Thank you, Fender....

[gibsonjunkie]

In the last few weeks Fender has gotten bashed pretty hard for its decision to close the New Hartford plant and get rid of Guild. I've done my share of it, myself. Reflecting on it, I hate to see the old facility close - there is a lot of cool energy there - a great team, and a really cool place to build guitars. Seeing what happened to the staff and the anxiety of whether Guild would survive or not was disturbing. However, thanks to Fender, Guild went from a good guitar builder to a world-class guitar builder (again). When we attended LMG I they talked about their commitment to build a new Guild and really make great guitars. Fender really let them go to town on developing (or reestablishing) the manufacturing of incredible instruments. They kept Guild alive. It is too bad that doing so didn't meet their business model, but now Cordoba will take over and (hopefully) take it up yet another notch. So, regardless of the way you did it, and the folks you hurt along the way (your employees and fans), thanks Fender for making Guild even better! We'll miss you...

 

[jeffcoop]

I'll thank Fender for saving Guild back in the '90s, and for (briefly) supporting some great efforts to enhance the Guild line and Guild build quality in New Hartford. But I can't say I'll miss them.

 

[bluesypicky]

Am I a day late and a dollar short again or did y'all see (and discussed) this already?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/05/29/u2-bono-edge-join-fender-board/9733761/

 

[Westerly Wood]

I'll thank Fender for saving Guild back in the '90s, and for (briefly) supporting some great efforts to enhance the Guild line and Guild build quality in New Hartford. But I can't say I'll miss them.

Agreed!

 

[Watasha]

I appreciate Fender for not killing Guild off like they did Hamer & other brands. I also thank them for not diluting the product like they are doing with Ovation. That said, the Guild brand is obviously more valuable than those other brands so FMIC was also doing themselves a favor by selling Guild. I don't hate FMIC but I'm absolutely glad we're with CMG now. I'm looking very much forward to the future & all the great Guild instruments it will bring.

 

[gibsonjunkie]

I appreciate Fender for not killing Guild off like they did Hamer & other brands. I also thank them for not diluting the product like they are doing with Ovation. That said, the Guild brand is obviously more valuable than those other brands so FMIC was also doing themselves a favor by selling Guild. I don't hate FMIC but I'm absolutely glad we're with CMG now. I'm looking very much forward to the future & all the great Guild instruments it will bring.

I agree.... I expect better days ahead.

 

[Zelja]

Am I a day late and a dollar short again or did y'all see (and discussed) this already?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/05/29/u2-bono-edge-join-fender-board/9733761/

Just another little story on the same topic: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/bringing-bono-board-might-not-be-enough-fenders-slump

What's interesting is that they are a quoting a 10-15% drop in guitar sales across the industry, since the peak in 2008. Just goes to show that it is tough out there & maybe somewhat due to less players picking up & learning the instrument. The latter point is probably not relevant to New Hartford sales as that would be a different demographic but the general downturn in the economy & hence smaller demand for luxury goods (which high end guitars probably are) probably would affect NH sales (not to mention indifferent marketing etc). It doesn't seem to be an easy market. Here's hoping Cordoba make a good fist of it.

 

[Neal]

Jus had a thought. Wonder what Bono and Edge have listed as their name on their driver's license?

Another thought. Might the downturn in the guitar industry generally be associated with the way music is promoted these days, with music videos increasingly becoming slickly-produced mini-movies that portray a story, as the artist is shown walking through fields, driving fast, sailing boats, anything but playing their instrument?

Country music TV is the only genre that actually shows the artist playing a guitar on a regular basis. So kids grow up thinking that the actual instrumentals come out of thin air.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I can clearly recall the first Guild I ever saw on TV. Tom Chapin's Make a Wish. ​He played either an F-40 or F-47. Instant love affair with the brand that has lasted nearly 50 years.

Neal

 

[SFIV1967]

Wonder what Bono and Edge have listed as their name on their driver's license?

