Gibson Acquires Mesa/Boogie

Randy Smith with JC Curleigh and Cesar Gueikian

More music industry news is rolling in to start the year as it has been announced that Gibson has acquired Mesa/Boogie. Randy Smith, who founded the amplifier company 51 years ago, will join Gibson as “Master Designer and Pioneer of Mesa/Boogie and beyond.”

“I’m 75 years-old and still at work every day,” he says. “This is my art and many of our crew have worked along my side for 30 to 40 years. As we witnessed [President/CEO James ‘JC’ Curleigh] and [Cesar Gueikian] transform Gibson, we saw kindred spirits sharing common values and a fierce dedication to quality. Today, Gibson’s guitars are the best-ever and when they asked if we’d like to become Gibson’s Custom Shop for Amplifiers, we envisioned a perfect collaboration that would expand our outreach while preserving our legacy beyond my time. Gibson realizes the unique value of what we’ve all built together and this next chapter in the Mesa/Boogie story is a continuation of that dream. I am so fortunate for this partnership with the new Gibson after 50 years of doing what I love. It’s been the ride of my life . . . and it ain’t over yet!”

Billed as the “first boutique amplifier company,” Mesa/Boogie currently produces the Subway series of amps, cabs, and preamplifiers for bass in addition to their guitar products. The very first Mesa amp was the Bass 450, created by Smith for a bassist named Patrick “Buzz” Burke.

“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 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.”

We’ll keep you updated with more details as they become available.

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Leave a Reply to Joe Sheil Cancel reply

  1. Joe Sheil

    Good luck and respectfully submitted … hope they do well w MB. Somewhat skeptical. What does this bring to consumers? Where will manufacturing take place? Asked by a fan – a fellow with a 1978 MB Mk I.

  2. JOSEPH MILLS

    I confess to being extremely sceptical about this – bordering on concerned for Mesa.

    From my limited memory, I can’t think of a brand acquisition which Gibson have managed well (in fact, I understood that some of their recent problems were related to mismanaged acquisitions). As a bass player, it’s more concerning as Gibson’s track record suggests they’ll make a single product, and leave it to fester in the corner forever. Tobias? Steinberger?