This channel has rapidly become one of the single-most interesting one in the youtube guitar-sphere, combining macro-economic views with the guitar market. Keep it going.
So appreciate your videos and really loved your perspective on this topic. The Kalamazoo factory is just down the road from my home. My custom core h150 is an amazing guitar and probably one of the finest guitars I ever owned. Keep up the great work on the videos!
Agreed...I think this is confusing a lot of people here. It is the FORMER Gibson factory that they no longer use or own. FFS - they moved out of there starting in 1974!
Bro, you are definitely one of the most interesting guitar YT channels, I like hearing your insight and appreciate that you're not goofy like all the American youtube influencers and you don't play for 20 minutes before you get into what your discussing.
Good management is what is sorely lacking in a vast majority of American companies. At least from my expierence in the tech industry. The thing is, management is hard, I know because I tried and was terrible at it. Lets hope these brands continue to thrive!
I think a couple of things. 1) as you very rightly said, being a leader and managing an organisation is very hard. A lot of folks criticise executives and people in power without realizing it is a very draining job and takes incredible competence 2) that said, in my opinion, late stage capitalism does have perverse incentives and a lot of these competent leaders / managers are optimizing for something I believe takes away from the general good. Side note, the 12 months in the Singapore Economic Development board before I made the difficult decision to jump to P&G ( who took more than a year to confirm my job offer) were incredibly instructive and a big reason why I became Singaporean
I’m glad that Heritage has financially stable ownership that allows the Parsons Street factory to continue to produce guitars. I recently purchased a Harmony guitar and it is as solid an instrument as I have ever had. Flawless! I am looking to buy another. And no matter who owns them, as long as they respect the workmanship tradition and treat their employees well that’s a win for guitar players.
Very informative, I never knew Gibson factory is now under Chinese ownership 😯. On the side note somewhat unrelated.... Just want to say "Overseas Chinese Guitars" (not CCP) made guitars are just killing it lately. I bought a $300 "Chibson" Les Paul 1959 Lemon Burst and I compare it to my $6,000 "made in USA" Gibson Les Paul and the beauty of that guitar was shockingly identical, You really cannot spot the difference for just a fraction of the price, so It's Good news Gibson!🤭but I digress...... hahaha.😂✌
Yeah, Chibson FTW!, I don't like spending my money on way expensive overpriced guitars just for the logo, but I also don't want to be looked down by my gear snob elitist friends who always had this snobbish and mocking look on your gear when they glance at the headstock and saw its just "Epiphone", "Squire", "Harley Benton" or "Ibanez Gio". Your always out of their imaginary elitist club, they are the only one who's cool in their eyes, if your guitar is below 5K then you're cheap. Luckily, there's the Chinese guitars that's having the iconic logo on the headstock without busting a bank. I now have the equalizer, I am never looked down again, and the G-string never goes out of tune unlike the overpriced ones. So to ALL "elitist guitar snubs". This one's for you!🖕
@@BlackHole-power To think anything from China is better than USA Made Guitars is ridiculous. Wait tens years. Chinese Junk always looks good, It's crap other wise. No resale value at all , sweat shop Manufacturing, but You can Buy it and Convince yourself it was a good deal. My Gibson's go up in Value every year. Thanks China. Worse Country on Earth. If you fall out of Line They will Kill you and sell your organs on the international market in a minute, . Check it out for yourself
The FORMER Gibson factory is under Chinese ownership. Gibson manufactures in Nashville, Memphis and Bozeman, MT (acoustics) and none of those are owned by Chinese interests. The former facility in Kalamazoo that them moved out of starting in 1974(!) is what he is talking about. Clarity is important.
I was glad to see several Heritage guitars recently appear in my local shop. I would like to learn more about guitars manufactured in your part of the world and I appreciate your videos.
I’m intrigued by your channel, but do not appreciate misleading/clickbait titles. This isn’t the first one that was misleading. A catchy but completely honest title for this video would say “Original Gibson Factory,” or “Heritage Factory,” rather than “Gibson Factory.” That factory is no longer Gibson, so the current title of this video is not true. As you have it now, it easily leads to spread of misinformation. You will lose legitimacy in the long run if you keep this up. And that would be a shame, because I do think you have a unique perspective on the world of guitar.
