I used to be a regular contributor to the OFC, but for reasons irrelevant to the purpose of this post I stopped contributing some time ago. I am motivated to make a final post by recent events

I am deeply saddened, though by no means surprised, by Fender’s decision to cease domestic production of Ovation Guitars. The very action is an insult to  CHK, Jim Rickard, CWK, and the team that not only pioneered the use of synthetics in guitar manufacture, but also gave it market acceptance. It is an even bigger insult to the fine craftsmen in NH who not only created an icon, and numerous industry “firsts” but  in recent years, some of the finest traditional guitars too.

The reality is, that compared to mainstream consumer goods the guitar making business is tiny. Way too small and insignificant for corporatization.  It’s been tried in the past and we all know how well that turned out. The most successful guitar companies are small, with realistic ambitions of a market share that will keep them in business and everyone fed, rather than keeping hedge-fund managers in gravy. We all know who owns Martin, and Godin and PRS, and Santa Cruz, and Collings and National and Rickenbacker etc, etc, etc. We all knew the guys behind Hamer, long after they were acquired by Kaman.  Not that long ago Bill Kaman was the face of Ovation every time a collectors edition was released. And even though Ovation was a subsidiary of a massive corporation, it operated autonomously, to all intents and purposes as a family business.  Now, tell me, who the hell owns Fender? And does anyone actually care?

It strikes me as ironic that Fender, a company which exists solely as the result of an employee buyout of a brand destroyed by corporate bean-counting, is destined to make the same mistakes all over again. When they go, and they will, I for one will not shed a single tear. Right now the guitar industry will be better off without them. It would be easy to draw a cynical conclusion that they have been acquiring competing brands with the sole purpose of elimination, and that used to be my opinion, based on their MO. Now I think it is simply down to absolute and total incompetence at the highest management level.

I will continue to perform, record and teach with my many unfashionable plastic guitars, built with skill and pride in Ct. To my friends, and the fine artisans in New Hartford, I wish you the best for the future, and I thank you for everything you have done.

Fuck Fender