Acoustic Guitar Magazine Cover Story: Guild!

[GuildFS4612CE]

"An intelligent man only believes half of what he reads.
A wise man knows which half" --- Mark Twain

Thank You, Mark.

And Thank You, Acoustic Guitar, for ACTUALLY PRINTING a GUILD article.

And Thank You, LTG Members, who actually understand the WHOLE POINT of PUBLICITY, which GUILD sorely needs if Fender is to continue the line....and maybe even bring back the electrics. :wink: :mrgreen:

And let us not forget that OUR JOB is to APPRECIATE and PLAY GUILDS....Fender's job is to SELL them.

And Thank You, Hans, for researching, writing, and publishing the GUILD history we so dearly love...and love to debate. :roll:

And an even BIGGER THANKS to DON...for allowing this troublesome thread to, hopefully, have run its course.

 

[jp]

. . . more times than not, simple text is misunderstood. Everyone just get a grip.

Very true in this case. I think Russell, in the heat of the moment, may have misunderstood the intention of one-time poster CLXXXAG, who's post seemed to me, a joking insider's perspective of how things often work in the magazine publishing industry, instead of an actual claim of veracity. I'm sure he or she had no idea it would be taken so seriously.

In any case, it was a good exercise of discretion by the honorable capn at the time to avoid more further vitrolic attacks. Glad we're all breathing more easily today and the thread is back open. Intelligent discourse is meaningful.

 

[fungusyoung]

So now I'm waiting for the article in Electric Guitar Magazine (*snicker*) that says FMIC is going to bring back the Guild electrics to continue re-establishing the brand. Start with the non-solid bodies (Starfire and others) so there is little direct competition with anything sold under the Fender brand and don't forget the basses. Imagine the firestorm that article might generate.

This is pretty interesting idea. If FMIC revives Guild electrics, it could be their way to compete more directly vs. Gibson. But, I don't know if they want to take on the Les Pauls and various Gibby hollow body models, etc. especially since Fender already makes TONS of different Strats, Teles, etc. on a yearly basis with nice quality and sales results.

I'm a big fan of Fender's electric guitars, particularly those made in Japan today. FMIC does offer a vast and diverse range of options when you look solely at the Strat and Tele lines. Given how FMIC knows their acoustic line has been an achilles heel quality-wise for years, perhaps it was a much easier decision to pick up and run with Guild acoustics... which certainly took them long enough to figure out as it is. I'm just not sure how long they can wait to restart a line of Guild electrics if they want anyone to notice.

 

[fronobulax]

This is pretty interesting idea. If FMIC revives Guild electrics, it could be their way to compete more directly vs. Gibson./quote]

On other boards there are a couple of professional bassists who have dropped hints that they have talked to people at FMIC about reintroducing Guild basses. There has not been the enthusiastic response they might hope for but neither has there been a flat out "Never".

My take is that there is no hollow body bass out there that competes with a Starfire. The Epiphone Jack Casady model is long scale, not short, and I can't think of anything else. So reintroducing the Starfire bass fills a market void. Now, if you have the bass you might as well have the guitar too so I say bring back the Starfire and pick up some of the guitarists who buy an ES-335 (or whatever the Gibson double cutaway hollow bodies arecalled). In either case you don't undercut sales of existing Fender models. Step 2 would be the M-85 or Bluesbird. Same rationalization as for the Starfire except you can tie the bass into Cheryl Crowe even though she uses a solid body M-85. Probably starting to go against the Les Pauls but again I don't see these Guilds cutting into existing Fender sales.

Just my opinion and probably based upon a lot of ignorance about what the market really is. After all if there is a Guild available, why even look at anything else?

 

[CLXXXAG]

RE: "...the intention of one-time poster CLXXXAG, who's [sic] post seemed to me, a joking insider's perspective of how things often work in the magazine publishing industry, instead of an actual claim of veracity. I'm sure he or she had no idea it would be taken so seriously...."



Not joking--not for a second. No pretense or intention of humorous entertainment for the Guild set. No industry-wide generalities, no "often" stereotypes: this magazine, this article.

