Guild Champions (?) through the years

[AcornHouse]

Guitar.com and Guild (on their Instagram) are celebrating 70 years with iconic artists who have “championed” the brand. A little ironic in that two of the first ones they feature are Johnny Smith, who dropped Guild because he didn’t understand how guitars were built, and Nick Drake, who never played one, at least on record or in public.

You know who they don’t mention? Richie Havens.

Guild players through the decades: how music legends have championed the brand since the 50s

Since Guild was founded in the 1950s, its guitars have been played by everyone from jazz virtuosos to alternative legends

guitar.com

 

[Rocky]

And no mention of George Barnes. Or George Benson, for that matter.

 

[AcornHouse]

And no mention of George Barnes. Or George Benson, for that matter.

They do mention Barnes in the text. Just mention.

 

[GAD]

A little ironic in that two of the first ones they feature are Johnny Smith, who dropped Guild because he didn’t understand how guitars were built

What is that referring to? I don't think I know that story.

 

[AcornHouse]

What is that referring to? I don't think I know that story.

When they came out with the JS Artist Award, he wanted them to redo it carving the top like a non-cutaway and using wide binding and a filler to hide the gap, instead of carving the top as a cutaway. He assumed, and insisted, that that was the correct way to do it.
D'Aquisto, Benedetto and others have talked about D'Angelico doing it this way because he just never got around to making cutaway forms.

That's why Johnny Smith left Guild and went to Gibson, because Guild builders refused to do it his way.

 

[adorshki]

Guitar.com and Guild (on their Instagram) are celebrating 70 years with iconic artists who have “championed” the brand. A little ironic in that two of the first ones they feature are Johnny Smith, who dropped Guild because he didn’t understand how guitars were built, and Nick Drake, who never played one, at least on record or in public.

You know who they don’t mention? Richie Havens.

Guild players through the decades: how music legends have championed the brand since the 50s

Since Guild was founded in the 1950s, its guitars have been played by everyone from jazz virtuosos to alternative legends

guitar.com

The Guild that opened the single most legendary music festival of all time, and they drop the f---in' ball. And the model's still in the line-up, even. Sheer arrogant incompetence. Freakin' idiots promoting their own fallacious historical myths when the actual truth would be so much cooler, and only generating disrespect from those who know better, and brand image degradation by marketing to those who prefer myth over substance.

Oh well, I gave up on 'em about 4 years ago as it is, when I was sure they decided there wasn't a place in the line-up for the other Guild that opened Woodstock: the F47.

I'll refrain from verbalizing my current opinion, but the initials would be "F-E" for the curious.

 

[walrus]

I agree, ignoring Richie Havens is a huge slight. And including Nick Drake is just silly.

Gotta wonder what the requirements are for employment in the Guild marketing department. "Must have no knowledge of Guild history, and no interest in learning about it."

walrus

 

[Rocky]

Gotta wonder what the requirements are for employment in the Guild marketing department. "Must have no knowledge of Guild history, and no interest in learning about it."

Hiring like that at my former employer, is why I don't work there anymore.

 

[GGJaguar]

No Paul Simon or John Denver?

 

[fronobulax]

The Guild that opened the single most legendary music festival of all time, and they drop the f---in' ball.

I am not the target audience for Guild's marketing, being old enough that I could have attended Woodstock as a teenager. I have no recollection of Richie Havens as a contemporary musician. I have a vague recollection of hearing one song of his after Woodstock but he was never an important part of my musical heritage. Indeed I only recognize the name because he is held in high esteem by many LTG posters. (I could say the same thing about John Prine which removes me from the target audience shared by a lot of LTGers but my preferences are tangential to my point). So if a child grew up in my household and went on to have a marketing job at Guild they would have no idea who Richie Havens is and no understanding of his importance.

I have seen a few companies that are interested enough in their history that they have commissioned professional historians to write a corporate history. I have also seen companies that made changes in their culture in response to customer comments.

So it would be wonderful if Han's book was mandatory reading for some members of the staff. Since historians often revisit topics a generation later with new insights a fantasy would be that Guild would commission Hans to write a corporate history or that someone else would undertake the project. The true fantasy element would be that Guild would pay attention once the work was finished. I'm thinking documented, maybe 5,000 words and an overview with a focus on the cultural impact of Guild. But I'm just dreaming.

 

[Walter Broes]

It's typical for the time we live in. There's no money for competent writers who know what they're talking about or do "research" beyond quickly looking at Wikipedia.

And more than I've ever seen in my own lifetime, there's a crazy cult of personality and bigger/more succesful equals better. The omission of Paul Simon and John Denver in that garbage article kind of contradicts my second grumpy old man remark, but we'll file that under bad research/bad journalism.

