What the hell is going on here - Gibson destruction

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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11413
    Rabs said:
    This is an official response from Gibson about this video

    https://i.imgur.com/9s2EJ5R.png
    'Unsafe' components?  Really?

    So there wasn't a single pickup, switch or bridge that could be removed and repurposed?  And not only that, these 'unsafe' components were finding their way onto guitars over a period of two years?
    That would have read a lot better if they had just finished that sentence with unsalvageable and not bothered with the rest.
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16546
    edited August 2019
    10 years ago Gibson makes a rather unconventional guitar with technology that was already out of date at the time of release.   They sell almost none of them.

    Fast forward 10 years and hundreds of them now have "unsafe components"???    That tech was a lot worse than we feared!   I assume any FB-X's they did sell are now also unsafe.  This vid must be a significant proportion of the whole productions run.   is a product recall needed, or did they not actually sell any to recall?


    Does anyone else think it was intended to be seen as a new CEO making a point about one of the last CEO's most questionable releases?



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  • stonevibestonevibe Frets: 7082
    edited August 2019
    Didn't they also destroy all the Authentic Hendrix guitars a few years back?

    Win a Cort G250 SE Guitar in our Guitar Bomb Free UK Giveaway 


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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9984
    tFB Trader
    I'm assuming the unsafe components were the lithium batteries ... about the only thing in a Firebird X that could be deemed unsafe. Sooooooooo crushing lithium batteries is a complete no no ... so they must have removed them prior to crushing ... in which case the guitars were perfectly safe to be re purposed or recycled conventionally. If they didn't remove the lithium batteries then they effectively produced toxic waste with their little stunt.
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    My late friend had a Firebird X which was so unsafe he was simultaneously decapitated and electrocuted by it.
    Gibson have taken a responsible course of action that could potentially save hundreds of lives.
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  • This was almost certainly done to avoid royalty payments. Converse destroy 1000s of shoes every year to avoid paying royalties on un sold stock.
    Its a disgusting practice 
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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22516
    Sassafras said:
    My late friend had a Firebird X which was so unsafe he was simultaneously decapitated and electrocuted by it.
    Gibson have taken a responsible course of action that could potentially save hundreds of lives.
    I wish I could multi-lol that.
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  • NeilNeil Frets: 3594
    This was almost certainly done to avoid royalty payments. Converse destroy 1000s of shoes every year to avoid paying royalties on un sold stock.
    Its a disgusting practice 
    As I said previously, it's industry practice.

    The Gibson film has simply highlighted to some guitarists who were probably unaware,  something that is endemic in all industries.

    Stuff that is destroyed can be written off against tax.




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  • 5redlights5redlights Frets: 317
    That letter is total bollocks. 

    There are easier and quicker ways to get rid of guitars that are un-salvageable. Lining them up and crushing them with heavy machinery was absolutely intended as a PR stunt, that they obviously changed their minds about at the time. 

    The best course of action would have been to hold their hands up/Blame Henry and make a charitable donation/gesture of some sort. 
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  • Switch625Switch625 Frets: 576
    Oh man that is heartbreaking. "Unsafe components"?! They couldn't use anything out of those guitars... right...

    But I'm guessing other manufacturers do the same?
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    In other news, African children die from dysentery and typhoid from unsafe drinking water.
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  • zepp76zepp76 Frets: 2534
    edited August 2019
    crunchman said:
    Rabs said:
    This is an official response from Gibson about this video

    https://i.imgur.com/9s2EJ5R.png
    'Unsafe' components?  Really?

    So there wasn't a single pickup, switch or bridge that could be removed and repurposed?  And not only that, these 'unsafe' components were finding their way onto guitars over a period of two years?
    That would have read a lot better if they had just finished that sentence with unsalvageable and not bothered with the rest.
    That letter is a complete cop out, no matter what they have donated that kind of waste is unacceptable in this day and age. There must have been something they could have done with the guitars or parts, just how could so many guitars be deemed unsafe? Is their QC so bad that this has become normal behaviour? 
    Tomorrow will be a good day.
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  • NeilNeil Frets: 3594
    zepp76 said:
    crunchman said:
    Rabs said:
    This is an official response from Gibson about this video

    https://i.imgur.com/9s2EJ5R.png
    'Unsafe' components?  Really?

