Corporatization is selling out guitar gear now

HooRU

Beringer keeps destroying gear companies and ripping off American and European makers. I agree with his rant. TC has made fantastic stuff, this is so sad and I’m so angry.

Splitpair

HooRU Beringer keeps destroying gear companies and ripping off American and European makers.

Not really, if the companies they are acquiring had been managed properly with a long term goal they would have never sold out to to begin with, however it is very common for smaller companies to build up just to be bought out allowing the executives (founders) to get out with a decent amount of money while dumping the burden of the day to day management of the company on to the new owner.

In this case TC sold itself out to the original founder of Beringer, Uli Behringer.

Furthermore TC had a lot of their products manufactured in China with the final assembly in Denmark allowing the claim the products where built in Denmark.

Splitpair

By the way do you realize the title of your post is incorrect as to the subject of the post?

Corporatization is the process of restructuring government-owned or public entities into corporations, often with the aim of improving efficiency and introducing business management practices. This involves adopting a corporate structure, such as a board of directors, and separating ownership (often remaining with the government) from management. It can be a step towards commercialization or privatization

Neither TC nor Beringer are or where government owned nor where they public entities!

HooRU

TC WAS privately owned.

Splitpair

HooRU TC WAS privately owned.

Correct, however the term Corporatization is used to describe the privatization of a government agency or program and since TC was privately owned the term Corporatization cannot be used to describe the sale of it to another private company.

Words mean things.

dave

HooRU

If it was privately owned, then the owner surely sold it willingly? Hard to see how the buyer can be blamed there.

Though if I understand the wikipedia page, the privately-owned TC Electronic acquired TGI plc and merged with it to form TC Group which took them public, i.e., they exposed themselves to the possibility of a takeover by becoming a corporation.

I understand Behringer’s reputation is poor – there is heated debate in the modular synth world about their ethics. I don’t really have an opinion on them, but I guess I’m ok with them cloning classic out-of-production designs (and then there’s another debate to be had about fidelity to the original sound) and not ok when they rip off the work of boutique module designers (sure the IP is copyright but it probably comes down to who can afford more lawyers, many of these companies are not much more than a man and his dog).

Disclosure: I own a 904A LPF which without exactly saying so is supposed to be like the Moog 904A. It doesn’t seem very good to me but maybe I’m just a novice.

HooRU

The musical instrument business, especially in Guitars and effect, is in very bad shape. While you will still see vintage instruments being offered for high prices, no one is getting that much. The boom was during the pandemic and now thing have pretty much collapsed, so TC might have had to sell. Dozens of guitar shops have gone under nationwide, one of my favorites was Sam Ash. They had no choice. I don’t like Guitar Center.