Alex Skolnick speaks about the Firebird-X unveiling and Gibson

[Feeling Supersonic]

marketing manger yet?.

The entire presentation is a calamity.

The whole thing is a mess, literally an awful presentation.

How much is Gibson guitar corp. worth?

It's so shoddy, bland and ultimately embarrassing.

Paul Reed Smith has pro players and a live band of dirt good musicians promote his instruments.

This was, the 'owner', not a guitar builder, offer his bland personality to a crowd of O.A.P's that watched a factory worker play through some chords. A guitar ten feet aloft the ground hanging from what appears to be its machine heads.. totally professional, and the smoke was extremely tasteless.

What is Henry wearing also? He hardly appears to be executive. Maybe he was going for the 'factory worker' casual look. Or he chose 'teh luddite' look.

I feel I'm part of Gibson for owning such a great instrument and this just makes me all sad inside.

On part of the marketing and advertising of this clip it's utterly terrible. I wouldn't expect something so bad from my Universities entrepreneurial society, who frequently promote events and products with great presentations for free.


Is critical thinking allowed?

 

[Sawgwa]

The main problem I have is that they aren't doing this for a whole line or anything. They just make these weird one offs. Now they are just expanding on ideas that were already not embraced.

Firebird X is just the new iteration of dusk tigers/dark fires/robots

Just seems like a weird strategy. Make really unnecessary and expensive guitars that really only appeal to collectors.

There aren't a lot of people outside the collector market that are going to jump on this thing.

It just seems like Gibsons take on the fender VG strat.

I'm not one of these guys who are up in arms over it, I just question it. It just seems a little batty to me.

Looks like Henry wants to be or thinks he is the Apple of guitar building.

Let's see if the Edge picks one up, he likes effects.

There are really two things here I find problematic;

1 Musicians ARE Luddites to an extent. We are grounded in musical heritage and music's rich history. Our musical instruments construction shares that same sense of heritage.
2 Technology moves fast so why would I tie myself to one vintage of tech? Yes some older pedals are viewed as the best like analog chorus blah blah but I like moving to new effects and electronics so being stuck with a specific technology by having it all built into the guitar is a non starter for me.

 

[Sawgwa]

Is he pooping?

 

[Feeling Supersonic]

Is he pooping?

He's smashing a traditionally built guitar against a building material that signifies revolution in industry.

I see the symbolism, but it's just pathetic.

 

[SteveGangi]

Looks like Henry wants to be or thinks he is the Apple of guitar building.

Let's see if the Edge picks one up, he likes effects.

There are really two things here I find problematic;

1 Musicians ARE Luddites to an extent. We are grounded in musical heritage and music's rich history. Our musical instruments construction shares that same sense of heritage.
2 Technology moves fast so why would I tie myself to one vintage of tech? Yes some older pedals are viewed as the best like analog chorus blah blah but I like moving to new effects and electronics so being stuck with a specific technology by having it all built into the guitar is a non starter for me.

I don't need some Harvard suit (Henry) or some has been "musician" (Jay Jay) lecturing ME about Luddites and technology. Has either of them worked on top of the line military aircraft? Does either of them have a hand in the technology orbiting the earth on the Space Station?


















Didin't think so.


But I did have a hand in it. So when it comes to technology and Luddites they can both shut the fuck up.

 

[Sawgwa]

He's smashing a traditionally built guitar against a building material that signifies revolution in industry.

I see the symbolism, but it's just pathetic.

So he is pooping on the rich heritage of the Gibson brand!!

 

[Sawgwa]

I don't need some Harvard suit (Henry) or some has been "musician" (Jay Jay) lecturing ME about Luddites and technology. Has either of them worked on top of the line military aircraft? Does either of them have a hand in the technology orbiting the earth on the Space Station?

Didin't think so.

But I did have a hand in it. So when it comes to technology and Luddites they can both shut the fuck up.

So you bought one, OK. Don't hate the haters!

And I bet it is cool to have worked on stuff flying around our planet! I love being spaced....... I mean space stuff............

 

[Feeling Supersonic]

So he is pooping on the rich heritage of the Gibson brand!!

Ultimately yes. He's destroying what is embodied in a traditional guitar to be heritage, innovation and engineering design. A sly insult to guitarists and guitar builders who adore and respect that process of design and building.

He's obviously doing it within the motif and cliche of the 'Rock'n'Roll' star like Pete Townsend, but it just doesn't work well.

He's burning his bridges pretty well with us here and people that find him most unsavory in the way he talks about and manufactures his guitars.

I don't know why he's using himself as the image of Gibson. He's clearly, based on peoples views here, unpopular and unwanted.

He'd be doing himself a huge favor if he found a charismatic 'president' like figure of his company to give off a good image and to also be a great personality to sell his company's notion.

If he was unknown by identity and simply a man with no face working and counting his beans in the back room, whilst employing a likable character to front the company he would be doing himself a massive favor.

