Muff's Modules & More

dkcg · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 7:56 pm Post subject: Fender IPO?!

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-fender-ipo-20120308,0,7 9390.story

Seeking to raise $200 million, so they can pay off their $245 million in debts?
I dunno, but it sure sounds more like "we need a bailout" that "we need money to grow".

hmmm.....

The American Standard on the endangered species list?

Kent · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:03 pm Post subject:

I've been thinking about investing there. They're the only mass-market guitar company that is doing solid business in Europe these days.

dkcg · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:20 pm Post subject:

Paraphonique · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:57 pm Post subject: Re: Fender IPO?!

Just me · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 9:09 pm Post subject:

They moved to Scottsdale.

Paraphonique · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 9:24 pm Post subject:

In what, 2001 ? That's what sank them, really ?

I was sure these guys were making a fortune. Please, don't tell me Gibson is broke as well ! woah

Minimoog56 · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 9:59 pm Post subject:

How about buying out dying brands like Gretsch, Guild, and a ton of other music companies that were not selling, then off-shoring their manufacture to bring down the quality. How about kick back based marketing that targets sales through sub-par dealers like Guitar Center while ignoring the smaller mom and pops around the country that were the backbone of their sales and promotions over many decades (Gibson is even worse at this than Fender). How about hiring and firing "master builders" in what used to be a genuine custom shop and what has evolved into a "quality" domestic factory operation that charges premium custom pricing for what used to be their standard builds. Don't even get me going on their amplifiers and effects... oh yeah and the terrible Sammy Hagar/Mel's diner line of swag... If you need a great solid body built in Fullerton CA - buy a US G&L... Me I am hanging onto my pre-CBS Fender and play it every chance I can get.

Paraphonique · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:16 pm Post subject:

Ok, ok, I get it... Iconic maker, isn't as iconic as before. We'll all blame greed.

Never felt like upgrading from my 93' US Jazz bass anyway.
-P

gwaidan · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:42 pm Post subject:

Doing things like this can't help their reputation any....

http://www.electronicspoint.com/rohs-gone-mad-t212942.html

Kent · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 6:48 am Post subject:

Lots of heat and not much in the way of light there, Minimoog56. This hardly adds to an intelligent conversation.

dkcg · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 5:09 pm Post subject:

I often hear from Gretsch owners that the new ones are better built than some of the vintage US ones. I have a Japanese DuoJet, wasn't cheap, nor is the build. Seems just as well built as my '89 USA made Strat Plus. I've also read quite a few threads that discount the myth that anything pre-CBS is better built than after Leo sold it. Sure some are and have that "mojo" luck of the draw, but not all pre-CBS are magical and sound better than CBS and beyond. I think with modern assembly processes, consistency is the main change since pickups aren't hand wound, wood isn't shaped by a woodworker, things are machined to be exactly the same, etc. Less variance. The only thing really all that different from guitar to guitar is the wood.

That said, the only Fenders that interest me nowadays are the ones that I can't afford (some of those factory customs are sure purty). If I was gonna buy another Strat type guitar, I'd probably buy a G&L Legacy or start looking at brands like Suhr.

I just sense a huge change in direction from the Fender execs when I see an Eric Clapton app, or a "Fender" edition smart phone, etc. Stuff that seems to have nothing to do with the instruments. Maybe they should buy the Hard Rock Cafe chain to promote the Fender brand. I hope they do something smart with the money they raise instead of things like getting the corporate offices redecorated, buy the hard rock cafe, start a clothing line designed by Shepherd Fairey, invest heavily in ipad guitar apps. Moog seems to be doing things right with a good balance of marketing, hype, and hardware. Hopefully Fender will head that way instead of towards getting Squires into every Walmart, Target, and Gamestop.

Smack me for being jaded with cultural icons becoming shadows of what they once were and relishing in the past to build nothing in the future.
Soapbox

EMwhite · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 11:47 pm Post subject:

Wasn't there some Fender edition automobile?

I think the difference between Moog and Fender is that Fender became absolutely huge and outsourced much to vendors overseas (name the sea).

Moog stayed boutique, stayed local, stayed hand-made, only leverages foreign components where absolutely necessary.

On the other hand, they are only as good as their last 9 months or 18 months worth of products but they are turning out some really good ones and I'm a big supporter. Distribution and a slightly pricey (vs. some other mass produced options) is a tricky line to walk.

And a somebody above said, good marketing without going overboard.

I happend to have a '75 reissue Jazz bass that I bought a few years ago specifically because it was made in the U.S. and recently picked up a Tony Franklin fretless P bass that was made in the Custom shop and owned by a Fender employee; I love them both but cannot for the life of me figure out how they can sell an instrument for $179 and expect to make any profit whatsoever. It's a shame, what has happened; I hope they pull through.