 

[West R Lee]

Not a hit and run....he's back!

West

 

[Graham]

Welcome to LTG CLXXXAG.

I'm sure you'll find a lot of interesting reading around here as well as some passionate Guilders. :mrgreen:

 

[GuildFS4612CE]

Welcome, and enjoy the ride :mrgreen:

Best hang on to your hat in this thread... :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[capnjuan]

Not joking--not for a second. No pretense or intention of humorous entertainment for the Guild set. No industry-wide generalities, no "often" stereotypes: this magazine, this article.

Hi CLXXXAG; welcome and thank you for your original post and this followup. At the risk of throwing gas on this but not necessarily suggesting that the following describes the musical instrument 'press', in the '60s and '70s I used to read Car and Driver and Motor Trend magazines. Each month they would 'showcase' a different make / model; pics, road tests, and vital statistics like curb weight, hp, 0-60 elapsed time, wheelbase and so on. I stopped reading these and similar pubs when I realized that the 'magazine' apparently never saw a car they didn't like. Once past the kitsch, did anyone really dig their late 70s Chevy II? cj

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

I dug out my Guild gallery magazines to check out the Guild gear for another thread and after reading through all three issues I have, they really tout the Westerly factory over and over again.

I believe this was just after Fender bought Guild.

There's some great interior shots as they follow the building of a D-55. I wonder if our very own "Hideglue" is in any of the pix.

Then there's a article on the Nashville custom shop.

Personally, I kinda wish they would terminate the Guild brand all together for as far as I'm concerned, Guild ended with the closing of Westerly.

 

[hideglue]

... I wonder if our very own "Hideglue" is in any of the pix.

GofG,

Nah, not my ugly mug.
Besides, I worked in the "No Fly Zone". The Glory Boyz didn't allow pictures!!

But my red '88 Blazer made it....

....right there - she just got into the frame.

 

[fronobulax]

But my red '88 Blazer made it....

Special parking space for Employee of the Month?

 

[capnjuan]

But my red '88 Blazer made it....

Special parking space for Employee of the Month?

Hi 'Frono; that looks more like the Fire Exit or the back door as if ready for a quick exit ... IIRC, his occasional remarks about worker morale haven't been that ... ah .... flattering. cj

 

[hideglue]

... that looks more like the Fire Exit... cj

Yup......and just beyond that door was where the binding was scraped and the silk screen for any logos. The actual front door is just out of the frame of that picture. Somewhere there is a good picture of Hans sitting on those steps.

 

[capnjuan]

... that looks more like the Fire Exit... cj

Yup......and just beyond that door was where the binding was scraped and the silk screen for any logos. The actual front door is just out of the frame of that picture. Somewhere there is a good picture of Hans sitting on those steps.

Did Hans work there too? While you were there?

 

[hideglue]

Did Hans work there too? While you were there?

capn,

No, Hans and I never worked together - though I had seen him lurking quite often ; >)
I believe the shot I am referring to was taken either just before or soon after Westerly closed.

 

[JerryR]

Beautiful ....... guitar 8)

 

[capnjuan]

Did Hans work there too? While you were there?

capn, No, Hans and I never worked together - though I had seen him lurking quite often ; >) I believe the shot I am referring to was taken either just before or soon after Westerly closed.

Thanks 'Glue. I worked for a large Providence RI-based construction company that had an office in the Wash DC area. Made a number of trips to HQ; mostly for butt-tanning and Corporate meetings which were held at Newport in January :evil: In all the back and forth, gained an appreciation for the people who lived and worked there. Maybe Hans was there to leave some flowers on the steps ... Regards, cj

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

I think I remember seeing a picture of Hans on the stairs. Is it in the book?

 

[GuildFS4612CE]

... I wonder if our very own "Hideglue" is in any of the pix.

GofG,

Nah, not my ugly mug.
Besides, I worked in the "No Fly Zone". The Glory Boyz didn't allow pictures!!

But my red '88 Blazer made it....

....right there - she just got into the frame.

We've already seen you.

Thought you're kind of cute, actually. :mrgreen: