The Taylor comments bring an interesting thought to mind. I should preface this by saying I have not played a V-Braced Taylor, and have no pro/con opinion to offer. Not too long ago, I owned a Taylor 916CE that was made the final year before it got “improved” by the new bracing and such. As I had a Martin HD28 that sounded better (though does not play as well), I decided to sell it. A buyer contacted me with many questions amounting to “does it not have any of the new options.” He said he tried the new ones, hated them, and he wanted to find a “good” one while he still could. Once assured it was a Bob T original design, he snapped it up. He contacted me when it arrived, and he was elated with the guitar.
I expect that, even if the first Gibba-Boogie is the best sounding amplifier ever constructed, it will get horrible reviews and much bad press (especially in the cesspool that is social media these days) regardless. Gibson has no one but themselves to look to for their reputation, good or bad, and the overwhelming commentary has been negative. But even if a respected amp maker like Morgan, Friedman, or even PRS took them over, it’s going to be different. And that doesn’t go over well in the music biz, at least initially. Fender/CBS, Gibson/Norlin, Vox/many-others-not-called-JMI are all examples of classic companies whose quality and reputation was diminished, both real and imagined, following the corporate sellout. Like it was with Jennings/Denney at Vox, I don’t expect Smith to remain at MB for long following this sale.
This sledding is going to be all uphill for Gibson and Boogie, both. I hope everything I expect from this merger is absolutely wrong.
