JohnW63
Enlightened Member
I guess they didn't expect to make them past ....Z or 2022.
Production in New Hartford
- Thread starter GuildInAtlanta
- Start date
fronobulax
Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
- Joined
- May 3, 2007
- Messages
- 24,730
- Reaction score
- 8,863
- Location
- Central Virginia, USA
- Guild Total
- 5
The New Hartford numbering scheme also breaks down if they ever finished more than 999 guitars in one day.
mavuser
Enlightened Member
I was told by a former NH employee that for what they were getting paid, and the amount of guitars they were turning out...they would have had to sell NH Guilds for crazy money, like custom shop Martins and Gibson pricing. Easilly double or triple what they actually sold for, maybe more. Especially a DD-12 or F-512, orpheums and such. "They were either paying us too much, or selling them for too little...or both."
Quality control at NH was also very high; with only 3,000 pieces per year, and at least somehat regular repairs, replacement, duds, seconds, b-stock, warrantees (and paying employees to do it twice instead of once)...That takes some considerable meat off the bones.
5,000 a year, from 3,000, would not have changed anything. That factory didn't make Fender any real money. They kept the heat and the lights on, basically sold the guitars for cost. a $3,000 Guild from NH should have been closer to $12,000. Just ask Martin!
Quality control at NH was also very high; with only 3,000 pieces per year, and at least somehat regular repairs, replacement, duds, seconds, b-stock, warrantees (and paying employees to do it twice instead of once)...That takes some considerable meat off the bones.
5,000 a year, from 3,000, would not have changed anything. That factory didn't make Fender any real money. They kept the heat and the lights on, basically sold the guitars for cost. a $3,000 Guild from NH should have been closer to $12,000. Just ask Martin!