Gibson have finally, finally lost it.

[Matt77]

I've said plenty about what I don't like about Gibson before.
I like the fact they let people leave such negative comments on their official website. Some are quite amusing

[Philly Q]

Well OK, let's try to get some positives....

I don't hate the body shape
The pickups, in themselves, look cool
The case is really nice!

The electronics don't appeal to me personally, but I (hesitantly) applaud Gibson for trying to embrace new technology... the controls for all that gubbins were always going to look unwieldy, but I hate the multi-coloured switches and knobs (and those shiteous chrome surrounds on the switches).  :?

What I really can't forgive, as always, are the cosmetics - why do they have to throw everything but the kitchen sink at it?  Abalone inlays which don't match anything else on the guitar.  A silly truncated headstock (why is it bound when nothing else is?).  And just for the hell of it, why not experiment with some wildly figured fingerboard wood which totally destroys any last vestige of the sleek, hi-tech look they were presumably aiming for?

If that was in black, with an unadorned ebony board and the chrome hardware, it would still look like a toy but at least it might appeal to somebody.

[WezV]

i think they should have put the same technology in a new version of the Gibson RD Artist.

pay homage to your history while still trying to push things forward... and at least the RD already has its fans.

It would still split the crowd - but not alienate the whole crowd

now use this new (not a) firebird shape on some £400 retro styled guitars with some split scratchplate design and it may just work

[Philly Q]

i think they should have put the same technology in a new version of the Gibson RD Artist.

pay homage to your history while still trying to push things forward... and at least the RD already has its fans.

And it already had some weird electronics.

You're right, good idea.

[Ratrod]

This is the first time I actually cried over the death of a tree.

[Plexi Ken]

i think they should have put the same technology in a new version of the Gibson RD Artist.

pay homage to your history while still trying to push things forward... and at least the RD already has its fans.

It would still split the crowd - but not alienate the whole crowd

now use this new (not a) firebird shape on some £400 retro styled guitars with some split scratchplate design and it may just work

I agree, make it simple and you could have an interesting alternative/punk type guitar. Like Philly, I'm not sure I like the shape but I don't hate it. Firebird pickups just look so cool  8)

[Stevepage]

You've just witnessed the death of Gibson. The video of the launch was painfully pathetic. Gibson almost went under in the 80's but I wouldn't be surprised if there's going to be a slow and painful death of the company in the coming years.

Actually, Gibson already started going down hill a couple of years ago.

[hunter]

They've lost it with the Hendrix Strat, the Zoot SG, the Dark Tiger as well as 8,000$ Historic Les Pauls :x

They've lost it long time ago unfortunately.

[PPPMAT]

They seem to be hell bent on producing something groundbreaking. The electric guitar was groundbreaking in the 50's and they innovated at that time but many of the parameters of the modern electric guitar were set then so the scope to produce something totally different is much reduced.

I understand what they are trying to do but the market doesn't want it or isn't ready for it and the aesthetics are not the best.

There is nothing innovative about what Fender have done over the last few years but you have to say as a business they have succeeded

[bucketshred]

Fender haven't innovated, they've just always provided the customer with what they want.

Paddy

[Ted 'N' Leo]

Oh dear. I guess after the Les Paul Tributes they had to balance out the wackiness somehow.

[WezV]

awful

what a mistake

but it does have 23 frets ;)

[JDC]

Dear Gibson,

Instead of making utter rubbish why not build some LPs with spalted maple and other nice tops, you'd shift a load.

[MDV]

You would think that anyone with sense would look at what guitar players want from gibson and do that.

Top requests, you see them all the time
- Better QC
- More affordable models with the 'gibson' stamp on them

And what they consistently do is...well, this. Utterly demented, absurd shite. If someone told me that Henry was having a big joke, or that he hated the company and that his dad used to beat him with an SG as a child and hes dedicated his life to destroying Gibosn from within by making it a laughing stock, synonymous with really, really bad guitars and really, really bad ideas then I'd believe them without a single problem.

Its like they're still in 1957 and Leo Fenders words are ringing in their ears 'you dont do anything new' and they're trying to repeat the V and explorer again and again. Plus they're obvioulsy WAY too close to the jack daniels distilery.

[Telerocker]

Tonally interesting, looks, uggghhhhh