DW sold to Roland?

I was very surprised by this but I have a ton of respect for Roland, it actually feels like it will be a good partnership. Also, I think Roland is smart enough to know how strong the DW brand is and not to mess with it. It sounds like DW will remain autonomous so I'm guessing, for the outside observer, not a lot will change. Fingers crossed.....
 
calan said:
Do we definitely know where the Gretsch brand ended up after this transaction?
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Roland but I’m sure it’ll be overseen by the Lombardis and John since they’re staying, for now.
 
JimmyM said:
Roland but I’m sure it’ll be overseen by the Lombardis and John since they’re staying, for now.
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DW/Roland does not own Gretsch so this is not correct.

The brand stays with Gretsch until they sell it.
 
DW got the distribution for gretsch, gretsch are still operating as a standalone company.


same for DW, roland own the majority of shares, but DW are operating as a standalone company with the lombardis and good running DW as is till further notice :)
 
Juniper said:
DW/Roland does not own Gretsch so this is not correct.

The brand stays with Gretsch until they sell it.
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They have the license to manufacture and distribute. That went to Roland. Sorry I didn’t spell that out for the hundredth time, Mr. Picky Pants.
 
Two points that are obvious but I'll mention.

1. Many musical instrument brands that we know and love are owned by much larger parent companies. This is nothing new in the business.

2. imagine building a company like DW from the ground up, reaching retirement age and wondering what will happen to it in the future. Your worst nightmare would be turning it over to someone who fumbles it, tarnishes the brand and maybe worse, drives the company into the ground. With this move, John and Don can rest comfortable that the company and the brand will be well taken care of long after they're out of the business.
 
JimmyM said:
They have the license to manufacture and distribute. That went to Roland. Sorry I didn’t spell that out for the hundredth time, Mr. Picky Pants.
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When you answer a question someone asks me in response to my post at least get it right Jimmy!

Yours Sincerely,

Mr Picky Pants
 
JimmyM said:
They have the license to manufacture and distribute. That went to Roland. Sorry I didn’t spell that out for the hundredth time, Mr. Picky Pants
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Yeah, I just finished perusing the infographic, and it looks like Gretsch is still in there. So, I guess that's good. I'd be surprised if there weren't provisions in the contract for either side to terminate or renegotiate in the event of sale.
SharkSandwich said:
2. imagine building a company like DW from the ground up, reaching retirement age and wondering what will happen to it in the future.
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Conversely, imagine doing all of that with somehow not having hired or retained people who can take the helm. I have severe doubts that there weren't people already in house with ability and passion.
 
I for one am excited to see what Roland does with the Slingerland brand--if anyone can finally modernize the tired old Radio King, it's them. With any luck we'll be seeing the Internet King by this time next year.
 
He missed a bigger point …

From the press release : "A trailblazer in acoustic drums for the past 50 years, we’ve been equally blown away by the breakthrough innovation and new technology that Drum Workshop has been developing."

Electronic Cymbal Instruments And Systems Patent Application

U.S. Patent Application 20210225346 for Electronic Cymbal Instruments And Systems
uspto.report uspto.report

Electronic Musical Instruments And Systems Patent Application

U.S. Patent Application 20210225338 for Electronic Musical Instruments And Systems
uspto.report uspto.report
 
So, it is going to be something new and exciting.....and another thing I'll likely never be able to afford. Oh well, it'll be cool to look at I'm sure and at least I'll get to play the broken version at Guitar Center. :)
 
My gut reaction is that as long as the hardware remains as useful as it has to me all these years, then the rest is just boardroom concerns. In the world of mergers and/or acquisitions, a duplication of services would spell danger for one brand or the other, but in this case I think this move represents an expansion for both parties, and Roland certainly has the means to run the larger combined operation.

The purists will probably hate it, but that kind of "woo" doesn't add to the bottom line when it comes to new inventory. Stuff like that is for the collector's market.

Also...read the patent app links. Game changer indeed if I'm reading that right.
 
I emailed my artist relations guy at DW last night, and was told that DW is not changing at all. No one is leaving, and the day-to-day operation will remain the same. He also said the acquisition will have no bearing on DW rolling out Slingerland product at some point.

His words were basically, "Now we have a big brother we can work with," no doubt to develop hybrid acoustic/electronic drums.
 
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