What reissues/models would you like to see in the Newark Street Line?

I think Guilds will always have fairly limited appeal, when it comes to electric guitars, due to the fact that most buyers (and players!) are brand driven. Build, playability & sound are less important to many people than the name on the headstock. With acoustics Guild has a stronger name presence & appeal. Building an electric instrument with quality equal to or better than, in this case, Gibson or Gretsch—and with a price high enough to keep you in business—only matters if you can establish a sustainable niche for it. Over time I expect Guild to make fewer electric models, not more. Or maybe we'll see a slimmed-down standard lineup along with limited editions of various models. This could mean more US-made instruments if that's where the demand is. Or a continuation of the NS line. We shall see.

-Dave-

Walter Broes said:

The "Cake" demographic is between 35 and 50 years old right now. Not exactly the younger crowd!

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I thought you had to be at least 35 to join here?

I also think a lot of electric guys are very much rooted in the brand and model that has ALWAYS been used. Such as the Gibson Les Paul. However, isn't the one knock on the Les Paul is that it is HEAVY ? Did Gibson ever make a chambered Les Paul to fix that ?

What if Guild offered a Bluesbird , chambered, with pickup options so you could semi-customize it. Choose HB, P-90s, or a combination of any of the above ? If the holes were routed right and trim rings made a bit wider, could the swap be made quicly and economically ?

A NS Nightbird and Nightingale with P90, Franz, MHB, HB1, EMG, DeA pickup assortments, with Guildsby, Kahler or Floyd Rose trem options would be modern, beautiful, light and offer tone for all styles. They could also add 3rd pickup for extra tone combination. Heck..let them include a PAF pup option. I would perfer independent control of the pickups like a late model Bluesbirds.

JohnW63 said:

I also think a lot of electric guys are very much rooted in the brand and model that has ALWAYS been used. Such as the Gibson Les Paul. However, isn't the one knock on the Les Paul is that it is HEAVY ? Did Gibson ever make a chambered Les Paul to fix that ?

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Gibson has made chambered Les Paul's for years (copying the Bluesbird, perhaps?), and even offer an F-hole Les Paul, ala the Nightingale.

http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Lighten-Your-Les-Paul-Load.aspx

http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2015/Memphis/ES-Les-Paul.aspx

walrus

This has been a cool thread so far with a lot of great ideas. So far I think the easiest ones for Cordoba to put into production with existing parts and molds would be a Min-hum or HB1 Hollow M75 like from the mid to late 60's, and the X350/X375 from the late 50's/early 60's. The M75 body already exists with Franz pickups so that swap over would just be a change in pickup routing for the new Mini-Hums or the HB1's. The X175 is easily the base for the X350/X375 Stratford. They just need to add an extra Franz pickup to the middle of the two already existing, Move the bridge pickup lower to it's original location, Route a pickguard for 3 Franz pickups, and develop the switching mechanism for the 3 pickups. I could also see a X500/X550 Paladin Dave Gonzales model being made with the existing parts and molds as well. I like the idea of Guild using the Newark Street line to build modern reproductions of the Popular Vintage guitars that are almost unattainable. While I was not ecstatic about the Starfire VI being made in Korea at first, I am warming up to the idea of getting more "Iconic" Guilds into the hands of younger players. I personally think the Thunderbird is going to be a hit even though it is made in Korea.

TX

The keys to the NS Series are that enough of the quality is there....not quite made in USA Guild quality but let's say closing in on 80's made in Japan quality. The other thing is getting close enough to vintage spec's (let's say 80%) thereby not incurring the wrath of those who know and appreciate the real vintage models. If Walter Broes gives a thumbs-up to a NS 175B then you know you didn't muck it up. That being said, I doubt that Guild/Cordoba is going to venture into new USA made electric models that break new ground except as mentioned previously possibly some high end Jazz guitars and limited editions ie "handmade/Custom Shop" type guitars. The NS line is affordable but not "cheap". As Guild/Cordoba expand the NS line to include more "blingy" models such as the Starfire V w/ fancier woods and appointments the difference between a USA line and the MIK NS guitars becomes only separated by nitro vs poly, better quality hardware, etc.

I am curious as to whether anyone has compared the build quality of the NS Guilds to say the build quality of the Epiphone Elitist models such as the Sheraton, Casino or Riviera. I believe those have been made by Terada but I may be wrong on that. There was a suggestion that some Guilds be made in Japan, similar to what Gretsch has done. I believe most Japanese-made Gretsches are currently being made by Terada so the build quality should be similar between the Elitist models and the Gretsches. I think that the design of the Elitists would give us a better comparison to the Guilds, especially the Starfires than to compare them to the Gretsches.

Haven't heard anything about MIJ Guilds. Where did you hear that?

dbirchett said:

I am curious as to whether anyone has compared the build quality of the NS Guilds to say the build quality of the Epiphone Elitist models such as the Sheraton, Casino or Riviera. I believe those have been made by Terada but I may be wrong on that. There was a suggestion that some Guilds be made in Japan, similar to what Gretsch has done. I believe most Japanese-made Gretsches are currently being made by Terada so the build quality should be similar between the Elitist models and the Gretsches. I think that the design of the Elitists would give us a better comparison to the Guilds, especially the Starfires than to compare them to the Gretsches.

