Government Raids Gibson Guitars

The government has confiscated $1 million worth of guitars and raw materials from the Gibson Guitar Factories in Nashville and Memphis.

Is this really the best use of our scarce law enforcement resources?

Allegedly, Gibson imported exotic woods that were logged either illegally or improperly.  Similar allegations from 2009 remain unresolved.  You can read the whole story here from the AJC.com.

In a time of economic softness, high unemployment, uncertainty about the future, I think it would be helpful for the government to help businesses to grow and give them assistance in complying with laws instead of shutting down their operations.

Gibson could easily have the guitars made in Indonesia, and this issue would go away.  Who does that help?

On a personal note, I have been to the Gibson Guitar Factory in Nashville twice as part of their annual dealer conference and the Fortune Magazine Battle of the Corporate Bands.  It is a fantastic place and they set up tents with every imaginable guitar, and free access to play them all. We were fortunate enough to play on their stage twice and open for both Gretchen Wilson and Cheap Trick.  See photos below.

Hopefully Gibson will continue to make beautiful guitars, made in the USA.

Powered by Cincopa WordPress plugin

Like This Article?

4 Responses to “Government Raids Gibson Guitars”

  1. Lori on September 2nd, 2011:

    Don’t mess with the guitars!

  2. Brian on September 2nd, 2011:

    Such a great point, Bryan – they could have easily moved their operations offshore like so many other manufacturers. They’re here in the good ol’ US of A and this is what they get?

  3. Larry on September 2nd, 2011:

    This was really interesting. I was at a conference this summer where Fender loaned instruments so that folks could unwind and just jam. I don’t play, but this made me want to visit Gibson.

  4. vurtil opmer on September 2nd, 2011:

    I intended to create you one little word in order to thank you very much once again regarding the unique opinions you’ve shown on this page. It’s really particularly open-handed with you to allow without restraint just what a few individuals could possibly have marketed as an e book to help make some dough for their own end, mostly since you could possibly have done it if you wanted. Those good tips additionally served to become a fantastic way to fully grasp that many people have similar fervor like my very own to understand lots more with respect to this problem. Certainly there are millions of more enjoyable periods in the future for many who examine your site.