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http://www.tomguerra.com

500 Words Guild Guitars

I’ve made no secret of being a fan of Guild guitars. My late nineties Bluesbird has been my constant companion ever since I bought it. When I wrote for Premier Guitar I used my Bluesbird as my go to guitar for every amp review I did even if I didn’t mention it in the article.

But who is Guild Guitars? The answer depends when you asked the question. Like many well-known brands Guild has been bought and sold many times since its formation in 1952.

Like Epiphone, Gretch, and CF Martin Guild also had its origins in New York. Also like Ephiphone and Gretch, Guild had gone through many ownership changes until the present day.

When Gibson bought Epiphone in 1952 Guild former Epiphone executive George Mann and music shop owner Alfred Dronge formed Guild. Early on Guild attracted many top players including Johnny Smith, George Barnes, and Duane Eddy.

The partnership between Mann and Dronge was a short one. After a year Mann left Guild leaving Dronge in charge.

By 1956 Guild had become successful enough to outgrow their original facilities and relocated to Hoboken New Jersey.

As Guild guitars continued expanding Guild made the unusual decision to keep their offices in Hoboken but move their productions to Westerly, Rhode Island. This proved to be a fatal decision to Alfred Dronge because he was killed in his private plane in 1972 while en route to visit the Westerly facility.

With the loss of Dronge Guild guitars limped on through the seventies and in 1995 Guild was purchased by Fender Musical Instruments.

In late 2001 Fender closed all Rhode Island productions and began making Guild guitars in Corona California.

2008 brought new changes as Fender Musical Instruments bought Kaman Music Corp and started making Guild guitars in New Hartford Connecticut.

In 2014 Fender sold Guild to California-based Cordoba Music Group and began some manufacturing in Oxnard California and began having some reissued models produced in the Far East.

The list of Guild players reads like a whose who of popular music and Guild guitars have found their way into the hands of players such as Ryan Adams, Jerry Garcia, Richie Havens, Bruno Mars, Brian May, Michael Nesmith, Tommy Smothers, Kim Thayil, Muddy Waters and Paul Weller.

With Gibson and Fender having the lion’s share of the American guitar market why did players gravitate towards this relative unknown? My cynical side says, “Because they were paid to” but the player in me says, “because they are well made” and “they have a gutsy sound”.

As I am writing this I saw that Guild had reissued “my” guitar. Even though there are some cosmetic changes to the new Bluesbird I will say the iced tea burst is dead sexy.

What does the future hold for Guild? Without the machinery of Fender behind them or the name recognition of Gibson or PRS they’ll never be one of the top three but I don’t see them going away again either. At sixty-four years old, you should look so good.

More Lollar?- http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc

The President and Creator of Shrapnel Records joins us to discuss his career and those he launched.

Visit Shrapnel-http://www.shrapnelrecords.com

U.S. Metal Vol.4- Shawn Lane-

Vintage Spotlight Columns-

500 Words Why Ronnie Wood is the Greatest Rolling Stone-

Ronnie Wood never gets his due. People have criticized his playing and have said there isn’t a definitive Ronnie Wood style. Fair enough I guess but there are several other well-known players are extremely solid guitarists even though they aren’t flashy attention grabbing soloists. While it is true that guys like Brad Whitford, Mike Campbell, and Peter Stroud aren’t duck lipped, swivel hipped, rock ‘n’ roll sex machines the same way Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page were but it is also true that Aerosmith, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Sheryl Crow sound very different without their contributions.

When Ronnie Wood was asked to join the Rolling Stones Ronnie was all ready an established rock ‘n’ roll badass. After some minor success with his group The Birds Ronnie joined the first incarnation of the Jeff Beck Group as a bassist and his aggressive style really shines during the final measures of “Spanish Boots” from the Beck-Ola album.

After the first version of the Jeff Beck Group imploded Ronnie Wood and JBG singer Rod Stewart went to join the second incarnation of The Small Faces, shortened the name to The Faces and recorded four boozy albums with the band.

Somehow between playing ramshackle live shows with The Faces, and recording several albums with the band Ronnie Wood and the core of the Faces recorded the soundtrack to the movie “Mahoney’s Last Stand”, play as part of Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert in ’73, record his first solo album with Mick Taylor, and play on The Stone’s “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)”.

In 1974 Stones guitarist Mick Taylor decided to throw in the towel in and cast the band into turmoil. Many guitarists tried out for the band including Harvey Mandel, Wayne Perkins, Jeff Beck and Rory Gallagher.

Note: Depending on the sources Roy Buchanan was asked twice to join The Stones, once after the death of Brian Jones and a second time after the departure of Mick Taylor. Apparently The Stones rejected Buchanan the first time around because he was “too hot” and Roy turned them down the second time around because he said he was too messed up on booze and drugs.

Ronnie Wood’s tenure in the band hasn’t been an easy. When Ronnie joined the band it was awash with drugs and personal rivalries.

Some how Ronnie was able to survive rifts in the band, arrests of band members, drug and alcohol addiction and was still able to make meaningful contributions to such albums as Black and Blue, Some Girls and A Bigger Bang.

While Ronnie may not have the bad boy swagger of Keith, the iconic status of Brian Jones or possess the fluid genius of Brian Jones but during his tenure the band got funkier, their country influences became more pronounced and more than anything else he acted like a stabling influence.

Not bad for a scraggly haired graphic artist from Hillingdon.

Roy Buchanan declines The Stones
https://earofnewt.com/2016/01/24/roy-buchanan-on-turning-down-the-stones-and-being-flattered-by-beck/

Ronnie Wood addiction
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/ronnie-wood-taken-to-rehab-by-damien-hirst-2350650.html

Ronnie Wood noise complaint
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2047215/Paul-McCartney-Nancy-Shevell-wedding-Kate-Moss-Ronnie-Wood-leave.html

For More on Gary- http://garyhoey.com

Go Get Some!!!-

Gary doing BB King-

Check out the Balkun Brothers- http://balkunmusic.com

More Paul? http://www.paulnelsonguitar.com

Even More Paul? http://www.thepaulnelsonband.com

Join in on the creation of the new Guthrie Trapp record- http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/guthrietrapp

For More on Guthrie- http://guthrietrapp.com

Check out Guthrie at ACME Radio- http://acmeradiolive.com

Lessons from Guthrie- http://artistworks.com/electric-country-guitar-lessons-guthrie-trapp

Check out Guthrie’s Signature Pedal- http://rockettpedals.com/product/gto/

Scott Gailor brings you a Bm Blues lick that not only helps your dexterity but adds to your playing vocabulary.

For more on Scott go to- http://www.scottgailor.com/new-products/