It’s a very good point. Let me give some perspective as it does give me a lot of duress too and I have come to my current approach after a lot of thought and experience There is a harsh truth about the RUclips medium which is Human attention span has been absolutely devastated by the last 20 years . RUclips titles and thumbnails have to be extremely succinct and click baity ,and tiny differences lead to huge differences in video performance regardless of the quality of the video itself . I cover this in detail in “why I am not a RUclipsr “ The choice I have to make is to do I want my work in making videos to be wasted or not? It’s as binary as that If the answer is I don’t want my labour wasted, I have to treat Thumbnails and Titles with very strict rules and character limits and yes indeed make them massively click baity Personally the line I draw is that it is ok for the title to be incomplete as long as the content is very clear. The analogy I use is that of a telegram in the 19th century which just provided a basic picture due to physical constraints and more context would follow The other option would be to simply not make RUclips videos as without click baity titles, they simply don’t get watched. That’s the harsh truth
@@ministryofguitar You can see the result here in the comments. There are a bunch of comments that completely misunderstood the point of the video that are now believing that the "Gibson factory" is owned by the Chinese, which is 100% untrue. The FORMER Gibson factory is owned by Swee Lee - not any current Gibson manufacturing facility. I get the need to feed the algorithm, but knowing that people don't pay attention and don't listen (as is evident by many of the comments here) should lead you to craft a better title that at least has correct information in it. One word - "FORMER" - would have made all the difference and you still would have had the word "Gibson" in the title to feed the RUclips algorithm Gods. A bit disappointed with this video overall.
@@ministryofguitar I think that is the right thing to do. I probably would have said "former" rather than "ex-factory" which is not really proper English, but I guess the point is made.
Title is a bit misleading. Heritage is in Gibson’s old Kalamazoo Michigan plant. There haven’t been Gibsons made there for many years. Heritage makes really nice reissue type guitars using much of the equipment from Gibson’s golden era but they are not Gibson.
Fair point. I have modified it and also added Kalamazoo up front in the description. That said, I still have to make it incite curiosity otherwise the RUclips algorithm deprioritises the video, so I have kept 'Greatest' which is a position that can be argued comfortably (All of Gibson's iconic greatest guitars were built in Kalamazoo), in the title
@@ministryofguitar I do hope you’re right though. Good management could boost Heritage into a better position they deserve. If you want a new Les Paul type guitar like the golden age they are the best choice
First off, I had no idea that all these companies are owned by Kuok’s umbrella organization - I knew about Heritage and some others being part of BandLab, but I didn’t realize BandLab is associated with Kuok. Second, I was expecting that you might say the Epiphone factory is owned by a Chinese company. Your saying Gibson’s greatest company is owned by a Chinese entity is a major stretch because Gibson hasn’t owned that factory since the 80’s when they moved and the employees working there bought it and started Heritage. However, I would like to know the deal with the Epiphone factory in China. There is very little information about the Epiphone factory from a business perspective, as well as what’s going on at the factory from a guitar building perspective. When Gibson initially purchased Epiphone, they built those guitars in a smaller plant right next door to the Gibson factory from the 57’ through 1970. Epiphones then started getting outsourced. I don’t know where they got made in the 70’s, but in the 80’s and 90’s, Gibson contracted with Samick and Matsumoto in Korea and Japan. Ever since 2004 Epiphone guitars have largely been made by the Qingdao (though many of the acoustic guitars seem to come from Indonesia in the last few years). Anyway, I am very curious about who really owns and runs Qingdao at this point in time. You can see photos outside the factory that have Epiphone’s name plastered all over it along with Qingdao’s own name. Anderton’s was given access for a tour inside the factory this past year, and it seems like Qingdao is only producing Epiphones. So who really owns and is in control of Qingdao? The QC out of that facility really became insanely consistent since JC took over as CEO in 2018, and especially after 2020 when they really started releasing a lot of new Epiphone models. It makes me wonder who is really in charge and how come that high level of quality was never achieved prior to JC when they had been using the same facility for 15 or so years. I am left with so many questions about the business side of who owns the plant, who is running the show, the employees and training, etc. When I saw the Anderton’s tour, I was thinking about how the Epiphone Qingdao plant compares to Gibson USA and the Custom Shop in terms of how it’s run, how the employees get trained, and who is really in charge over all. That’s where I thought you were going with this video. Maybe you can do some digging to come up with some facts that help us understand the business and day to day situation with the plants making Epiphone guitars in China and Indonesia. Thanks, Utkarsh!
Yeah I may do some digging into Epiphone in the future and help answer some of the questions you have On the title, I think the point I’m trying to go for is that the factory (aka 225 Parsons Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan) where all the iconic greatest’ Gibsons were made (the Bursts, the original Korina V and Explorer, original SG, original Firebird and so on) is under foreign ownership. Not that that question has been asked explicitly but if one had to determine which was Gibsons greatest factory, it would clearly be Kalamazoo and not Nashville where they operate today That said I know I’m threading the line on making titles provocative. I don’t entirely like it but I have made my peace with it as I mentioned in a previous video
@DE-GEN-ART nah, he is right. Spit on the street, go to jail. If you get arrested for something, you are going to jail, the court appearance is "windows dressing".
These insights are fascinating. My fiance works for a Singapore-based company. A family emergency stopped me from visiting earlier this year but I can't wait to see Singapore myself.
@@ministryofguitar No it's not too sanitised. It's a great country with great people. I met my wife in Singapore (she is Singapore Chinese) and lived there for ten years before we moved to Australia. Although I'm Australian there are many times I miss the Singapore efficiency.......and the food.
