Dean Guitars Attains Win in Appeal Against Gibson D ean Guitars has announced a significant legal victory in its long-standing trademark dispute with Gibson Brands. The U.S. Court of Appeals in the 5th circuit ruled in favor of Dean Guitars by granting a full reversal and a new trial — vindicating the company’s position that its longstanding use of certain guitar models does not infringe on Gibson’s trademarks. The court held that evidence of countless other companies making these guitar models must be allowed to be shown in court. “We are incredibly pleased with the court’s decision,” said Pam Rubinson, CEO of Dean’s parent company Armadillo Enterprises. “This court’s ruling affirms our commitment to Dean’s legacy V and Z models that have been in continuous production since 1977 and reinforces our belief in fair competition within the guitar industry. We have always strived to respect the history of guitar craftsmanship while bringing our own unique flair to the market. This is a complete vindication, we have fought this battle and won on our behalf of Dean Guitars and every other guitar manufacturer in the industry.” {deanguitars.com} this event, Powers used Taylor’s new 50th Anniversary Collection as the framework to tell the company’s story, engaging in moder- ated discussion, demos, and Q&A highlighting classic guitars and recent product launches. They also touched on the contributions that Powers has made personally since joining Taylor in 2011, namely how he has been responsible for many of the company’s designs, including its V-Class bracing architecture, the American Dream acoustic line, and body styles including the Grand Pacific, Grand Theater and more. The discussion walked through various perspectives on Taylor’s guitars, from the conception of the designs and the process of building the guitars, to the magic that happens when they end up in the hands of a creative musician. Joining the conversation, Hailey Knox provided the “artist’s perspective” on Taylor guitars and how they fit into her world. She also touched on the songwriting process and how to channel the creative spark, the hard work that goes into growing a following, and how tools like her Taylor guitar help generate creativity. She then played a short acoustic set using her Taylor 512CE and a looper setup. {guitarcenter.com; taylorguitars.com}
Taylor Guitars’ Andy Powers, center, speaks to the crowd at the La Mesa, California, Guitar Center location.
GC HOSTS TAYLOR’S ANDY POWERS AT LA MESA STORE TO HONOR GUITAR-MAKER’S 50TH YEAR O n June 1, Guitar Center held an event celebrating 50 years of Taylor Guitars
Collection and how it embodies the company’s history. It also included a performance by special guest Hailey Knox — singer-song- writer, producer and musician, known for her soulful acoustic guitar and loop pedal covers of popular songs. Throughout 2024, Taylor is releasing the 50th Anniversary Collection, a curated lineup of limited-edition guitars celebrating the diversity of the Taylor line. Some gui- tars in the collection draw inspiration from player-favorite models over the decades. At
in the acoustic room of its La Mesa, Califor- nia, store. The event, titled “An Afternoon with Andy Powers,” was centered around an up-close-and-personal sit-down with Andy Powers, Taylor Guitars’ CEO, president and chief guitar designer, in conversation with moderator Stephen Lynch, Guitar Center manager of content and social media. The event covered a wide range of topics, including details on Taylor’s new 50th Anniversary
Gonher Purchases Samson, Sam Ash Music’s E-Commerce Business M exican merchant Gonher has purchased Samson Technologies and certain e- Sam Ash filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May and has since announced plans to close all of its 42 stores.
commerce assets of the Sam Ash Music. According to an updated bankruptcy filing, Gonher submitted a bid to purchase Sam Ash’s assets on June 14, and on June 20, an auction was held where Gonher was the lead bidder for the Samson-only assets and the Sam Ash e-commerce-only assets. The combined value of the bids was estimated at $10.3 million. Gonher was declared the winner with a bid value of $15.2 million. Gonher, which operates Gonher Music Center, began in 1956 as a record store and began selling instruments in the 1960s. Since then, it has been an MI leader in Mexico.
“We are thrilled to partner with Gonher, another family-owned music company that shares our passion for helping musicians. This collaboration marks an exciting new chapter for Sam Ash Music, providing an opportunity to continue our 100-year-old mission of treating customers like family, while enhancing our digital sales to meet the modern demands of musicians and sound professionals across the U.S.,” said Derek Ash, e-commerce director and great-grandson of the founder of Sam Ash Music. {samash. com; gonhermusiccenter.com}
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