The Great GSR mystery?

chazmo

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Yes, Ray. They were doing "GSR" models almost right from the start. I think it was 2010 as I recall because we had to plan our first LMG event around the dealer summit. Whereas, I think Ren came on board in 2013 or perhaps it was late 2012. I'm not sure if I've got the dates exactly right for Ren.

"Custom Shop" models... Good question, Ray. I don't know. I remember Ren was working with Doyle Dykes quite a lot when we had our last LMG meet in 2013. The DDSM might be labeled a "Custom Shop" model. All the Orpheums certainly were. Anyway, GSR does not imply Custom Shop, Ray. I don't know, however, if any of the later GSR models were labeled "Custom Shop;" it's possible.
 

Rayk

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Ok hang on , was the custom shop ever an entity by itself meaning did it have its own line or where all the guitars built on the same assembly line just with special attention?

Heading back to re read ,

My head hurts , is it early for a beer ? Nah can't do that I'm at work . Haha


Edit ; just read the link on the opening of the custom shop but that doesn't say to me it's a separate entity from the main line .
 
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fronobulax

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I am good at asking questions which of course has the unfortunate side effect of ticking some folks off haha but it's not my intent .

When I get ticked off at you it is because you appear to be asking a question, getting an answer and then ignoring the answer when you ask something similar in a post after your answer. The friendly advice is to try and read everything in the thread since your last post before replying to any of it. If there is something I think I want to reply to, I open the reply window in a new tab in my browser. When I get to the end of the thread I go to each of my open tabs and reply, or not. Unlike other boards, LTG does not get bent our of shape when people post consecutive posts, instead of consolidating them into one.

I sometimes fail to follow my own advice but it is still good advice, especially if the goal is to not annoy people.
 

fronobulax

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Ok hang on , was the custom shop ever an entity by itself meaning did it have its own line or where all the guitars built on the same assembly line just with special attention?

Heading back to re read ,

My head hurts , is it early for a beer ? Nah can't do that I'm at work . Haha


Edit ; just read the link on the opening of the custom shop but that doesn't say to me it's a separate entity from the main line .

There were several production lines in New Hartford. The same equipment made Hamers, Guilds, Ovations and even Fenders. No matter what your brand was, I am 99 44/100% certain that the necks were made on the same CNC machine and the only thing that differed was the control parameters.

The LMG Tour occurred while the 60th Anniversary (a "custom shop" model) was being made and those of us who paid attention saw work being done on the 60th at the same benches and workstations that we had previously seen for other product lines.

I agree with your speculation. In New Hartford "custom shop" did not mean "built to user specs" or "built on a separate production line" but did mean extra attention to detail and more inspection at every step of the process.
 

Rayk

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When I get ticked off at you it is because you appear to be asking a question, getting an answer and then ignoring the answer when you ask something similar in a post after your answer. The friendly advice is to try and read everything in the thread since your last post before replying to any of it. If there is something I think I want to reply to, I open the reply window in a new tab in my browser. When I get to the end of the thread I go to each of my open tabs and reply, or not. Unlike other boards, LTG does not get bent our of shape when people post consecutive posts, instead of consolidating them into one.

I sometimes fail to follow my own advice but it is still good advice, especially if the goal is to not annoy people.

Um I had no idea you were getting ticked off Haha

If I ask again , it's simply because the reply I read or I could have missed did not "In my mind " answer the question . I'm layman, If I ask a question most cases it's a simple yes or no answer needed not some PHD technically induced answer requiring another PHD in ancient deciphers to understand that the answer to the question was .... no . Lol no wait , Haha 😂

So what I'm getting is custom shop is just a name plate over an office door where GSR to me has more merit .

I either case the guitars are still great except for ones that are duds there's always a few 😉

As for the actual GSR numbers it's somewhat a guess based off the minimum number a special run would require to start said model production.

Ahh what I give to sit in the same room with some of ya lol 😜
 

Rayk

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There were several production lines in New Hartford. The same equipment made Hamers, Guilds, Ovations and even Fenders. No matter what your brand was, I am 99 44/100% certain that the necks were made on the same CNC machine and the only thing that differed was the control parameters.

The LMG Tour occurred while the 60th Anniversary (a "custom shop" model) was being made and those of us who paid attention saw work being done on the 60th at the same benches and workstations that we had previously seen for other product lines.

I agree with your speculation. In New Hartford "custom shop" did not mean "built to user specs" or "built on a separate production line" but did mean extra attention to detail and more inspection at every step of the process.

See now that worked , easy peezy :)
 

SFIV1967

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Rayk, there were also two good videos you might want to watch (if you have not already):

Guild Custom Shop in New Hartford:


Fender Acoustic Custom Shop in New Hartford:


You might notice the same people wearing two different shirts...

