Gibson CEO Slams “Big Liberal” Obama After Speech: “He’s Done Untold Damage to Business”

Gateway Pundit ^ | September 9,2011 | Jim Hoft

[Hojczyk]

Gibson Guitar Henry Juszkiewicz was invited to Obama’s speech to Congress tonight. (TPM)

Gibson Guitar Corp. CEO Henry Juszkiewicz slammed “big liberal” Obama after his partisan speech to Congress tonight. The Corner reported:

Henry Juszkiewicz, the chief executive officer of Gibson Guitar Corp., tells National Review Online that President Obama, a “big liberal,” has done “untold damage to business” and should not be applauded for his jobs speech. ”He’s a government fan,” he says. “He has a problem with successful businesses. He thinks they’re the problem, that they shouldn’t be quite as successful.”

“He is using the levers of government to not only redistribute, but to penalize,” he adds. “I see a difference between what he said and what he’s doing.”

Gibson has been under federal investigation in recent months, reportedly for its importation practices. Juskiewicz blames the Obama administration for causing his company, an iconic American brand, to lose money and lawyer up.

“We’re under attack,” Juskiewicz says. “It’s pretty interesting to see that one of the points in Obama’s speech was to cut back regulationand promote jobs, when, in fact, he’s done just the opposite with us.

Right on, Henry. We are all with you brother.

[Scoutmaster]

I’ve told my wife that if the Internet had been around when I was a kid I would gave been in a band playing guitar.

I agree with you point on the Internet, and tabs and lessons.

Remember working by sound for hours on a lick? Now you can find it on YouTube (good and bad versions), sites like www.guitarinstructor.com (a great site, if you've never seen it, but not free - check out the video songs and styles lessons), or tab sites.

Enjoy your guitars.

[Scoutmaster]

Listen to these all the way through.

Wow. That's nice.

Do you play baritone guitar?

[Dick Vomer]

No. Just tune my Taylor as low as it can go without buzzing. I got the capo he's using and working my way through the song. I picked up two Tommy Emmanuel songs like that, but the tapping this guy does is hard without the baritone. Emmanuel's harmonics are the hard thing, but once again the Internet has Tommy himself showing you how to do it. It's so amazing how artists write this music. Even old Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins and SRV are there in person playing their licks, talking about what their setup is and showing how they pop their licks. We live in great times musically.

Tommy E.

Tommy E.

[Scoutmaster]

Some fingerstyle stuff is just amazing.

I look at Andy McKee and Tommy Emmanuel and then remember all of the posters saying "Gibson is the only guitar manufacturer in a right-to-work state."

My thought was - buddy, you must be placing some silent floor on the number or dollar volume of production in that statement, because there are so many outstanding small luthiers, and some are in right-to-work states (Collings and Gallagher come immediately to mind). People would be stunned at how many performers don't play Martins or Gibsons. I can remember when James Taylor went to Lowden and then on to Olson. Or Doc Watson playing Gallaghers.

As far as I can tell, Andy McKee is playing a Lance McCollum Baritone guitar in those videos. I've seen McCollums, but never a baritone, so I looked one up. I'd never heard of him (but will be buying his CDs), but in other videos and pictures he seems to be playing a non-Baritone Avalon or (more often) a Greenfield. Tiny luthiers.

Tommy Emmanuel? No matter how hard I tried to place that guitar, I couldn't. I had to cheat and Google. Turns out it's a Maton, made in Australia. I feel better now. It helps explain why I've never seen one.

Thanks for introducing me to these artists.

And I'm a big fan of Shubb capos, too. I can live with a Kyser, but a Shub just fits more precisely. And in some cases, I use a one of the different

[Dick Vomer]

Wow. I’m looking at my Taylor right now with a Schub and a keyser capo. I tried to saw off a Keyser to make It fit like the Schub. Not FUNNY how
I nearly tore up my Taylor’s neck. You r exactly correct about the Lance McCollum I just don’t trust sending my money overseas. Not that I don’t trust the Luthier but I don’t trust the shippers. Could you imagine getting a pile of toothpicks and chicken wire instead of you 18-24 month wait multi thousand dollar guitar. I’d have to be institutionalized. Hahahaha

[Scoutmaster]

Lance McCollum made his guitars in California, so there wouldn't be an 'overseas' or wait involved . . . but he died in February 2009. You would have to settle for a used McCollum.

They're priced like highly sought-after guitars by a single luthier. Dream Guitars in Asheville, NC has two used McCollum baritones in stock - in the $8,000 to $10,000 range. I'll pass on those (so you can buy both of them), but I'd buy one before I'd buy one of Gibson's $15,000 John Lennon 70th Birthday "self-portrait" J-160e models.

I'm sorry about the neck of your Taylor.