Cult heroes sold a lot of Guilds by the way. Rootsrock/blues/rockabilly fans of my generation heard and/or saw Dave Gonzalez peel paint off the walls in a smoky sweaty club on a vintage Guild archtop and are not likely to forget that, even though the general public has no idea who he is.

Also...the Bob Marley thing is embarrassing and far fetched. Marley was fantastic of course....but..."he plunked some on a Madeira in his couch when his stoned a$$ was watching soccer on TV"....really? I'll forever associate Marley with a single cutaway Gibson Les Paul Special.

 

[adorshki]

I am not the target audience for Guild's marketing, being old enough that I could have attended Woodstock as a teenager.

Woodstock is still a cultural touchstone thats got far bigger associations than "music festival", it represents an element of American society still with us today, the "old hippy" and the values associated therewith.

Havens was the first act in the movie. Simply being associated with an event of such cultural significance should trump the mythical association with an artist who was only famous by virtue of a now-forgotten car commercial. Even amateur historians would agree, I'm sure.

That old hippy market probably has more potential disposable income than their historically illiterate "target market".

Not that your points aren't valid, I just think they're balanced if not outweighed by other factors.

And presented simply for evaluation. I'm not irrevocably convinced of my rectitude.

This time, anyway.

 

[fronobulax]

"Woodstock? Wasn't that a concert my grandparents went to?"

Every generation has their own touchstones. But they change. For Americans, Kennedy's Assassination, the Moon Landing, the Challenger Disaster, the 9/11 attack. As time goes by the relevance of each touchstone fades as the population ages.

So this really comes down to how we imagine Guild's target market? How many guitars do they expect to sell to people born in 1960 or earlier compared to the number sold to people born in 2000 or later? The bigger the second number is, compared to the first, the less importance Woodstock has as a cultural touchstone that will help sell guitars.

This is another facet to the age old complaint by LTGers that Guild is not marketing to them. We can start another thread if we need to rehash why, or why not, that is a sound business decision by Guild.

 

[AcornHouse]

Yes, but Frono,
a.) This was an article celebrating 70 years of Guild artists. It is literally about the history, regardless of what kids these days know.
b.) How is Richie Havens and Woodstock irrelevant to today's market but Johnny Smith is? Guild makes guitars similar to what Richie played and does not make anything like what Johnny Smith played.

 

[12 string]

Dave Van Ronk? Utah Phillips?

 

[fronobulax]

Yes, but Frono,
a.) This was an article celebrating 70 years of Guild artists. It is literally about the history, regardless of what kids these days know.
b.) How is Richie Havens and Woodstock irrelevant to today's market but Johnny Smith is? Guild makes guitars similar to what Richie played and does not make anything like what Johnny Smith played.

Point noted.

I guess I was reacting to the suggestion that lousy history was made lousier because Richie Havens was not mentioned

 

[adorshki]

Point noted.

I guess I was reacting to the suggestion that lousy history was made lousier because Richie Havens was not mentioned

You're ok with the incompetent marketing charge then, right?

 

[fronobulax]

You're ok with the incompetent marketing charge then, right?

Lousy history, for sure. The decision to use history for current marketing can be questioned. Somewhat of a moot point because the likelihood of purchasing a new Guild for La Casa de Fronobulax is low. While I am convinced that my opinion is important to Guild and so I will gladly share and defend it, the only practical effect of their marketing is that I will parrot it to people who ask about my Guilds.

Maybe I'm just tired of dropping Jack Casady's name, getting a blank look, mentioning Jefferson Airplane and the blank looks starts to glaze over and maybe getting a glimmer of a response when I say White Rabbit or Somebody to Love. What does get a response is not sounding like a P/J clone and not looking like what everyone else is playing. Curiously those are reasons I bought a Guild decades ago.

 

[Dirtyhands]

I knew about Guild acoustics in the late sixties because my brother had one. I remember playing it, and he still talks about how great it was. As far as company history is concerned, I only knew that they were born in the fifties, and had former Epiphone employees. Then in the eighties, I found a beat up old F30 which was missing its pick guard, in a pawn shop, behind the counter, for $75. It turned out to be the best acoustic guitar I’ve ever owned. History or artist affiliation never had anything to do with my acquiring a few Guilds. They’re just excellent guitars. I only own one now, a ‘66 SFlll. I’m not really a collector, other than owning guitars I like to play. Nevertheless I like reading about the rare and collectible, and history related stuff I find here.

 

[Uke]

the other Guild that opened Woodstock: the F47.

Again, I show my ignorance; which player was that?