So who is going to buy a few pieces of Fender?

[hareek]

That's just ridiculous. It sure will go away, just as it has done in the past under corporate ownership. That's the whole cause for alarm. The market is already flooded with low-end crap. But right now, that low end crap actually happens to be better made than it ever has been in the past. There will be cost cutting effort after cost cutting effort, quality will drop across all product lines, and prices will go up. No profit is good enough for a corporation.

That's fine if you think it's ridiculous. I think it's equally ridiculous that you are so sure that a company would stop making the one thing that makes them successful. At the end of the day, there is still a market for the higher quality guitars. Maybe worst case scenario in 10 or 20 years you have to call and get it custom ordered and it's just a small shop in California that does it, I don't know. I just don't see it ever going away completely...not as long as the professionals are still playing them and people are still buying them. Again it's all speculation at this time. I just think you guys are looking at this strictly through an anti-corporation lens and not thinking about the situation logically. There's certainly reason to be cautious, but I don't think it's going to be as bad as everyone here is predicting.

[Powdered Toast Man]

The thing is, if it's a low margin product, they WILL stop making it. Boards and shareholders don't allow companies to keep doing things out of sentimental reasons.

[uOpt]

You know I take the potential loss of quality in the future over the known, currently ongoing issues of random weight relief, plastic fingerboards and laminated fingerboards any time.

[Myaccount876]

Or everyone could just start playing G&L.

...Or do what I'm doing, building my own guitar. There is still many options out there and even if Fender becomes 100% crap, it isn't the end of the world, just the end of Fender.

BTW expect a NGD from me soon (give/take a few weeks) with my project approaching completion.

[ItsaBass]

That's fine if you think it's ridiculous. I think it's equally ridiculous that you are so sure that a company would stop making the one thing that makes them successful.

I didn't say they would stop making guitars! I said they would start cost cutting, and the end product would get worse.

[Inkstained]

Making shareholders happy and making customers happy?

Sorry, but they're not the same thing. Not at all.

This is not good news.

[hareek]

Or everyone could just start playing G&L.

I've actually been looking into those a lot lately. I want to get either a PRS or some type of better acoustic than my current Ovation first, but eventually I will need to add a G&L to the collection.

[Myaccount876]

I've actually been looking into those a lot lately. I want to get either a PRS or some type of better acoustic than my current Ovation first, but eventually I will need to add a G&L to the collection.

They are regarded highly, and even the budget G&L guitars can be on par with Fender American made guitars. I can't say for myself, the only G&L I've really played was the Jerry Cantrell rampage.

[LesStrat]

Ask music store employees where their bread and butter are.

Hint: it's not the premium guitars.

[RayBarbeeMusic]

And we've already got "Norlin, The Sequel (Only Worse)" going on at Gibson.

Bullsh*t.

There is no comparison, they are making FAR better instruments than in the Norlin era, QC is FAR better, far better than Fender's. You might not like the price, you might not like Henry, but don't talk out of your fanny.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Ask music store employees where there bread and butter are.

Hint: it's not the premium guitars.

BINGO.

The manager of one of my local stores that I've known for a long time told me that he can sell about 30 "Strat Packs" or MIM standards for every one American or CS Fender. The margin is also better on the cheaper guitars. Basically, if his Fender dealer contract didn't force him to stock about 6 CS guitars all the time, then he said he wouldn't even order them because they sit on the wall for a year or longer before they sell.

[ItsaBass]

Bullsh*t.

There is no comparison, they are making FAR better instruments than in the Norlin era, QC is FAR better, far better than Fender's. You might not like the price, you might not like Henry, but don't talk out of your fanny.

I take it you disagree.

That's really all there is too it. Someone is not talking out of their ass or spewing bull**** just because he'll take most Norlins over most of what is coming out today. Both periods are bad; don't get me wrong. And I wasn't trying to make some grand point about what is, absolutely. I was just voicing my frustration with the big U.S. guitar companies.

There are more cool models and cool colors today, and the custom shop is good. But the quality of so-called "craftsmanship" is much worse today, and the wood seems just as bad, if not worse. IMO, what they are doing today actually makes the Norlins look halfway decent in comparison.

[Scott_F]

Not sure what I think about this. Tough time to go public right now. It'll be interesting to see where the price settles out after a few days post IPO.

[Inkstained]

I spoke/wrote too hastily. Fender pulled in more than $700M in 2011, according to a Reuters story. Nearly 3/4 of the way to a cool billion. For a guitar/amp producer in a tough economy, that's pretty good.

Still, once "FNDR" goes public, the push will be on to improve that number, year after year, quarter after quarter.

As long as I can get a good American-made Strat or Tele, I'll be happy.