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in_the_pocket

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Everything posted by in_the_pocket

  1. Please clarify- shut down WHICH production line? Hamer or Guild? I think he was talking about the Guild shop in Westerly, RI (not CT). I also thought that the Guild Electrics were the only thing that Fender's Custom Shop was actually handling. I could look into that for sure. As we all know, Hamer has not been shut down, and Guild Acoustics are being made as well or better than ever in New Hartford. My apologies for not being more specific, and my error in citing Connecticut as the Guild electric factory location. Mr. Matthes is correct: I was referring to the Guild electric factory in Rhode Island, not the Guild acoustic or Hamer factories in Connecticut. However, I recall hearing a rumor that production of Guild acoustic guitars might shift to the Pacific northwest. The point I was making with the Gretsch and Guild anecdotes in my earlier post is that life goes on, and that sometimes things even improve with corporate shake-ups/takeovers. And I agree with Steve Haynie: although I believe my source to be reliable, what I heard should still be taken with a grain of salt.
  2. Disclaimer: Although the following information is "secondhand", it originates from a reliable source. I spoke to a Fender sales representative a few weeks ago who told me that Jol was no longer associated with Hamer. He didn't specify whether Jol left of his own volition, or if he was fired. However, he did say that Jol's position at Hamer in recent years was more or less that of a "figurehead", and that his involvement in the day-to-day operations of the company was very limited. He said that for the past few years, Jol was only in the office about one day per week. He also mentioned (in a somewhat offhand manner) that perhaps Jol would become more involved with his automotive endeavors. The sales rep. also told me that Hamer will discontinue mass-production of the American-made models, and adopt a "Custom Shop", or special-order only business model. My understanding is that when Fender bought Guild, they shut down the production line in Connecticut, and filled the orders they received by building the instruments by hand in the Fender Custom Shop. Also, it is my opinion that the Gretsch guitars built in Japan, are far better than any of the original American-made Gretsch guitars. I've lost count of the number of vintage Gretsch guitars I've seen that were either poorly assembled, and/or are literally falling to pieces.
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