Fender....the kiss of death.

[Chuck M]

Fender has purchased several manufacturers of great bass equipment and then shut them down. I suppose there is some good reason for this but I don't see it. Fender makes some great guitar amps but the bass amps have never been very popular.

So I presently own 3 amps built by companies that no longer are in business. They are my Genz-Benz Streamliner 900, my Genz-Benz Shuttle 9.2 and an SWR 350X. They all have their own voice and sound great.

I wonder how many users of these amps have gone to something different simply because the companies that made them are no longer in business.

Also there is the Sunn 1200S (the newer one) that had a great tube front end coupled to a massive 1200 watt power amp. It was a wonderful sounding amp....but was quite heavy. Sunn...also gone.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Fender didn't close them all. Jacksons are still around.

 

[Chuck M]

Seems like they close the companies they buy that make amplifiers. They also used to own Guild and did not close them.

 

[Freddels]

The owner of a company doesn't have to sell to Fender. They sell for one reason or another. Usually it's b/c they need the money b/c the company wasn't doing so great, or the owner(s) are are going to retire.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Yeah, I would imagine those companies are able to give all their upper management golden parachutes with the cash they get from a Fender sell-out.

 

[Dan Knowlton]

Gibson is just as bad, if not WORSE! Anyone ever heard of a defunct brand called "Tobias?" and LOTS of others...

Dan

 

[swamp_bass]

Corporate acquisitions can come in many motives. When it's a brand that doesn't directly compete in their market, it's often a diversification move to expand their portfolio. But if it's a competitor in the same niche, it rarely ends well for the acquired company.

 

[One Drop]

Corporate acquisitions can come in many motives. When it's a brand that doesn't directly compete in their market, it's often a diversification move to expand their portfolio. But if it's a competitor in the same niche, it rarely ends well for the acquired company.

This.

That said, probably for the first time in their history Fender has a few solid lines of good bass amps, and their all-tube offerings are world class and some if the best tube amps ever made.

 

[Pickinator]

Didn't DW (Drum Workshop) just acquire a number of companies in one fell swoop recently? I believe they bought LP (Latin Percussion), Gretsch, and Gibralter hardware? I am not certain though.

 

[noahw1]

I still play my Genz Benz stuff and because I'm a member here I know that Andy and Jeff are still available for assistance on whatever problem may arise with my amp. That being said I'm sure there are plenty of people without that knowledge. A lot of people probably don't even know that Genz Benz is no longer with us nor the fact that Genzler Amplification has risen from the ashes.

 

[SunnBass]

In my opinion, one of the saddest things Fender has ever done, was their ruination of Sunn.

 

[Michedelic]

Not only do companies buy up competitors to 'make them go away', but to also absorb the technology, therefore saving on potential R&D costs.

 

[bholder]

Gibson is just as bad, if not WORSE! Anyone ever heard of a defunct brand called "Tobias?" and LOTS of others...

Dan

Well, not defunct, but out there as a zombie shadow of its former glorious self. I'd rather them kill a brand outright than cheapen it like that just for quick cash.

 

[theduke1]

I love my Genz Benz rigs the Contour 500 2x10 and my Shuttle 6.0 with two 12t cabs. If I ever change it would be to Genzler Amplification
Duke

 

[Rogatien022]

Welcome to capitalism. Nothing will stop that from happening. Getting bigger, stronger, richer is in our genes, unfortunately.

 

[Session1969]

It's the sociopathy of a corporation.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Here we go...

 

[TMARK]

Not only do companies buy up competitors to 'make them go away', but to also absorb the technology, therefore saving on potential R&D costs.

This.

They buy Genz, let them go away, use the tech to bring out the Rumble and Pro Neo cabs. This is pure speculation on my part, but it makes sense.

 

[Bodeanly]

Fender makes some great guitar amps but the bass amps have never been very popular.

I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you over all the a$$ that Fender bass amps kick.

 

[jmverdugo]

Not only do companies buy up competitors to 'make them go away', but to also absorb the technology, therefore saving on potential R&D costs.

I think this is what is happening, Fender is good with tube amps, no so much the solid state stuff, so they bought the technology and sell it as Fender.