Ren leaving Guild?

[bobouz]

Per a post on the Gibson Acoustic Forum, Ren is retiring and moving back to Bozeman.

Whenever and wherever he goes, many thanks to Ren for all his efforts to keep USA-made Guilds viable, and well wishes for a most enjoyable retirement!

 

[richardp69]

Shucks. Maybe not all will agree but I think he brought a sense of "this is the real deal" to Guild. We shall see I guess.

 

[jcwu]

Well, that didn't last long.

 

[txbumper57]

I heard this same thing from a friend about 6-8 weeks ago when he called Guild to inquire about when the New Orpheums would go into production and if Ren was still overseeing production on the New American Made Guilds. Guild apparently hinted at Ren not being there any more but would not answer that question directly. They also stated that at the time they had no plans to resurrect the Orpheum series either. If he is retiring I wish him the best and I am thankful for what he brought to Guild in the 2 years of production he was at New Hartford. Hope all is well with him.

TX

 

[twocorgis]

This came immediately to mind. At least it's a great song.

[video=youtube;zWH_nvLK7jc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zWH_nvLK7jc[/video]

 

[Quantum Strummer]

I always figured Ren would stick around long enough to help get the new US facility going and then call it a day. He turned 70 not long ago. Maybe it's just time to kick back a bit.

-Dave-

 

[Westerly Wood]

I always figured Ren would stick around long enough to help get the new US facility going and then call it a day. He turned 70 not long ago. Maybe it's just time to kick back a bit.

-Dave-

Exactly. I believe this to be his plan all along. He had to be talked into helping with the transition, I got impression he was not thrilled about moving to California. Good on Ren for making sure Guild was in a good path in Oxnard and congrats on a Montana retirement. Figure he will still tinker with mandolins.

 

[Neal]

If true, it in all likelihood means that the Orpheums currently in existance are all that there will ever be.

They were produced only from 1/13 to 5/14. No way to know for sure, but there are probably fewer than 1000 that are out there. Maybe even fewer than that, given that total Guild production during that time frame was perhaps 6000-7000 guitars, assuming an average of 15 per day.

 

[guildman63]

The question now is who will be Ren's successor?

 

[krugjr]

makes you wonder.....was any of the Orpheum "design" exclusive to Ren (personal copyrights, etc) or would everything he did to build the Orfs become "property" of Guild and Guild ownership? maybe it's all part of this whole guitar building industry where nothing is really "protected" any more.....like has been discussed here a few times, what can you actually patent? seems like anyone can just take apart someones product and then attempt to build your own version, only better!!! maybe Ren will custom build a few Orf clones up in the mountains....if he has the legal "license" to do so!

PS.....glad none of you bought mine when they were for sale.....now I have a closet full of "Fergusens"!!!

 

[chazmo]

No, krug, I'm sure anything that had a Guild logo is Guild's IP. Who knows whatl'll happen down the road? I wonder if the Orpheum name is part of the deal that CMG got when they bought Guild. I presume so.

I don't know if it's true or not, but this was all definitely a temporary situation. I do agree that Ren will have brought some of that "real deal" stuff that Richard mentioned. If it's true, I wish Ren the best in retirement and I especially hope that losing Ren won't cut short any plans that were being hatched for Guild.

 

[Neal]

I have more faith in Oxnard successfully reproducing iconic Guild models than I do in them building new Orpheums that match the level of craftsmanship achieved at New Hartford.

The Orpheums were Ren's babies, and the culmination of 40 years worth of guitar know-how.

 

[guildman63]

The way I see it is coming up with new or superior building techniques is difficult, while reproducing that which already exists is not. I would expect if the right people are in place, reproducing the Orpheum should not be a problem.

 

[txbumper57]

The way I see it is coming up with new or superior building techniques is difficult, while reproducing that which already exists is not. I would expect if the right people are in place, reproducing the Orpheum should not be a problem.

The thing with reproducing the Orpheums is that to the best of my knowledge Ren was the only one that made the transition from New Hartford to Oxnard. Everyone else who had a hand in Building the Orpheums that Ren trained either went back to work for Ovation in New Hartford or moved on from Guild when the sale went through and Guild ceased production in New Hartford. The Orpheum series draws it's characteristics as much from the way they were built using vintage traditional assembly techniques similar to the "Golden Era" of Guitar making as they do from the materials that they were made from. They could have 5 examples on hand of each Orpheum model to study and reverse engineer but without the knowledge of the way they were built there is a good chance they won't be able to recreate them accurately. The Knowledge that Ren has is the key to making the Orpheums what they were in my opinion.

As far as traditional and Iconic Guild models are concerned there is now no one working at the Oxnard facility who worked at New Hartford. Seems far fetched to think they will be able to recreate the "Magic" that the New Hartford models are so well known for having. Maybe they will create some new magic of their own, Only time will tell. For sure we can say that a wonderful era of Guild Guitars has officially come to a close with Ren's retirement.

TX

 

[guildman63]

I responded as I did because of the AP line. Those models were made by obtaining original 1950's versions of each and recreating them. The results were phenomenally good. If Guild can do that with 60 year old materials and technology, and no original people, they can do it with 3 year old technology and materials. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[Rayk]

It all comes down to the talent at hand if the orphs come back would it not ?

I guess none of the custom shop guys made the transition ?

But if they have the details then that's a start but all the yrs of experience of tap tuning and the likes ( if that happened with Ren during the Orph builds ? ) would be lost no up start could do it so they would need a master Lutheir/builder for that roll .

It's possible Guild could start building a more modern line tone wise ... Maybe ... Um yeah ... I'd think it would be cool

Off for more coffee !

 

[6L6]

Best of luck to Ren and I hope he has a wonderful retirement ahead!

 

[gilded]

Re the Orpheum:

I think the bottom line is, all of the part dimensions are stored away in a computer. If the Orpheums develop an amazing reputation in the guitar world, there will be a market for them and they will be re-created.

In the mean-time, Guildoba has a big learning curve just making the guitars they are currently producing. Give 'em a few years to get their chops up, then let's see what they want to make.

 

[Rayk]

Guilddoba lmao that's great !

How long did NH take ?

 

[twocorgis]

I hope I'm wrong, but I'm really afraid the brand will never be the same. I agree with a lot of what TX said, especially in regard to the Orpheums.