As a Guild fan what would be your advice to the new owners of the brand?

[dklsplace]

Sorry if this is a repeat of anything previous, only reading through the first few pages & scanning the rest.

Don't abandoned the advances & innovation that came out of New Hartford if it differs from your current build techniques. Being able to design & machine their own parts on site was a great benefit, & learning about (just some) of the processes they had come up with was both amazing, with the added "duh" moment..."why hadn't anyone else ever come up this before?"

That, & make your first run a limited LTG forum guitar, or guitars! :cool-new:

 

[Walter Broes]

Regarding the horseshoe pickguard:
Really ?? I think that was kitsch...Might be cool in the right band setting, but probably not for the general public... http://twangcentral.com.au/Vault/A00002/content/images/large/037.jpg
Ralf

Well, you know, one man's kitsch is another man's beautiful. I think the Doyle Dykes model is a lot more kitschy, for a nearby example.

 

[bluesypicky]

I wish I had some advice, but all I really have are questions. .

WE WANT ANSWERS!!!

:abnormal:

 

[JohnW63]

It's fun to be arm chair CEOs of a guitar company, and we all have our own ideas and preferences. I'll bet the guys at Cordoba have some solid plans because they wouldn't have spent the money WITHOUT a plan. I hope it's a goog one and is SUSTAINABLE. I think we all want to see the brand continue, even if it is not making ALL the guitars we want.

Now... time to slip into the arm chair and spout advice.


1) The thing that made the GAD liner sell was " A lot of guitar for the money " reviews. I would hope they can come up with a way to make and sell the D-25 and D-35 like guitars fit that mold. Larrivee seems to have that in their lower end guitars. Go talk to Jean !

2) Start making what you NEED to make and build up the process and craftsmen ( or women ) and building space before you start making the fancy stuff. In other words, build what will sell NOW, and ramp up the bling stuff later.

3) Can they build stuff in the same area as New Hardford without using the old building so they can use the same employees ? That would speed up the production curve. Based on rumors that the building was part of the expensive problem.

4) Build some Guild spec classicals, since they KNOW that process already. That gets products out in the market quickly. I don't know how that fits in their product line though. You don't want to be your own competition or have one line eat into another. Since they do a few " cross over " nylon models, I wonder if their is room for a Guild branded cross over for those that want the jazzy sound of a nylon with a pickup ?

5) Get what guitars you can into the hands of people who do online reviews, like Acoustic Guitar Magazine. YouTube is a big way to get seen, now.

6) Don't go into debt ! Stay in control of your own destiny !


OK, done with the arm chair.

 

[guildman63]

Without having read through many replies, marketing, or a lack thereof is my impression of how Guild shot themselves in the foot over the last 61 years. Growing up I was not a John Denver fan, although I was very aware of who he was and of several of his hit songs. The fact that he played Guild mattered little to me, because Santana, Townshend, Page, Alvin Lee, Steve Howe, Duane Allman, Clapton, B.B. King, Hughie Thomason, EVH, Joe Walsh, Joe Perry, Rory Gallagher, Lindsey Buckingham, Billy Gibbons, Brian May (you get the idea)... did not. I am no expert on guitar marketing, but as a once young and very impressionable guitarist I relied on what my heroes were playing to decide what constituted a good guitar. The difference for me was that I was taking lessons from a big jazzer named Eddie Hazell, and when I wanted Gibson's ES-175 and ES-335 but did not have that kind of money, Eddie got me a CE-100D and Starfire V instead. I tried many other brands over the years, but eventually came back to Guild because, to be honest, they played and sounded better to me than all of the others, and at a much more attractive used price. I have since bucked up for a few of the new Guilds that are much more expensive, but if I had not been exposed to Guild guitars in my teenage years it is very unlikely that I would have ever given them a chance as I got older. Then, when deciding to spend so much on guitars I would have almost certainly gone with Gibson. I thank Mr. Hazell for those first two Guilds every day. Now, paying an artist to endorse a guitar is not cheap, and then raises the per unit cost as well as used prices. This takes Guild away from what attracted most of us to the company in the first place. Is that where we all want to go? The old double-edged sword!

 

[griehund]

1) Define your market.

2) How many other makers are active in your market?

3) Examine the competition to find out where they are succeeding and where they are failing and why.

4) Emulate their successes and eliminate areas where they are failing.

5) Establish reasonable price points.

6) Build the very best quality instruments you can to hit those price points profitably.

7) Do the best you can to continue the qualities that Guild stands for while leaving room for innovation.

8) Define your market.

9) I don't know a damned thing about manufacturing guitars so if you choose to ignore my suggestions my feelings will not be hurt. :wink:

 

[idealassets]

(Some repeats)

1) If sales are good for Guild guitars made outside of the USA- OK. I don't own any GAD's, many guitar owners only want the "good stuff"; the guitars Made In USA.

2) I prefer the New Hartford D40, D50, D55, F30, F212XL, F412, and F512 will continue with the premium features; ebony headstock detail, graphite neck reinforcing rods on the 12 strings, light weight "butterbean" tuning keys, and those classy neck strap pins. I prefer a case option to allow for a TKL case choice, and perhaps other case choices such as a Guild fitted heavy duty airline flight case (so the manufacturer makes certain its the right case for a Guild to fit in it correctly).

3) Don't discontinue the arch back models, unless of course they don't sell- (hardly likely).

4)Add a custom order feature (such as Martin currently offers). This would allow for personally tailored guitars or perhaps an offering of Guild Special Reserve guitars, ie the F30 GSR rosewood with more deco, by special order- why limit the run, that way I can't get one when the run is over and there are no more until...(when).

