stlouismusic.com/st-louis-musi...the-loar/
I've been a long time supporter and endorsed artist with Recording King. Greg Rich, Ashley and Travis Atz all treated me with the kind of support and respect musicians can only dream of. They offered personal instruments, donated instruments to local festivals for promotional fundraising events, and went above and beyond to get quality instruments into the hands of beginner to pro musicians.
I'll name it the Rich/Atz/Atz era.
Well, that era is gone. Done. History.
Recording King is done.
They fired Greg, and Ashley, and Travis..as well as everyone else involved in this era.
These people WERE Recording King, and The Loar. Heart and soul. Gutted.
St.Louis Music announces they will take over sales, marketing, and product development.
Product development...?????
Marketing...????
Who the F### do they think developed these products???? They had the very best in Greg and Ashley and Travis, and SCOTT ZIMMERMAN at the helm and they all got canned.
Do they honestly think they can do BETTER?????
Its time for the community to stand behind the people that made the instrument world a better place and tell Recording King and The Loar and St.Louis Music NO THANKS...SEE YA...HASTA LA VISTA BABY. I'll spend my time and support and pesos elsewhere..
Like perhaps GOLD TONE.... with GRich at the helm....
...oh there are gonna be some AMAZING SUPRIZES COMING....
Stay tuned......
Edited by - lazyarcher on 10/03/2025 06:37:01
Well said Dave. I do hope they take our photos off the artist link. I dont support them anymore. Good things will be coming.
Edited by - Randy Escobedo on 10/03/2025 08:47:08
Yeah..I'm not part of that family any more.
If it makes you feel any better... I don't intend to buy any more RK. Of course the 3 or 4 I already own (very good) are all more than a decade old, and I pretty much stopped buying stuff because I have more instruments than I can play anyway. But still. I probably wouldn't necessarily recommend them at this point either.
Greg R stated
"I own the names Recording King and Loar; gave them a 40 year licensing deal. Will they sell those names if they go bankrupt? They were already several hundred thousand dollars behind on my royalties."
St.Louis Music publicly states
" St. Louis Music (SLM), is proud to announce that it has acquired the exclusive global distribution rights for the Recording King and The Loar brands, covering guitars, banjos and mandolins.
Recording King and The Loar are two of the most respected brands in traditional and vintage-inspired instruments,” said Chris Meikle, EVP & COO of St. Louis Music. “This is a great fit for SLM and our dealers and distributors around the world and we look forward to taking these brands from strength to strength.”
St. Louis, MO – August 1st, 2025 –
but...the names Recording King and the Loar are owned by the Music Link (a part of AXL Music in China owned by Alan Liu) through Greg...
but...where is Alan Liu...is he on the run with the names...will he get thrown off of the Golden Gate Bridge by the Chinese Triad..will St Louis Music move to China...to avoid Trump tariffs and ICE???
Stay tuned .. this is better than the 1000 lb Sisters
