adorshki
Reverential Member
What're YOU ouching for?!? I was the one who got zinged! :lol: Besides everybody knows there's no "F" in the MinnAsota alphabet....killdeer43 said:
What's in a name? Guild's brand reputation.
- Thread starter iJamF47M
- Start date
Good thread. The me too brands are all too common, and sometimes I have noticed that as demand increases so does price....but then quality begins to waver. If we talk about other hobbies, then I will use mine as an example. I run. When people think about running or sports for that matter, you think nike. The problem is, nike has a pretty bad reputation among runners for quality. I have always been told by running store employees (who are seasoned runners) that nike shoes do not last long and are pretty poor quality when compared to other brands. However, you will see more celebrity athlete endorsements telling the general public that if they want to be good, they need this product. I prefer asics. For your cycling analogy, just because Lance Armstrong rides a Trek, doesn't mean I suck at cycling just because I prefer Specialized.
This is one of the issues I have seen with so many guitar brands. Fender makes terrible acoustics. Sorry, but there is more plywood and particle board on those things than walmart furniture. You go to guitar center and you see half the people go right for them thanks to product placement and celebrity endorsements. Gibson makes some good guitars and has a long history and high demand....and plenty of product placement, but their quality control these days is very shaky. Guild has very little advertising and very few celebrity endorsements. You can see guild proudly displayed in the hands of working musicians who know quality. They are an "under the radar" type of guitar who are known by people who know quality. I have gotten both "ooohhh a Guild" and "what's that" responses from many people, but the people who are active/amateur musicians or music shop employees or owners hold the brand in high regard and have nothing but the best to say. I would like to have a martin or gibson, but I have played too many that have not thrilled me. I have played a lot of Guilds, and I have been satisfied with almost all of them.
This is one of the issues I have seen with so many guitar brands. Fender makes terrible acoustics. Sorry, but there is more plywood and particle board on those things than walmart furniture. You go to guitar center and you see half the people go right for them thanks to product placement and celebrity endorsements. Gibson makes some good guitars and has a long history and high demand....and plenty of product placement, but their quality control these days is very shaky. Guild has very little advertising and very few celebrity endorsements. You can see guild proudly displayed in the hands of working musicians who know quality. They are an "under the radar" type of guitar who are known by people who know quality. I have gotten both "ooohhh a Guild" and "what's that" responses from many people, but the people who are active/amateur musicians or music shop employees or owners hold the brand in high regard and have nothing but the best to say. I would like to have a martin or gibson, but I have played too many that have not thrilled me. I have played a lot of Guilds, and I have been satisfied with almost all of them.
dayuhan
Member
Two recent experiences with Guild brand reputation...
Not long ago I had a visit from a guy who'd found me on line, looking for white water paddlers in the northern Philippines. Colorado boy, now living in Vancouver. So we paddled a bit; he stayed at the house (big old shack), and in the course of conversation one evening it comes out that he plays some guitar. So I hop upstairs and come down with the case, the case opens up, and his eyes just about pop out... "Dude, it's a Guild!!"
Fast forward a bit, and a week ago I find myself in Singapore. Google shows me some guitar shops, so I hop into one, and see a wall full of Gibsons, in the back there's an older Chinese fellow, obvioulsy the owner, and a couple of younger guys, one of them playing a Hummingbird. I ask if he has JP strings, he doesn't, so I get some Elixirs, which I haven't tried yet but will soon. Asked for a Shubb capo, none of those either. Then the owner asks me what guitar I play, told him a Guild F50R. The eyes light up; "VERY nice guitar... but I only have Gibson, Singapore people like to buy Gibson". So they pass me the Hummingbird, and it was not impressive at all, especially given the price tag. I guess it showed in my reaction. The owner took a J200 off the wall and I played that a little, and the guy asks "good as Guild"? I told him it's hard to compare maple to rosewood, but I figure it's almost as good as a Guild... then he shrugs his shoulders and says "Gibson too expensive, but Singapore people like to buy".
I guess those who know, know...
Not long ago I had a visit from a guy who'd found me on line, looking for white water paddlers in the northern Philippines. Colorado boy, now living in Vancouver. So we paddled a bit; he stayed at the house (big old shack), and in the course of conversation one evening it comes out that he plays some guitar. So I hop upstairs and come down with the case, the case opens up, and his eyes just about pop out... "Dude, it's a Guild!!"
Fast forward a bit, and a week ago I find myself in Singapore. Google shows me some guitar shops, so I hop into one, and see a wall full of Gibsons, in the back there's an older Chinese fellow, obvioulsy the owner, and a couple of younger guys, one of them playing a Hummingbird. I ask if he has JP strings, he doesn't, so I get some Elixirs, which I haven't tried yet but will soon. Asked for a Shubb capo, none of those either. Then the owner asks me what guitar I play, told him a Guild F50R. The eyes light up; "VERY nice guitar... but I only have Gibson, Singapore people like to buy Gibson". So they pass me the Hummingbird, and it was not impressive at all, especially given the price tag. I guess it showed in my reaction. The owner took a J200 off the wall and I played that a little, and the guy asks "good as Guild"? I told him it's hard to compare maple to rosewood, but I figure it's almost as good as a Guild... then he shrugs his shoulders and says "Gibson too expensive, but Singapore people like to buy".
I guess those who know, know...
iJamF47M
Junior Member
Thanks for sharing...cool story.
killdeer43
Reverential Member
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It's known far and wide, in the online forum trade and beyond, as a "sympathetic ouch." Meant as a show of support when someone else gets....zinged! :wink:adorshki said:
Ho, ho,
Joe
fronobulax
Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
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Nice stories. Thanks for sharing. Nice to know Americans are not the only brand conscious consumers in the global economy :wink:dayuhan said:
adorshki
Reverential Member
Yeah, caught that bro, it was just a good excuse to zing back guitardude on spelling minnesota....but it WAS a little obscure... :lol: Or maybe a lot!killdeer43 said:
Just got back from rudy's in NYC, they had 3 of the CT USA Guilds there. D40, D55 and J55. I tried out the rosewood jumbo and...it's great, especially for fingerstyle surprisingly. Nice lingering overtones, good balance tween the notes. Like the looks tho the shield on the headstock was smallish, the pickguard was light colored and those open backed tuners just don't look right on such a big guitar. All in all I'd put it right up there with tacomas right off the bat!