Randall Smith FIRED from Mesa??

[holy-diver]

Saw Ryan “Fluff” Bruce confirm this on FB but looks like he deleted the post. Seems like it’s true; end of an era

[Guitarbilly]

I heard about this a few days ago and asked a friend that worked at the Mesa store in LA so he knows people inside the company.

Yes, Randall is out but it's not clear that he has been fired. His involvement after the sale was pretty low anyway, by his own choice. He's 78 and part of his motivation to sell the company was he was planning to retire in the near future.
So it could be just that, or even maybe somewhere in between, where he was planning to do it soon, and was offered to do it now instead. It could also be that he was actually fired, but so far, there hasn't been any communication besides the fact that he left. No reason was given yet.

Fluff is a bit of a blowhard so I take everything he says with a whole shaker worth of salt.

[greatmutah]

I figured Randy would be retiring sooner than later at this point. If he’s out I’m sure he and/or Mesa will have a statement.

[ninjaraf]

Yeah there’s a whole 6 page thread speculating about this on rig talk lol. But there’s no real evidence about what the actual situation is. Just people spreading rumors basically. But he was on the way out for retirement since the sale to Gibson anyway.

[RaceU4her]

just based on some of my own personal experiences.. im gonna guess he half heartedly sold the company to Gibson, they probably put some kind of clause in the sale where they give him some title to remain in the company, Gibson now is probably and rightfully looking to move their people in with their agenda, Randall isnt liking that and thinks hes still in charge, wont go away and basically needed to be removed.

[Endtime]

just based on some of my own personal experiences.. im gonna guess he half heartedly sold the company to Gibson, they probably put some kind of clause in the sale where they give him some title to remain in the company, Gibson now is probably and rightfully looking to move their people in with their agenda, Randall isnt liking that and thinks hes still in charge, wont go away and basically needed to be removed.

I’d prolly lean towards this. The ship I tech at is one of the biggest Mesa dealers in Illinois. I have no involvement in anything sales at all. But I remember when the Gibson thing happened , I said like prolly most people just mildly aware “Welp there goes the price of Mesa” and of course him being the dealer he heard over and over, Nothing is going to change. Gonna basically be “hands off”. Then prices started to increase and I would bust his balls a bit. “It’s supply chain shit”. Yknow the scamdemic. I mean Covid. Lol. And then price increase and increase h til finally what’s a Jp2c today? $4k. Triple crown which I’m sorry is an average fucking “good” amp, of that makes sense $3500!! It’s been Gibson’d times 10. I got the inset deal on my JP2C and it’s been long enough, cause he really didn’t want that going out there cause Mesa tracks all sales etc, but I paid $2200 cash back in IDk, 2017 I think? Brand new. Ok, just above cost but that’s not a $4k amp. No Mesa is. And I would t doubt this is a slight butting of heads cause Gibson prolly sold Smith the same line of Bullshit and they are gonna ruin another company they bought out.

[RaceU4her]

i dont know how it works in the bigger business world, but is it common practice for the owner of the company being sold to then be kept on as an employee of the buying company?? Does Gibson really need to keep him around for years to "transition"?? limited roll to me sounds like a nice way to get paid on top of selling while still being able to control things from a distance and never really "retire", which im sure would probably cause some problems within if that was the actual scenario.

[greatmutah]

It depends on their contract with him. I would assume there is one. But depending on if the contract was “at will” which means at will for both parties usually, then they may have had a right to terminate with what they determine to be cause or even without. And also state labor regulations and/or protections or if they even exist (Gibson is primarily out of TN so I’m assuming any employment with them is at will). If they did chose to fire him then that may have been well within their rights. Hence why I’m hoping it’s more Randy voluntarily retired or it’s just not true at all. Either way, as much as I am a fan of Mesa amps, most of the current production stuff is priced so high that it wouldn’t be on my list of things to buy these days. And im still of the persuasion that if you don’t agree with a companies practices, tell them with your money or lack thereof.

[ninjaraf]

It is pretty normal. 2017, a company I worked for got bought out and part of the contract was the owners stay on for 2 years to help the transition, and then they get the last portion of their $ from the sale. They always say hands off, but today the company is split and the bigger guys that bought it sold half of it to another company. Pretty standard.

[Guitarbilly]

Yes it's very common specially if the owner is the "face" of the company. There's a similar deal in place for Mike Soldano at Boutique Amps Distribution. They own the brand now, but Mike is still the designer and spokesperson for the brand.