Quote:
Originally Posted by Robbie
And yet....other guitar manufacturers were not bothered at all.
THAT is the point you are missing Mark.
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That's not true. Fender was also raided:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thereco...ice-department
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robbie
Gibson's CEO was an outspoken Republican Party donor. And he was targeted for that reason.
Since you didn't take time to read:
"In one raid, the feds hauled away ebony fingerboards, alleging they violated Madagascar law. Gibson responded by obtaining the sworn word of the African island's government that no law had been broken.
In another raid, the feds found materials imported from India, claiming they too moved across the globe in violation of Indian law. Gibson's response was that the feds had simply misinterpreted Indian law.
Interestingly, one of Gibson's leading competitors is C.F. Martin & Co. According to C.F. Martin's catalog, several of their guitars contain "East Indian Rosewood," which is the exact same wood in at least 10 of Gibson's guitars. So why were they not also raided and their inventory of foreign wood seized?
Grossly underreported at the time was the fact that Gibson's chief executive, Henry Juszkiewicz, contributed to Republican politicians. Recent donations have included $2,000 to Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and $1,500 to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
By contrast, Chris Martin IV, the Martin & Co. CEO, is a long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee over the past couple of election cycles."
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Why would you say I didn't take the time to read it? I did.
What I am suggesting is that politics had nothing to do with this, for a couple of reasons. First, it's a pretty small amount of money to be politically motivated. But the main reason is that the law is the law is the law.
It's also a small enough amount to probably not damage the company much. What Gibson's main problem is, is cheap competition from China.
Lots of people still like to buy guitars (despite the abundance of electronic music). You and I both own guitars after all.
I own 1 guitar that I bought about 4 years ago. The Gibsons and Fenders were out of my price range, especially since I was just beginning to play, so I bought a guitar off the rack that (a) looked nice, and (b) sounded nice, and (c) was comfortable, in that order. It's made in China. I suspect that others like me buy guitars for the same reason.
Is it good? It seems so. Do I like the sound? Hell Yes. (I can play the piss out of Rammstein's "Du Hast"!) Is it good by your standards? I wouldn't know but probably not. You're an expert on this of course and I am amateur.
Rock on.