Guild Owned by Yamaha?

[Shovelhead]

Great company Yamaha! I have a large, incredible PA system from Yamaha that never let me down, crystal clear pristine sound with 18" subs that rattle your teeth out - even at lower volumes. I understand their acoustic guitars can be quite nice as well.

I was kinda shocked when I called Guild Customer Support yesterday ( after purchasing my 2010 F412) to get the spec sheet on my newly acquired instrument. They answered the phone "you have reached Yamaha ...". I thought to myself 'why can't Guild hold down a factory for longer than 15 minutes?

Anyways ... it is what it is.

I got my spec sheet and will post it as a source of accurate information for my particular model. Their customer support is awesome. Years ago, when I got my 1974 D-35 (pristine), I contacted them for a spec sheet as well. Within seconds, it was sitting in my inbox.
What a great company!

 

[Westerly Wood]

Yamaha rocks and IMHO is a better umbrella owner than Fender was. They are not super involved however, as CMG still does the day to day management, and Yamaha bought CMG. I wish Yamaha owned Guild in a more direct way. But like you said, it is what it is.

 

[Shovelhead]

I 100% agree with you!

 

[chazmo]

Shovel:

We now play Yamahas

From the Yamaha LinkedIn page, Yamaha Guitar Group has purchased Cordoba. Here’s the press release. https://yamahaguitargroup.com/news/YamahaGuitarGroup-PressRelease-2023-02-06.pdf

letstalkguild.com

 

[Cougar]

Great company Yamaha! I have a large, incredible PA system from Yamaha that never let me down, crystal clear pristine sound with 18" subs that rattle your teeth out - even at lower volumes.

Totally agree. I've had three or four of their synths through the years, currently a Motif XS7. This demo sold me:

 

[Br1ck]

In the 80s when some friends were getting a band together, my keyboard player bought a Yamaha electric piano, a powered mixer, and two small speakers. Thirty years later he was using the mixer and speakers as monitors.

I did not realize that Yamaha has an R&D facility in So Cal until recently. The digital synth concept was invented at Stanford. They could not get a US company interested, so the DX7 was Yamaha instead. It is a brand you can trust.

 

[Westerly Wood]

In the 80s when some friends were getting a band together, my keyboard player bought a Yamaha electric piano, a powered mixer, and two small speakers. Thirty years later he was using the mixer and speakers as monitors.

I did not realize that Yamaha has an R&D facility in So Cal until recently. The digital synth concept was invented at Stanford. They could not get a US company interested, so the DX7 was Yamaha instead. It is a brand you can trust.

Their acoustic pianos are also fantastic.
I used to play tennis as a kid a lot, and I had a Yamaha racket. It rocked! Never broke. It was like an early graphite model.
Not to even mention their Nippon Gakki acoustics, those are still sought after by some.

 

[Rayk]

Their acoustic pianos are also fantastic.
I used to play tennis as a kid a lot, and I had a Yamaha racket. It rocked! Never broke. It was like an early graphite model.
Not to even mention their Nippon Gakki acoustics, those are still sought after by some.

Yeah I’ve their baby grand a number of times and they do sound wonderful.

 

[Shovelhead]

Their acoustic pianos are also fantastic.
I used to play tennis as a kid a lot, and I had a Yamaha racket. It rocked! Never broke. It was like an early graphite model.
Not to even mention their Nippon Gakki acoustics, those are still sought after by some.

I have a 26 year old 12 channel mixer I still use today and, the top has never cracked or dried out

 

[merlin6666]

So since the takeover have there been any notable changes or NEWS? Were there any new acoustics presented at NAMM?

 

[chazmo]

Their acoustic pianos are also fantastic.

THey are indeed yummy... Yummy yammies!

But, have you ever played a Bösendorfer? I only ask becasue it's been a Yamaha-owned brand for 10 years now. Truly yummy! As in blow your hair back and you'll never be the same moment.

 

[SFIV1967]

I was kinda shocked when I called Guild Customer Support yesterday. They answered the phone "you have reached Yamaha ...".

So since the takeover have there been any notable changes or NEWS? Were there any new acoustics presented at NAMM?

No new Guild acoustics at NAMM, just the many new Guild Polara models.

Guild Guitars customer support is currently moving from CMG's location in Santa Monica to YGG's location in Calabasas as it looks. They have transferred the same phone number from Santa Monica over to a Yamaha phone system I guess.
Also you will notice that the new Guild "headquarters" address on the Guild webpage is now YGG's location. (I added the right picture with the previous address)
Don't be confused, production is still in the Guild factory in Oxnard.



Hence also the Guild shop is currently under redesign.

