I know I'm gonna be sorry I asked but......

[F312]

I wish we had more to say about Oxnard. "Where art thou".

 

[fronobulax]

I wish we had more to say about Oxnard. "Where art thou".

When you talk about factory operations we have good data about Westerly because of Hans and people who worked or visited. We have some data about New Hartford because of factory tours and workers. We make educated guesses about Oxnard from New Hartford experience and videos but we really need an Oxnard factory tour. In the past Oxnard has said "probably but not yet" and then Covid changed everything.

 

[Br1ck]

It's all great fun, and thankfully, there is no law dictating you have to follow a thread you started to it's bitter end. Could take years. If we negated previously discussed topics, we'd have no way to be corrected for our misinformation or addled brain musings. Hey, I haven't seen a rosewood vs mahogany thread in a while.

 

[adorshki]

When you talk about factory operations we have good data about Westerly because of Hans and people who worked or visited. We have some data about New Hartford because of factory tours and workers. We make educated guesses about Oxnard from New Hartford experience and videos but we really need an Oxnard factory tour. In the past Oxnard has said "probably but not yet" and then Covid changed everything.

They gotta hide the 16" F-body archback dies Ralf saw in a photo recently, so they don't have to answer awkward questions about why they're not using 'em.

 

[Br1ck]

It could be that the archback has been determined to be too hard a sell these days. As soon as you say laminated back, many lose interest.

Funny, a friend has not one but two Linda Manzer archtops. The acoustic archtop is solid wood, the electric is laminate. She told him the solid wood guitar just fed back at low volume and was useless electrified. Both guitars are the same $20,000 + beauties. Rest assured her plywood doesn't come out of a factory.

 

[adorshki]

It could be that the archback has been determined to be too hard a sell these days. As soon as you say laminated back, many lose interest.

Except they still offer the F55 Maple (old F50) and F512Maple (old F412), and several MIC archbacks, but nothing in 16", so it's a size thing, and my single biggest gripe with Oxnard..

Funny, a friend has not one but two Linda Manzer archtops. The acoustic archtop is solid wood, the electric is laminate. She told him the solid wood guitar just fed back at low volume and was useless electrified. Both guitars are the same $20,000 + beauties. Rest assured her plywood doesn't come out of a factory.

Right, why some Guild electrics use(d) lam tops.

 

[SFIV1967]

Right, why some Guild electrics use(d) lam tops.

Not "some" but almost all if you talk hollow body and semi-hollow body starting in 1953 till now. Very very few exceptions only.

Ralf

 

[Br1ck]

Every electric 335 type and jazz boxes are laminate. The same friend with the Manzers has what he figures is the first Howard Roberts prototype, that could very well be Howard Robert's guitar, as he bought it in the same Venice, Ca. neighborhood Roberts had lived in. No one has ever seen another solid top HR model Gibson.

 

[bobouz]

Every electric 335 type and jazz boxes are laminate. The same friend with the Manzers has what he figures is the first Howard Roberts prototype, that could very well be Howard Robert's guitar, as he bought it in the same Venice, Ca. neighborhood Roberts had lived in. No one has ever seen another solid top HR model Gibson.

Not sure which Howard Roberts model you're referring to, but the '64-'67 Gibson/Kalamazoo-made Epiphone Howard Roberts models had arched solid spruce tops, oval soundholes, and a floating mini-humbucker. I've also seen a full acoustic version of the earlier Epiphone (but only one example!). Gibson later released a similar model under their own logo.

Gibson's more recent Howard Roberts Fusion was a fairly typical thin semi-hollowbody with F-holes.

 

[Br1ck]

Gibson's.

 

[bobouz]

Gibson's.

Okay, yes. For anyone who might be interested: After purchasing Gibson, Norlin ceased production of Kalamazoo-made Epiphones in 1970 (outsourcing initially to Japan). They chose to resurrect the 1960s Epiphone Howard Roberts oval-hole archtop, and turned it into a Gibson model - but in the process, they also changed the top from solid spruce to laminated maple.

 

[Br1ck]

My friend's is solid,the only Gibson he knows of that is. Perhaps a leftover body? That was the genesis of my Texan. Leftover Epiphone necks from the purchase of Epi by Gibson. Didn't know what to do with them, so put them on J 45-J50s bodies.

 

[bobouz]

My friend's is solid,the only Gibson he knows of that is. Perhaps a leftover body? That was the genesis of my Texan. Leftover Epiphone necks from the purchase of Epi by Gibson. Didn't know what to do with them, so put them on J 45-J50s bodies.

Very cool - Just like with Guild, you never know what you might run into. Regarding those leftover Epiphone necks, I recently played a Kalamazoo-made ‘58 Epi FT-45 Cortez (LG-2 clone) that had one. Fun stuff!

 

[Br1ck]

The Texan sold well enough that when they used up the 200 or so necks, Gibson decided to keep the Texan in the lineup. By the time my 65 was built they used the same 1 5/8 neck they were using on the j 45s, but of course the had to make them with the longer Epi headstock. To think that when I bought mine, I had no clue as to what they were, no clue to the McCartney connection, really did not know of them. Just picked it up and connected.

So different to taking a leap of faith with my D 35s, both brands. Bought the Guild as a basket case, the Martin on Bryan Kimsey's recommendation.

The 00 15 Custom was just happenstance. One evening, I wrote down what I wanted in my next guitar. I never committed thought to paper, before or sense. So I wrote, all mahogany, 12 fret, slotted headstock, and simple binding. I had no knowledge at the time that dealers like LA Guitars were ordering them. Not a month later, I walked into Gryphon and there it was. Martin had a guitar some dealer backed out from, and Gryphon bought it. So did I. Figured it was meant to be.

 

[plaidseason]

The timeline covers a lot of ground. Of the Guilds I've owned, one was an F30 from the Nashville Custom Shop that was closer to a Santa Cruz OM than any guild F30 I've played. My Gruhn era F4 is a somewhat different vibe from the early to late 90s Westerly guitars I've owned, two different DCE1s, an A25, and a DV4.

I'm definitely Westerly-centric, but some of that is just the vibe of them. The NH guitars were just amazing and many would argue that they were as good any anything Guild ever made.

 

[plaidseason]

Very cool - Just like with Guild, you never know what you might run into. Regarding those leftover Epiphone necks, I recently played a Kalamazoo-made ‘58 Epi FT-45 Cortez (LG-2 clone) that had one. Fun stuff!

I always like that too. The DCE1 I now own is pretty road worn, and definitely a factory guitar with lots of glue runout and some rough work inside, but it sounds amazing and is full of good mojo.

 

[amnicon]

If we're talking individual people, I'd make a vote for whoever was doing the bursts in the mid-late 70s in Westerly getting a medal of Guild Greatness: