Gibson has lost their freaking minds...

[Zerberus]

I agree on the diversification... the company I work for used to be a pure "Pc-stuff only" mail order /online shop, but now we sell guitars, cutlery, the occasional auto part...

That said, a >4GB Les Paul USB stick I would buy immediately

[max]

If it was sunburst, I'd be all over it.

[ambitotpuphang]

Long time ago. Their Custom Shop prices are way too unreal.

[Jason1212]

All this said bottom line if it is quality stuff and the price is right then why not? I would really like to know if they developed this themselves or they are just branding someone elses stuff.

[jwoods986]

Product line diversification is what destroyed Norlin in the 70s. History repeating itself?

Ok, who or what is Norlin? I've seen that name on the LP Forum too and have no idea what it is/was. Thanks.

[jcm800x]

That's fucking retarded, one of the stupidest things I've ever seen. What's next, Porche chewing gum?

[siggy14]

You will hear the term Norlin Era, here is a explaination of it.

In 1969 Gibson became the property of Norlin, a company formed by the merger of CMI and ECI, an Ecuadorian brewery. It was the beginning of a dark era that many collectors feel had negative repercussions equivalent to those associated with the CBS takeover of Fender.

A few products of note came out during the '70s, including the L-5S and the Kalamazoo Award. However, most of the models were dismal commercial failures, such as the ill-fated Mark-series acoustics and the Marauder, S-1, and RD electrics. Nonetheless, demand for Gibson guitars was brisk, and the company opened an additional production plant in Nashville in 1974. Gibson's follies continued into the early '80s. Sales declined, and the company was forced to close its Kalamazoo factory in '84. Several poorly received new models were introduced and discontinued in a flash, including the Victory, Sonex, Futura, Corvus, Challenger, Invader, and Spirit solidbodies. There were a few bright spots, namely the Chet Atkins Standard classical electric and the Chet Atkins SST steel-string electric/acoustic, both still in production. Norlin eventually woke up, smelled the polyurethane, and decided to bail out of the guitar business.

In January 1986 Henry Juskiewicz (Gibson's current president), David Berryman, and Gary Zebrowski purchased the entire Gibson operation. Juskiewicz was a huge fan of Gibson guitars, and he vowed to revive the company's reputation as a builder of quality instruments

Ok, who or what is Norlin? I've seen that name on the LP Forum too and have no idea what it is/was. Thanks.