New: Guild resophonics

Darryl Hattenhauer · From: Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Has anybody played one?
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Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

I didn't remember they existed. Good marketing, huh?
Here's their website.

They definitely are targeting a different market than the Gretsch resonator guitars. I'd love to hear them.
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Darryl Hattenhauer · From: Phoenix, Arizona, USA

For the price difference, the Guilds better be excellent. How do you think they look on paper? Or should I say "on monitor"?
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Steel crazy after all these years.

$100 reward for info leading to the purchase of a fender D8 white, yellow, or butterscotch.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

News to me too. A bit pricey. Hope they're a good value.

They state hand spun National cones? Didn't know National made hi end cones.

Looking forward to some reviews.
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Darryl Hattenhauer · From: Phoenix, Arizona, USA

I'm surprised Guild is doing these. They've never done them before, but that was before Fender owned them. Seems like a big gamble to me since there is so much competition and the economy is mediocre. But maybe Fender will also use Guild to make high-end banjos and mandos.
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Steel crazy after all these years.

$100 reward for info leading to the purchase of a fender D8 white, yellow, or butterscotch.

Rick Langdon · From: North Carolina, USA

They sure look nice and "read" nice on paper (screen) ... price point is such that I'd need to try them before I'd even think about it ... my Gretsch squareneck has the same pickup system and I can vouch for its quality of sound ... I know mine is inexpensive for a resophonic but it is surprisingly good for the money ... one day I may "graduate" to something of better quality ... maybe the Guilds would be in the running ...
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Mark Eaton · Posted 21 Aug 2012 1:26 pm

Don't take this as gospel, but on a thread over on Reso-Nation.org last January I posted about a friend of mine who attended the Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim and was told that the street prices on the different models would range from $1800-$2500.

Hey Brad - you must be slippin' - you entered a couple posts yourself in that thread last January on the 'nation!
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Mark Eaton · Posted 21 Aug 2012 1:36 pm

Apples and oranges between the new Guilds and the new Gretsch resophonic guitars.

What they have in common aside from being resophonics are two famous names in the U.S. guitar industry.

I have yet to see one of the new Guilds in person. I have played the new Gretsch and it is IMO a pretty good value in an entry-level, built-in-China guitar but surely it's going to pale in comparison to a nicely crafted instrument made of solid woods and higher end materials, and made here in the U.S.

Though that isn't necessarily a guarantee since Gibson has done a great job of nearly driving the Dobro brand into the ground since acquiring the company in the 1990's.

I have one of the new National cones, haven't installed it in a guitar yet. I think Brad has installed one of the new cones in his Crafters of Tenn. reso.
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Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

I am slipping, you're right, Mark. They say the mind is the second thing to go. I don't remember the first thing...

However, this is the first time I remember seeing the website details. And I still haven't seen one in person...yet.

I do have one of the Smith & Young cones installed in my Tennessean and I like it a lot. It has settled in nicely. The other day I was thinking that I really like the sound of this particular guitar now.

I assume this is the same cone that Guild is using in their new resonators.

I said on the Reso-Nation website and I'll say it here: Guild and Gretsch (and whoever else is making resonator guitars[cough cough Weber]) should contact Betty Wheeler at ResoSummit to see if they can set up a display / play room somewhere. Assuming it doesn't conflict with Paul Beard or Tim Scheerhorn, it would be a great way to get their products in the hands of a large number of resophonic guitarists of all levels.
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Mark Eaton · Posted 21 Aug 2012 2:13 pm

I think I used the analogy on one of those threads from January on the 'nation that it would be good to have a moderately priced American-built production reso that would be in the same general category as what a standard Martin D-28 and D-18 are to flattops.

There are a handful of small American builders putting out some models of sub $2000 instruments in resonators: DeNeve, Redline, and Appalachian come to immediate mind.

The new Smith & Young wood-bodied reso I think can be had for just under $2000 as well.

Fender purchased Guild in the 1990's and shifted them around for awhile like the red-headed foster child but it appears that they have found a home in New Hartford, Connecticut. I have played some of the newer Guild flattops from this operation and they are pretty nice.

They have lured away acoustic guitar whiz Doyle Dykes from Taylor after he spent many years with that company as an endorser and traveling clinician.

I remember an article on the "new" Guild from a couple years ago and the collective years of experience among the luthiers there is pretty impressive - it's a veteran crew.

That said, the resophonic guitar is a different breed of cat than building a flattop, and the subtleties that go into a "gourmet level" reso like a Scheerhorn, Beard (the real made in Maryland kind, not the Gold Tone Beard - great guitars for the money though), Clinesmith, Harlow, Rayco, Meredith, Schoonover, etc. put them into their own unique category of luthiery.

Most of the guitars mentioned above start in the $3000-$4000 and above price range, so there is certainly some room I would think for a $2000 reso with distribution handled by the long arm of Fender.
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Alvin Blaine · From: Picture Rocks, Arizona, USA

Mark Eaton · Posted 21 Aug 2012 3:12 pm

Alvin, as I posted earlier, don't take it as gospel on the pricing until you actually see the guitars listed by a dealer - a friend of mine went to the NAMM Show in January and he was told at the Guild booth that the new resophonics would have street prices ranging from $1800-$2500, which means the lowest price of three models would be in direct competition with the new Smith & Young Model 11, which Artisan Guitars in Tenn. has listed on their website for a street price of $1785. I googled for a bit earlier and have yet to find a dealer with the new Guilds in stock.