Regarding the general shop there was this video:


Ralf
 
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Rayk

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walrus

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This may now officially be The Most Exhausting Thread To Read Through... :bi_polo:

walrus
 

Rich Cohen

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I have a JF-65C (Florentine) E Custom Shop made in 2000 in Nashville by Bob Benedetto, who had an agreement with Fender between 1999 -- 2006 to make custom shop guitars. The name of the individual who ordered the JF-65 is given on the label inside the guitar, and "Custom Shop" is a label on the back of the head stock. It is beautifully made and remains in excellent condition.
 

chazmo

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That's right, Rich. Unlike, NH's Custom Shop, the Nashville Custom Shop was really a separate facility and ran independently of the primary Guild facilities (Westerly, Corona, and then Tacoma). I'm pretty sure Nashville was even doing at least repairs for part of the New Hartford years since I think at least one fellow from Nashville came up to join Kim Keller's CS repair department. Anyway, I'm not sure when they shut Nashville down and I don't know if that guy ended up working for Ren in the NH Custom Shop or not.
 

adorshki

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That's right, Rich. Unlike, NH's Custom Shop, the Nashville Custom Shop was really a separate facility and ran independently of the primary Guild facilities (Westerly, Corona, and then Tacoma). I'm pretty sure Nashville was even doing at least repairs for part of the New Hartford years since I think at least one fellow from Nashville came up to join Kim Keller's CS repair department. Anyway, I'm not sure when they shut Nashville down and I don't know if that guy ended up working for Ren in the NH Custom Shop or not.
Pretty sure Nashville was actually closed as a construction facility during Corona period.
I don't think we ever got a definitive answer about when that happened, even from Hans who commented in the first thread linked below.
Definitely recall seeing at least one Custom Shop Bluesbird from there, labeled Nashville Custom Shop, but not sure of date, wonder if TXbumper would remember?
It was a repair facility until sometime during New Hartford tenure, 2011 or 2012.
TwoCorgi's D50 was one of the last guitars to get repaired there.
Discussions here:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?147975-Is-there-a-Guild-Custom-Shop
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/archive/index.php/t-164959.html
Edit: Aha!
Hans says it stopped being the Custom Shop coincidental with the move to Corona, post 15 here:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?142380-Guild-Nashville-Custom-Shop
 
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jazzmang

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Correct, it morphed into the Guild repair facility after Corona. I had 2 guitars sent there for work. They did an amazing job. Was a real shame it all got shut down. I'm sure that place had a lot of history.
 

fronobulax

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Um I had no idea you were getting ticked off Haha

You said it although you did not identify who you thought you were ticking off.

but I am good at asking questions which of course has the unfortunate side effect of ticking some folks off haha but it's not my intent .

So what I'm getting is custom shop is just a name plate over an office door where GSR to me has more merit .

You can draw your own conclusions, but I'm not sure I agree. I see them as two different names for what was essentially the same process during the New Hartford years. The fact that GSR "runs" tended to be smaller than Custom Shop runs does not change my perception of merit.
 

Rayk

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"You said it although you did not identify who you thought you were ticking off. "

Just some folks in general , actually I was not meaning anyone here . Haha

Quote
"You can draw your own conclusions, but I'm not sure I agree. I see them as two different names for what was essentially the same process during the New Hartford years. The fact that GSR "runs" tended to be smaller than Custom Shop runs does not change my perception of merit."

Yeah I hear ya , I have a hard time with names and definitions, the words Custom shop has a different meaning for each us for sure . 😁
 
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merlin6666

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It seems that the "custom shop" is almost more mysterious than GSR, but chronologically I think the GSR models came first before Ren appeared and he was involved with the custom shop concept. Visually I think all custom shop guitars are identified by their custom shop sticker on the back of the headstock. This includes the 60th Anniversary, the Orpheums, electric Patriarchs, as well as a "Reno" series that seems to be an evolution of the GSRs but is not well documented. A google search shows some relevant articles as well some Renos that were available for sale:

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Guild_Introduces_the_Guild_Custom_Shop_to_Celebrate_Their_60th_Anniversary

http://www.guitarsite.com/news/music_news_from_around_the_world/guild-custom-shop-tour/

https://www.ebay.com/sch/Musical-Instruments-Gear/619/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=guild+reno

Interestingly, the custom shop is not mentioned in Guild Wikipedia entry at all but about the GSRs it says:


The New Hartford facility had also created a new line of specialty, limited edition guitars, referred to as the GSR Series. The GSR designation stands for "Guild Special Run." This series was first revealed to Guild dealers at Guild's dealer-only factory tour in mid-2009 called the "Guild Summit Retreat". These models featured unique takes on classic Guild Traditional Series models. GSR models include the F-20 (figured Cocbolo), F-30R (master-grade Rosewood), F-40 (figured Cocobolo), F-50 (figured Koa), and D-50 (figured Cocobolo), and Guild's only electric guitar to be produced since 2003, the GSR Starfire VI (only 20 produced). Each of these instruments features unique designs, wood selection, ornamentation, and has extremely limited production numbers.
 
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