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The Epiphone Elitist models (at least the hollows and semi-hollows incl the current Casino) were/are made by Terada. Not sure about the Elitist Les Pauls (maybe Fuji Gen). IMO, the Elitist Epiphones were/are a step above in overall quality than the current MIK Guild NS guitars. The Elitist Epi's made by Terada are on the same level as the Terada made Pro Line Gretsch guitars. The Epi Elitists come with some better hardware (Gotoh bridges), electronics (CTS pots, Switchcraft, etc...) and a higher level of detail in overall fit and finish than the Guild NS guitars. The Elitists also featured USA Gibson pickups but that's a bit of a fuzzy area as the NS pickups are different in that they are "reproductions" of vintage pickups that were unique to Guild guitars. Certainly the Terada Factory in Japan could build Guild electrics that are very bit as good as USA made Guilds however they still wouldn't come cheap or at the price point of the MIK NS line as the typical "out the door" price of a Terada made Gretsch is around $2500 and up these days. IMO the Newark St guitars sit right in the middle in overall quality between the current MIK Gretsch Electromatics and Terada MIJ Pro Series Gretsches. What further sets the NS guitars from the Electromatics is that the Guild NS guitars were designed to be more accurate to the actual vintage models that they are based upon. The Electromatics are kind of their own thing but influenced by various features of vintage models.

The Guilds of Grot said:

I'll bet they do a solid body carved top Bluesbird next!

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3rd from left with HB-1s:



Ralf

SFIV1967 said:

3rd from left with HB-1s:



Ralf

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Is this from the recent NAMM show Ralf?

I don't believe I'd seen any discussion about it. (Or did I just miss it?)

Nice to know the trip to Korea my M-75 took was worth it!

Ralf, are you sure that's a solid body, or could it be semi-solid? i.e. an Aristocrat with a center block.

The Guilds of Grot said:

Is this from the recent NAMM show Ralf?

I don't believe I'd seen any discussion about it. (Or did I just miss it?)

Nice to know the trip to Korea my M-75 took was worth it!

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Is that solid or chambered?

Walter Broes said:

I think innovation is vastly overrated. The most popular guitars out there, to this day, are strats, teles, and Les Pauls. Save for a couple of small details, most of the current ones are pretty dang close to the original 1950's versions. I'll go further than that : half of the current electric guitar market are vintage inspired, reissued, vintage mash-up, brand new but reliced to look 40 yrs old guitars.

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I don't think innovation is overrated, but I do agree that the guitar market is very very conservative. While a few companies still push original shapes (Schechter, Yamaha, Ibanez, plus boutiques like Koll) even then it's conforming to the standard formulae of 2 x PAF-style humbucker or 3 x Strat-style single coil, or a mix and match of parts off of standard historic guitars.

For a while in the 1980s heavy metal forced some innovation and the market was prepared to buy it, but we're a long way from the '60s when lots of companies made their own pickups, designed their own vibratos etc. I'm thinking Wandre, Kustom, Burns, Microfrets.

Walter Broes said:

Being the roots-rock musician I am, with a taste for vintage guitars, I think it's fantastic they went the extra mile with the NS range and tooled up for Franz pickups, mini humbuckers, Full size Guild 'buckers, Hagstrom bass pickups, harp tailpieces, etc..... My remarks in earlier in this thread are about - yes, more of that please, those very very distinctly Guild things, but better quality. Have those pickups made by Fralin or Duncan or Lollar instead of by the cheapest bid from a Korean factory. Finish the guitars in nitro, do whatever it takes to get them closer to the real thing. I'm happy with how geeky a reissue I can get now for $1000, but I think I'd gladly pay about twice that for a guitar that sounds and feels even closer to my oldies. My NS guitar is a backup guitar now, but if it was just 50% closer to my oldies, I'd leave the oldies at home more than half the time.

The innovation bit : if that means making those guitars more generic with Gibson style hardware and pickups, or building a Guild branded super strat like we saw in the 80's, I'd see that as a step backwards, not innovation.

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I totally agree with you. I'm very disappointed in those Eastwood reissues, for example, which are not reissues at all; they just mimic the same body shape and stick stock Gibson/Fender-style parts on them. Kudos to Guild for making decent reissues to price, even if they jumped the shark on the pickups.

DThomasC said:

Ralf, are you sure that's a solid body, or could it be semi-solid? i.e. an Aristocrat with a center block.

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Well, I was wrong!
The answer is: It has a chambered mahogany body and comes equipped with USA-made Seymour Duncan pickups, as well as a TonePros locking tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece. Also it has Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines and comes with a deluxe padded gig bag. Comes in two colors: Iced Tea Burst (Street Price: $999) and Jet Black (Street Price: $939).

Ralf

F65ce I don't know of any company that makes anything comparable.

And I think it would sell too.

SFIV1967 said:

Well, I was wrong!
The answer is: It has a chambered mahogany body…

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Hmmm, some Nightbird DNA in this one.

-Dave-

The M75 Aristocrat is described to as "Chambered with Braced Top" on the Guild website. That word "chambered" has caused a lot speculation from a lot of people, including me. I assumed they were constructed something like a Nightbird or the later chambered Bluesbirds by routing out a solid block of mahogany. It wasn't until I held one in my hands that I realized that they're really made just like the original M-75 from the 50s.

So, with that experience, I don't know what to think when Guild uses the word "chambered."

Having said all of that, I think there is room in the market for what is essentially the current NS M-75, but with a minimal centerblock, I think that Gibson overdoes it with the ES-335 family. They have a solid hunk of maple the size of a 2x4 down the middle with nearly solid layers of spruce between it and the top and back. The result is much more of a solid body than a hollow body in my opinion. I don't think anything that massive would be required for this hypothetical instrument that already has a small body and no f holes.

My Gibson 335 is a '74, with the trapeze tailpiece replaced by a stoptail. In this guitar the center block extends only from the butt end to just above the bridge. The rest is hollow. It has a decent acoustic sound for a semi, which is partly why I chose it. I haven't played any modern 335s as lightly built as this one or with the same degree of air in their amplified sound.

But I'm guessing chambering in the upcoming Bluesbird is of the "routed out of solid wood" variety.

-Dave-