SFIV1967
Venerated Member
Right, source was this (the guy on the left wrote the article): http://www.maindragmusic.com/blog/tag/dr-strings/
Ralf
Fender sells Guild.
- Thread starter Walter Broes
- Start date
Ralf
Does that include Ren Ferguson?
Watasha,
From what I recall, Ren is actually a Fender employee. I know he came on board because the former CEO, Larry Thomas, asked him to join up. He was not tied to Guild / New Hartford, specifically, although he was certainly doing work there. That said, I would think recent changes would affect his position in the company. Maybe we'll hear about him soon.
There are other Fender guys who are/were actually dedicated to Guild, both in marketing/sales and production ends of the business. I wonder what will happen to those folks.
From what I recall, Ren is actually a Fender employee. I know he came on board because the former CEO, Larry Thomas, asked him to join up. He was not tied to Guild / New Hartford, specifically, although he was certainly doing work there. That said, I would think recent changes would affect his position in the company. Maybe we'll hear about him soon.
There are other Fender guys who are/were actually dedicated to Guild, both in marketing/sales and production ends of the business. I wonder what will happen to those folks.
There's been a lot of speculation about the fate of the Newark Street line, mostly seems pessimistic. I think this might be the one area where Cordoba has a handle on things. Think about it. All the Newark Street product is built in Asian factories under contract with Fender and then distributed through Fender. Cordoba has distribution experience and works with Asian manufacturers. A simple deal with Samick, Cort or whoever and Newark Street models get in their pipeline and start to show up in all the places Cordobas are now. Would work for GAD as well, and as somebody pointed out either in this thread or the one with advice for the new owners, low-mid priced product is the bread and butter that finances the caviar of high end product. So, maybe by the holiday selling season, these lines are in tons of stores around the country (or world, as I think they have world wide distribution in place), keeping the name out there. Big question is how fast they can ramp up US production, and if they have the space and workforce to do it in large numbers. Also, who knows how much capital they have, maybe they are looking at a larger space as we carry on our thread here, and in a month they will announce they are moving production to a new facility.
I guess we'll find out with patience.
Brad
I guess we'll find out with patience.
Brad
I hope he has an out. Think about it: Quite possible the foremost (factory) ACOUSTIC luthier in the world stuck with...Fender. Ugh
SFIV1967
Venerated Member
The Newark St. models are made neither at Cort or Samick, but at SPG Musical Instruments Co., Ltd., 414-2, Cheongcheon-dong, Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, South Korea. Hope that clarifies it. SPG also produces Gretsch guitars. That's why the Guild Newark St. serial number are starting with KS (Korea SPG factory).
Ralf
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SFIV1967
Venerated Member
Yes, some people seem to forget that Ren and Tim were also running the Fender Acoustic Custom Shop!
http://www.fender.com/features/acoustic-custom-shop/#builders
So they might end up where the new future Fender Acoustic Custom shop might be located.
Ralf
adorshki
Reverential Member
Yes, even though the costs of living have been evaluted as quite comparable by Ladytexan, tehre's a lot of other variables that come into play when considering such a great distnce of relocation, not least of which would be family/friends/housing equity and quality of neighborhood.
I'm also not so sure that the "skilled labor" problem will be that bad in Oxnard. We've got a fair share of highly skilled and unemployed craftsmen out here, ourselves.
Wonder how many are already on Larivee's waiting list, for example?
Synchro
Member
I hope you are right on all points. I'd love to see the N.S. & G.A.D. lines continue. I think it's good way to keep at least some semblance of Guild electrics alive and entry level acoustics are a great way to attract future buyers for the upmarket acoustics.
I don't mean to be argumentative, but Fender is not all bad. They kept Guild going in one form or another since '95. Remember, FMIC was basically an employee buyout when CBS decided to quit the guitar biz'. I've spoken to people that were there for the transition and they said that everything changed for the better at that moment. For a while Fender had no U.S. production facilities and they bootstrapped themselves back to true viability.
They are far from perfect, but they are far better than the CBS owned entity that charge $800 for a Strat so heavy it could hardly be played on a strap, back in '79. I was a teacher in a major Fender and Gibson dealer back in those days and, believe me, it was grim. Gibson was pandering to the low end of the market by devaluing their US made instruments into something that looked like it came from an underdeveloped country and Fender guitars were scienced down to the last penny with inferior pickup windings, etc.
FMIC has done their share of cost accounting, but they are pretty good about having instruments that are close to vintage specs. Their Vintage RI amps are a bargain, IMO, with a printed circuit board for the low-power portion of the circuit and point to point wiring for the power tubes. I wish we could go back in time and have the economy we had back in the old days, but it's not realistic to expect that manufacturing will return to the US unless something happens to drastically reduce the cost of living here. I have hardwired, pt-2-pt amps, but they are made by Winfield Thomas, not some factory that can kick out hundreds of units per day. It is what it is and FMIC is an much a product of the times as they are a product of some misguided philosophy of their own making. Everyone has to remain profitable and there are no points given for good intentions, artistic integrity or faithfulness to doing things the way that they did in the past.
From what I understand SPG is pretty good at keeping the quality consistent. I don't have any Electromatic series Gretsches but I've been impressed with the 542x series models I have played. They are a very decent, very serviceable guitar as built, not too different than the N.S. models.