I understand what he's saying,I wondered how Harmony all of a sudden reappeared with state of the art equipment at fender prices and selling,with great reviews
@@roberthoffman4587 They have done the same thing Eastwood of Canada has done with a lot of historic designs. Updated specs and tech while replicating the style and look of many historic instruments.
I'll give you a hint uploader, players know that Heritage are NOT Gibson, they were formed and branded only by some folk who used to work for Gibson and didn't want to continue working for Gibson when it relocated to another state in the U.S.A. at the time, it trained the few folk that then formed Heritage later didn't and want to relocate as employees at that time was all. The title of your vid here is quite misleading. There are a bazillion guitar manufacturers throughout Asia but very few are renowned for producing instruments of the original lasting quality and instrument stability of the original designers and builders. For several years and even today now in 2024 most Asian players themselves usually avoid original foreign built original brands for two reasons mainly, 1. they are beyond their budget. 2. they know the Asian climate wreaks havoc on western built guitars by default because of the humid weather mostly.
Interesting. I am not in the market for a Gibson style guitar, but I do like the look of the Heritage finish work. They are in the same price range as a similar Gibson but from what I have seen have somewhat less resale/trade in value. A few years back I found the Gibson ES335 Cherry Dot I had lusted for at a killer price, but I am not an LP guy, although I have similar guitars I do really like. I still have my first Gibson, a 1971 J50 acoustic. Somehow you come up with interesting topics repeatedly. Great presentation. Much of the guitar market outside the west is mostly unknown except to a few business insiders and importers here.
I don’t object to foreign ownership as long as they’re honest about it. They can no longer claim they are a 100% American company, and their pricing should reflect that change. Seems like they want to have the best of all worlds. I guess it’s fine if it works for them, but it’s not necessarily “authentic” to their American brand and tradition.
Makes sense. The only thing I would say, is that if their Pricing should reflect their new ownership, it probably would get more expensive. Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in the world, at par if not more expensive than Manhattan
A Singaporean who hated China for India's invasion of China in the 1960s and in turn reversed the truth stigmatized China's invasion of India. If you love your country so much if you hate China so much why did you immigrate to a country founded by Chinese? Because your skin isn't that white, isn't it a Brahmin caste?
I may have my history a little mixed up… I use cakewalk for BandLab as a free DAW. I’m pretty sure at a certain point Gibson owned cakewalk. So needless to say these people run in the same circles. Nice to see the owner with a guitar collection
For me, Heritage was a boutique guitar company. Sadly the new owners want it to be just another guitar brand. Case & Point: The Heritage Ascent Collection. The new owners are diluting the brand with this new "collection".
I am not sure what advantage Heritage has over Gibson Custom Shop.... And frankly, Gibson Custom Shop when they get it right has more mojo than Heritage.
Right now the American market is awash with cheap, but pretty good guitars. My new Epiphone 355's body was made in China. The electronics are all Gibson from America, and it plays and sounds fabulous. However, when I find enough free cash (that my wife don't know about) I will get a true Gibson 355. That's the plan. 🙂
Unfortunately, corporate “proper management” usually means treating line employees as disposable, low-paid automatons. Canings will continue until morale improves.
Asian companies with Asian origin are most of the time well respected (Sony, Ibanez, Yamaha, Toyota). Asian owned companies with roots elsewhere...be carefull. Brands are sold off, it is a name a sticker but has nothing to do with the brand let alone founder 😅
@@honkytonkinson9787 Distant second? Kia, Hyundai,Samsung... I do not know the numbers but these brands may outperform the Japanese brands I mentioned. What this might suggest is for debate. The problem thrown over the fence is that brands represent something they do not...heritage. Another problem that western companies throw over the fence is quality. A Mexican built Fender etc... Quality is a company decision and not by a Mexican that is trying his best to put together a guitar. A US made Fender may just as well be made by a Mexican. Ola Mexico, it is an example hope you understand my point 🤠
@@Michel-r6m those Korean brands first appeared in the USA in the 90s, when the Japanese brands cited earlier were already dominating the market. They floundered for several years and I Samsung is the only brand I would compare to the success of one of those Japanese companies. Hyundai and Kia are not equal to Honda and Toyota
Sadly, I knew all this, as I'm old & "wise". I remember the caning case & oh, the outrage, blah, blah, blah. Got my 1 & only Harmony just at the start of the buyout, nice guitar, lightweight, funky pups, "MADE IN MURCA" stickers all over it....
Singapore, a benevolent dictatorship? That's what a friend of mine called Singapore many years ago, when he lived and worked there. Too bad I was not able to visit him there.
My perspective having lived in Singapore for 20 years and having also worked for the Singapore Government. Singapore is a democracy with a very strong and competent Main Political party. Of late they have had concerns of declining support so they have started doing a lot of 'populist' moves to appease the population. So no, they are not a dictatorship.