[Scoutmaster]

What are your thoughts on Mossman and Santa Cruz acoustic guitars as investments?

I'm sorry; I somehow missed your post earlier, or I would have responded earlier.

First, realize that I'm a collector and not a guitar investor. I think there's a fine difference. Second, I'm hesitant to identify any 'brand' as an investment, as opposed to a particular model.

Guitars by small companies, like Mossman, don't have a history of going up in value. There's a chance that they may be considered a very special guitar some day. I honestly am not familiar with Mossman.

However, there a lot of high quality small luthiers, so the chances of any one of them becoming the next Stradivarius is slim. There's a place near Asheville, NC, called Dream Guitars, that specializes in carrying high-quality guitars by individual luthiers or small companies. They also carry the standards like Martin, Collings, Gibson - and Santa Cruz. Here's a listing of Santa Cruz guitars that are or were in stock at Dream Guitars. Scroll to the bottom of the page and look at how many guitar companies and individual luthiers Dream Guitars represents.

When most of those luthiers are dead or their companies are gone, virtually nobody will be seeking their guitars. For a few of these luthiers? There will be a fevered market whenever one of their guitars is available for sale.

Santa Cruz makes very nice guitars and some will appreciate in value. When they were the 'hot' guitar 20+ years ago, I thought they were overpriced at the time. Since then, I think the prices have equalized with the comparable quality of guitars on the market. But I'd play one Santa Cruz and think 'wow' and then another and think 'what's supposed to be so special?"

It's the same with virtually all guitars within a brand. Most are good. Some are great. Some . . . shall we say . . . "don't live up to expectations."

And all of this is just my opinion. And Mrs. Scoutmaster would tell you that my opinion is not worth much.

[Dick Vomer]

I know, that's what I'm dealing with here... 8,000.00 for a guitar. I know it'll sound beautiful. I know that I would play it every day for the rest of my life unless my hands fell off. But with 4 kids in or entering college.... ugghhh... I need to just find a 1-2,000.00 baritone guitar, but I'm afraid to just settle.

The guitar has a short neck, almost like a standard guitar so it allows you to hold it and play it comfortably but with the ability to tune down to a B.

I guess it's just nice to have dreams, right? Who knows, maybe in a couple of years when the kids are out of the house and weddings and grandkids and ........ hahahahahahaha... you see the dilemma. I'm just to cheap.

[Scoutmaster]

Yardstick:

I've been thinking and want to be certain you understand that I don't consider myself an expert on guitars.

I know quite a bit about guitars, but I'm not an expert and I'm certain there are those on Free Republic who know more.

In particular, I don't even pretend to have seen or heard of 75% of the luthiers on Dream Guitars' list. I'm certain there are those on Free Republic who are luthiers themselves who are familiar with many more.

I know something about the guitar industry and I've followed it for years, but there are those on Free Republic who know more about it.

When these second raids on Gibson occurred, I was somebody who knew about guitars and the guitar industry, who knows some executives and others still fairly high within the industry, who is a lawyer who has read the pleadings in the ongoing civil case against Gibson, who . . . .

Well, I wasn't an expert on anything, but I knew more than the normal amount about so many areas that I immediately could tell that Gibson's press releases were carefully worded releases that left out key details. When bloggers began to jump on the story, I could tell that they hadn't done much research, that they were lacking in background on the story, and were simply taking Gibson's press releases as fact. They were also just flat-out wrong on many facts . . . . and yet the things they said that were wrong were being parroted by other bloggers and Free Republic members.

I was amazed when Juszkiewicz - who never blamed the first raid on Obama on the Obama DOJ - suddenly started playing to the conservative press ONLY AFTER the conservative blogosphere began with the Obama/DOJ conspiracy theories. He saw an opportunity - and took advantage of it.

From my first post, I've been trying to tell people "those are corporate press releases, folks, read them with a grain of salt and do some research."

If in the process I gave the impression that I'm an expert on guitars, then I apologize. I didn't mean to do so. I know my segment of guitars well, but I'm not an expert and there are many others on Free Republic who know more about guitars than I do.

I think that I have a unique view on the Gibson situation as somebody who didn't just start following it with these last raids, and who didn't just start learning about Henry Juszkiewicz with these last raids, or about the problems with Madagascar rosewood and ebony in the last couple of weeks.

I'd love to see a Mossman guitar sometime.

And, by the way, cherry sunburst is my favorite finish on a Les Paul, followed by a Gold Top.

[Yardstick]

Yeah, no worries. I was asked the question about Mossman and Santa Cruz on a whim mainly.

RE the Gibson thing — I can’t tell what’s going on there. I initially took Juszkiewicz’s side full force, but now I’m a little more wary of what he’s up to. We’ll have to see how it pans out.

[Yardstick]

I was asked...