I think the death of the guitar is overstated. US sales alone top 2m guitars a year and have been steadily so for almost a decade. It may be the case that the heyday of rock and the dreams of kids to play guitar have been impacted by digital instrumentation and growing gaming culture but in the larger picture, perhaps the 70s-90s were the blip on the high side rather than a norm from which we've declined -- the guitar, in its basic form, is still a regular person's instrument, easy enough to get a tune out of without major learning or cost. I'm biased as I play, but I see my son's friends play too, even if few have the passion to be the next guitar hero.
Gibson is still with us and making a smart move to refocus on guitars rather than all the other stuff they were overreaching into over the last decade. I think they'll survive just fine. In fact, so iconic are the names Gibson and Fender etc that it is very difficult for any new builder to break into the market, no matter the economy. Add in the pretty amazing improvements in affordable derivative guitars made overseas then it's hard to imagine new US names breaking through quickly without major endorsements. We need Fender to get interested in the AVS designs....