Very interesting video. I have played some Heritage H150 guitars and I would definitely like one (with P90s) in my collection. They are very well made. With poor management by Gibson over the last decades, the fact that Heritage guitars is owned by strong management should make one feel confident in their future ... lets see.
As a fellow youtuber, I understand the need for sensationalist titles. That's simply how people find you. But perpetuating misinformation is damaging. Most people aren't going to take the time to watch an entire video and they'll leave thinking Gibson is owned by the Chinese. That is not even close to true. Making a sensationalist claim that you substantiate to some extent is not clickbait, making completely false claims and then never justifying them is. Do better. You want people to respect you and your introspective way of doing things, make them trust you. You lost mine because I saw this in a Gibson group and 50% of the people were upset by the title, including the head of R&D at Gibson. While it is good at times to be incendiary, this was not an example of that.
Fair feedback. When one pushes the boundaries one may cross it now and then. In my opinion ‘greatest’ is not factually wrong as it is the past tense . If you were think Gibsons greatest guitar, it would be the Burst which was built at Kalamazoo. If one was to have a debate , which was Gibsons greatest factory it would be Kalamazoo, not Nashville. So is the title provocative. Yes! Misinformation. I disagree That said I am open to feedback and understand in the context of current US China tensions, I recognise the sensitivity. i will change it to clarify clearly
I get it. You don't want to waste your time making a video that no one will watch if it doesn't have a click bait title, but its ok to waste MY time watching a video that I am not interested in because you tricked me with the click bait title. Thats really nice! I thought I would give it another chance but nothing has changed. I am done with this channel.
You are talking about publicly traded brands on a world market and it’s been going on for a long while. Maybe you should read some of the books that talk about the history of these brands so you can present a proper discussion. Other wise you’ll just continue doing click bait.
i dont really care who owned gibson, as long as GIBSON keep making guitar and all GIBSON guitar sell as made in USA, then nothing really change about the brand to me, only they just getting expensive and some QC problem time to time, nowaday lot of brand owned by oversea companies or investments involved many different countries ,sorry for my shiity english, i guess there some right word to term to describe . if because 100 years ago some nation do some bad thing to other country , 2,3 generation later still carry the hate from 100 years ago ,that kind of thinking not very health , you cant change the past ,people cant chose where you born , such shame if someonr like the brand ,one day suddenly who bought brand ,just because the flag his carry done some bad thing to your country 100 years ago,so stop buying or support the brand , thats little bit ridiculous to me, just make it clear, im not talking about gibson , some people just because the Japanese did some bad thing to your country in WII, then hate japanese and everything made in japan kind of ridiculous stuffs, sorry for my poor english, but gibson just getting expensive,the resell value quite high though, i hope they make nighthawk again ,i want one, brand new one.
@@bukwok BTW - Gibson has been sold several times and was on the verge of going out of business in the 1980s. In fact, they were within months of going out of business when Henry Juszkiewicz and his group bought them in 1986.
This channel has rapidly become one of the single-most interesting one in the youtube guitar-sphere, combining macro-economic views with the guitar market. Keep it going.
Thanks
So appreciate your videos and really loved your perspective on this topic. The Kalamazoo factory is just down the road from my home. My custom core h150 is an amazing guitar and probably one of the finest guitars I ever owned. Keep up the great work on the videos!
Gibson factory is not. Misleading title. Yea it was Gibson. But the title is just a click bait
Agreed...I think this is confusing a lot of people here. It is the FORMER Gibson factory that they no longer use or own. FFS - they moved out of there starting in 1974!
Bro, you are definitely one of the most interesting guitar YT channels, I like hearing your insight and appreciate that you're not goofy like all the American youtube influencers and you don't play for 20 minutes before you get into what your discussing.
Thanks. Appreciate the feedback
Good management is what is sorely lacking in a vast majority of American companies. At least from my expierence in the tech industry. The thing is, management is hard, I know because I tried and was terrible at it. Lets hope these brands continue to thrive!
I think a couple of things. 1) as you very rightly said, being a leader and managing an organisation is very hard. A lot of folks criticise executives and people in power without realizing it is a very draining job and takes incredible competence 2) that said, in my opinion, late stage capitalism does have perverse incentives and a lot of these competent leaders / managers are optimizing for something I believe takes away from the general good.
Side note, the 12 months in the Singapore Economic Development board before I made the difficult decision to jump to P&G ( who took more than a year to confirm my job offer) were incredibly instructive and a big reason why I became Singaporean
Ok, now I feel better about ordering a chibson 😀
I personally love competition, including guitar manufacturing. It’s so great for the consumer.
That American kid will never deface or litter again.
A lot of Americans need that type of disciplining. Our nation is almost completely lawless.
I’m glad that Heritage has financially stable ownership that allows the Parsons Street factory to continue to produce guitars. I recently purchased a Harmony guitar and it is as solid an instrument as I have ever had. Flawless! I am looking to buy another. And no matter who owns them, as long as they respect the workmanship tradition and treat their employees well that’s a win for guitar players.