Maybe if they chose this route, they'd probably copy MacDonalds and use the image of a 'clown' to sell their products, after all it's not too different to the current.

PRS pulls it off very well because he is Paul Reed Smith and it's his responsibility.

 

[WickedBanshee]

Sooo....uh....I'll take that SG. $5,000 for a that ugly Firebird? I'd rather have the SG, a hot tub, a case of beer, a large pizza and a hooker. Maybe even a little change leftover.

 

[Dogsy]

I think at $2000 without all the fancy stuff Id grab one. I like to use my effects on the floor.

 

[msfenderarg]

In keeping with the spirit uf us Luddites, no Ps was used in the making of this!

Hence it's crappyness!

 

[rockstar232007]

Looks pretty damn good to me! That's actually almost exactly what I had in mind (only, a little less...violent), but my computer was running really slow, so it would have taken forever for me to photoshop all of that! Great job!

Although, I do think the "blood spatter" was a little much, but everything else?

Spot on!

 

[tolm]

With all the fuss about the Firebird X (and I've been as bigger ridiculer as any!) I want to say that Gibson does still know a thing or two about making a decent guitar. I recently bought an R8 and it's fabulous. So, as long as the Custom Shop can keep making 'em right, there's hope. The issues I have are: how much money is Gibson dropping on such limited need/run products; what will the reception do to the companies reputation/knock on effect on viability; and what does this suggest for the companies capability of designing new models that are visually appealing to customers?

Personally, if they bring in a China, Korea or Mexico line - a la Fender - I have no problem with that. So long as they keep the same number of people working in the USA but give them more time to make less guitars (offshore should be picking up the mass demand) and hence the overall product quality improves.

 

[Benjammin]

In keeping with the spirit uf us Luddites, no Ps was used in the making of this!

Hence it's crappyness!

I love Orville in the background, he looks pissed

 

[tnvnl]

This will be a somewhat strange view, but it's a view none the less.
I am a construction worker.
To me, the guitar is a tool for making music, as a hammer is to building a building.
The effects we use are the "nails" used to build a building.
We chose our nails based on the needs of the building, nails have remained basically unchanged for many many years, as have "hammers", but buildings have evolved in design and functionality, but the "hammer" remains basically unchanged i.e. a handle and a head. There are different handle materials, like there are different woods in guitars, and different head weights, as there are different scale sizes. All the innovation around and I havent seen a hammer that carries all the different nails in the handle that you will ever need, and if it did, it wouldnt allow for future innovation in nail design. When I go to build my next building, a standard hammer will do, thank you. That way "I" can chose the nails necessary for the job. The next building I build (song writing) will be unique from all other buildings ever built in some way, but the good old standard hammer will have helped me build it.
Long live a well built, plain ole, nothing fancy, guitar.

 

[Benjammin]

This will be a somewhat strange view, but it's a view none the less.
I am a construction worker.
To me, the guitar is a tool for making music, as a hammer is to building a building.
The effects we use are the "nails" used to build a building.
We chose our nails based on the needs of the building, nails have remained basically unchanged for many many years, as have "hammers", but buildings have evolved in design and functionality, but the "hammer" remains basically unchanged i.e. a handle and a head. There are different handle materials, like there are different woods in guitars, and different head weights, as there are different scale sizes. All the innovation around and I havent seen a hammer that carries all the different nails in the handle that you will ever need, and if it did, it wouldnt allow for future innovation in nail design. When I go to build my next building, a standard hammer will do, thank you. That way "I" can chose the nails necessary for the job. The next building I build (song writing) will be unique from all other buildings ever built in some way, but the good old standard hammer will have helped me build it.
Long live a well built, plain ole, nothing fancy, guitar.

you hit the nail on the head

 

[nicolasrivera]

I'm glad he thinks like most of us do and he is concern with Gibson's future too.

If any of Henrys monkeys read this please tell him to step down in peace or wait for a humiliating end to his fantasy of being Steve Jobs.....loser.

 

[Frankie A.]

Steve and Woz started Apple in their garage . . this is so pathetic that Henry really sees himself on the same level as a great American entrepreneur !
Kudos to the man for being a great investor/bean counter saving the company from the brink of bankruptcy . . but this new public persona is laughable !

 

[Dogsy]

I love Orville in the background, he looks pissed

Lol, I thought it was Lord Lucan.

 

[msfenderarg]

Looks pretty damn good to me! That's actually almost exactly what I had in mind (only, a little less...violent), but my computer was running really slow, so it would have taken forever for me to photoshop all of that! Great job!

Although, I do think the "blood spatter" was a little much, but everything else?

Spot on!

I didn't use Photoshop (I install it and then uninstall it and then...aghh I hate IT), so it's kinda sloppy, the splatter hides flaws I didn't care to correct, lazy me !