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FMIC Shuts down the New Hartford facility


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Actually, Ovation/Kaman have been renting that facility since before I was born. They probably could have purchased it several times over for what they paid in rent. The landlord is a helluva nice guy ( and probably pretty wealthy from Ovation). I cant see that facility ever getting rented in this economic climate.

There are a few machines I would love to have. FMIC will probably sell it all to an auction house for pennies on the dollar. I bet there are 600 to 800 guitars in that warehouse that will never sell unless they are blown out for next to nothing. They even have a few unfinished Hamers that were taken off the production line when they pulled the plug a few years ago.

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Actually, Ovation/Kaman have been renting that facility since before I was born. They probably could have purchased it several times over for what they paid in rent. The landlord is a helluva nice guy ( and probably pretty wealthy from Ovation). I cant see that facility ever getting rented in this economic climate.

There are a few machines I would love to have. FMIC will probably sell it all to an auction house for pennies on the dollar. I bet there are 600 to 800 guitars in that warehouse that will never sell unless they are blown out for next to nothing. They even have a few unfinished Hamers that were taken off the production line when they pulled the plug a few years ago.

600-800 guitars? Unfinished Hamers? :o

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Actually, Ovation/Kaman have been renting that facility since before I was born. They probably could have purchased it several times over for what they paid in rent. The landlord is a helluva nice guy ( and probably pretty wealthy from Ovation). I cant see that facility ever getting rented in this economic climate.

There are a few machines I would love to have. FMIC will probably sell it all to an auction house for pennies on the dollar. I bet there are 600 to 800 guitars in that warehouse that will never sell unless they are blown out for next to nothing. They even have a few unfinished Hamers that were taken off the production line when they pulled the plug a few years ago.

600-800 guitars? Unfinished Hamers? :o

I'd guess Fender acoustics (a poor idea from the start).

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I'm glad I got what I have, and I'm glad I had the chance to do the one custom order that I did. AFAIC this is the end of a great era in guitar making, it sucks, and I wish the very best for all that were directly affected.

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Guitar Center, the Walmart of the music stores. Walmart sold gallon sized Vlasic pickle jars for $2.97, at the very front of the store. Everyone soon had a year's supply of premium pickles for nothing. Vlasic had to nearly shut down from lack of demand and depending too much on one company. Greed can kill capitalism.

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"Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out."

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They even have a few unfinished Hamers that were taken off the production line when they pulled the plug a few years ago.

This makes me very sad.....do I need to send ninjas up to Connecticut?

I bet there are 600 to 800 guitars in that warehouse that will never sell unless they are blown out for next to nothing.

It'd be nice to even get a look at the list when they go off to auction (as I'm sure they will).

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Actually, Ovation/Kaman have been renting that facility since before I was born. They probably could have purchased it several times over for what they paid in rent. The landlord is a helluva nice guy ( and probably pretty wealthy from Ovation). I cant see that facility ever getting rented in this economic climate.

There are a few machines I would love to have. FMIC will probably sell it all to an auction house for pennies on the dollar. I bet there are 600 to 800 guitars in that warehouse that will never sell unless they are blown out for next to nothing. They even have a few unfinished Hamers that were taken off the production line when they pulled the plug a few years ago.

600-800 guitars? Unfinished Hamers? :o

I'd guess Fender acoustics (a poor idea from the start).

Right, proof that I'm a business idiot. How Fender acoustics can be viable when Guild acoustics, and Hamer electrics aren't I don't understand. I can see Ovation going away. The composite back is sort a concept that had its run, but isn't timeless.

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Right, proof that I'm a business idiot. How Fender acoustics can be viable when Guild acoustics, and Hamer electrics aren't I don't understand.

Brand recognition. Casual music fans who might be inspired to buy an acoustic after seeing their favorite artist play one on CMT are aware of Fender, whereas they're not as aware of Guild and Hamer.

