Who made Guild guitars in 1986?

In 1986, Management/investor group incl. George Gruhn (legal name unverified) controlled the Guild name. Its one line on record was built at Guild Westerly (USA).^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}

A Guild guitar from 1986 belongs to whichever era was running on its product line that year. An era is a stretch when the company that controlled the name and the plant that built the line both stayed the same. If you know the line, the table below tells you which version of Guild you have. The name dates from 1952^{[S002, 2, S217]}, 34 years before.

Line by line in 1986

What changed in 1986

• Guild USA: a new era begins under Management/investor group incl. George Gruhn (legal name unverified), built at Guild Westerly^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}
• Guild USA: the 1967–1986 era ends (Avnet, Inc., Guild Westerly)^{[7, 2, 8, 3, 9, 5]}

Where Guild was built in 1986

Guild Westerly. See every brand each plant built for, and every plant in the same country:

• Guild Westerly
• Guitars made in the USA

Other brands in 1986

• Epiphone in 1986
• Heritage in 1986
• Ibanez in 1986
• Martin in 1986
• Ovation in 1986
• PRS in 1986
• Taylor in 1986
• Every brand in 1986

Guild, year by year

Sources

Every numbered marker on this page points here: the document, its grade and the passages relied on. An era is computed, so it cites the facts it was derived from. A fact marked “no source” has no claim attached yet.

1. 1
   jedistar: guildgraded secondary

   • "1989 Sold to FAAS Corporation"Guild in 1986: owners and plants
2. 2
   Guild (manufacturer history) - Blue Book of Guitar Valuesgraded secondary

   • defaulted on bank obligations in November of 1988, leading to a court supervised financial restructuring.Guild in 1986: owners and plants
   • In 1966, electronic parts producer Avnet Inc. bought Guild Musical Instruments, and Alfred Dronge stayed on as president.Era ends: Guild USA, 1986
   • In mid-August of 1986, Avnet sold Guild to a management/investment group from New England and Tennessee.Era ends: Guild USA, 1986
3. 3
   The Convoluted History of Guild Guitarsgraded community

   • In mid August of 1986, Avnet sold Guild to a management/investment group from New England and Tennessee.Guild in 1986: owners and plants
   • Guild was bought by Avnet for about $5,000,000 in July of 1966.Era ends: Guild USA, 1986
4. 4
   Gruhn, George (biography)graded secondary

   • Guild Guitars, executive vice president of research and development and artist relations, 1986-88.Guild in 1986: owners and plants
5. 5
   mmone: guild guitarsgraded secondary

   • "opened in 1967 in Westerly"Guild in 1986: owners and plants
6. 6
   Westerly Guild forum thread (post by Jim McConkey)graded community

   • the building currently known as the Jonnycake Center on Industrial Drive in Westerly, RIGuild Westerly, location
7. 7
   acousticmusic: research/guitar information/large shop guitar builders/guildgraded secondary

   • "bought by Avnet for about $5,000,000 in July of 1966"Era ends: Guild USA, 1986
8. 8
   A Brief History of Guild Guitarsgraded secondary

   • In 1966, Guild was sold to the Avnet Corporation, albeit with Alfred Dronge still at the helm overseeing production.Era ends: Guild USA, 1986
9. 9
   Guild Guitar Factoriesgraded community

   • Guild was sold to the Avnet Corporation in 1966Era ends: Guild USA, 1986