    So there wasn't a single pickup, switch or bridge that could be removed and repurposed?  And not only that, these 'unsafe' components were finding their way onto guitars over a period of two years?
    That would have read a lot better if they had just finished that sentence with unsalvageable and not bothered with the rest.
    That letter is a complete cop out, no matter what they have donated that kind of waste is unacceptable in this day and age. There must have been something they could have done with the guitars or parts, just how could so many guitars be deemed unsafe? Is their QC so bad that this has become normal behaviour? 
    Didn't they run using Windows Vista or something?

    When electronics are old fashioned they go into the skip. Go to your local dump and see the big piles of old computers there. 

    It is obviously cheaper to scrap that old Firebird X crap completely and build new models, some of which will be going to good causes.

    The electronics are obviously of no use so you are just left with wood.

    Think how much wood is burnt by people with their trendy wood burning stoves nowadays.
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  • World's response to that letter- Dear Gibson, just stop digging.
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  • JayGeeJayGee Frets: 1254
    WezV said:
    10 years ago Gibson makes a rather unconventional guitar with technology that was already out of date at the time of release.   They sell almost none of them.

    Fast forward 10 years and hundreds of them now have "unsafe components"???    That tech was a lot worse than we feared!   I assume any FB-X's they did sell are now also unsafe.  This vid must be a significant proportion of the whole productions run.   is a product recall needed, or did they not actually sell any to recall?

    I wonder how many of them were customer/dealer warranty returns...

    I agree this was a silly piece of theatre, and a bandsaw would have been more dignified but I really can’’t think much content was genuinely re-usable, and while I’m sure you could get something playable (and at least interesting) out of them after stripping the dubious electronics and swapping out the robo-tuners I can absolutely see why they wouldn’t want to run the risk of a lash-up like that escaping into the wild in any form identifiable with the Gibson brand. Mind you Fender have form for salvaging aborted products with things like the Swinger/Musiclander/Arrow and Custom/Maverick so maybe with sufficient imagination and a good enough poker face...




    Don't ask me, I just play the damned thing...
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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11413
    JayGee said:
    WezV said:
    10 years ago Gibson makes a rather unconventional guitar with technology that was already out of date at the time of release.   They sell almost none of them.

    Fast forward 10 years and hundreds of them now have "unsafe components"???    That tech was a lot worse than we feared!   I assume any FB-X's they did sell are now also unsafe.  This vid must be a significant proportion of the whole productions run.   is a product recall needed, or did they not actually sell any to recall?

    I wonder how many of them were customer/dealer warranty returns...

    I agree this was a silly piece of theatre, and a bandsaw would have been more dignified but I really can’’t think much content was genuinely re-usable, and while I’m sure you could get something playable (and at least interesting) out of them after stripping the dubious electronics and swapping out the robo-tuners I can absolutely see why they wouldn’t want to run the risk of a lash-up like that escaping into the wild in any form identifiable with the Gibson brand. Mind you Fender have form for salvaging aborted products with things like the Swinger/Musiclander/Arrow and Custom/Maverick so maybe with sufficient imagination and a good enough poker face...




    Even the bodies weren't routed like normal Firebird bodies.  There would have to be extra cavities for all the electronics, batteries and switching.  They wouldn't be much use to recycle.

    I suspect that the switches and electronics would have been PCB mount as well, so not a lot of use in salvaging them.

    The pickups and tuners would be the only thing that might be realistically savalgeable - even if they create an anonymous account and flog them on Feebay.

    It was still a silly piece of theatre though.

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  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    Just to be clear, it's not a PR stunt from Gibson. Listen to what the guy who made the video says.



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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11413
    Philtre said:
    Just to be clear, it's not a PR stunt from Gibson. Listen to what the guy who made the video says.



    If that guy is telling the truth, then Gibson were lying about when that happened when they said it was 2009 - 2011.
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  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    crunchman said:
    If that guy is telling the truth, then Gibson were lying about when that happened when they said it was 2009 - 2011.
    No, they said the guitars were built in 2009-2011.
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  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    New video of destruction here. No Sherman tanks this time, just feet:



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