My Vai VLD1 Legacy Drive Pedal

OGG

OGG

Master of the Meh
So my buddy that worked for "Company X" and who hooked me up with this bad dog, did so under the caveat that it still and will always belong to "Company X" and that it had no warranty, I could never sell it or say specifically how I got it, and that "Company X" reserved the right to ask for it back at any time... But that was EXTREMELY unlikely. Ok, no problem, I know the drill. Been there, done that.

Well, recently "Company X" split into two different companies, one keeping the original name and continuing the core business, and one ("Company Y") only building guitars.

X sold the building they originally paid $20M for when they moved several years ago for $5M... And then bought a much smaller building for $8M... Yes, I'm serious, and don't call me Shirley.

X is struggling mightily now and on the verge of going tits up. A long standing, well known American company looks to be pretty much heading for a complete shut down. There have been many lay-offs and more are coming.

My buddy was about to be one of the unlucky ones, but the brother from "Y" recruited him over. He's now at "Y", which is booming and very stable.

So... The Vai Pedal...

It's now officially "mine". "X" has no paper trail, no record of it, and as a pre-production unit with a hand written serial number (5), it doesn't "exist". So, cool... I love the shit out of this thing. It really can make pretty much any amp with a clean channel and some headroom sound like an unholy beast. It makes my JC-77 hilariously wicked. :)
 
Bob411 said:
Got an E mail from company X last week. 25% off most things.
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The inside scoop days they're done by year end. Actually quite a sad thing. It's a local company that's been a big name in the industry for many many decades and for most of that time, was based here in Escondido where I'm from and live, until moving to the larger facilities a few miles south. They employ a lot of people who are going to be screwed.

Once the dad handed things down to his two sons, everything went to shit. The son that runs the failing portion is a fucking idiot. The other son is not, and that's why he split the guitar building portion off into a separate company. He brought that portion back here to Escondido too, which is cool. That business is going very well. I know they don't get much love here, but he's all about building a great guitar. Obviously a much smarter businessman than his asshole brother.
 
That's a bummer. Back in the 80's, I loved when the catalog showed up. That was quality barthroom material. Trying to figure out which model, which options, what color all while taking a dump. Do you know which company got the amps? My brother in law had one of their half stacks ages ago. That thing was a loud face melting machine.
 
Chad said:
That's a bummer. Back in the 80's, I loved when the catalog showed up. That was quality barthroom material. Trying to figure out which model, which options, what color all while taking a dump. Do you know which company got the amps? My brother in law had one of their half stacks ages ago. That thing was a loud face melting machine.
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The Guitar Division ("Y") only does guitars. Everything else comes from "X". Sadly, that means my shiny new pedal will be a collectors item very soon.

The fact that they sent out a 25% discount offer is unprecedented in Company history and speaks volumes about the state they're in. They have NEVER done discounts... EVER. They have always had a "the list price is the street price, period" way of doing business. I've told the story here before of walking in there one day in the late 80s with a big fat envelope full of crisp new C-notes and buying a complete live rig for my band at the time. I spent two hours with the sales guy "building" my system that ended up being: an MX2488 24 channel desk, a pair of MOSFET 900W Power Amps for the Mains, a pair of MOSFET 400W Power Amps for the Monitors, 4 15" EV loaded mains, 4 12" EV loaded monitors, a rack for the amps, a snake etc... It was just over $10K. When I asked the guy what kind of deal he could give me, he very deadpan said "That IS the deal". Wouldn't even throw in a free cable... But I DID get a free Bumper Sticker!

Fuckers didn't even help us load the shit into our truck. They stacked everything at the end of the loading dock and walked back inside... Rolling the bay door down behind them.

Maybe Alex Lifeson got better "service", but I'll bet he didn't get a discount.
 
Wow, on the refusal to help with the load out. I went to the new neighborhood Guitar Center today, purchased a $200 powered speaker, and the freakin' store manager carried it to my car for me.
 
I wish Company Y would stop putting those damned graphite rods in their necks. I get that their target demographic likes them (prog, metal, etc) but I've hated the last two guitars I got from them... one I was able to return, the other I took a bath on.

Also, since they custom this, custom that.... I wish they offered a lighter/heavier option and weighed the damn slabs... and I mean slabs as in concrete... both guitars were heavy as boat anchors... and the second one sounded like one.
 
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Bob411 said:
The resent the email yesterday. shop now brings you to this:

https://carvinaudio.com/collections...&utm_campaign=25% off Sale&utm_content=Banner
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Yup, that is absolutely unprecedented. Some pretty good deals there, but it will suck for anyone who buys some of that stuff when it comes time to get a warranty repair or replacement and nobody's home at the empty building it was made in and shipped from in a few months.
baimun said:
I wish Company Y would stop putting those damned graphite rods in their necks. I get that their target demographic likes them (prog, metal, etc) but I've hated the last two guitars I got from them... one I was able to return, the other I took a bath on.

Also, since they custom this, custom that.... I wish they offered a lighter/heavier option and weighed the damn slabs... and I mean slabs as in concrete... both guitars were heavy as boat anchors... and the second one sounded like one.
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Toanz r in teh mass yo!

Apparently, a lot of folks are quite happy with the "new" build techniques and materials. That portion of the business is stronger than ever. They're still not "my thing", but if I was a Metal/Prog/Math Rock guy I'd be all over that shit. I "can" get a guitar built at a significant discount over retail if I want, but they really don't have anything that appeals to me or covers any sonic ground I don't already have multiple redundant mains and back-ups for. Even spending as "little" as it would cost me just isn't justifiable. I wish they had something that really blew my mind, but no.
 
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