Very informative, I never knew Gibson factory is now under Chinese ownership 😯. On the side note somewhat unrelated.... Just want to say "Overseas Chinese Guitars" (not CCP) made guitars are just killing it lately. I bought a $300 "Chibson" Les Paul 1959 Lemon Burst and I compare it to my $6,000 "made in USA" Gibson Les Paul and the beauty of that guitar was shockingly identical, You really cannot spot the difference for just a fraction of the price, so It's Good news Gibson!🤭but I digress...... hahaha.😂✌
Yeah, Chibson FTW!, I don't like spending my money on way expensive overpriced guitars just for the logo, but I also don't want to be looked down by my gear snob elitist friends who always had this snobbish and mocking look on your gear when they glance at the headstock and saw its just "Epiphone", "Squire", "Harley Benton" or "Ibanez Gio". Your always out of their imaginary elitist club, they are the only one who's cool in their eyes, if your guitar is below 5K then you're cheap. Luckily, there's the Chinese guitars that's having the iconic logo on the headstock without busting a bank. I now have the equalizer, I am never looked down again, and the G-string never goes out of tune unlike the overpriced ones. So to ALL "elitist guitar snubs". This one's for you!🖕
Do you have a link to that guitar?
@@BlackHole-power To think anything from China is better than USA Made Guitars is ridiculous. Wait tens years. Chinese Junk always looks good, It's crap other wise. No resale value at all , sweat shop Manufacturing, but You can Buy it and Convince yourself it was a good deal. My Gibson's go up in Value every year. Thanks China.
Worse Country on Earth. If you fall out of Line They will Kill you and sell your organs on the international market in a minute, . Check it out for yourself
For $300, I feel like most players can tell the difference, including the lacquer. Chibsons even have tiers, and you won't get that from a $300 tier
The FORMER Gibson factory is under Chinese ownership. Gibson manufactures in Nashville, Memphis and Bozeman, MT (acoustics) and none of those are owned by Chinese interests. The former facility in Kalamazoo that them moved out of starting in 1974(!) is what he is talking about. Clarity is important.
I was glad to see several Heritage guitars recently appear in my local shop. I would like to learn more about guitars manufactured in your part of the world and I appreciate your videos.
Gibson will be available in Singapore soon. heard 35guitars are 1 of the official dealers in Singapore.
Ok that’s great. Good for Shaari
I’m intrigued by your channel, but do not appreciate misleading/clickbait titles. This isn’t the first one that was misleading. A catchy but completely honest title for this video would say “Original Gibson Factory,” or “Heritage Factory,” rather than “Gibson Factory.” That factory is no longer Gibson, so the current title of this video is not true. As you have it now, it easily leads to spread of misinformation. You will lose legitimacy in the long run if you keep this up. And that would be a shame, because I do think you have a unique perspective on the world of guitar.
It’s a very good point. Let me give some perspective as it does give me a lot of duress too and I have come to my current approach after a lot of thought and experience
There is a harsh truth about the RUclips medium which is Human attention span has been absolutely devastated by the last 20 years . RUclips titles and thumbnails have to be extremely succinct and click baity ,and tiny differences lead to huge differences in video performance regardless of the quality of the video itself . I cover this in detail in “why I am not a RUclipsr “
The choice I have to make is to do I want my work in making videos to be wasted or not? It’s as binary as that
If the answer is I don’t want my labour wasted, I have to treat Thumbnails and Titles with very strict rules and character limits and yes indeed make them massively click baity
Personally the line I draw is that it is ok for the title to be incomplete as long as the content is very clear. The analogy I use is that of a telegram in the 19th century which just provided a basic picture due to physical constraints and more context would follow
The other option would be to simply not make RUclips videos as without click baity titles, they simply don’t get watched. That’s the harsh truth
@@ministryofguitarQualify the factory as “original,” “old,” or “former” and the controversy is extinguished 🤷🏻♂️
@@ministryofguitar You can see the result here in the comments. There are a bunch of comments that completely misunderstood the point of the video that are now believing that the "Gibson factory" is owned by the Chinese, which is 100% untrue. The FORMER Gibson factory is owned by Swee Lee - not any current Gibson manufacturing facility.
I get the need to feed the algorithm, but knowing that people don't pay attention and don't listen (as is evident by many of the comments here) should lead you to craft a better title that at least has correct information in it. One word - "FORMER" - would have made all the difference and you still would have had the word "Gibson" in the title to feed the RUclips algorithm Gods.
A bit disappointed with this video overall.
Well noted all on the Feedback. Done
@@ministryofguitar I think that is the right thing to do. I probably would have said "former" rather than "ex-factory" which is not really proper English, but I guess the point is made.
Interesting to see that Heritage is now making budget guitars as well under their own name.
Title is a bit misleading. Heritage is in Gibson’s old Kalamazoo Michigan plant. There haven’t been Gibsons made there for many years. Heritage makes really nice reissue type guitars using much of the equipment from Gibson’s golden era but they are not Gibson.
