EDITORIAL: NEW GUITAR BRAND... BY GUITAR CENTER?

Any opinions in this post are solely mine and may not reflect the views and opinions of Omni Guitars.

"Guitar Center CEO Game Dalporto says the retailer is going to build 'the best guitar that has ever been made.'"

Umm, yeah... I'll believe when I see it and play it. Call me skeptical since I was not impressed when I had Guitar Center replace the Bendmaster bridge in my 1985 Westone Spectrum LX with a Floyd Rose (Bendmaster bridges are an extinct species). That guitar has not been the same since.

Not only is Guitar Center setting up its own in-house guitar brand, but they are also asking guitar players for help.

Dalporto continues, “We are about to do something insane. We are going to build a revolutionary guitar and guitar brand from the ground up. Guitars haven’t changed that much in the last 50 years, and we’re about to change that. We have something that nobody else has: a relationship with you. Our customers are incredible musicians. And we’re going to work with you in public, out loud, and share our designs, take your feedback, iterate, and make the best guitar that has ever been made."

But just what do they mean by "take your feedback?"

Guitar Center was kind enough to post their legal statement on TikTok:

“By submitting your idea, design, suggestion or feedback (collectively, “Idea”), you affirm that your Idea is your original creation, and that any Idea submitted by you is wholly original and owned by you, and cleared for use by Guitar Center, Inc. (“Guitar Center”) without the need for additional licensing.

"By submitting your Idea, you assign, transfer, give and relinquish to Guitar Center all right, title and interest in and to the Idea or any material based upon or derived therefrom for no consideration. Guitar Center may use and exploit, without any payment or attribution obligation of any kind, any Idea you provide to Guitar Center.

“You waive any moral and similar rights you may have in such Idea. If requested by Guitar Center, you agree to execute and deliver all documents needed to confirm the assignment and transfer of your Idea to Guitar Center.”

While I am not a lawyer, I took a class on torts and contracts during my MBA program. Essentially, what GC says is that once you submit an idea that you thought of, you no longer own it. Guitar Center does. Upon submission, GC can do whatever it wants with your idea without compensating you in any way. In addition, they own all rights, title, and interest in and for any materials or derivatives they create from that idea. You can never use your idea to build guitars and sell them on your own. You cannot license your idea to anyone else. You cannot sell your idea to anyone else. Technically, you can't even build a guitar with your idea for personal use. Because once you submit the idea, you no longer own it. You're giving away an idea that could prove extremely valuable, with nothing to show for it and no compensation. Not even an honorable mention somewhere. And, as suggested by the second-to-last line, you can't sue them.

In a nutshell, they want guitar players to be their research and development team, give them ideas, and any accompanying documentation. FOR FREE.

I'm willing to bet that the guitars they produce will be expensive and overpriced, and if they are anything like their in-store luthier services, crap.

Read the entire article here...

My recommendation? Don't send Guitar Center any ideas. Then, wait and see if their new "best ever" guitars end up heavily discounted on the new Musician's Friend, and then buy one to try out. Maybe.

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