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Unfortunately, within two years, Gibson made the High Performance models into untraditional and somewhat blingy parodies of their traditional cousins; nowhere more obvious that the SG with it's flame maple top, absent pick guard, pink burst finish, chrome truss rod & pickup covers, and Richlite fretboards. All the new ownership really did was then drop the 'high performance' name and replace it with 'modern' and swap Richlite for ebony.
I agree, Gibson's new ownership are well aware of where their market is strongest, but I'm not sure they've got their eyes on the ball when it comes to the future. And if they've invested too heavily in satisfying the wealthy boomer collector market, they risk ending up being seen as an irrelevant and boring piece of history to the next generation. I know I didn't grow up wanting to play grandad's guitar...
I agree with all of this — I remember when the HP models went 'bling' and I was instantly turned off. (I also think the name High Performance is silly as it implies that the other guitars are what, low performance?)
I think the naming of Standard/Standard Plus/Standard Premium worked quite well and would have been a good way to do what you're said about Fender, instead of it just being about the grade of top on the Les Paul.
Like for instance you could have a Standard, maybe that's 50's wiring, trad-spec like a regular Standard. The Plus could have the PCB with the new wiring options, and the Premium could have the new wiring options, improved neck heel, asymmetrical neck, that sort of thing. It's clear enough, distinguishes one from the other, and gives traditionalists and contemporary players options.
And I think you're right about the current ownership. I think they've got a lot right, including opening the retail stores, the move into Gibson media, and championing the impressive heritage. But, there needs to be an emphasis on the future and the Modern line currently doesn't fulfil its potential, IMO. That said though, perhaps they're taking the view that instead of trying to be old and new at the same time, they give the brand a shot in the arm with the current activities, and more gradually push Modern to the front. For instance they're adding bold and vibrant colours to the regular Standards now, which could be an early sign of appealing to younger players.
Beat that :-)
Ebay mark7777_1
"You don't know what you've got till the whole thing's gone. The days are dark and the road is long."
I really enjoyed trying different models and as many fellows commented earlier the staff offered me to try any model I wanted. I declined to plug any as I was only interested in the neck profiles. I didn't feel observed as they gave me space and time to try the models. Thing that I really appreciate.
Maybe the negative point is that the staff didn't seem deeply familiar with the specs of the different models but that information is easy to find. And the finish of some of the models had clear flaws, like a tuning wrongly screwed in a 80's Flying V. That would make sense for the testing part but I raised an eyebrow when the staff said they only sell what they have in store.
The Epiphone lads, on the other hand, were... Epiphone? One of them constantly argued that the new 59 is nitro, until he was fact checked by his friend. He was also not aware of the first generation 59 and specs in general. I did get a close look at the new Custom, which had horrible QC issues.
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco