Jeremy Morton Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Hello All, Here is article that was just posted on Gibson.com Master Luthier Ren Ferguson Retires from Gibson Guitar http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/News/ren-ferguson-retires-0111-2012/
j45nick Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Hmmmmmmm........????? If Ren starts building guitars under his own name, he's going to be swamped with work. Somehow, that doesn't completely square with doing "special projects" with Gibson. I guess time will tell.
slimt Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Whos Dennis O’Brien? He hasnt been there for 25 years.. at least not what I remember of.. I do believe as well... After Larry English was removed.. Gibson Acoustic went through quite a few GMs..
emmonsh Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 everything i read on other forums has him being hired by fender
Harmonics101 Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 It struck me odd that he would move to another company, no less Fender. Have you been to Bozeman Montana ? Just for the fact its Bozeman Montana I'd be surprised if he'd want to move from there. Not sure if he's actually originally from there. Same with Kopp and Walker, why aren't they at some other company ? Cuz they can stay in Montana, building their dream guitars in their dream location. Harmonics101
slimt Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 It struck me odd that he would move to another company, no less Fender. Have you been to Bozeman Montana ? Just for the fact its Bozeman Montana I'd be surprised if he'd want to move from there. Not sure if he's actually originally from there. Same with Kopp and Walker, why aren't they at some other company ? Cuz they can stay in Montana, building their dream guitars in their dream location. Harmonics101 I do believe Kevin and John are Building there own Brands of High End Killer Guitars..
Red 333 Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Here's a very good profile of Ren from the October 2008 edition of Premier Guitar. Ren Profile From Premier Guitar Red 333
rar Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Have you been to Bozeman Montana ? Every time I visit Bozeman in the summer, I think it would be great to live there. :) Just for the fact its Bozeman Montana I'd be surprised if he'd want to move from there. Not sure if he's actually originally from there. He's not moving, although he's not from Bozeman. But there are so many plusses to Bozeman over LA, I can see sticking with Bozeman despite the weather. -- Bob R
slimt Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Here's a very good profile of Ren from the October 2008 edition of Premier Guitar. Ren Profile From Premier Guitar Red 333 Great Read....
Danner Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I give props to Mr. Ferguson and Gibson for the manner in which they are handling this epic transition, it demonstrates the absolute professionalism an class of both.
gotomsdos Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 "he will look to expand his own brand and creative outlets – including his own signature guitars, as well as black powder gun building and engraving. " black powder gun ? with Ren ？
struma6 Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I give props to Mr. Ferguson and Gibson for the manner in which they are handling this epic transition, it demonstrates the absolute professionalism an class of both. +10 Best of luck and tons of gratitude to you, Ren!
modoc_333 Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 "he will look to expand his own brand and creative outlets – including his own signature guitars, as well as black powder gun building and engraving. " black powder gun ? with Ren ？ Ren loves hunting and black powder guns. I hear he makes some beautiful pieces!
pfox14 Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 So, is the rumor about him going to Fender true or false? I would doubt he would go to Fender - they don't build good acoustic guitars, What would be the point.
ParlourMan Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 So, is the rumor about him going to Fender true or false? I would doubt he would go to Fender - they don't build good acoustic guitars, What would be the point. ...to build good acoustic guitars... Using their brand awareness and a big industry figure to spearhead a total rethink could be just what it takes to shift a lot of new acoustic lines. True Fender and acoustic don't inspire much confidence at this point, much like Norlin & Gibson didn't for quite a long time too. ;)
EuroAussie Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Plus work on Guild, which would, for me, be the obvious place to start .... seems like the Gibson PR machine might not be entirely transparent with this news. And fair enough, thats why they have a PR department, thats their job. ...to build good acoustic guitars... Using their brand awareness and a big industry figure to spearhead a total rethink could be just what it takes to shift a lot of new acoustic lines. True Fender and acoustic don't inspire much confidence at this point, much like Norlin & Gibson didn't for quite a long time too. ;)
ParlourMan Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Plus work on Guild, which would, for me, be the obvious place to start .... seems like the Gibson PR machine might not be entirely transparent with this news. And fair enough, thats why they have a PR department, thats their job. Oh yeah, for sure regarding Guild... I was just being a little flippant about the "what would be the point" part... ;) I'd say any massive Fender rethink regarding acoustic lines could take some huge amounts of time, turnaround and hard slog at shows trying to promote them, so even with a name like Ren on board it's going to take a while to convince people... Even with a great guitar build by Ren they're still up against "Fender = Rubbish" in the acoustic market. Guild is already a brand with a huge amount of respect, it would make sense for them to expand lines in the US manufactured sector of the company to challenge against the big three now that they've downgraded the bling on a lot of the GAD lines. Realistically, the Ren name means the most to the people here and other Gibson aficionados, most guitar players I know wouldn't know who Ren Ferguson was to be honest and I dare say the biggest amount of post-Gibson work done by Ren will be sought out/tried/bought by the likes of us here and other Gibson enthusiasts. +1 on the PR. as you say it is their job....
j45nick Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Here's a very good profile of Ren from the October 2008 edition of Premier Guitar. Ren Profile From Premier Guitar Red 333 That article is really helpful in understanding a lot of things.
Harmonics101 Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Where did this 'rumour' that Ren Ferguson is going to Fender ? If you read that nice article about him, he LOVES living in Montana, why would he go anywhere else ? Not for money I'm sure. If Ren Ferguson moves outside of Montana, I'll eat my Martins B) Harmonics101
guitarstrummer Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 The "rumor" about Ren going to work for Fender came from information on another guitar forum and also Hogeye mentioned it in one of his posts on this forum. I have personally talked to Ren and he also told me that he was offered a position with Fender after they found out that he had left Gibson. Also, Fender did not require him to relocate so he will not be leaving Montana.
Harmonics101 Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 So basically that Fender news is hearsay. Judge Judy's court doesn't allow this and neither does the highly regarded opinon of Harmonics101 :) It would be like a designer at Tiffany's quitting and going to work for Sears. Its a serious step down as far as that person's image and prestige, in my humble opinion. My convictions stand, Ferguson aint moving outside of Montana nor is he gonna be working for Fender. If any of these two events occur, your talkin' to someone that will have one less Martin in the fold and one HUGE case of indigestion B) Harmonics101
Red 333 Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 The "rumor" about Ren going to work for Fender came from information on another guitar forum and also Hogeye mentioned it in one of his posts on this forum. I have personally talked to Ren and he also told me that he was offered a position with Fender after they found out that he had left Gibson. Also, Fender did not require him to relocate so he will not be leaving Montana. So, will he be doing work for them, and in what capacity? Or, did they make an offer, and he declined? Red 333
guitarstrummer Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Red, he accepted their job offer and he will be working for them. I'm not sure he wants the details of what he'll be doing made public at this time, so I can't/won't comment on that now. He is very happy with his decision to leave Gibson at this time and is excited to start a new chapter in his life.
Red 333 Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Red, he accepted their job offer and he will be working for them. I'm not sure he wants the details of what he'll be doing made public at this time, so I can't/won't comment on that now. He is very happy with his decision to leave Gibson at this time and is excited to start a new chapter in his life. Wow. Thanks, guitarstrummer. It'll be exciting to see what Ren does next. We all wish him well. And Gibson, of course. Any word on how they will compensate for Ren's departure? Red 333
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