Fair point. I have modified it and also added Kalamazoo up front in the description. That said, I still have to make it incite curiosity otherwise the RUclips algorithm deprioritises the video, so I have kept 'Greatest' which is a position that can be argued comfortably (All of Gibson's iconic greatest guitars were built in Kalamazoo), in the title
@@ministryofguitar I do hope you’re right though. Good management could boost Heritage into a better position they deserve. If you want a new Les Paul type guitar like the golden age they are the best choice
First off, I had no idea that all these companies are owned by Kuok’s umbrella organization - I knew about Heritage and some others being part of BandLab, but I didn’t realize BandLab is associated with Kuok.
Second, I was expecting that you might say the Epiphone factory is owned by a Chinese company. Your saying Gibson’s greatest company is owned by a Chinese entity is a major stretch because Gibson hasn’t owned that factory since the 80’s when they moved and the employees working there bought it and started Heritage. However, I would like to know the deal with the Epiphone factory in China. There is very little information about the Epiphone factory from a business perspective, as well as what’s going on at the factory from a guitar building perspective. When Gibson initially purchased Epiphone, they built those guitars in a smaller plant right next door to the Gibson factory from the 57’ through 1970. Epiphones then started getting outsourced. I don’t know where they got made in the 70’s, but in the 80’s and 90’s, Gibson contracted with Samick and Matsumoto in Korea and Japan. Ever since 2004 Epiphone guitars have largely been made by the Qingdao (though many of the acoustic guitars seem to come from Indonesia in the last few years).
Anyway, I am very curious about who really owns and runs Qingdao at this point in time. You can see photos outside the factory that have Epiphone’s name plastered all over it along with Qingdao’s own name. Anderton’s was given access for a tour inside the factory this past year, and it seems like Qingdao is only producing Epiphones. So who really owns and is in control of Qingdao? The QC out of that facility really became insanely consistent since JC took over as CEO in 2018, and especially after 2020 when they really started releasing a lot of new Epiphone models. It makes me wonder who is really in charge and how come that high level of quality was never achieved prior to JC when they had been using the same facility for 15 or so years. I am left with so many questions about the business side of who owns the plant, who is running the show, the employees and training, etc. When I saw the Anderton’s tour, I was thinking about how the Epiphone Qingdao plant compares to Gibson USA and the Custom Shop in terms of how it’s run, how the employees get trained, and who is really in charge over all.
That’s where I thought you were going with this video. Maybe you can do some digging to come up with some facts that help us understand the business and day to day situation with the plants making Epiphone guitars in China and Indonesia. Thanks, Utkarsh!
Yeah I may do some digging into Epiphone in the future and help answer some of the questions you have
On the title, I think the point I’m trying to go for is that the factory (aka 225 Parsons Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan) where all the iconic greatest’ Gibsons were made (the Bursts, the original Korina V and Explorer, original SG, original Firebird and so on) is under foreign ownership.
Not that that question has been asked explicitly but if one had to determine which was Gibsons greatest factory, it would clearly be Kalamazoo and not Nashville where they operate today
That said I know I’m threading the line on making titles provocative. I don’t entirely like it but I have made my peace with it as I mentioned in a previous video
It's not "bad press" man....Singapore is literally a police state.
ahahaha right?😂
@DE-GEN-ART nah, he is right. Spit on the street, go to jail. If you get arrested for something, you are going to jail, the court appearance is "windows dressing".
@@cromBumny Literally a police state.
Singapore can be considered a 'benevolent' dictatorship.
These insights are fascinating. My fiance works for a Singapore-based company. A family emergency stopped me from visiting earlier this year but I can't wait to see Singapore myself.
it is a sight to behold in terms of efficiency and cleanliness. the criticism may be it feels too sanitised
@@ministryofguitar No it's not too sanitised. It's a great country with great people. I met my wife in Singapore (she is Singapore Chinese) and lived there for ten years before we moved to Australia. Although I'm Australian there are many times I miss the Singapore efficiency.......and the food.
I understand what he's saying,I wondered how Harmony all of a sudden reappeared with state of the art equipment at fender prices and selling,with great reviews
@@roberthoffman4587 They have done the same thing Eastwood of Canada has done with a lot of historic designs. Updated specs and tech while replicating the style and look of many historic instruments.
I'll give you a hint uploader, players know that Heritage are NOT Gibson, they were formed and branded only by some folk who used to work for Gibson and didn't want to continue working for Gibson when it relocated to another state in the U.S.A. at the time, it trained the few folk that then formed Heritage later didn't and want to relocate as employees at that time was all.
The title of your vid here is quite misleading.
There are a bazillion guitar manufacturers throughout Asia but very few are renowned for producing instruments of the original lasting quality and instrument stability of the original designers and builders.
For several years and even today now in 2024 most Asian players themselves usually avoid original foreign built original brands for two reasons mainly, 1. they are beyond their budget. 2. they know the Asian climate wreaks havoc on western built guitars by default because of the humid weather mostly.
