AcornHouse
Venerated Member
This was posted on FB.
Import factory closing?
- Thread starter AcornHouse
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SFIV1967
Venerated Member
I don't know anything about this yet. But I guess Johnny Cola knows as he knows what is going on with Reverend. So it is well possible that SPG Musical Instruments Co., Ltd. has ceased production. Their webpage disapeared already early 2022. I wasn't able finding anything on Korean pages yet. That impacts a number of brands.
Ralf
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jp
Senior Member
I wouldn't be surprised if the production for previously made SPG Guilds is moved to Yamaha's current resources. That means China and Indonesia for guitars at the predictable price points. It would be the smart financial move.
It's also worth considering that maybe Yamaha might also produce higher-end models in Japan like Gretsch did. It's cool to see that Yamaha already has the Revstar Professional series which is Made in Japan, especially since they have some well-known players like Chris Buck and the amazing Matteo Mancuso.
It would be uplifting to see certain Guild electrics elevated in status again, just as Fender did with them.
It's also worth considering that maybe Yamaha might also produce higher-end models in Japan like Gretsch did. It's cool to see that Yamaha already has the Revstar Professional series which is Made in Japan, especially since they have some well-known players like Chris Buck and the amazing Matteo Mancuso.
It would be uplifting to see certain Guild electrics elevated in status again, just as Fender did with them.
Charlie Bernstein
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(Or not.)
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bobouz
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The three Terada-Japan made Epiphones I own are finely crafted instruments. It would be wonderful to have Guild partner with them, but prices would have to reflect that level of quality & would invariably be well north of their current electric offerings.
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
I'd guess a mammoth company like Yamaha would have a plan, or a backup plan. Interesting development.
Guildedagain
Enlightened Member
One door closes, and another opens.
GGJaguar
Reverential Member
The easiest alternative would be moving production to Samick in Indonesia since they already make the Starfire I series of archtop guitars. They could also go to Yako in China where Guild has a contract to build the Aristocrat HH and P-90 models. While these aren't archtops, Yako has been building the Gretsch Electromatic line of archtops since 2022 so they have the capability to make Guild archtops. I think the issue is capacity. Can Samick or Yako fit the Guild Newark Street line into their production and, if so, when? It takes some long-term planning so it might a year or two before that could happen. But if Guild knew this was coming, they could already have started the process of moving production. Or not... and then a big chunk of the Newark Street line gets discontinued. Bottom line - we'll have to wait and see what happens unless we get some insider info.
Exactly. Sadly, I don't expect we're going to get that though.
This is just more grist for the rumor mill. It definitely seems (a.k.a. rumor) that Guild is moving Newark Street production out of Korea and into Indonesia. A bunch of us have made that well-founded conjecture for at least three months now, and I don't see anything to the contrary.
I think Indonesian models started with the Surfliner a couple of years ago, Jeff. I'm not sure exactly what's coming out of Indonesia right now, but the Starfire I certainly caused confusion and a price war with the Starfire IV and V coming out of Korea...
Anyway, you're not wrong.
GGJaguar
Reverential Member
China - Jetstar (discontinued), Aristocrat HH, Aristocrat P-90
Indonesia - Surfliner, Surfliner HH, and Surfliner Deluxe, Polara Deluxe Bigsby (discontinued), Polara Limited (discontinued), Polara, Polara Deluxe, Polara Night Edition, Kim Thayil Signature, Starfire I SC, Starfire I DC, Starfire I-12, Starfire I Jet 90, Starfire I Bass
jp
Senior Member
This doesn't surprise me, and I assumed this was going to happen.
I do hope that Yamaha will test drive some mid-price point MIJ Guild electrics to see how well they do in the market, especially artist models. It seems like a huge opportunity that's never really been truly explored by Guild before outside of a few lone models like the Kim Thayil S-100.