I never understood Kamen's involvement in MI anyway. Post 9/11, being a defense contractor is a license to print money but GB under their ownership finally seemed to be the only switching amp maker to find the correct balance between value and quality. Back to Kamen: their support for QC for Trace Elliot back in the day followed their governmental product support model, IOW, let the product 'sort itself out.' That's why many thought that Gibson buying Trace was going to be good for them.