What kind of company?

[Rocky]

Martin is a flattop acoustic guitar company that made some electrics.
Fender is an electric guitar company that has made some flattop acoustics.
Epiphone was an mostly archtop acoustic guitar company that made some electrics and flattops before they were bought by Gibson.
Gibson has arguably done flattops, archtops and electrics quite well.

Where does Guild fit on that spectrum? How do you see it subjectively or objectively? How would Al or Mark have seen it? Where does Cordoba see it?

 

[GGJaguar]

For me, it's mainly an electric archtop and acoustic flattop company, although they did other things reasonably well (basses, solid bodies, amps).

 

[adorshki]

Martin is a flattop acoustic guitar company that made some electrics.
Fender is an electric guitar company that has made some flattop acoustics.
Epiphone was an mostly archtop acoustic guitar company that made some electrics and flattops before they were bought by Gibson.
Gibson has arguably done flattops, archtops and electrics quite well.

Where does Guild fit on that spectrum? How do you see it subjectively or objectively? How would Al or Mark have seen it? Where does Cordoba see it?

Al Dronge was a jazz player himself and the first Guilds were archtops for that market. The first flat top F50 came a wee bit later.

Mark was responsible for bringing in the flattop dreadnoughts as well as several innovations in the booming electric marketing the early '60's and even into the '80's.

As I understand it, he had to talk Al into getting into what Al thought was a flash-in-the-pan market.

I could see both of 'em saying Guild was primarily an electric company that also made acoustics, but for me, when I "met Guild" in early '97, I thought it was an acoustic company that also made electrics on the side. Only learned the real history a few years later.

I'd be willing to bet a buck though, that during the real volume heydey of Guild production on both sides, say from about '64 thru end of Westerly in '01, that acoustic production overall well exceeded electric production. Which kinda makes one think they still are a primarily acoustic maker, right, even if that might not be what Al and Mark originally intended?

 

[chazmo]

It's the underdog.

 

[Stuball48]

I find Guilds, all and all, better than advertised.

 

[fronobulax]

Mrs. Fro. often wears a Guild headstock pin and my ball cap has a G shield. In all the times total strangers have come up and started a conversation about Guild, not one of them has opened with Guild electrics. They all know about the acoustic flattop. Maybe once, after I mentioned a Starfire bass, did someone show any familiarity with the electric models and even then the conversation was about the "Starfire's" similarity to a Gibson ES-335. While folks have laid out a case for Guild's self image over the years, in the circles where this geezer travels they are a flattop acoustic company. End of story.

Not sure how CMG sees Guild. To the extent that CMG sees itself as a music equipment conglomerate it is possible that they think of Guild acoustics and Guild electrics as two different "companies".

 

[walrus]

I see them as an acoustic guitar company first ,then electric archtop, then electrics. I think that is in fact how they wanted to be perceived for many years, especially atfer the early years of being perhaps an archtop company first. As frono pointed out, I'm not sure it's an issue today.

walrus