It really comes to something when a brand as iconic as Gibson Guitars cant stay afloat!

My son works at a boutique guitar shop. Fender and Gibson make unreasonable demands for the number of guitars they (smaller shops) must stock. Also, the line extensions from these guys over the years have been crazy. I mean $24,000 For A 'Blackie' Replica, Cigarette Burns Included?  It's gotten more into marketing and accounting and less about the quality these guys use to turn out. My son tells me more players are starting to switch to smaller, true quality products at better prices. He sees so much of this because this shop has the best reputation for guitar repair. They fix a lot of stuff that Guitar Center screws up, 

@jond  Yes, Taylor Swift is almost singlehandedly responsible for keeping the acoustic guitar business still relevant to the under-18 crowd!

Gibson reminds me of Harley or Margaritaville or similar brands created by and marketed to the over 50-crowd. Shite's changing; music's changing, but they still cater to an image.

Bad ideas and bad management can sink any business...I used to like Saabs.