Nashville, TN (January 6, 2021) – Gibson Brands, parent company to the Gibson guitar, has acquired guitar amp manufacturer Mesa/Boogie, becoming, in the words of Mesa/Boogie founder Randy Smith, “Gibson’s custom shop for amplifiers.”
The acquisition marks the first major purchase by Gibson Brands since the conglomerate emerged from bankruptcy in 2018. In recent years, Gibson sold off most of the brands from its Gibson Pro Audio division, including the Stanton DJ brand, Cerwin-Vega Pro and Cerwin-Vega Home in July, 2020, opting to focus on its core competency of guitars and related products. The Gibson Pro Audio division is now centered around KRK Systems.
Smith, 75, started Mesa/Boogie 51 years ago in a converted dog kennel under the redwoods of Northern California, creating the company as a boutique amplifier manufacturer whose products are now found in studios and on stages worldwide. Smith will join Gibson as master designer and pioneer of Mesa/Boogie.
Gibson Sells Cerwin-Vega to…Cerwin-Vega
“At Gibson, we are all about leveraging our iconic past and leaning into the innovative future, a quest that started over 100 years ago with our founder, Orville Gibson,” says James ‘JC’ Curleigh, president / CEO of Gibson Brands. “This is a perfect partnership based on our collective professional experiences and passion for sound.”
“Mesa Boogie, led by Randy, has been in service to sound without compromises since the very beginning, and that’s a perfect fit for us,” adds Cesar Gueikian, CMO of Gibson Brands. “We are looking forward to being the best custodians of Mesa Boogie’s iconic heritage that we can be, and at the same time, a steward of its future. We are honored that Randy and the Mesa Boogie team have trusted us to lead Mesa Boogie into the future. Together, we will continue to pursue our mutual quest of sound, quality and craftsmanship and to push the boundaries of how guitar sound is delivered and experienced.”
Mega/Boogie • https://www.mesaboogie.com
Gibson • https://www.gibson.com/