RE: Gibson Guitars, the end of an era
I can agree with everything you said in this piece. I think the main reason fender has outlasted Gibson in this regard is the fact that they have turned themselves into (and I am paraphrasing another writer) a lifestyle and marketing company that happens to sell guitars. And they have been more effective at this than Gibson.
One of the things that kept these companies alive was the fact that, for decades, popular music was guitar-driven, and this just isn't the case anymore. I think some companies will survive and maybe even thrive and hopefully we will get some cool new guitars and innovations. As much as I adore the classics like Fender and Gibson, people's obsession with them and their outdated designs have really hampered innovation in the guitar market (in my opinion). Guitars will survive. Many less popular genres will still rely on them. And if they ever have their heyday again, maybe it will be led by newer companies, offering us innovations that are newer and better than the old guys could have ever done (without alienating their fan base, anyway).
That observation about fender is right on the nail... never saw it that way before, so whoever came up with that is a genius...
Being one of those who resisted a little bit, I mean... I make guitars myself, from scratch.... I just never saw, never will see the benefit in making a guitar that tunes itself.
There are things that can be done with an autotuning guitar, like changing tunings on the fly, that aren't possible manually. Self-tuning guitars is an idea I independently came up with in 1980, but hadn't the wherewithal or chops to bring to market.
Technology will continue to add features indefinitely. The skill to play will always be desirable to some folks, even long after musical tastes change.
I definitely see where you are coming from with the changing the tuning on the fly. Also, I I could see how it would be beneficial in an on-stage setting to save time if you have to tune in the middle of the set. There is nothing worse than dead air. Perhaps I had not given the topic enough thought. Thanks.
I guess... but I hate them... I'm not even trying to be weird about it... I dont tune my guitar in tune... I always mess with the B string, i like it a little flat... Why? Idk, but that's when it sounds good to me...
When I tune an open G I like the High String a tiny bit sharp... just a few cents... if i dont do these things I cant stand the recordings...
I don't even use a tuner. Never have.
Haha. Yeah, I am with ya on the self tuning.
I don't remember what article it was from. It was something about Strats vs Strat copies. I bought a (used) strat style guitar recently and was reading all I could leading up to it.
Ultimately, I went with a G&l legacy. It just seemed better than a fender for the same price-point. It had a better build quality, a better vibrato system, a better (and more innovative) tone control system, and it had a flatter fretboard (which I am a fan of). Despite all of this I still struggled a bit with my choice, just because Fender is so ingrained in my brain.