Six String Synopsis:
The American Guild Guitar Company was founded in 1952 by professional guitarist and music retailer Avram ‘Alfred’ Dronge (1911‑1972) and his short‑term partner, former Epiphone Vice President George Mann, in Manhattan, New York. Intended to compete primarily with rivals Epiphone and Gretsch, the first Guild hollow body jazz guitars rolled off the production line at 536 Pearl Street in New York City in 1953. After George Mann left the company, by 1956, the company had moved to larger facilities in Hoboken, New Jersey. Guild’s reputation was strengthened by the quality of their steel‑strung folk guitars such as the D‑40 and F‑250, particularly in the early 1960s. The mid‑1960s also saw rapid growth and the introduction of a number of key electric guitars such as the semi‑acoustic Starfire series to complement the company’s prestigious acoustic and archtop guitars. Into the 1970s and 1980s, Guild also introduced a mixture of traditional and eccentric solid body electric guitars such as the S‑100, S‑200, S‑300 and X‑79.
Like many American guitar firms in the mid‑1960s, Guild was sold in 1966 to the Avnet Corporation who moved operations from New Jersey to even larger production premises in Westerly, Rhode Island, leaving the HQ in Hoboken. Following Al Dronge’s tragic death in a plane crash in 1972, Guild struggled during the 1970s and 1980s. The brand was eventually acquired by Fender Musical Instrument Corporation (FMIC) in 1995 who continued production of Guild guitars in the USA. After Fender closed the Westerley factory in 2001, Guild moved location again, first to Corona California, then to Tacoma, Washington state (where Tacoma Guitars had been built) and then again to New Hartford, Connecticut at the same facility as Fender’s newly acquired Ovation brand. Guild stopped making electric guitars in America in 2004, moving production overseas to Korea and Indonesia. Despite the upheavals, Guild continued to focus on their renowned acoustic instruments and reissues of previous models. In 2013, Guild opened its own Custom Shop and also released the electric Newark Street collection to evoke classic Guilds from the past alongside their acoustic Westerley Collection. In 2014, Guild was acquired by Cordoba Music Group and moved yet again to Oxnard, California from where the company operates today. Despite Guild’s somewhat chequered history, Cordoba is keeping the spirit and style of Guild guitars alive and thriving in the 21st Century.
Guild’s official website is… Guild.com
Check out the Guild page on Wikipedia… Wikipedia.org
Some famous Guild instruments include… M‑75 Aristocrat, Bluesbird, S‑200 Thunderbird, S‑100 Polara, S‑300, Jet‑Star, Starfire series, X‑79, B‑310/B‑302, D‑40, F‑250, F‑412, F‑30, Pilot, Flyer, Nightbird, Nightingale
Some famous Guild guitar players include… Ron Asheton (The Stooges), Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), Joan Baez, Roy Buchanan, Jeff Buckley, Tim Buckley, Larry Carlton, Eric Clapton, Allen Collins (Lynyrd Skynyrd/Rossington‑Collins Band), John Denver, K.K. Downing (Judas Priest), Nick Drake, Duane Eddy, Jay Jay French (Twisted Sister), Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead), Richie Havens, Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues), Susanna Hoffs (Bangles), Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt, Barney Kessel, Mark Knopfler, Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead), Tom Petty, John Renbourn, Paul Simon, Slash, Johnny Smith, Robert Smith (The Cure), Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend (The Who), Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters, Bob Weir (Grateful Dead), Paul Weller
Parent Company… Cordoba Music Group
Links to CRAVE Guitars Guild Features:
© 2025 CRAVE Guitars – Love Vintage Guitars