender is listening, here is a birthday wish. A Charcoal Transparent SSS with maple neck. You have three months until my big day to release it. I promise I'll buy it. ;o)

I'm not dogmatic about it, but in a relaxed kind of way I sort of agree with that. Most (not all) of my Strats are SSS, and my LP definitely has to be HH!

Far as a trans-charcoal SSS Strat with a maple neck goes - yes yes yes! The tart in me would like some flamey maple under that trans finish too, please. But that's probably going too far for some folks. :lol:

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:08 am
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It probably would violate some anti-trust regulations. Having said that, it's a common practise in the fizzy drinks world. You sell Coke, you won't be selling fuzz of another brand.

The Strat SSS and LP HH thing is indeed not a strict code. More a "get the classics first".

And Fender, there you have it. Two votes for charcoal maple SSS!


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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:25 am
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I'm thinking it's possible it's not Gibson making that requirement. It might be the distributer who wholesales Gibson to the music stores. For example, here in Canada that distributor is Yorkville. If a store wishes to carry Gibson guitars, Yorkville is the sole distributor so they have to go through them. They may very well require a store to populate their showroom 60% with Yorkville brands, of which Gibson is only one of many. I am going to raise that question the next time I visit my local stores. A couple of them don't carry Gibson and when I asked I remember they said the Gibson distributor had too many restrictions and requirements but at the time I didn't ask what they were.

Yorkville @ Wiki

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Last edited by BMW-KTM on Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:26 am
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Wait a minute - what's this?

Image

Apparently Fender call that finish Ebony Transparent. More black than charcoal, but still. Nice, huh?

Not currently available in the catalog, far as I can see. :(

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:18 am
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That is PRETTY!

Me want!
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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:19 am
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BMW-KTM wrote:
I'm thinking it's possible it's not Gibson making that requirement. It might be the distributer who wholesales Gibson to the music stores. For example, here in Canada that distributor is Yorkville. If a store wishes to carry Gibson guitars, Yorkville is the sole distributor so they have to go through them. They may very well require a store to populate their showroom 60% with Yorkville brands, of which Gibson is only one of many. I am going to raise that question the next time I visit my local stores. A couple of them don't carry Gibson and when I asked I remember they said the Gibson distributor had too many restrictions and requirements but at the time I didn't ask what they were.

Yorkville @ Wiki


That could explain it. Looking forward to your findings.


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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:20 am
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Back on the blacks. A mighty pretty Squire, if you ask me. It does have a rosewood neck and the bulky headstock, but look at that wood!
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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:42 am
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There is a small music store close to me and they don't carry any new gibson guitars. The

owner told me that gibson nowadays deals only with big companies like GC that buy in gig

quantities.

There's probably more to it but, that's a good explanation.

The 60% thing is weird because all the places I know that carry gibsons don't seem to me to

have that much space dedicated to them. Or maybe my judgement of space is bad :lol:

Anyways I love my LP and I'm really happy I got it. :mrgreen:


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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:45 am
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Yeah, whatever the truth is, something smells fishy.


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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:51 am
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It's also conceivable that they simply don't want to have that kind of money tied up in inventory when it puts fewer guitars on display than selling some other brands with lower pricing that will sell faster and make them profit more quickly.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 12:20 pm
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The custom shop had a Ebony Transparent model last year

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Cost a lot more than that Squier though.


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Post subject: Re: Gibson vs Fender
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 12:32 pm
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None of the Mom and Pop shops I deal with have ever told me this. There is a half dozen shops along a half mile stretch locally and four stock Gibson and three of them have been around since the sixty's.

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