Guild announces new "Standard" series.....

[onewilyfool]

Check it out.....

http://guildguitars.com/

 

[GuildFS4612CE]

Slight veer...check out this link from that page:

http://www.fretboardjournal.com/video/h ... ore-center

(click the arrow to play the video)

 

[chazmo]

They sure are yummy, onewilyfool. Sorta' been a stealth introduction of the new series. I wonder if they're going to play it up at winter NAMM or something... We'll see.

 

[frettedstrings]

I bet you gotta drop $2000, at least, for one these Standards....

 

[frankieb]

They appear to be a lower cost version of the what is now the "traditional" series. Looking at the specs for the D-50 shows quite a few differences. The "Standard" has what appears to be a one piece mahogany neck, sitka top, rosewood fingerboard and bridge. The "Traditional" has the usual D-50 appointments, 3 piece neck, adi top, ebony fingerboard and bridge. I did some searching and found a place already listing the "Standard" D-50 at $1,999.....so they are not that much lower in cost than the "Traditional" model :?

While I do think it is good to have a lower priced made in USA series of Guilds, I feel that they should have been designated as their own model. Maybe like SD-50 etc to help avoid confusion, especially when they start hitting the used market.....Of course that's just my feelings. On the other hand I give FMIC credit for pumping out some more Guild USA models.

 

[frettedstrings]

Maybe 20 - 30 years from now there will be Guild Owners drooling over these Hartford beasts just as we are drooling over Hoboken and Westerly Models, today.

 

[chazmo]

frankieb,

My take on the Standard Series is that Guild wanted to cut some of the cost out of the Traditional models... The bindings, purf/rosette work, and especially the finishing process on the Traditionals is time-consuming. The Standards, less so. The Standards represent a reduced price-point (and simpler aesthetic) than the Traditionals.

I agree with Guild in not renaming these guitars. My god, there's enough confusion already with the legacy of the Gruhn/Walker era and the GADs and then the switch BACK to traditional names. Sigh. Anyway, the Standards are not a great departure from the Traditional models on which they are based, particularly the sound box. They do have the STD postfix to their names and a unique headstock inlay (very spartan) to keep the family tie relatively clear.

FYI, the neck on my F-212XL STD is bookmatched, two-piece slice of mahogany with no center (walnut) strip. I'm sure the assembling of the two-piece lamination is less expensive materials/time-wise than the Traditionals. Again, the big difference there is the finish, which is satin (not gloss) throughout the neck.

frettedstrings,

I won't make any predictions about collector value in 30-40 years. I can only tell you a few things that may be factors:

1. These guitars from New Hartford are beautifully made (IMO) and they unquestionably carry the Guild legacy. Some of the changes they've made to the Traditionals should really add long-term value... e.g., a real ebony faceplate, red spruce bracing scalloped (consistently) with CNC cutters, closer tolerances today than every before and consistent builds across the lines...

2. Volume is nowhere near the Westerly era. At least today, that is. So the raw numbers should mean less supply down the road.

3. New Hartford has not made the mis-step of releasing seconds/rejects out for reclamation, at least not in any quantity to disturb the market. That is now, unfortunately, the legacy with Tacoma products, even if it is somewhat restricted to the Contemporaries which are not being made in New Hartford. Try explaining that in an eBay ad. Sigh.

4. If the future holds a long stay for Guild in the hands of New Hartford, the value of these "early years" may well flourish as new product lines are introduced and things take their course. My guess is that staying power will have a large influence on the collector's market in another half-century.

 

[fronobulax]

They appear to be a lower cost version of the what is now the "traditional" series.

Some were shown at LMG 2010. Not sure it is easy to find all of the discussion generated by them from that event, but the gist of it is that they were looking to make something that was still a "Guild" with all that implies about tone and construction, but were cheaper and easier to make. There was also a deliberate decision to include or exclude features that "made sense" rather than just because such features were expected by traditionalists. One example was the finish options. Others were cited by my knowledge of acoustics was such that I didn't quite understand what I was being told

In 3-5 years I would expect some divergence. If you want a new equivalent of what was produced in Westerly then you pay a bit more and buy Traditional. If you want a "Guild" using state of the art construction techniques then you buy Standard.

For example, if Guild introduced the patented neck block today, it would probably show up in the Standard series. As the factory innovates, I expect to see the results in the Standard series.

I would not be surprised to find that innovation in the Standard series is the long term response to the belief that today the biggest competitor for new Guilds is vintage Guilds.

 

[Qvart]

They're giving away a D-50 Standard through Premier Guitar.

 

[frankieb]

Chazmo, I definitely see your point about the name thing :wink: I bet that satin neck feels really good and fast in the hands. I am a fairly recent (about a year or so) convert to acoustic from electric and I know on my strats and teles the first thing I would do to a new gloss neck is lightly steel wool and buff em to a satin finish, just made them fast and buttery smooth.

 

[Don]

Yo Chazmo! Did I read correctly? Have the New Hartford Guilds lost some of Volume I take for granted in my Westerly Guilds? :shock:

 

[Nigel Wickwire]

<snip>

~nw

 

[adorshki]

Yo Chazmo! Did I read correctly? Have the New Hartford Guilds lost some of Volume I take for granted in my Westerly Guilds? :shock:

NO, he meant production volume. Probably the single biggest reason they're so hard to find.