[I Garcia (TexasFury)]

You guys make great guitars, who wouldn't want to own a Les Paul? But when it comes to that Hendrix Strat, WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING? Imagine if Fender decided they were gonna make a Slash Les Paul. Sounds pretty stupid, right? Or imagine GM deciding to make a Steve McQueen Bullitt Mustang. Pretty ridiculous, eh?

While you have made some cool Stat platform type guitars (like the Victory), regarding the Hendrix thing we simply ask, WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING? Did you guys have so little faith in your own instruments that Hendrix actually played (like the V) that you had to use a competitor's creation? Everyone seriously wants to know what your reasoning was.

EDIT: CHANGED WORD THAT IS A REAL WORD INTO ITS ANALOG (which still means the same thing)

This post has been edited by TexasFury: 14 July 2010 - 05:13 PM

[K W (kelv_w)]

Gibson could do one of these

[d papazoglou (dem00n)]

You know in the 80's gibson make superstrats...the name i cant remeber.

[H Juszkiewicz (HenryJ)]

I Garcia (TexasFury), on 14 July 2010 - 11:20 PM, said:

You guys make great guitars, who wouldn't want to own a Les Paul? But when it comes to that Hendrix Strat, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? Imagine if Fender decided they were gonna make a Slash Les Paul. Sounds pretty stupid, right? Or imagine GM deciding to make a Steve McQueen Bullitt Mustang. Pretty ridiculous, eh?

While you have made some cool Stat platform type guitars (like the Victory), regarding the Hendrix thing we simply ask, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? Did you guys have so little faith in your own instruments that Hendrix actually played (like the V) that you had to use a competitor's creation? Everyone seriously wants to know what your reasoning was.

Please cool it on the expletives. I am trying to make this a good place for some real discussion. There will be other spots where strong opinions are more appropriate.

What most people today do not realize, is that Jimi Hendrix was not about playing yesterdays favorites, whether it was his playing style, his songs, the way he dressed, etc. He was one of the most innovative guitarist ever, continually searching for new and better. I talked to Henry Goldrich who owned and ran Manny's about Jimi walking in virtually every week to check out new pedals, guitars, etc.

What Jimi played during his career is a fact. But what our product was about was not duplicating a guitar he played, but trying to design a guitar he would have loved today, that was true to his spirit of innovation.

The product we had designed had a set neck (not bolt-in) with many subtle improvements from the way the vibrola worked to the way the neck was shaped. There were three models designed with the high end model have our Robot Tuner technology and a Steinberger bridge.

We had actually worked on this for months and ran everything by the Hendrix Estate to make sure they were happy. Then, just as were were going to start production, the Estate saw rants on forums and an article regarding a guitar the writer had not actually seen in person, and the estate backed out.

We actually get many people calling us asking us where the instruments are because they wanted to buy one.

There are many players that change brands throughout their career. Carlos and Eric played SG's. Eddie became famous playing our Kramer brand.

I would not do something I am not proud of, and those guitars were great designs that were a tribute to a great innovator and player. Ultimately, it is you the customer that gets to decide, by either buying or not buying a product. I only wish we could have been allowed to let our customers make that decision.

Thanks for asking.

[H Juszkiewicz (HenryJ)]

d papazoglou (dem00n), on 14 July 2010 - 11:37 PM, said:

You know in the 80's gibson make superstrats...the name i cant remeber.

Gibson's attempt to get closer to the Leo's work was the Firebird that was introduced in the early 60's. It was by no means a copy, but had a 6 in line headstock, provocative headstock shape, a whammy bar and three mini pickups.

We had several Strat TM like instruments, neither of which was a copy, but clearly departed from a traditional path.

The US- and the U2. The US-1 was made in very limited quantities and was a really great instrument in my opinion.

Thanks for the comment.

[I Garcia (TexasFury)]

No one has ever decried your Strat style offerings as copying. In fact I thought the Victory and the US were interesting. We could have accepted you guys making a whimsical "what if" fantasy guitar, if you had only marketed it that way in the literature at that time. Instead that particular project came off as riding Fender's coattails.

[H Juszkiewicz (HenryJ)]

I Garcia (TexasFury), on 15 July 2010 - 12:27 AM, said:

No one has ever decried your Strat style offerings as copying. In fact I thought the Victory and the US were interesting. We could have accepted you guys making a whimsical "what if" fantasy guitar, if you had only marketed it that way in the literature at that time. Instead that particular project came off as riding Fender's coattails.

Point well taken. You are right and we will learn from this.

[R Simpson (Robert1950)]

I've always liked the idea of Stratocaster inspired set neck guitar. The only one I've seen close is Gene Baker's b3 metal X3 with a thru-neck design. When this idea came out, I was in the small minority that thought this was a good idea. Too bad the Jimi's estate knee-jerked and backed out.