Guild Shop

shop.guildguitars.com

Guild Guitars is however still a division of CMG. And CMG (with Guild, Cordoba, DeArmond and HumiCase) is owned by YGG.


But CMG is currently also redesigning their webpage.

But please don't mix/confuse YGG with "Yamaha" in general, YGG for instance has nothing to do with other Yamaha instruments like pianos or keyboards.

Ampeg and Line6 are also owned by YGG.
Actually:
"In 2014 Line 6 became a part of the Yamaha family, creating a network of global collaboration which, in 2017, led to the creation of the first-ever Guitar Division within Yamaha. This culminated in the formation of Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. in 2018. Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. is a U.S.-based, wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, Japan. Also in 2018, Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. acquired the legendary Ampeg® brand."


So there are "Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc.", 26580 Agoura Road, Calabasas, CA 91302
https://yamahaguitargroup.com/brands/
https://yamahaguitargroup.com/company/executive-team/

All other instruments are under "Yamaha Corporation of America", 6600 Orangethorpe Ave., Buena Park, CA 90620
https://usa.yamaha.com/

Ralf

 

[chazmo]

Ralf, that's really good info. I didn't even know the Yamaha Guitar Group existed until you posted it. This means we may see a very different acquisition model here for Guild with this YGG as opposed to, say, Yamaha's corporate ownership of Böserndorfer pianos. I imagine that if you call Bösendorfer, you don't talk to Yamaha people.

Can't even predict if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but generally speaking focus is a good thing. So, I'll remain optimistic. Handling customer service first is an interesting, potentially good result.

 

[SFIV1967]

I imagine that if you call Bösendorfer, you don't talk to Yamaha people.

That's correct. Their headquarters in Vienna, Austria simply shows on their webpage: (Eigentümer means owner)



Ralf

 

[Shovelhead]

Have you tried Böserndorfer on rye wit sauerkraut (mad German soldier ) and mushrooms????

 

[Br1ck]

I like the fact that Yamaha has owned CMG for a while now with no obvious ill effects. Consolidating customer service under one roof makes sense. These kinds of foreign investments just reinforce how the world views the US economy as a good bet.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I currently own a Yamaha LL-16D and a Guild 8 string baritone.
Both are quality instruments.
I have been a Yamaha fan for over 50 years.
They will be good for the Guild brand.

 

[TOSHI]

Yamaha has announced that it will begin sales, repair, and support operations in Japan for Guild products, which are now under the umbrella of Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc., its guitar business subsidiary, from March 1, 2024.

 

[Brad Little]

THey are indeed yummy... Yummy yammies!

But, have you ever played a Bösendorfer? I only ask becasue it's been a Yamaha-owned brand for 10 years now. Truly yummy! As in blow your hair back and you'll never be the same moment.

Wow! Did not know that, purs Guild in good company.

 

[SFIV1967]

Yamaha has announced that it will begin sales, repair, and support operations in Japan for Guild products, which are now under the umbrella of Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc., its guitar business subsidiary, from March 1, 2024.

Here is the freely translated News Release, which only applies to the Japanese market, not the US market! Yamaha Music Japan Co. is a sister company to Yamaha Guitar Group in the US.

"February 1, 2024
Announcement of the start of handling Cordoba Music Group products in Japan
- Yamaha Music Japan Co., Ltd. will start handling from March 1st -

Yamaha Music Japan Co., Ltd., who is responsible for sales of Cordoba Music Group, LLC (hereinafter referred to as CMG) products in Japan, which is under the umbrella of Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. (which is a guitar business subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation.) will begin repair and support operations on March 1, 2024.
Specifically, these include CMG's guitar brands "Cordoba" and "Guild," guitar pickup brand "DeArmond," and musical instrument case brand "HumiCase."
...
By starting to carry CMG products, Yamaha Music Japan Co., Ltd. has expanded its lineup with features and appeal that are different from traditional Yamaha guitars, meeting the wide needs of guitarists and ukulele players. We will respond. We will create new customer value by leveraging the domestic market and customer knowledge we have accumulated over the years, and by maximizing the synergies between Yamaha and the brands we handle, including Line 6 and Ampeg.


Yamaha Music Japan Co., Ltd. : A wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation that conducts inventory sales of musical instruments and audio equipment in Japan, as well as the classroom business. Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo

Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. : A wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation that plans, develops, and sells guitar-related products. Headquarters: Calabasas, California, USA

Cordoba Music Group, LLC. : A wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc., which plans, develops, manufactures and sells guitars and related products, and acts as a string import agent (U.S. only). Headquarters: Santa Monica, California, USA"

Ralf