Passion or Money ?

[EvLectric]

I don't know...lately I've been noticing quality improvements on the Les Paul Standards and Studios. I'm around guitars a lot and the last 10 or so Les Pauls that I tried at a few stores were excellent.

That's good to hear!

 

[android13]

People bashing Henry J should keep in mind that as a businessman he has done well.

I find that people on MLP can be too one-sided most of the time, bashing Gibson whenever possible, but running a company is much easier said than done. Considering inflation, the prices aren't as bad as you may think it is. Also, if you've played cello like I have… you know the prices. Digit difference.

It's easier bashing Gibson than actually running it.

 

[Louie]

Again with this shit?

 

[glynneCicada]

It's always been about money and separating you from it. Any quality goods produced are just an accident.

This is the most depressing quote Ive ever read. Ive searched tirelessly for a flaw on my 08 Goldtop & I cant find anything. From finish, to tuning, to feel, intonation... If this is an accident, its the most beautiful accident Ive ever experienced.

 

[heybulldog]

Again with this shit?

Yeah, man, it is shit alright........

 

[murmel]

Business and passion belong together for quality products.
All the people that I know who work for car companies in my area are really passionate into cars, no matter if they work for Audi, BMW, Porsche or Mercedes.

 

[Custom53]

I think you guys are totally missing the point? HB is referiing to the point at which people or a company quit doing something, because they love doing it vs. just doing it for the sake of making money.

To answer your question HB, up until the mid-late '60s most of the people working at Gibson were true artists/craftsman, who built guitars mostly by hand, and who thoroughly loved what they did, and it showed in the final product, which is why vintage guitars are so highly reguarded. Not to mention that in those times, companies actually produced products with the CUSTOMER in mind. Then in the late '60s-early '70s, the "Norlin bean-counters" came in and turned the company into a money-making machine; the only problem was, they sacrificed quality for money. Then enter 1984, when Henry J took over. Seeming as thought the company was on the vurge of financial ruin, he decided to jack up the prices of Gibson guitars above the current market-prices, just because he had the power to do so. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Every business goes thru a phase like that. Some come out of it, some don't. Look at Harley-Davidsons and the infamous AMC years...

 

[circusboy28]

I just bought a new J-185 True Vintage. It is beautiful, and the build quality, sound and playability are faultless. I can't imagine what sort of passion would have made it a nicer guitar...

pictured here with my 1997 CL-30:

 

[Bordeaux]

Money means power, and it fits USA culture.

Did I make a wrong turn at the huffington post?

 

[chequepoint]

It's not things were necessarily better, but a lot more pride went to them back then.

Nowadays, many people (including myself) could only dream of getting paid to do something we actually love and can take pride in, as opposed to the usually daily grind, where the ONLY motivation is the weekly paycheck.

Why do you think you deserve to be motivated by anything past a paycheck? Do you really need your job to build your sense of self esteem? It's a job, you're getting paid to do it because it's something no one would do for free. No matter what you do, the only reason they're paying you to do it is because they haven't quite perfected the machine to replace you. This sense of entitlement is exactly why companies outsource.

 

[rockstar232007]

Why do you think you deserve to be motivated by anything past a paycheck? Do you really need your job to build your sense of self esteem? It's a job, you're getting paid to do it because it's something no one would do for free. No matter what you do, the only reason they're paying you to do it is because they haven't quite perfected the machine to replace you. This sense of entitlement is exactly why companies outsource.

I'm not talking about "entitlement". I'm talking about being able to get paid to do something that you actually WANT to do (your dream job), as opposed to doing something you HAVE to do.

I don't work where I do (in a corporate-owned restaurant), because I love cooking...well, I do love cooking, just not for a corporation. I do it, because I have to, and most days, absolutely dispise it. Most of the people that worked for Gibson in the '50s were very passionate about guitars (playing, building, etc) before they started working for Gibson, so I'm sure being able to work there was to them a dream come true.

Now, I'm not saying that they would have worked there for free, but I'm pretty sure that the fact that they got to get paid to do something that they absolutely loved sweetened the pot a little?

 

[KenG]

^^ If you read the history the workforce was quite small in the ole days and probably more intimate as it would be easy to known everyone there. Little more than a handfull of people made these classic Les Pauls. I think the figure for LPs was 1700 or so from 58 - 60 which if split up evenly would be less than 2 guitars a (work)day output. Successful businesses grow till they aren't sucessful anymore. Some are smart enough to stop before that happens others are not. But in today's economy, there's no way the old business model would allow for such a small company to survive against competition.

 

[motowntom]

To rockstars point...this guitar was built by some of the people in the videos, and it is a fact hat evry time I or someone else plays it that it was made with a certin passion that comes throuh loud and clear.....bravo! rosckstar...

Cheers