I couldn't imagine making such a move unless they are paying luthiers a lot more than I suspect they are paying.
Yes, but the idea's the same, I was using Samick and Cort as examples not as reality.
davismanLV
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Okay, as a native of the area, and just to put a little justice to the relocation thing, there could be worse places to relocate to. Granted your family and friends are at "home", there's no denying that. However, as much as you may love the seasons, it's a little rough back east in winter. And because a town may have an ugly and awkward name, like "Oxnard", you have to remember where it is. It's in Southern California. Right next to the ocean. With neighbors like Camarillo and Ventura and Santa Barbara and Port Hueneme!! The thing is, people can move, and survive. If someone offered me a great job, doing what I wanted, in an area like Oxnard..... well, what's not to like?
Just so you know what kind of hardships they'd be moving to, and for those of you who may not be familiar, here's some photos of the area:
So, I don't know about y'all, but.... there are worse places to build guitars. And worse places to HAVE TO MOVE your family. Sorry. I can't feel sorry for people with these type of options, if indeed they have those options. If they have the option to move and they don't, my tears won't fall for them. To quote Auntie Mame, "Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!"
So, to Ralf, my friend, as far as them "not considering it"..... they should. You go where your work and passion is and if it's in Oxnard, CA? You're a lucky devil!! Can't wait to have the next (whenever it comes) LMG in Ventura or Oxnard or Camarillo or any of those places!!
Just so you know what kind of hardships they'd be moving to, and for those of you who may not be familiar, here's some photos of the area:
So, I don't know about y'all, but.... there are worse places to build guitars. And worse places to HAVE TO MOVE your family. Sorry. I can't feel sorry for people with these type of options, if indeed they have those options. If they have the option to move and they don't, my tears won't fall for them. To quote Auntie Mame, "Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!"
So, to Ralf, my friend, as far as them "not considering it"..... they should. You go where your work and passion is and if it's in Oxnard, CA? You're a lucky devil!! Can't wait to have the next (whenever it comes) LMG in Ventura or Oxnard or Camarillo or any of those places!!
bluesypicky
Enlightened Member
Agreed Tom, I wouldn't hesitate following a job there either. But if there is any truth to what's been said on AGF:
Neal
Senior Member
Sometimes a decision to move is complex. Kids in high school, for instance, or aging parents that depend on you.
I only know how to do one thing well. And I have to get on planes to do it. But if I were a younger man, with kids at home, I would not be on the road. Simple as that. I would find something else to do that may not be my passion, or pay as well, but would give me time to be a dad.
I do find it interesting, however, that nobody from New Hartford is being recruited. If this is true, how will Cordoba learn how to make Guilds? From specs? Drawings? Watching videos?
Neal
I only know how to do one thing well. And I have to get on planes to do it. But if I were a younger man, with kids at home, I would not be on the road. Simple as that. I would find something else to do that may not be my passion, or pay as well, but would give me time to be a dad.
I do find it interesting, however, that nobody from New Hartford is being recruited. If this is true, how will Cordoba learn how to make Guilds? From specs? Drawings? Watching videos?
Neal
Synchro
Member
No doubt, Oxnard is very nice, but relocating cross country is not a trivial matter. I'd relocate to Pt. Barrow, AK if the money was right but it'd have to be very, very right.
davismanLV
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It definitely makes you wonder, doesn't it? How DO they learn? I just wanted people to know that Oxnard (despite the creepy name) is not a horrible place......
For all we know, they could have amazingly talented people who have been underutilized due to limited production or other reasons. Maybe now they will be able to work and ..... I DON'T KNOW.... it's all just conjecture and .... I'm tired of that. I'll just wait and see what happens!!
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An employee posted this yesterday:
"We all had a meeting today with the CT DOL and found out about what benefits we will receive, unemployment insurance, et al. Fortunately we qualify as 'displaced workers' because our jobs essentially went to China. I hope you can see the irony and humor in telling a roomful of guys in their fifties and sixties (many of whom are world-class woodworkers) that we qualify for retraining benefits! AFAIK, no one has been offered a job in Oxnard, not that many would consider it."
"We all had a meeting today with the CT DOL and found out about what benefits we will receive, unemployment insurance, et al. Fortunately we qualify as 'displaced workers' because our jobs essentially went to China. I hope you can see the irony and humor in telling a roomful of guys in their fifties and sixties (many of whom are world-class woodworkers) that we qualify for retraining benefits! AFAIK, no one has been offered a job in Oxnard, not that many would consider it."
Right there with you Tom. I'm hoping for the best, as Guild is still my favorite brand. It's all we can do at this point anyway.
Link to 2014 Cordoba catalog:
http://issuu.com/cordobaguitars/docs/cordobacatalog2014_web/3?e=4207964/6392218
Page through to see their Acero series of steel string acoustics.
http://issuu.com/cordobaguitars/docs/cordobacatalog2014_web/3?e=4207964/6392218
Page through to see their Acero series of steel string acoustics.
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killdeer43
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Here's a link to Oxnard. Be sure to check the section on climate. Looks like a swell place to live and build guitars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxnard,_California
Joe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxnard,_California
Joe