That's the result of 60+ years of Fender guitars being in the hands of big stars. But any brand can get to a similar level of recognition if it's in people's faces enough. PRS and Taylor got there. Guild and Hamer did not.

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PRS and Taylor got there. Guild and Hamer did not.

I was thinking that Guild's and Hamer's endorsement strategies were very very similar - one aging 'has-been', and one current semi-obscure (Richie Havens/Rick Nielsen, Kim Thayil/Tom Dumont).

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I was thinking that Guild's and Hamer's endorsement strategies were very very similar - one aging 'has-been', and one current semi-obscure (Richie Havens/Rick Nielsen, Kim Thayil/Tom Dumont).

And both of the "our artists pay for their guitars" variety, I believe (Hamer certainly was; someone correct me if I'm wrong). An admirable approach from a credibility standpoint, I guess, but not a recipe for sustainability in a highly competitive market.

When I worked at GC in the early '90s, Guilds were second only to Martin on the list of desirable acoustics (remember the big ol' 12-string Stevie Ray played on Unplugged?). Sold a lot of 'em. Then, toward the end of my tenure there, we started getting instruments from an upstart brand called Taylor. We all know how that turned out.

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When I worked at GC in the early '90s, Guilds were second only to Martin on the list of desirable acoustics (remember the big ol' 12-string Stevie Ray played on Unplugged?). Sold a lot of 'em. Then, toward the end of my tenure there, we started getting instruments from an upstart brand called Taylor. We all know how that turned out.

In 1995 I walked into Guitar Resurrection to buy a Guild. I walked out with a Taylor. I bought it on sound/value/quality. I was unaware of any artist endorsements at the time. But yes, Taylor should be a case study in Bschool marketing classes. After purchase I started getting the Wood and Steel (?) magazine. Somewhere in about 2003, Taylor made a national tour and visited my local out of the way, small town, mom and pop music store and did a free clean, simple adjust, and new strings (free too). Not sure how that worked financially, but is sure could build some customer loyalty. But, I don't own a Taylor electric. I wanted to like it. I played several. All were duds.

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In 1995 I walked into Guitar Resurrection to buy a Guild. I walked out with a Taylor. I bought it on sound/value/quality. I was unaware of any artist endorsements at the time.

Did a salesman assist you in that decision or did you pull the Taylor off the wall on your own and decide you liked it better?

I ask because if it was the former, that's another aspect of retail marketing. Sales reps educating sales forces and offering incentives to push the product.

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In 1995 I walked into Guitar Resurrection to buy a Guild. I walked out with a Taylor. I bought it on sound/value/quality. I was unaware of any artist endorsements at the time.

Did a salesman assist you in that decision or did you pull the Taylor off the wall on your own and decide you liked it better?

I ask because if it was the former, that's another aspect of retail marketing. Sales reps educating sales forces and offering incentives to push the product.

I had a similar experience at Tobias Music in IL in the mid-90s. Walked in wanting to buy a Guild, but the owner suggested that I give Taylor a try. I've been a Taylor fan ever since. I loved the sound and feel of Taylor acoustics, and Taylor does a great job of making players feel like they're part of a broader community.

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In 1995 I walked into Guitar Resurrection to buy a Guild. I walked out with a Taylor. I bought it on sound/value/quality. I was unaware of any artist endorsements at the time.

Did a salesman assist you in that decision or did you pull the Taylor off the wall on your own and decide you liked it better?

I ask because if it was the former, that's another aspect of retail marketing. Sales reps educating sales forces and offering incentives to push the product.

A salesman did put it in my hands, but he didn't give me the hard sell. The process was simple really. I went in, started at the cheap end of the rack. Started playing Seagulls, hmm, whatever. Every time the guitar got a bit nicer (and more expensive), I did like it a bit better. One could argue that it was perceived superiority as they cost more. But, at that time I still had pretty good hearing. Anyway, I got to the Taylor and decided to stop at that point. I figured I could keep pulling them off the rack, and liking them better, but I wasn't in a position to buy a $3500 guitar and I decided to buy the one I liked the best of the ones I had played.

