Electric Guitar Trends

Well, I have held back for a while before unloading on this topic, namely the marketing practice called Brand Resurrection.  This is the practice of using the name of an old, out of business company for a new product.  The new product may have little to do with the original product, but it can cost a lot less to introduce a new product this way.

Kluson tuners are just one example. I have a Fender Malibu acoustic guitar, circa 1966. It has Kluson double-line tuners, and they are worth as much to collectors as the Fender Malibu acoustic guitar itself.  However, the original Kluson tuners company went out of business in 1974. In the 1990’s the legal rights to Kluson tuners were purchased by WD Music.

If you were shopping for a new guitar that had “WD Music” tuners on it you might wonder about the quality of the tuners.  You just don’t know. But, if the tuners are labelled Kluson Deluxe you are less likely to worry, even if they are made off shore.

Harry DeArmond produced the first commercially available electric guitar pickups in the 1930’s.  Some say that the 1954 DeArmond Model 1100 Adjustable Rhythm Chief pickups were the finest electric guitar pickups ever made.  

Several years ago, Fender introduced the DeArmond line of electric guitars.  These guitars were made in Malaysia, some with made in USA DeArmond brand pickups.  Fender ceased production of the DeArmond line after just a couple of years, the public just was not buying this resurrected brand name.

Danelectro guitars were first made in 1954.  Real Danelectro guitars were made until around 1969 and they fetch premium prices in today’s market. The company’s founder, Nathan Daniel passed away in 1994. After this, the Evets Corporation began marketing off shore copies of old Danelectro and Silvertone models and also began selling a line of Danelectro pedals and amplifiers.  There have been 2 waves of Danelectro reissues. One production run starting around 1999 for 3 years, and another round starting around 2005.  It appears to be a rocky road for the Danelectro reissues.

There are many other resurrected brands in the electric guitar industry: Jensen speakers; Supro guitars; MXR and Cry baby pedals; Mullard tubes; Kustom and Sunn amplifiers; and many more.  Often, the production has moved off shore, and quality suffers.

Today, whenever I see a resurrected brand, I think about how some corporation has decided it would cost a lot less money to resurrect a brand people recognize, rather than introduce a new product line, with a new name.  I understand it, but I don’t like it.

What do you think about brand resurrection?