Do you really want to see Fender building Guild archtops?

john_kidder

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That's just the sort of real imaginative work we'll need from the R&D labs.

That will build the brand faster than anything else - a native understanding of the needs of the player, a real sense of originality, attention to detail in design and production, and devotion to high quality in execution.

Well done, well done.
 

billydlight

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Laugh all you want. It's not as crazy as it seems. I encourage anyone with dreams and resources to seriously think about it.
 

california

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billydlight said:
Laugh all you want. It's not as crazy as it seems. I encourage anyone with dreams and resources to seriously think about it.

Not much in the cash resources department here, but I am willing to invest sweat equity!
 
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Walter Broes said:
Same here in the cash department...but.....I could be a "field tester"!!! :lol: :oops:

That's Walter -- taking one for the team.

;-)

One place to look for strategies would be Heritage -- though Guild would likely always be smaller, it's a similar model.

Starting out, though, I'd think that a small high quality luthier shop would be a place to start. With someone like Saul Koll at the helm, you could focus on a handful of models of excellent quality. The real challenge would produce high quality US guitars for less than Heritage prices.
 
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I'd guess the following guitars:

One 17" body, with maybe three versions:

-- a carved top AA with a floating pickup
-- lam top with humbuckers
-- a lam top with Lollar-designed Franz-ish P90s and a Bigsby

These should all have the sexier thin-waisted '50s body shape, of course.

A Starfire thinline, in humbucker and DeArmond versions.

That seems like plenty to me. I don't see much point in trying to resurrect the SF-IV, which always seemed like a Gibson wannabe to me. Others will likely disagree, of course.

How do you build these at a price that competes not only with Gibson and Gretsch, but also with vintage Guilds?
 

california

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Smiert Spionam said:
I'd guess the following guitars:

How do you build these at a price that competes not only with Gibson and Gretsch, but also with vintage Guilds?

It won't be easy.... for eexample, Eastman jazz guitars made in China are considered a bargain in the $1600 - $3000+ range. You'd think similar guitars made in the U.S. would be double, especially with carved tops.
 
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Yup.

I don't see a way around that.

And you know, even Gibson gets competition with their own vintage guitars, especially in the archtop lines. You can buy a nice vintage ES-175 or L-7 for the same as a new one. That would be a huge problem for a restarted independent Guild -- you'd have to match the quality of some of the best vintage Guilds, which are comparatively very inexpensive.

Could a new Guild company offer anything to compete with this for $3200?

http://lucchesivintageinstruments.com/product.php?id=32&PHPSESSID=3b816912309924096b8f2358a290f343

I know it's not carved, but it's one of the nicest vintage Guilds on the market lately. And while it's a gorgeous guitar, it still hasn't found a buyer for the year or two it's been available. A new instrument would have to be better, for less, and have excellent reliable follow up service and warranty. That's a high hurdle.

You know, I really oughta scround up some pennies and find a way to buy that one....
 

guildzilla

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IMO, the irony is that Fender (and maybe only Fender) has the marketing clout and the deep pockets to invest in a revival of USA Guild archtops and compete with Gibson at those price points. It would take a long-range marketing effort, which is a tough-sell everywhere these days.

And the used/vintage market is significant competition, as well, especially for archtops.

Maybe if the kids would put down the game-boys and cell phones and get guitars instead, it would grow the market. And maybe it's wishful thinking, but I feel like another guitar boom is possible in the near-term future.
 

billydlight

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We make one model: 1958 CE100DP reissue. :twisted:


All kidding aside. Who is interested in a real way in exploring this?
 

gtraddict

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I have to agree with the points made on the vintage/used market as being so much of a competition point. Used Fenders and Gibson keep upward to 70% of their value, depending of condition from being bought new price. The prices that a new American made Starfire or Bluesbird is probably going to be 2 times or more the price you can get a used one for.

Btw on the subject of the carved top guitars PRS's Hollowbody series is carved out for a great price if you decide not to stock up on options.
 
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I wonder how much Fender would want to sell the brand.

Bet they wouldn't let it go cheap, no matter how little they plan to develop it themselves.
 

Jeff

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It's not as crazy as it seems. I encourage anyone with dreams and resources to seriously think about it

I do believe should someone actually come up with meaningful numbers, there will be substantially fewer members contributing to this thread.

However, should I be wrong, you can count me in, I'll pawn the Taylor.

I know the perfect spot to put the factory, Bing's little town of Stanford, Montana, population 411, only a couple hundred miles from the Gypson factory in Bozeman.
 

Jeff

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Bing,

Didn't really look to see if a suitable start up building was available.

Suppose we could use the basement in the museum for a while till things got up & running. A few of the tools down there would probably be useful anyway.
 

Jeff

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Ok Bing, sounds good,

Just one more thing, how far is the nearest Wal Mart, if it's closer than a hundred miles it might not work out.
 
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