So yeah, I don't remember. Maybe the next one in the rack was a Guild for another $100 and I would have bought it. I don't know. I still love that Taylor. It is a "cheap" one but the base quality is there.

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Did a salesman assist you in that decision or did you pull the Taylor off the wall on your own and decide you liked it better?

I ask because if it was the former, that's another aspect of retail marketing. Sales reps educating sales forces and offering incentives to push the product.

That's a great point. My first acoustic was a Taylor, and it was suggested to me. I was in the 'big' music store in Indy, prior to GC/MARS, looking at Gibsons and Martins. Sales guy asks if I'd considered Taylor; I'd never heard of them, he explains what they're about.

I checked them out and wind up taking home a 710 (7s were simply less-ornate 8s back then). Prior, I'd been looking at a Gibson (model I don't recall); it sounded glorious but played terrible. The Taylor sounded as good and played like an electric with really heavy strings. And it was about 65% of the Gibson price.

If not for the sales guy, I'd have never picked it up.

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Did a salesman assist you in that decision or did you pull the Taylor off the wall on your own and decide you liked it better?

I ask because if it was the former, that's another aspect of retail marketing. Sales reps educating sales forces and offering incentives to push the product.

That's a great point. My first acoustic was a Taylor, and it was suggested to me. I was in the 'big' music store in Indy, prior to GC/MARS, looking at Gibsons and Martins. Sales guy asks if I'd considered Taylor; I'd never heard of them, he explains what they're about.

I checked them out and wind up taking home a 710 (7s were simply less-ornate 8s back then). Prior, I'd been looking at a Gibson (model I don't recall); it sounded glorious but played terrible. The Taylor sounded as good and played like an electric with really heavy strings. And it was about 65% of the Gibson price.

If not for the sales guy, I'd have never picked it up.

Did that happen to be Guitarworks in Greenwood? The guys that worked there in the mid-late 90's were cool.

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Nah, IRC. I'm a northsider.

Most of the GW employees were cool (Troy Seele, often of Iced Earth, was my guy there for a long time), but the owner is psychotic. Apparently he's from a wealthy family and they fund the store to "give Kevin something to do". I've seen sales guys there spend a half-hour with a customer, close the deal, go to ring it up, and have Kevin step in and say "I'll take it from here".

And take the commission for himself.

Having said that, I bought most of my new Hamers there, including the '95 pizza day Standard that about half this forum has owned.

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They even have a few unfinished Hamers that were taken off the production line when they pulled the plug a few years ago.

This makes me very sad.....do I need to send ninjas up to Connecticut?

I bet there are 600 to 800 guitars in that warehouse that will never sell unless they are blown out for next to nothing.

It'd be nice to even get a look at the list when they go off to auction (as I'm sure they will).

I could certainly use some of that stuff, as I'm starting out...

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PRS and Taylor got there. Guild and Hamer did not.

I was thinking that Guild's and Hamer's endorsement strategies were very very similar - one aging 'has-been', and one current semi-obscure (Richie Havens/Rick Nielsen, Kim Thayil/Tom Dumont).

Hey! Don't forget Tommy Smothers! :rolleyes:

smothered_main.jpg

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Guitar Center, the Walmart of the music stores. Walmart sold gallon sized Vlasic pickle jars for $2.97, at the very front of the store. Everyone soon had a year's supply of premium pickles for nothing. Vlasic had to nearly shut down from lack of demand and depending too much on one company. Greed Lack of foresight can kill capitalism a business.

Offering a friendly amendment.

When I think Guild, I think archtop jazz guitars (Artist Award, X-series). Perhaps the brand prestige died as the genre went.

johnny-smith-with-guild-benedetto-jsa-de

11062.jpg

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