Breaking News- New Tacoma-influenced guitars coming from George Gruhn

[jimmy bookout]

Originally Posted by Charlie Bernstein

My first question is always: Where are they made?

Tennessee...

[Gunny]

Newly released video

[gr81dorn]

Originally Posted by Gunny

Newly released video

And that prototype (outsourced to another TN-based maker) they are all playing was not good enough so George started his own shop to control quality and make it even better. It will be really interesting to see how they ultimately turn out. I'll know later today.

[Gunny]

Not crazy about the logo. Might be cool on his shop, but not so much on the headstock. For $2500 - $3700, I would think you can get a decent hard case as well.

https://guitars.com/gruhn-versitar

[Birdbrain]

That doodle portrait has been Gruhn's logo since 1970. You might say he's attached to it. Not surprising that he'd use it for his "bucket list project."

[gr81dorn]

Originally Posted by Gunny

For $2500 - $3700, I would think you can get a decent hard case as well.

https://guitars.com/gruhn-versitar

I'll be home in a few hours to confirm, but the high end Gator "gig bags" are a huge upgrade to a lot of the cases out there these days and they are a lot more expensive than a lot of good hard cases, as well. I'm guessing the use of them was a combo of availability and fit. Iris did that same thing when they started and then switched over to hard cases.

[pagedr]

Originally Posted by Gunny

Not crazy about the logo. Might be cool on his shop, but not so much on the headstock. For $2500 - $3700, I would think you can get a decent hard case as well.

https://guitars.com/gruhn-versitar

They don't specify which Gator gig bag these ship with, but if it's the Icon Series then they are IMO better than a hard case.

[gr81dorn]

Originally Posted by pagedr

They don't specify which Gator gig bag these ship with, but if it's the Icon Series then they are IMO better than a hard case.

It’s a transit series bag. It’s fine, but nowhere near the Ikon.

[Gunny]

I see a sunburst Tacoma hiding behind his guitars. We found the document showing FMIC has let the copyright expire on the Tacoma brand. Would FMIC have been OK with George's guitar being made if the Tacoma guitars were still being built?

[gr81dorn]

Originally Posted by Gunny

I see a sunburst Tacoma hiding behind his guitars. We found the document showing FMIC has let the copyright expire on the Tacoma brand. Would FMIC have been OK with George's guitar being made if the Tacoma guitars were still being built?

According to George, he owns the patent for the guitar’s design. Tacoma, and then Fender were licensing it from him paying him royalties to use it. It’s his right to use it as he sees fit. Obviously if Tacoma was still around, the opportunity probably wouldn’t have even been considered to make them himself.

[Birdbrain]

My question is, what's that old Tacoma that's partially visible in the background? The body shape and the sunburst look exactly like my ER22C Little Jumbo, but the fingerboard has me puzzled. Mine has a plain ebony fingerboard, without fret markers, but this one has a small white dot by the A string beside the third fret. My Simon and Patrick guitar looks just like that, but Tacoma was never known to use such off-center fret markers. The other frets aren't visible, so the mystery remains.

Gruhn Guitars doesn't list any Tacoma guitars for sale, so this one is probably from George's own collection.

[29er]

Originally Posted by Birdbrain

My question is, what's that old Tacoma that's partially visible in the background? The body shape and the sunburst look exactly like my ER22C Little Jumbo, but the fingerboard has me puzzled. There's a small white dot by the A string by the third fret. My Simon and Patrick guitar looks just like that, but Tacoma was never known to use such off-center fret markers. The other frets aren't visible, so the mystery remains.

Gruhn Guitars doesn't list any Tacoma guitars for sale, so this one is probably from George's own collection.

I'm thinking that hidden Tacoma is their archtop model. It had the offset sound hole and if I recall, the fret board markers were off center on that guitar. I don't recall the model name/number.

[Gunny]

Originally Posted by 29er

I'm thinking that hidden Tacoma is their archtop model. It had the offset sound hole and if I recall, the fret board markers were off center on that guitar. I don't recall the model name/number.

No doubt an archtop as they are the only model I know of with the offset fret markers.

[Jaimoe]

Am I the only one disappointed he didn’t keep the asymmetrical Tacoma bridge?

[Gunny]

Originally Posted by Jaimoe

Am I the only one disappointed he didn’t keep the asymmetrical Tacoma bridge?

No. It is part of what set Tacoma apart. While it wasn't for some, they did offer an engineering explanation for the design. There are plenty of builders that have come up with some "different" designs. Breedlove customs are funky for sure.