It looks like there are a bunch of FReepers that suffer from the home-wrecking and heartbreaking sickness known as G.A.S. To those who experience this as an unknown phenomenon rejoice! Your demon has a name: Gear Acquisition Syndrome. There is no cure. There are support forums for us GAS sufferers, but they are not always supportive of our political view. Some would even use the power of government to limit your right to use guitars in self defense, and even go so far as to threaten (non-union) guitar manufacturers.
How about we, as Freepers who love guitars and guitar music post to this thread (or we can start fresh) advising other FReepers how we deal with our delicate and often expensive condition? Perhaps even a ping list.
I am having a severe GAS attack even now. It is extreme and is without direction. This could be serious. I am sitting here, white knuckled fighting off the urge for a green sparkle Tele. Almost bought an Evil Robot amp as a diversion, and a friend is saying there is no amp other than a Dr. Z ZWRECK (with the right NOS tubes). Perhaps I should go out and rake leaves. This could be a big one!
Thank you all for your support!
bk? I'm severely affected by G.A.S., but we'll have to agree to disagree on the other Gibson issues in a friendly way.
Due to a seriously bad decision I made in my youth, I'm an attorney (yes, I apologize), and I had been following the 2009 raid on Gibson, and the civil forfeiture lawsuit (U.S. v. Ebony Wood in Assorted Forms, Case No. 3-10-cv-00747 (U.S. Dist. Ct., Mid. Dist. Tenn)) since before the August 24, 2011 raids on Gibson and the Red Arrow Delivery Service warehouse.
There are sixty-eight pleadings in that case, including some sworn admissions by Gibson, and there's no doubt in my mind that Gibson knew it was doing something illegal in 2009. It simply got caught. The internal Gibson emails and reports are damning.
I've commented on the case, but here's one summary of the 2009 situation with a link to a couple of the key documents: Link.
I don't think the government's case in the 2011 raids is workable, but all of the stories on it leave out details. This explains some of the shady issues with the import of East Indian ebony, but not all.