Interesting. I am not in the market for a Gibson style guitar, but I do like the look of the Heritage finish work. They are in the same price range as a similar Gibson but from what I have seen have somewhat less resale/trade in value.
A few years back I found the Gibson ES335 Cherry Dot I had lusted for at a killer price, but I am not an LP guy, although I have similar guitars I do really like. I still have my first Gibson, a 1971 J50 acoustic.
Somehow you come up with interesting topics repeatedly. Great presentation. Much of the guitar market outside the west is mostly unknown except to a few business insiders and importers here.
I don’t object to foreign ownership as long as they’re honest about it. They can no longer claim they are a 100% American company, and their pricing should reflect that change. Seems like they want to have the best of all worlds. I guess it’s fine if it works for them, but it’s not necessarily “authentic” to their American brand and tradition.
Makes sense. The only thing I would say, is that if their Pricing should reflect their new ownership, it probably would get more expensive. Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in the world, at par if not more expensive than Manhattan
@@ministryofguitar Good point! I hadn't considered the cost disparity. My point was more about selling American tradition as a premium brand.
A Singaporean who hated China for India's invasion of China in the 1960s and in turn reversed the truth stigmatized China's invasion of India.
If you love your country so much
if you hate China so much
why did you immigrate to a country founded by Chinese?
Because your skin isn't that white, isn't it a Brahmin caste?
Also worth noting that Bandlab are the current owners of Cakewalk, the DAW many musicians and producers of a certain age cut their teeth on.
That’s good to know. I actually have never used Cakewalk for some reason
Really good video and some great points about how any and every business needs good management to succeed.
I may have my history a little mixed up… I use cakewalk for BandLab as a free DAW. I’m pretty sure at a certain point Gibson owned cakewalk. So needless to say these people run in the same circles. Nice to see the owner with a guitar collection
Thanks for the info
Love your channel. I play guitar myself...
Thanks
For me, Heritage was a boutique guitar company. Sadly the new owners want it to be just another guitar brand. Case & Point: The Heritage Ascent Collection. The new owners are diluting the brand with this new "collection".
yeah they are definitely going after increased volumes
Chinese own some car brands like MG and Jaguar is owned by Tata. Many Asian companies seem to be absorbing famous western brands.
I am not sure what advantage Heritage has over Gibson Custom Shop.... And frankly, Gibson Custom Shop when they get it right has more mojo than Heritage.
That's the caveat though... "when they get it right". Which is not that common.
Misleading ur viewers for clicks will not work well in the long run imho
Right now the American market is awash with cheap, but pretty good guitars. My new Epiphone 355's body was made in China. The electronics are all Gibson from America, and it plays and sounds fabulous. However, when I find enough free cash (that my wife don't know about) I will get a true Gibson 355. That's the plan. 🙂
As long i can have a Gibson for cheap it doesnt matter where it is made... Levis jeans made in bangladesh is the best .....
Unfortunately, corporate “proper management” usually means treating line employees as disposable, low-paid automatons. Canings will continue until morale improves.
Another interesting view, with interesting facts... great chanel u have going my friend!
i just bought glarry bass that is almost identical to an ibanez
I own 4 Gibsons and 1 Heritage H150, the Heritage holds up against all.
Heritages are indeed very good to play
Asian companies with Asian origin are most of the time well respected (Sony, Ibanez, Yamaha, Toyota). Asian owned companies with roots elsewhere...be carefull.
Brands are sold off, it is a name a sticker but has nothing to do with the brand let alone founder 😅
I think you should give Japan the credit that it deserves. Don’t reward all of Asia for what one country did. South Korea is a distant second
@@honkytonkinson9787 Distant second? Kia, Hyundai,Samsung... I do not know the numbers but these brands may outperform the Japanese brands I mentioned. What this might suggest is for debate.
The problem thrown over the fence is that brands represent something they do not...heritage.
Another problem that western companies throw over the fence is quality. A Mexican built Fender etc... Quality is a company decision and not by a Mexican that is trying his best to put together a guitar. A US made Fender may just as well be made by a Mexican.
Ola Mexico, it is an example hope you understand my point 🤠
@@Michel-r6m those Korean brands first appeared in the USA in the 90s, when the Japanese brands cited earlier were already dominating the market. They floundered for several years and I Samsung is the only brand I would compare to the success of one of those Japanese companies. Hyundai and Kia are not equal to Honda and Toyota
Americans know very little about China. This is very interesting.
I had no idea......wow!!!
Sadly, I knew all this, as I'm old & "wise". I remember the caning case & oh, the outrage, blah, blah, blah. Got my 1 & only Harmony just at the start of the buyout, nice guitar, lightweight, funky pups, "MADE IN MURCA" stickers all over it....
Singapore, a benevolent dictatorship? That's what a friend of mine called Singapore many years ago, when he lived and worked there.
Too bad I was not able to visit him there.