5)For electric guitars the semi hollow body Guild's could be a good alternative to the similar Gretsch, or Gibson ES-335. Some marketing research would have to be done for Guild bass guitars. Is there really much of a demand for the retro look of a Starfire or M85 bass, or should it be by special order only?

6)Is there the possibility of advertising endorsements for mainstream musicians currently playing Guild? Brian May (Queen) F512, Roger Hogsdon (Supertramp) F512, Bonnie Raitt (F50r). How about anyone that is not 60+ years old (Bruno Mars)? Not possible? The Guild brand is mostly unknown to many rather good musicians in the industry. They don't know if, or where they are made; and don't know where to purchase one, and at what cost. The restraint might be in the hands of the dealers, but some way the Guild name has to get out there. Perhaps an inexpensive simple flyer, with directions how to order a guitar be given out via dealers etc, to attract potential buyers?

My 2c worth,
Thank you,
Craig

 

[Aristera]

Regarding the horseshoe pickguard:
Really ?? I think that was kitsch...Might be cool in the right band setting, but probably not for the general public... http://twangcentral.com.au/Vault/A00002/content/images/large/037.jpg
Ralf

I resemble that remark.

 

[idealassets]

I resemble that remark.

I like the current Guild pick guards. Look at the more gaudy Gibson pick guards on the Hummingbird, Dove, and SJ200 guitars as a comparison. How many folks would vote for a "teardrop" pick guard (like what is on Martin guitars).

My experience is that the majority of criticism by non Guild owners used to be about the strap pin screwed into the side of the guitar, but not on the neck (prior to 2009), and the weight and curiosity of the older DTAR "lock n' load" cable jack. But the 2010 and later models were produced with a more conventional looking neck strap button, and the newer DTAR multi-sound pick-up's & cable jacks.

Thank you,
Craig

 

[SFIV1967]

How many folks would vote for a "teardrop" pick guard (like what is on Martin guitars).

Oh NO !!!! The Guild pickguard is a signature feature that makes it a Guild guitar!

I like the current Guild pick guards.

Hi Craig, I think you misunderstood. We were not critizising the shape of the pickguard but I (personally) didn't like this horse and horseshoe engraving whereas Tommy and Walter did.
Open the picture: http://twangcentral.com.au/Vault/A00002/content/images/large/037.jpg
Ralf

 

[geoguy]

That horsehead + horseshoe pickguard would have to come off immediately, IF I even bought that guitar!

 

[drc]

My advice would be RUN! Run and never look back!!

 

[WayneS]

Wouldn't care to advise the Cordoba group; they know their business. But (speaking from a San Diego perspective), I've long wondered why there aren't more music stores carrying Guilds. It has been decades since I've seen a Guild in a shop here, or an ad that indicates that a store carries the Guild brand. Perhaps representation is better in other parts of the country?

 

[Watasha]

How many folks would vote for a "teardrop" pick guard (like what is on Martin guitars).

No. I absolutely love the classic Guild pickguard shape. It's what makes a Guild a Guild.

 

[Default]

Wouldn't care to advise the Cordoba group; they know their business. But (speaking from a San Diego perspective), I've long wondered why there aren't more music stores carrying Guilds. It has been decades since I've seen a Guild in a shop here, or an ad that indicates that a store carries the Guild brand. Perhaps representation is better in other parts of the country?

Nope. Not here. 8street has some Arcos and Gads. Sam Ash has some Gads. Nobody else though.

 

[jeffcoop]

No. I absolutely love the classic Guild pickguard shape. It's what makes a Guild a Guild.

My F20s don't have the traditional Guild pick guard, of course, and they're still Guilds, but on the whole I agree: the pick guard shape is part of what makes a Guild a Guild. A superficial part, perhaps, but still a part.

 

[steverok]

No. I absolutely love the classic Guild pickguard shape. It's what makes a Guild a Guild.

Absolutely. Please keep the history.

 

[fronobulax]

Wouldn't care to advise the Cordoba group; they know their business. But (speaking from a San Diego perspective), I've long wondered why there aren't more music stores carrying Guilds. It has been decades since I've seen a Guild in a shop here, or an ad that indicates that a store carries the Guild brand. Perhaps representation is better in other parts of the country?

Guild, under FMIC's stewardship had a deliberate policy that kept production low - certainly less than 5,000 instruments per year from New Hartford. That certainly makes distribution spotty. The reasons why and whether it was a good policy, or not, have been discussed often on LTG and with the change in ownership, continuing the discussion is probably moot.

 

[Watasha]

My F20s don't have the traditional Guild pick guard, of course, and they're still Guilds, but on the whole I agree: the pick guard shape is part of what makes a Guild a Guild. A superficial part, perhaps, but still a part.

Yeah my F20 doesn't have a pickguard at all. I mainly meant that you can pick out a Guild from a mile away by seeing that unique pg shape. I have actually seen F20's with the traditional Guild pg shape though, kinda makes you wonder why they changed it.

 

[adorshki]

Absolutely. Please keep the history.

A recurring theme, I suspect they're getting the message....BUT....
I'd be surprised if they didn't also want to set some new design cues to distinguish themselves from "what went before", in an evolutionary way.
Tacoma introduced the "Contemporary Series" for example, although that project met a probably undeserved premature end.
New Hartford focused on quality over quantity and "Special Runs". And back to medium strings.
I wouldn't object to some evolutionary design change although some of the key idenetity features like pickguard and heelblock would be non-negotiable to me. I'm an NCL purist too, at the very least for the repairability factor as a practical issue.
What I wonder is whether the graphite neckblock design with spider bracing to the top as found in the Contemporaries is part of the Guild assets, ie is it a Guild-owned design?? I'd like to see that element of the Contemporary series get another chance, and that could be both evolutionary and 'innovative' for CMG in a single move.