I've only played the metal-bodied version of the new Smith & Young and it sounded pretty nice, but I would only be interested in the wood-bodied guitar that you posted. And I agree - it has nice look - sort of classy and understated.

National apparently went to some of the top bluegrass dobroists (Rob Ickes was one) and asked them why they weren't seeing any sales of National Model D's with those folks, and designed the Smith & Young Model 11 after receiving a bunch of feedback.
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M J Scott · From: Oregon

Back to the Guilds. I presume by the price that they are made in the US? Then again I remember that Guild is owned by Fender. I have been a big fan of Guild through the years, but their resos are spendy. Almost up there with National, who I have always considered the "Martin" of resonators. I would love to have the opportunity to play one, but my guess is that I won't get that chance any time soon. If anyone has I would love to hear about it.

Mike

Mark Eaton · Posted 21 Aug 2012 5:00 pm

The new Guild resos are made in New Hartford, Connecticut, to which I alluded in an earlier post.

Guild also has a separate lower-priced division of guitars made in Asia, no resophonics from that division as of yet.

You live in Washington Mike so you might remember part of this story. As I recall, after shutting down the Guild factory in Rhode Island they started making Guilds at Fender Corona in southern California, which from different reports I read was a bad idea. The gist of it was that they of course know their Teles and Strats, but not so much higher end acoustics.

They then moved the Guilds up to Washington to be made at the Tacoma Guitars factory, also owned by Fender. I think things got better there, but at some point Fender decided to discontinue the Tacoma brand (bummer!), get out of there and sent Guild back to the east coast to Connecticut. The New Hartford operation opened in 2008.
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Mark Eaton · Posted 22 Aug 2012 8:12 am

I went back and read all the specs on the new Guilds and I was a little surprised to find that all three models - koa, maple, and mahogany - are made of laminated woods. Not that there's anything wrong with that - among top modern resonators one example of a superb guitar made from laminated woods is the Beard Mike Auldridge Signature model which I believe is made from Finnish Birch laminate.

Your modern higher end laminate tonewoods are not you grandfather's plywood. But the most expensive of the three Guilds is the koa, and I don't recall ever coming across a laminate koa guitar in the past.
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Darryl Hattenhauer · From: Phoenix, Arizona, USA

This isn't the best looking koa I've ever seen.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/200813687935?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
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Steel crazy after all these years.

$100 reward for info leading to the purchase of a fender D8 white, yellow, or butterscotch.

Mark Eaton · Posted 3 Sep 2012 3:28 pm

No it isn't. Doesn't have the dramatic figuring like one sees on some guitars. There's a recent thread here about Todd Clinesmith's guitars, and he has made some of the best looking koa guitars, ever. He is just a master of working with this material. One time just before I went to Hawaii, Todd was at a Jerry Douglas show with a number of us here in Sonoma County, and he mentioned to me, and I think he was only half joking, that if I saw some great looking koa over there to let him know about it.

On the other hand, if you look at some of the legendary pre-war Martin flattops made out of Brazilian rosewood, they sound like a million bucks, but they often have backs that aren't very dramatic looking, pretty straight-grained - not much different looking than East Indian rosewood. The exotic look doesn't necessarily translate to the best sound.

I'm still puzzled about the laminate wood bit as specified on the Guild website. I noticed in the eBay listing as linked by Darryl, the dealer doesn't bother to mention that the koa is laminate. I don't know if this is by design, or somebody screwed up between the Guild company, and the eBay dealer.
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Mark

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

until i hear otherwise, i have a hard time believing the guilds or gretsches will sound any better than a goldtone for less than half the price.

Mark Eaton · Posted 4 Sep 2012 9:50 am

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

oh...didn't realize the gretsch was so cheap...

anyone got pics of these?

Mark Eaton · Posted 4 Sep 2012 9:14 pm

Here's "Steel Guitar Heart Attack" guy Jon Rauhouse playing sort of a country blues number on the Gretsch-of-China 'Boxcar' in what appears to be Open D. This is the one that does not include the Fishman Nashville pickup and is available from a number of dealers for $359:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoJnPgsYq9c

When I tried one of these at a local store, they had it tuned down to a version of Open C, and with the D'Addarrio Ej42s on there (16-56) it was like playing a series of wet noodles so I cranked up to GBDGBD and it was a whole different deal.
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Mark

Ron Bednar · From: Rancho Cordova, California, USA

Hmm, sure like the sound of that $359 China-Gretch...whodda thunk it??!!
Would like to see one in person though.

But it does bring up an issue I have talked about for a long time...F holes as opposed to rounds.
I am a firm believer in F holes and will argue till the cows come home that they offer a better bass response than the good old rounds that everybody uses.
Course I don't have any hard scientific evidence of that...but I still believe it... Very Happy

Ken Pippus · From: Langford, BC, Canada

Might be because nobody sticks screens in F holes.

KP

Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

Mark Eaton · Posted 5 Sep 2012 8:05 am

I replaced screens in my Clinesmith with screenless "tone rings" I purchased awhile back from Paul Beard's Resophonic Outfitters website.

I wanted to check out the bass thing, plus I like the look- the no screen deal has become sort of the cool thing in dobros in recent years.

There might be a slight increase in bass response, but since the Clinesmith wasn't lacking in the bass department to begin with, it's very subtle.

In some guitars people have told me when they've made the switch they can't even really tell the difference, and others think it's not-so-subtle. Depends on the guitar I guess.

I've never been an f-hole guy when it comes to aesthetics, I like the round program, screens or screenless.

This China-Gretsch, from the two I played, has what I would call "passable" bass response, but then what would one expect for $359?
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Mark

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