My perspective having lived in Singapore for 20 years and having also worked for the Singapore Government. Singapore is a democracy with a very strong and competent Main Political party. Of late they have had concerns of declining support so they have started doing a lot of 'populist' moves to appease the population. So no, they are not a dictatorship.
@@ministryofguitar Again, thank you very much for replying. Very kind of you. 🤗
so now everybody is getting epiphones lol
Exactly!, an Epiphone with a $3,000 base starting price.😂
Now Epiphones are going go for prices of $4000.
Ah yes, I’m old enough to remember the “caining”
it made quite the media storm back then I believe
@@ministryofguitar indeed
Very interesting video. I have played some Heritage H150 guitars and I would definitely like one (with P90s) in my collection. They are very well made. With poor management by Gibson over the last decades, the fact that Heritage guitars is owned by strong management should make one feel confident in their future ... lets see.
I am very impressed with what they have done with Swee Lee. If you are ever in Singapore, come check out the Clarke Quay location
@@ministryofguitar sure, I will check out the Clarke Quay outlet. I usually go to the outlet at Star Vista. I do live in Singapore.
As a fellow youtuber, I understand the need for sensationalist titles. That's simply how people find you. But perpetuating misinformation is damaging. Most people aren't going to take the time to watch an entire video and they'll leave thinking Gibson is owned by the Chinese. That is not even close to true. Making a sensationalist claim that you substantiate to some extent is not clickbait, making completely false claims and then never justifying them is.
Do better. You want people to respect you and your introspective way of doing things, make them trust you. You lost mine because I saw this in a Gibson group and 50% of the people were upset by the title, including the head of R&D at Gibson. While it is good at times to be incendiary, this was not an example of that.
Fair feedback. When one pushes the boundaries one may cross it now and then. In my opinion ‘greatest’ is not factually wrong as it is the past tense . If you were think Gibsons greatest guitar, it would be the Burst which was built at Kalamazoo. If one was to have a debate , which was Gibsons greatest factory it would be Kalamazoo, not Nashville. So is the title provocative. Yes! Misinformation. I disagree
That said I am open to feedback and understand in the context of current US China tensions, I recognise the sensitivity. i will change it to clarify clearly
you did the right thing and I respect that.
I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing ....but thinking ..... maybe now it improves the quality a bit? 😏🤔😂😂😂
is that a bethesda shirt you wearing?
I think it was some sort of stylistic avengers t shirt. I got it in a company team building event years ago
I get it. You don't want to waste your time making a video that no one will watch if it doesn't have a click bait title, but its ok to waste MY time watching a video that I am not interested in because you tricked me with the click bait title. Thats really nice! I thought I would give it another chance but nothing has changed. I am done with this channel.
Yeah, yeah, yeah...but are they still....authentic????
(I'll never let them forget that)
So you’re buying Chinese guitars made in the USA?😂 and they say PRS (still owned and run by the founder) has no mojo😂😂😂
You are talking about publicly traded brands on a world market and it’s been going on for a long while. Maybe you should read some of the books that talk about the history of these brands so you can present a proper discussion. Other wise you’ll just continue doing click bait.
When you say Chinese owned, I am thinking communist China owned, not an "asian" persons company.
Top notch guitar content.
No one is afraid of xenos!
#SheepWearRedHats
What a way to destroy an American iconic brand
Another on youtube who doesnt know what "phobia" means!😂
Greatest?…
Well that’s the factory where all the Bursts and other iconic Gibsons were made
i dont really care who owned gibson, as long as GIBSON keep making guitar and all GIBSON guitar sell as made in USA, then nothing really change about the brand to me, only they just getting expensive and some QC problem time to time, nowaday lot of brand owned by oversea companies or investments involved many different countries ,sorry for my shiity english, i guess there some right word to term to describe .
if because 100 years ago some nation do some bad thing to other country , 2,3 generation later still carry the hate from 100 years ago ,that kind of thinking not very health , you cant change the past ,people cant chose where you born , such shame if someonr like the brand ,one day suddenly who bought brand ,just because the flag his carry done some bad thing to your country 100 years ago,so stop buying or support the brand , thats little bit ridiculous to me, just make it clear, im not talking about gibson , some people just because the Japanese did some bad thing to your country in WII, then hate japanese and everything made in japan kind of ridiculous stuffs, sorry for my poor english,
but gibson just getting expensive,the resell value quite high though, i hope they make nighthawk again ,i want one, brand new one.
Gibson is not Chinese-owned...😵💫
@@DanielBobke gibson in good hand ,and still doing very well, no reason to sell i guess ,anyway,is gibson used to owned guild guitar..?
@@bukwok Gibson never owned Guild Guitars. They were once owned by Fender, but they offloaded them in 1995.
@@bukwok BTW - Gibson has been sold several times and was on the verge of going out of business in the 1980s. In fact, they were within months of going out of business when Henry Juszkiewicz and his group bought them in 1986.