[j waldo (BadBluesPlayer)]

I Garcia (TexasFury), on 14 July 2010 - 05:20 PM, said:

You guys make great guitars, who wouldn't want to own a Les Paul? But when it comes to that Hendrix Strat, WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING? Imagine if Fender decided they were gonna make a Slash Les Paul. Sounds pretty stupid, right? Or imagine GM deciding to make a Steve McQueen Bullitt Mustang. Pretty ridiculous, eh?

While you have made some cool Stat platform type guitars (like the Victory), regarding the Hendrix thing we simply ask, WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING? Did you guys have so little faith in your own instruments that Hendrix actually played (like the V) that you had to use a competitor's creation? Everyone seriously wants to know what your reasoning was.

EDIT: CHANGED WORD THAT IS A REAL WORD INTO ITS ANALOG (which still means the same thing)

Who's "We"? You?

Clue for next time you have the opportunity to influence someone way above your station. Don't yell (caps) and don't swear. Mr. J is a probably a normal person and probably has the sensibilities of a normal person.

[D Phillips (daveinspain)]

I for one would love one of thoughs Henrix Strats that Gibson made.... Any chance of me getting one. I am an avid Gibson collector and would love to hve one. I know some were made and finished, how many and what happened to them I have no idea. But I'd love to know... Feel free to send me a private message if there is any chance of buying one...

Dave

[J Hall (Jonny Rocker)]

I actually thought they were pretty neat looking. However, I'm sure that they would not be available in left handed. WTF?!

None of the Gibson or Fender Hendrix signature guitars have been available in left hand.

[D Phillips (daveinspain)]

J Hall (Jonny Rocker), on 15 July 2010 - 03:20 PM, said:

I actually thought they were pretty neat looking. However, I'm sure that they would not be available in left handed. WTF?!

None of the Gibson or Fender Hendrix signature guitars have been available in left hand.

Hendrix's guitars weren't left handed either... He took righty guitars and strung them backwards.... So Gibson was doing it right...

[M Berka (EmBee)]

I must admit to have been one of the bloggers mentioned above, one of those who threw a fit after the announcement of the JH Signature deal.

I have to say I think I over-reacted somewhat...

Still all the news items on Gibson.com then only mentioned three beginner's sets that comprised a bolt-on neck -guitar, a cheapo amplifier and some Hendrix-related paraphernalia (like a tie-dye shirt).

Back then I felt that a.) Gibson was trying to take credit for JH's past achievements and that b.) these sets were cheapening Hendrix' name, legacy and image.

[C Yiannias (Yiann)]

I have to confess that when I first heard about the Jimi-Branded models I did a double-take.However Henry's response has brought me around to some degree:

Why not create a spiritual successor to Hendrix' iconic instruments. Cutting edge AND high quality. Why not create a legitimate cutting-edge, super high-quality (Tom Anderson or G&L quality/finish/prestige) guitar? If any large company is associated with quality it is Gibson.

Initially, it seemed like a really odd thing to do since Hendix was so closely associated with the Strat. On top of it, he played other beautiful Gibsons at various different times, so why not use that angle (much like the Jeff Beck Oxblood Les Pauls). The whole project with the starter packages seems like more of a Epiphone (or even Maestro) level endeavor; a little beneath Gibson and off-message. Kind of like when Jeep changed the headlight shape to square and nearly had a revolt on their hands.

I guess that is the problem with having iconic models and being an iconic brand overall. I am sure that even Fender is constrained by this consumer-conservatism.

[a mcnab (snaredrum)]

i was far more repelled by the hate for this idea than i was by the guitar itself. just my 2 currency units

[B Bowden (Bobb)]

Like many others, I did not like that way that the Hendrix name was being used with that new line.

The Jimi starter sets with the cheap strat-like guitar, practice amp, bandana, etc. were one step above blasphemy in my eyes.

The Jimi Inspired Baldwin Piano was beyond comprehension.

As for the upper-end setneck solid body that was part of this, I also felt that it should not be part of any Hendrix tribute or legacy but the guitar, itself, did look intriguing. If that guitar was released without the Hendrix name, it would probably do very well both in sales and respect. Come up with a new name for that design and see how the public reacts to it. Personally, I think it would be a positive move.

[M Berka (EmBee)]

As a PS:

Have just toned down my raving and ranting blog entry from last year on the subject.

[D Garden (Davie Bluesman)]

As Jimi was predominantly a Strat player I don't think Gibson would profit to any great extent much by producing a 'Jimi' signature model of any Gibson he did play. I don't know anyone who talks about wanting a 'Jimi' Gibson, and I've been playing for 45 years and lucky enough to see jimi playing,(a strat). This idea is very like asking for a Rory Gallagher Gibson signature, Rory played a Strat mostly but did have at least one rarely used Gibson so all in all I think this is no go.