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Gerinski 
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
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 Topic: Why no UK major guitar manufacturers?
Posted: March 22 2013 at 14:38 |
With the UK being the cradle of much pop-rock, the beat, psychedelic rock, prog, hard-rock, metal etc, it's kind of surprising that none of the major electric guitar manufacturers came from the UK. Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, Paul Reed Smith, BC Rich, Epiphone, Jackson... all from the US.
Ibanez, Yamaha or Roland (if we can consider them as guitar builders) from Japan.
In fact the same can be extended to keyboards and synths, with perhaps EMS being the only really major UK manufacturer.
Why do you think it was so?
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Ajay
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Joined: February 01 2013
Location: Australia
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Posted: March 22 2013 at 18:50 |
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Geopolitics.
The first electric guitars were developed as an alternative to the steel guitar. The steel guitar was a Hawaiian invention which became popular in the US as a result of cultural diffusion following on from the US annexation of Hawaii. The electric guitar replaced the steel guitar in the American genres in which the steel had found a niche - swing, country and the blues - and became the premier instrument in the new genre of rock and roll. When young post-war Britishers imitated Americans, the music and the guitar came with it. The US head start on the electric guitar industry, plus the British desire for genuine American instruments, ruled out British competition on more than a boutique level.
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Gerinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
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Points: 5154
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Posted: March 23 2013 at 10:42 |
Dean, I never meant to hurt your British pride, it was just a very plain question. You have a point with amps and the Premier drums (which incidentally I had forgotten in my blog article about Prog instruments and I have just edited accordingly) but don't compare Burns or Vox guitars with Gibsons, PRS's or BC Rich's...
And are you sure that the Mellotron was genuinely British?  |
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Dean
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout
Joined: May 13 2007
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Posted: March 23 2013 at 16:03 |
fixed 
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What?
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ESHWOR KC
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Joined: June 21 2013
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Posted: June 21 2013 at 04:45 |
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Im don't think the wood or natural resources are as big an issue as it would seem.
We have Gordon Smith guitars (currently the longest running guitar maker in the Uk) and of course there was once Burns in the 60-70's. I think its more to do with the lure of Americana for the british public and it also doesn't help that most if not all of our guitar playing idols play/played US instruments, so the allure to be just like your idols surely has something to do with it. Also you have to factor in resale value to the equation as well.
For instance Gordon Smith makes fine guitars with a playability and fit & finish more consitent than Gibson or Fender, rarely have I picked up a new Gordon smith and seen fit or even set up issues and on the whole i believe them to be better quality , but here's the thing, you can buy their LP shaped body and it has all the tone you want plus they all come standard with coil taps and brass nuts that need no work but it costs half what a new LP would yet when you come to try and sell them you loose half your money right away where the Gibson will retian most of its value.
What should matter to most people is a guitar that made solid,plays great and has the tone you want but unfortunately most people like to gaze at the headstocks to deem a guitars worth.
Should there come a time when a band explodes on the scene playing Gordon Smiths then we may see a change but i doubt it.
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Gerinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
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Posted: June 21 2013 at 05:55 |
A very cool British guitar was the 1984 Bond Electraglide, 1-piece carbon-fiber body-neck, anodized aluminium fretboard with sawtooth shape instead of frets, adjustable nut height, pickup selection by 5 push-buttons, tone adjustment by 3 digital switches, LED display... Sadly it was a failure and I don't know about its sound, but I find it really cool!
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chopper
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Posted: June 21 2013 at 06:23 |
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There are independent guitar makers in the UK but we manufacture very little of anything these days, so why should guitars be any different?
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Dean
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Joined: May 13 2007
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Posted: June 21 2013 at 06:44 |
 ESHWOR KC wrote:
Im don't think the wood or natural resources are as big an issue as it would seem.
We have Gordon Smith guitars (currently the longest running guitar maker in the Uk) and of course there was once Burns in the 60-70's. I think its more to do with the lure of Americana for the british public and it also doesn't help that most if not all of our guitar playing idols play/played US instruments, so the allure to be just like your idols surely has something to do with it. Also you have to factor in resale value to the equation as well.
For instance Gordon Smith makes fine guitars with a playability and fit & finish more consitent than Gibson or Fender, rarely have I picked up a new Gordon smith and seen fit or even set up issues and on the whole i believe them to be better quality , but here's the thing, you can buy their LP shaped body and it has all the tone you want plus they all come standard with coil taps and brass nuts that need no work but it costs half what a new LP would yet when you come to try and sell them you loose half your money right away where the Gibson will retian most of its value.
What should matter to most people is a guitar that made solid,plays great and has the tone you want but unfortunately most people like to gaze at the headstocks to deem a guitars worth.
Should there come a time when a band explodes on the scene playing Gordon Smiths then we may see a change but i doubt it.
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What?
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stonebeard
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Joined: May 27 2005
Location: NE Indiana
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Posted: June 21 2013 at 06:45 |
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You start out niche and if you're lucky you become major. At this stage you'd be lucky to even get that far. Do you think a new company could even try to compete with Gibson, Fender, and Ibanez on their scale? Best they could do is small-business level.
