Cue an influx of biker spam to show up in these parts. 

The other issue is there are tons of used Les Paul's out there in great condition. I haven't bought one new in quite sometime.

BobF

drewfx1
Cue an influx of biker spam to show up in these parts. 

OK, here's my last Harley.  Sorry. no parts close-ups
 

That's sure one pretty bike, Bob.

space_cowboy
Same article quoted Steinway's parent as about to go t up.  

Fender wasn't doing so hot either according to the article.

I was talking to a fellow who was involved in marketing at a major instrument manufacturer on my way to NAMM in 2015.  He was saying that sales are *way* off compared to what they were 15 - 20 years ago.  Much of the reason, he assumed, was that the iGeneration had no use for such pursuits as making music (unless it was via a no-investment vehicle like Garage Band).  Very, very sad, IMO.

outland144k

dmbaer
....the iGeneration had no use for such pursuits as making music (unless it was via a no-investment vehicle like Garage Band).  Very, very sad, IMO.

Money's not the only thing the iGen have no interest in investing; the other is time. Immediate gratification is the highest goal for them

That was exactly my point - the time involved.  Maybe I should have said "no-involvement" rather than "no-investment".  Heaven forbid that anything requires that members of the iGeneration take lessons and practice!

Hi,
 
I don't play a guitar so my ability to say something may not sound right.
 
My take on the whole thing? ... since the guitars all look the same and sound the same ... what's the point of making yet another one exactly like the previous one?
 
Been watching a whole bunch of different things, and in a TD video, there was this guy playing an electronic acoustic headless guitar ... and no one talks about that ... or different instruments, that have a very different sound and capacities which could/would/might impress a younger generation into taking one of those into account ... nooooooo ... you have to try and learn the saints go drow'ing in paradise yet again, because most guitar and piano teachers don't know any music beyond 5 songs, right?
 
I think this goes back to one of the Bush's and possibly prior to that, when they started cutting out the artistic budgets so they could finance their own private wars, and we thought that was great for our ego and world emancipation that our membership had more inches than any others!
 
The interest in the arts has dropped so much, that even here in Portland, their Symphony is having a really hard time ... never mind that the guy running it was born in some planet where they only play the top ten, and he thinks that Chick Corea, Frank Zappa, and Keith Jarrett are not composers ... he thinks they are note hackers.
 
All in all, we just have to get rid of this uneducated bunch of politicians out of office and maybe cut down the USC/ND and other big school's football budget in half so we can concentrate on the arts a bit more ... 
 
Oh heck, even Sonar/Cakewalk aren't doing crap about it ... so why should the politicians?
 
BTW, Harley Davidson is also in dire straits, as are many American companies because they went for the big buck a long time ago, and now can not live under that bigger buck ... and are pricing themselves out of the newer generations of folks learning music. 
 
The awe and far-out-ness of what a Les Paul and many others did ... is missing today ... and none of those geeks that created the music programs give a damn, and they need to be shown that ... they are geeks, not artists, or musicians!
 
When we know the difference, I think things will change. Until then ... we will lose a lot more than we can gain!
 

slartabartfast

 
I think I want some of whatever the Mosh is smoking.

That was a fascinating read.

So then, Guitar Center is considering changing its name to Synthesizer Center?
 
I am really going to go out on a limb here, but I am going to put my money on the human voice being the main instrument in music and everything else, will be secondary to accompany the voice.  The guitar happens to be a very efficient instrument in doing so.  
 
Gibson's problem is that it has lost its way; as in what its customers really want and in what they will pay.  2015 was a really bad year for Gibson and they are still trying to recover from it.  They still don't quite seem to understand what the buyer wants, either.  
 
My guess is that they are going to need to scale back to basics and sell off things that are not profitable.  They are going to need to regroup in order to dig out of the hole they dug themselves.  They will probably need to down size and make fewer instruments.  As it has been said, they also need another wave of players coming up from out of the youth.   

*robust*:gen x'rs::*work smarter not harder*:millennials.

.