According to 2014 Irish company records Bono seems to be using "Paul Hewson" and The Edge is using "David Howell Evans" as legal names. Not that it does matter...
Ralf

 

[bluesypicky]

Another thought. Might the downturn in the guitar industry generally be associated with the way music is promoted these days, with music videos increasingly becoming slickly-produced mini-movies that portray a story, as the artist is shown walking through fields, driving fast, sailing boats, anything but playing their instrument? Neal

Another undeniable factor in the diminishing number of kids taking up guitar playing (or any other instrument for that matter), is that learning an instrument is actually difficult to them.
By "difficult", I mean it takes discipline, long practice hours, not to mention a musical "ear" and a minimum amount of talent or at least predisposition for the instrument.
What kid wants to bother today?..... There's too much TV/internets to watch, video games to be played, texting to do on the phone (and I'm talking about IMPORTANT texting like: "hey wassup?" "Nuthin. Chillin. U?" "Nuthin. Where u at?" "The crib, u?" "driving to the store, getting stuff for my mom" "Cool Catch you later". "ok".)
Not to mention making time for: tweeter, facebook, instagram, skype etc etc..........

Kid: "You mean dedicating some time everyday to learn an instrument that I won't be able to master until a few years from now?..... (and by "mastering" I mean being able to play more than one song)
No freaking way dude!.... Where's my phone?"

 

[bluesypicky]

oopsie

 

[twocorgis]

Another undeniable factor in the diminishing number of kids taking up guitar playing (or any other instrument for that matter), is that learning an instrument is actually difficult to them.
By "difficult", I mean it takes discipline, long practice hours, not to mention a musical "ear" and a minimum amount of talent or at least predisposition for the instrument.
What kid wants to bother today?..... There's too much TV/internets to watch, video games to be played, texting to do on the phone (and I'm talking about IMPORTANT texting like: "hey wassup?" "Nuthin. Chillin. U?" "Nuthin. Where u at?" "The crib, u?" "driving to the store, getting stuff for my mom" "Cool Catch you later". "ok".)
Not to mention making time for: tweeter, facebook, instagram, skype etc etc..........

Kid: "You mean dedicating some time everyday to learn an instrument that I won't be able to master until a few years from now?..... (and by "mastering" I mean being able to play more than one song)
No freaking way dude!.... Where's my phone?"

LOL! So true, Pascal. :blue:

 

[fronobulax]

We've discussed the decline in guitar sales before and often and at the entry level it pretty much comes down to kids, teenagers and young adults choosing to do something besides play guitar with their time and money.

As a counter, and I know one data point does not make a trend, I have a friend who will graduate from high school in a few weeks and he plays guitar and looks forward to continuing to do so when he gets to college. I'll take some minor responsibility for that because when he asked for an electric guitar several years ago his parents did not say Yes. But they did say to ask me and Mrs. Fro. since they knew we played. He was willing to practice and take lessons so we told his parents in no uncertain terms that they they should get him the starter pack he was looking at. He stuck with it.

Sadly we have not yet converted him to Guilds because his weapon of choice is electrics and we have not gotten any in his hands yet.

 

[fronobulax]

P.S. - On the topic at hand, the only reason Guild exists today is because Fender bought them. For that I am thankful. They made many mistakes and gave up too soon but they kept things going nevertheless.

 

[Scratch]

Another undeniable factor in the diminishing number of kids taking up guitar playing (or any other instrument for that matter), is that learning an instrument is actually difficult to them.
By "difficult", I mean it takes discipline, long practice hours, not to mention a musical "ear" and a minimum amount of talent or at least predisposition for the instrument.
What kid wants to bother today?..... There's too much TV/internets to watch, video games to be played, texting to do on the phone (and I'm talking about IMPORTANT texting like: "hey wassup?" "Nuthin. Chillin. U?" "Nuthin. Where u at?" "The crib, u?" "driving to the store, getting stuff for my mom" "Cool Catch you later". "ok".)
Not to mention making time for: tweeter, facebook, instagram, skype etc etc..........

Kid: "You mean dedicating some time everyday to learn an instrument that I won't be able to master until a few years from now?..... (and by "mastering" I mean being able to play more than one song)
No freaking way dude!.... Where's my phone?"