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Gerinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
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Posted: June 21 2013 at 06:54 |
Dean wrote:
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Gerinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
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Points: 5154
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Posted: June 21 2013 at 07:02 |
stonebeard wrote:
You start out niche and if you're lucky you become major. At this stage you'd be lucky to even get that far. Do you think a new company could even try to compete with Gibson, Fender, and Ibanez on their scale? Best they could do is small-business level. |
I know what you mean but you never know that, look at keyboards, the Swedish Nords (Clavia) started in the 90's and they have become very appreciated. Of course guitars are a more traditional instrument than electronics but still...
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Neelus
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Joined: October 19 2012
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Posted: June 21 2013 at 07:06 |
Gerinski wrote:
[QUOTE=Dean] |
I'm glad you never evaluated my university dissertation. 
Edited by Neelus - June 21 2013 at 07:06
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cstack3
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Posted: June 21 2013 at 15:09 |
The bass I'm holding in my avatar was built by Hugh Manson, of Exeter, Devon UK. He is Steve Howe's luthier and also builds guitars & basses for Matthew Bellamy, John Paul Jones, Martin Barre & many others.
Hugh's brother Andy builds acoustic guitars for JPJ and many others. Brilliant chaps!
The Brits did lead the revolution with guitars by Burns, and folks like Brian May used Burns pickups in their own guitars. Here are links to some of my favorite "Brit builders"
a) Hugh Manson
b) Giffin Guitars (not all are happy that he moved to the USA!)
c) Status Graphite (carbon fiber guitars made in the U.K., must be seen!!)
etc. etc.! If I could afford it, I'd have Hugh make me a guitar version of my bass!! Some day....the Les Paul will have to suffice until then!
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Gerinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
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Points: 5154
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Posted: June 22 2013 at 10:17 |
cstack3 wrote:
Here are links to some of my favorite "Brit builders"
a) Hugh Manson
b) Giffin Guitars (not all are happy that he moved to the USA!)
c) Status Graphite (carbon fiber guitars made in the U.K., must be seen!!)
etc. etc.! If I could afford it, I'd have Hugh make me a guitar version of my bass!! Some day....the Les Paul will have to suffice until then! |
Thanks, nice guitars there. I'm not a pro player, but I don't understand how come rock guitar builders still stick to building so many 22 fret guitars. This is fine for a lot of jazz and classic-rock-style playing where soloing does not get too wild, but in rock with abundant soloing, keys very frequently used such as E and A have the high E as such an important note (root and 5th) that it's convenient being able to reach it (even if mostly you can get it by bending the D).
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Atavachron
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Joined: September 30 2006
Location: Pearland
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Posted: June 22 2013 at 18:27 |
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in the '80s, Celestion was the speaker of choice for headbangers, at least in California.
Seems to me if an important guitarist were to endorse a British guitar maker, it would probably help tremendously. No one knew about Charvel Guitars 'till Eddie Van Halen began playing them.
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CPicard
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Joined: October 03 2008
Location: Là, sui monti.
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Posted: June 23 2013 at 04:26 |
For years, I thought Rickenbacker was a British manufacturer... 
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AnnySi
Forum Newbie
Joined: July 12 2013
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Posted: August 06 2013 at 06:23 |
CPicard wrote:
For years, I thought Rickenbacker was a British manufacturer...
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no!!! the name itself isn't english at all!
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Davesax1965
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 23 2013
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 2839
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Posted: September 24 2014 at 04:37 |
However, we do make some rather good amps here. ;-)
There have been a few UK guitar manufacturers over the years, but it's all luthier built instruments, now. The market is pretty much sewn up and cheap guitars made in China, etc and resold by US companies as "second line" instruments are always going to be cheap. The UK has no home market, it's expensive to manufacture en masse here, so we'd just be selling to the US market, with all its' import restrictions and taxes, and that's awash with goods already.
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Gerinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
Status: Offline
Points: 5154
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Posted: September 24 2014 at 13:01 |
Davesax1965 wrote:
However, we do make some rather good amps here. ;-)
There have been a few UK guitar manufacturers over the years, but it's all luthier built instruments, now. The market is pretty much sewn up and cheap guitars made in China, etc and resold by US companies as "second line" instruments are always going to be cheap. The UK has no home market, it's expensive to manufacture en masse here, so we'd just be selling to the US market, with all its' import restrictions and taxes, and that's awash with goods already.
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Perhaps the increase in people who use computers to create and record their music is also affecting the sales of real instruments
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Davesax1965
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 23 2013
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 2839
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Posted: September 27 2014 at 09:07 |
PS Bond Electraglide. I remember when the first prototypes came out - the necks were stepped - the higher up the neck you went, the lower the frets - like a staircase.
However, this made it impossible to play. Run your hand up the neck..... ever watched a dachshund try and run upstairs ? ;-)
Gerinski, great post there. ;-) No, all the wannabes are still buying Squier Strats, made out of plywood, learning three open chords and then thinking they'll be Jimi Hendrix.... next week. ;-)
PS BC Rich.... ugh. Ditto Kramer ally necks which you had to run a cigarette lighter up and down to warm them up before you went on stage. Mind you, some UK produced guitars from the early 1960's were utter, utter junk. ;-)
Edited by Davesax1965 - September 27 2014 at 09:18
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Why no UK major guitar manufacturers?
