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#1
06-29-2010, 12:40 PM
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J.Navarro Classical Guitars...
Does anyone have any thoughts on this brand? I stumbled over one of these at Gryphon Strings (in Palo Alto, CA) a few weeks ago, and found myself thoroughly confused by the name... Do they have ANYTHING, WHATSOEVER to do with the more well-known & respected Francisco Navarro classical guitars, or are they benefiting from the potential confusion of customers, who might think they're getting a very cheap Francisco Navarro guitar? I did a bit of research, and found out that they are made by (perhaps I should say "DISTRIBUTED by"?) Saga, the same folks who make (or distribute) Blueridge guitars. I can't say I had much of an opportunity to do a detailed assessment of the guitar I saw (an NC-40). It was only in my hands for about a minute or so, as the store was about to close, and I was on my way out the door at the time, but it seemed like a reasonable enough entry-level classical. But my issue is this: From a trademark/branding standpoint, If Francisco Navarro has nothing to do with these guitars, isn't it a somewhat questionable move to name the brand so similarly? How did they even get away with that? If they can do that, what's to stop someone from coming out with a budget brand called "J.Martin", "A.Taylor" or "J.Cervantes" that has nothing to do with the more popular & well-respected actual manufacturers? Before I get carried away, can someone let me know what they know about this brand? I may be getting worked-up over nothing.
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#3
06-29-2010, 01:30 PM
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Quote:
These guitars are made in China and imported by Saga Instruments. The very first early prototypes were made in the same factory as Kenny Hill's New World series and Cordoba's current Iberia series. From what I had heard, that stopped very quickly as Kenny's joint venture had exclusive US distribution rights. Only a few of the first-generation models went out to dealers after they were introduced at NAMM. (Note: This took place in 2008.) The line disappeared for a while. The brand was still listed on Saga's website but the guitars were not available anywhere. I assumed that Saga went shopping for a new subcontractor. They've since begun re-appearing on the US market so it stands to reason that Saga found another factory in China. EDIT: FWIW, I played one and it had a very peculiar set of overtones. Its most annoying qualities came out when I tried tuning down to DADGAD. The 2nd string had an oddly horrible resonance. I asked a fellow at Gryphon about it and he said, "Well, classical guitars aren't supposed to be tuned out of standard tuning." Yeah right. Some of the noobs might believe that. Your money may be best spent elsewhere. Last edited by GuitarVlog; 06-29-2010 at 01:36 PM.
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#4
06-29-2010, 01:36 PM
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I thought it was unlikely (that they had anything to do with Francisco Navarro)... Strikes me as a bit unethical, then, what they're doing with a name so close to his brand. Don't know how they're permitted to do that. Or even how they could choose to make such a business decision.
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#5
06-29-2010, 01:43 PM
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It's hard to determine whether there was any malicious intent other than to make a Chinese-made guitar sound "Spanish-y". Shades of Sherry-Brener!!
People need to do their research or ask for help (as you just did). But face it, we can't save everyone. Someone will get suckered. Just be thankful it wasn't you.
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