With ya on this one BP... +1

 

[Synchro]

It's great to read some positive comments. FMIC may be less than perfect, but they are a huge influence in the industry and have done some good along the way. I know that Mike Lewis is one determined man and he helped bring to life worthwhile reissues of any number of vintage Guild models. He listens to players and acts upon the needs of the customer. Either way, I'm glad that Guild will be around for some time to come. My best wishes to CMG.

 

[adorshki]

With ya on this one BP... +1

I disagree completely.
I think the real problem is that societal morals have crumbled to the point that there's no longer any motivation to become a rock guitar god to get girls.

 

[chazmo]

Clear as mud

I've hesitated to post this, but by leaving it anonymous I don't think I'll offend the very senior Fender executive I corresponded with here. I think you guys might get a more rounded picture of Fender when you read this and sense this one man's passion. Fender made some inexcusable cock-ups and there are many reasons to be upset, but if I've learned anything from the LMG events, Fender is *not* a nameless/faceless entity, and some of the important folks really did care.

Anyway, this person has been involved with Guild for a long, long time, and here's what he had to say in response to my email (which is below it):

--------

Hello Charlie,

Thanks for the message. I appreciate that you recognize that there were people in the Fender organization that worked very hard and had the best of intentions for Guild.

Indeed, it's been a wild ride for the past few weeks. I am very optimistic about the future with Guild and Cordoba. I've spent some time with the new owners and they are very passionate about Guild, and also very capable guys. Ren's involvement is a major plus.

Personally, as a former Guild dealer (late '70's/early '80's) and a fan of the brand (Starfire III was the hip guitar when I stared playing in the early 60's) since my youth, I'll be interested to see the great things that I think the new guys will do, moving forward.

I'd like to thank the LTG community for helping to keep us "honest" during the recent years of our stewardship. We did pay attention to the posts, regularly, and the commentary was not unimportant to us. I'm sure this will continue.

Thanks again, and I look forward to the next time we might meet. Perhaps LMG Oxnard


--- from me ---

>I've been following all the Guild-related happenings recently, and I
>was just wondering how you were doing in this transition... Sounds
>like things are changing pretty radically at Fender.
>
>Last time I spoke to you was to thank you for all the great things
>that Fender had going for Guild on the 60th anniversary. It's hard to
>believe what's happened in a year's time, but I hope that Cordova
>Music Group continues to make great things happen for Guild as Fender
>carves it off.
>
>Anyway, I just wanted to wish you well and thank you for your
>involvement [ ... ] in the Guild world. [ ... ].
>
>Best wishes. -- Charlie (from Let's Talk Guild)

 

[dreadnut]

Happy to say my son is bucking that trend; he seems to be possessed with the guitar.

 

[West R Lee]

I've always said, and will always contend that the first 6 years of Fender's ownership of Guild were stellar. The best guitars Guild ever built (in my opinion). It was after that first 6 years that things began to go downhill and that downhill trend has continued to this day. We'll see what Cordoba does with Guild. I do credit Fender with somewhat having rescued Guild in the 90's, but am not positive that had they not, someone else might have. Just as in the situation Guild is in today with Cordoba stepping in. I also think that Fender was trying to get on track in New Hartford in the beginning, but had also heard shortly after that move, that Fender was fighting a losing battle in New Hartford, though they continued to try. Having heard from a very reliable source 2 or 3 years ago that Fender had considered closing the doors of N.H. then, I also credit them with at least giving it a shot and not throwing in the towel at the time. But that's why I could never buy into the New Hartford hype, that, along with 3 moves in less than 10 years. In fact, at the time, I posted here that Fender was considering closing the doors at New Hartford and was scoffed at. Let's hope Cordoba has a real commitment to building very high quality guitars in California, and sticks with it. Let's hope that they find a way to market their guitars, while keeping them relatively affordable. Fender gave it a shot, and I'll never argue that point, now let's hope that Cordoba succeeds.

West