Ren Ferguson at NAMM

dapmdave

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Incorporating the "DNA" of the Orpheums into the other guitars in the line? There is something special going on with the Orpheums, so it'll be interesting to see if they can pull this off. I would think that if anyone can, it would be Ren.
 

guildman63

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Incorporating the "DNA" of the Orpheums into the other guitars in the line? There is something special going on with the Orpheums, so it'll be interesting to see if they can pull this off. I would think that if anyone can, it would be Ren.

It sounds like there is about to be something even more special going on with the rest of the line as well if Ren pulls it off.
 

Zelja

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That was the line that jumped out of that little interview. An Oxnard F512 may be very interesting indeed!
 

Westerly Wood

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Very exciting. Sounds expensive. But happy that Guild is back on track. Return to the old iconic Guild name. Sweet.
 

JohnW63

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I haven't seen the video clip yet, but I want Guilds to not become Gibsons in sound and construction. I assume Ren knows that.
 

twocorgis

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I haven't seen the video clip yet, but I want Guilds to not become Gibsons in sound and construction. I assume Ren knows that.

Totally disagree John. I like great guitars, and don't care much whose name is on the headstock. There's nothing like a good slope shoulder, and I'm glad that we have one of the best ones ever made wear the Guild name.
 

JohnW63

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Perhaps I wasn't clear, so I'll try again.

I feel that people who have purchased Guilds in the past, did so because they liked what they felt and heard. If they wanted a Martin or a Gibson sound, they found it in those brands. I have no issue with improving upon the Guild build and tone, but if it goes too far in to being little more than a Gibson guitar with a Guild logo because that is Ren's comfort zone, then what is the point ? I think there is room for a great sounding guitar that still stands out as a Guild tone, not something with a Guild head stock logo that is Gibson in all other aspects. Even if Ren just wants to out do Gibson and make the guitars they wouldn't let him, I would want Guilds to still have their OWN identity and sound.

Maybe the core question is this: Do the Orpheums sound like Guilds or something else entirely ?

And...

Would it be good of ALL Guilds sounded like that and not like we know Guilds today ?
 

davismanLV

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I gotta agree, John. People love the classic Guild tone and sound. And the new Orpheums are great guitars. But if you start blending and changing them then what are they? Guildsons? Although by the same token, all guitar companies change and evolve. Taylor is always changing and improving their designs and techniques. Martin has certainly evolved over the years. So while I want some things to stay the same... I know they can't. That's stagnant and counterproductive. However, I'm not sure Ren is thinking about Guild.... but more about Ren. He's a man with a vision and he's going to take Guild in that direction. Whether that's an altogether good thing has yet to be determined. I think it would be great to see the classic Guild lines continue and the Orpheum has a place in the future as well. Not sure I want them to lose their identity.
 

fronobulax

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For those of use who have hearing loss from our electric youth, the whole idea that a Guild sounds like a Guild and a Gibson sounds like a Gibson (but not a Guild) and a Martin sounds like neither is kind of hard to grasp. Blindfold me and play three guitars that are supposed to be comparable and I don't expect to be able to identify which brand is which. So for people like me, making better Guilds is a good thing and whether they have "the Guild sound" or not is imponderable.

I should also note that Ren has ideas about how to build as well as what to build so the "Orpheum DNA" may apply to manufacturing processes that don't effect the final product.
 

Westerly Wood

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I should also note that Ren has ideas about how to build as well as what to build so the "Orpheum DNA" may apply to manufacturing processes that don't effect the final product.

I also agree with this. Since I can't make up my mind. Shall I got into politics? 😄
 

Westerly Wood

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Politics is beneath Guild, I would never discuss them here...:)
 

jeffcoop

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In a sense, it seems we're looking at something like the Gruhn/Walker era of the mid-late '80s: a new face (or faces) comes in and shakes up Guild's builds and designs. I imagine there was some grumbling among Guild loyalists about the departures from tradition that Gruhn and Walker introduced (although there were no internet boards where the grumbling could coalesce). But from our present perspective, I don't think those guitars are viewed as non-Guilds because of their departures from what went immediately before.

I understand the sentiment here. If I wanted a Gibson, I'd buy a Gibson. If I wanted a Martin, I'd buy a Martin (I actually did buy one, but don't feel the need to buy any more). I like Guilds. But I'm also not entirely sure what the "Guild sound" is--even just staying within the New Hartford era, my F20 sounds different from my F47R, which sounds different from my D50, which of course sounds different from my Orpheum. If the guitar is good (and maintains the visual bloodlines), I don't think I'll have trouble accepting it as a Guild.
 

Neal

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So...

I own 8 Guild acoustics (4 Westerly's and 4 from New Hartford, two of which are Orpheums).They all share a basic Guild-ness that is pretty hard to describe, but very easy, to my ears anyway, to distinguish from Martins and Gibsons.

Guilds are generally brighter, and more forward/open/clear in tone, which I (obviously) like. And the Orpheums have these same tonal characteristics big-time. They do not sound like any Gibson I have ever played in my six years of lurking in Guitar Centers all over this great land.

Neal

'71 F-20
'71 D-25
'73 D-35
'81 D-212
'12 F-50 STD
'13 F-47R
'13 Orpheum 12-fret D
'14 Orpheum 12-fret 000 RW
 

The Guilds of Grot

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Well at LMG I in New Hartford, we were told about how they started with the D-55 and it was completely re-designed from a clean sheet of paper, (well CAD program file). Pretty much they kept the shape and the appointments the same. Other then that, it was a completely new instrument. People didn't seem to mind. How many people would know that they changed the radius of the top and back? Or reduced the size of the neck and tail blocks? As long as it looks and "sounds" like a Guild, everybody is happy.

At the next NJ Guild get together, I think it would be fun to set up some blindfold tests. Can people really tell the difference between the sound of different manufactures? Can they really feel the difference in 1/32" of nut width. Could be fun to find out.

It's just the next generation of Guilds.

(Although I don't like the Truss Rod Cover or Pickguard on the Newark Street series. I would prefer the "Headstock shaped" TRC and the Stairstep Pickguard to historically go with the "raised center" Headstock.
 
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