Gibson Guitars filed a lawsuit against Activision’s Guitar Hero game. It seems that Gibson owns a patent on technology simulating a live musical performance. They have insisted that Activision either license their patent, or cease selling any and all versions of the Guitar Hero game.

The funny thing about this lawsuit is that Gibson licensed the right to Activision to model their controller for the Guitar Hero after Gibson guitars. So Gibson knew about the game for the three years that it has been on the market, but did not file a patent lawsuit until Guitar Hero made over 1 billion dollars from sales of guitar Hero.

What is next? Is Gibson going to bring lawsuits against every eight year old kid who pretends that his mother’s broom is a guitar and that he is a start jamming with his favorite band? Sounds kind of silly, but I bet my great grandmother thought a broom was a new technology. Could this be considered a “technology” to simulate a live musical performance?

I find this to be unlikely since most eight year old children do not have enough money for Gibson to go after, but on the other hand maybe they will go after only the children who have wealthy parents. I we should urge our children to stick with air guitar, since open air is not patented, or considered a technology…….. Or is it?

Note to Gibson: We love your guitars. Can you please just concentrate on making a great guitar and leave everyone else alone. If you continue to build a great guitar, we will buy them. If I was Activision, I would call Fender and PRS and license the right to make my controllers in the image of their guitars. I am sure they would be more than happy with the money and the exposure they would receive.

News Article:

http://www.news.com/Gibson-Activisions-Guitar-Hero-violates-patent/2100-1043_3-6234177.html

Gary Allen

Most people can spot a Hartke bass amplifier from a mile away. The signature aluminum cones are a dead giveaway in most cases. Many players have come to depend on these aluminum cones to attain their signature sound. On the other hand some players do not find them to be as warm as the more traditional paper cones. Hartke has come up with a way to satisfy those who sit on the fence. They have introduced a new amplifier and speaker cabinet system called the HyDrive.

The HyDrive continues to innovate by fusing paper and aluminum to create a very interesting and new concept in speaker design technology. By combining the aluminum with paper in the cone, a player will be able to retain the punch and clarity of the aluminum while adding warmth through the paper section.

The Hydrive will be available in three combo amplifier designs including a 1×15, 1×12, and 2×10 combination as well as three dedicated speaker cabinets in a 1×15, 4×10, and 8×10 configuration.

Hartke is one of the top selling bass amplifiers in the world, and the HyDrive is sure to make that fact continue in an upward trend. We have recently found out that we will be receiving a 2×10 combo amplifier for review when they are available to ship. Watch for the review coming soon.

Gary Allen

I sometimes wonder just how many people in top management positions at musical instrument manufacturers know about the products their companies make. Of course in smaller companies this is not as big of an issue because the owner or President is often times very involved in the production aspects. In larger companies however, it seems that more management positions deal with administration, and less with the actual instrument production.

At the NAMM show in January we were visiting the Taylor Guitars booth. We asked if we could shoot a short video with someone talking about a couple of the new guitars they were showing. To our surprise they brought in non other than Bob Taylor himself. Mr. Taylor had not idea we were going to do this, so he pretty much sat down with a couple of guitars and just talked about them. This ended up being among the best video footage we have ever shot. Bob knew these guitars well, and spoke with authority on them. This video was not edited in any way, but is rather a straight up improvisation. It is very clear from this video that Bob Taylor is very much involved with not only his company, but also with the guitars they produce.

We were able to talk to Bob for a few minutes after the video. Mr. Taylor is a class act, yet comes across as a humble and extremely nice guy. I hope that we can get some video footage of Bob Taylor speaking about more guitars next January.

Gary Allen
 

I have been a huge fan of Mackie products since the mid 90's when I had the opportunity to use their 1604VLZ-Pro mixing board in extensive gigging applications. Their products are of extremely good quality and sound, yet are affordable to almost all players. This is why I contacted Mackie when we started GuitarGearHeads.com, and started building a relationship with them. We have reviewed many of their products on our site over the last five years, and will continue this year with some new product they have introduced.

The thing that has always amazed me with Mackie's products is the quality of sound and ease of use all packed in a rugged yet very affordable package. I have never found any products over such a diverse line that meet these requirements at this price point. Sure, there may be more expensive and better sounding products on the market, but the price point puts them far out of my reach, and the sound quality difference is minimal at best for my applications, and for the needs of most live sound and studio application of the home studio owner. In fact, some of the biggest names in the industry are touring with Mackie products in their every night rigs. That should be a strong testament that more expensive equipment is not always better.

My personal collection of Mackie products that I have acquired over the last few years includes a pair of HR824 Studio Monitors, a 1604 Onyx mixing board with firewire card, a Control Universal pro, a C4 Pro,  2 Control universal Extenders, a FR-1400 power amplifier, a Quad EQ, a Quad Comp, and many other items. I really enjoy the ease of use, and compatibility of all these products, and I am looking forward to continuing to work with Mackie for many years. Their products as good as they are, seem to improve with every new generation, and they are truly innovative in their product development.

Gary Allen 

G&L Guitars has been one of my favorite companies since I received my first guitar from them in 2003. I have since received many of their guitars, and I am always amazed by the quality, and attention to detail that is put into these guitars. While many of the first models I played were completely hand built, G&L has since moved on to CNC rough cut bodies that are still fine tuned and finished by hand. Even with this new technology, the newer G&L's I have played maintain the high quality standards that I have come to expect from their guitars.

At the 2008 Winter NAMM show. G&L introduced two very notable new products. The first is their brand new hollow body electrics in the Comanche, S-500, and Legacy configurations. These are US built guitars and maintain the qualities of their parent models with the exception of an F-Hole and hollow chamber on the top side. GuitarGearHeads.com is already on the books to receive the hollow body S-500 model for review in the third quarter of this year.

The second significant model in their like is their flagship Comanche in the Tribute series. This guitar is an incredible achievement in guitar design and is now available in a more affordable version for those who could not afford the US built model. It comes in an awesome Bengal Burst finish. If this guitar can live up to the standards of its big brother (which I have no reason to believe it won't) there are going to be a lot of very happy players who may have never owned one of these guitars.  I will be reviewing the Comanche Tribute model when they become available. I am anticipating the opportunity to add one of these guitars to my personal collection.

www.glguitars.com

Posted By: Gary Allen