Taylor Guitars was "chosen" as a competitor of Gibson by conservative bloggers because Bob Taylor is an outspoken environmentalist. Is Gibson's CEO?
"The true wood guitar is disappearing quickly. We need to act now because it just won't be around in 10 years," said Henry Juszkiewicz, the chief executive of Gibson. In 2011. Bob Taylor never says stuff like that.
Gibson is an electric guitar company. Think Les Paul. The SG. B.B. King with his ES-355 variant, which he calls "Lucille." Heck, the acoustics are made way off in Bozeman, MT. They're nice, but that's not Gibson's bread and butter and acoustic manufactures are not Gibson's main competitors. Nobody walks in to buy a Les Paul and walks out with a Taylor or a Martin. Nobody.
In Guitar Center, the Taylors and Martins are back in another room, through doors, with a couple of the Gibsons from Bozeman. There's a wall of Gibson electrics with Fenders. And in a large Guitar Center (like three of them close to me), a room with Gibson and Fender high-ends.
Nobody's mad at him. In 2009, the government went after imports from Theodor Nagel from Madagascar. It just happened that Gibson was the company buying from them. Martin and Taylor didn't after the 'boots on the ground trip.' In 2011, the government went after *one* bogus shipment by LMI. If the government was after Gibson, then it would have snagged the other dozen imports from India by Gibson.
Do you realize that Gibson didn't blame politics and the government until *after* several conservative bloggers who were also wildly against Lacey and the idea of 'illegal wood' posted all of the accusations? And printed lies about Henry J's Republican ties?
And there's no "Gibson" to close his plant. Henry J. and David Berryman own it and the amounts they've lost are tiny compared to revenues. Henry J. played this for press and increased revenues. Sales went through the roof once he starting singing the Tea Party Persecution Blues. And Henry J's laughing all the way to the bank - and giving the money to the Rainforest Alliance, the Clinton Global Initiative, the John Lennon bus museum tour, Democrat Representative Cooper, the poetry slam for diversity, and his other causes.
My objection is that the justice department has seized Gibson assets with out court order or any other legal reason. It is acting as a dictatorial power center in an administration that is pursuing the establishment of a dictatorship through the guise of a people’s socialist “republic.”
Besides, fenders should be on cars, not guitars.