Walden G2070 - where did they go?

[markustg]

I have a Walden G2070 that I particularly like. But they are sadly no longer made.

Features:
• Body Style - Grand Auditorium
• Top – Cedar
• Back and Sides – Mahogany
• Bridge - Solid Indian Rosewood
• Neck – Mahogany
• Fingerboard - Solid Indian Rosewood
• Nut Width - 1 11/16th
• Scale Length - 25 ½
• Tuners - Die Cast Gold
• Head Plate – Rosewood
• Finish - Satin


The company seems to have gone out of business. Anyone know why?

Seems like it had a good niche in the low and mid price range.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by markustg

...The company seems to have gone out of business. Anyone know why?

Seems like it had a good niche in the low- and mid-price range...

Toughest segment of the acoustic market to crack these days - to say the competition is fierce would be an understatement. With long-established powerhouses like Yamaha, Takamine, Ibanez, Alvarez-Yairi, Washburn, a resurgent Ovation, and the Godin line; downmarket brands/subsidiaries of the big-name makers (Epiphone, Guild GAD/Westerly Series, Gretsch, Fender, Jasmine, Applause/Celebrity, et al.); more-recent high-quality Chinese brands (Recording King, Blueridge, Eastman), entry-level offerings from major players like Martin and Taylor, and affordable handbuilt instruments from the likes of Halcyon and Pono - all of which are of a quality that would have been unthinkable back when I started playing in the early-60's - an upstart company had better offer something to distinguish it from its competitors in terms of design/tone/QC, or it's going down sooner than later. Never played a Walden myself, but I heard they were nice stuff; thing is, there's a glut of nice stuff that a Working Joe/Jane can afford, with a higher market profile and better distribution/availability - and therein I think lay the final nail in the coffin...

[Pitar]

I had a D2040, if memory serves, but it was kind of quiet for a dread so I permanently mounted a Fishman Neo-D soundhole pick-up on it and played it plugged. It was a very nicely made guitar but the brand just never got any limelight and closed down.

[sabatini]

I believe everything they made had a 1-11/16" but, which did not help.

[Jimmy Recard]

Originally Posted by sabatini

I believe everything they made had a 1-11/16" but, which did not help.

I seem to remember their higher end all solid guitars had 1 3/4" nuts. They also had carbon fibre reinforced necks which I remember thinking looked fairly innovative. Their founder Jonathan Lee is now the chief designer for Washburn.

[Wasper]

Big fan of Walden here.

Currently own a CD2040 (steel string all-solid dread) and CN2030 (nylon string all-solid classical). I also used to own their top-of-the-line CG4070-CERT (100% FSC sustainable wood series, all-solid). I stupidly sold that guitar because I thought the grass was greener on the other side, regretted it almost instantly. And yes, some models had 1 3/4" nut widths, my CG4070 was such.

My favorite local guitar store, who was a Walden dealer, spoke to their distributor about it and relayed it to me. From what I gather, there was some "red tape" applied to the company. The scuttlebutt was that Walden's factory treated their employees well and payed them well. I guess the powers that be didn't like it in that country, as they didn't like anyone disrupting the status quo. To much pressure and they had to shut down.

I also think that Walden made the mistake of saturating their line-up with too many lower cost guitars. The higher-end all solid guitars , the 2000 series and up, were/are spectacular. The 700-1000 series guitars were nice guitars as well and a good alternative. The lower end lines were not that good and I think it dragged the company down somewhat.

Think Eastman, now think Eastman if they created 5 times as many lower end models than they carry higher end models. It would drag Eastman down, more than lift them up. That's what happened to Walden. Jonathan Lee Started Walden with a vision of bringing custom luthier type guitars to the masses at a lower cost. He brought with him some designs he learned while apprenticing with Charles Fox in the States (carbon fiber necks reinforcement, light build and interesting takes on bracing). But that went out the window when they started introducing so many lower-end guitars. After a while, most people who came across a Walden, it was most likely one of their entry level guitars and people didn't get a good example of what Walden was supposed to be... and the reputation never reached the level that the higher end lines deserved.

Like was mentioned, Jonathan Lee went to Washburn to aid them with his design know how. I could see the models where he had lots of input... if you are a fan of Walden, and know Jonathans work, you can pick out the Washburn models that he had a hand in.

[Everton FC]

Originally Posted by Wasper

Big fan of Walden here.

Currently own a CD2040 (steel string all-solid dread) and CN2030 (nylon string all-solid classical). I also used to own their top-of-the-line CG4070-CERT (100% FSC sustainable wood series, all-solid). I stupidly sold that guitar because I thought the grass was greener on the other side, regretted it almost instantly. And yes, some models had 1 3/4" nut widths, my CG4070 was such.

My favorite local guitar store, who was a Walden dealer, spoke to their distributor about it and relayed it to me. From what I gather, there was some "red tape" applied to the company. The scuttlebutt was that Walden's factory treated their employees well and payed them well. I guess the powers that be didn't like it in that country, as they didn't like anyone disrupting the status quo. To much pressure and they had to shut down.

I also think that Walden made the mistake of saturating their line-up with too many lower cost guitars. The higher-end all solid guitars , the 2000 series and up, were/are spectacular. The 700-1000 series guitars were nice guitars as well and a good alternative. The lower end lines were not that good and I think it dragged the company down somewhat.

Think Eastman, now think Eastman if they created 5 times as many lower end models than they carry higher end models. It would drag Eastman down, more than lift them up. That's what happened to Walden. Jonathan Lee Started Walden with a vision of bringing custom luthier type guitars to the masses at a lower cost. He brought with him some designs he learned while apprenticing with Charles Fox in the States (carbon fiber necks reinforcement, light build and interesting takes on bracing). But that went out the window when they started introducing so many lower-end guitars. After a while, most people who came across a Walden, it was most likely one of their entry level guitars and people didn't get a good example of what Walden was supposed to be... and the reputation never reached the level that the higher end lines deserved.

Like was mentioned, Jonathan Lee went to Washburn to aid them with his design know how. I could see the models where he had lots of input... if you are a fan of Walden, and know Jonathans work, you can pick out the Washburn models that he had a hand in.

Good info. I've read the 500-600 Concorda series weren't dogs. Regardless, the competition if fierce.

[robj144]

I believe Walden closed shop a few years ago.

[troubadour238]

Just wanted to point everyone's attention to Walden President Johnathan Lee's LinkedIn profile, which, once again, says President of Walden Guitars. I haven't seen any marketing material yet, but I have been periodically searching Google for recent news.

For those of us that know the great quality of this brand and always wanted to get their hands on that one dream guitar, this is great news! Personally, I went to their website and picked out at least 3 maybe 5 models I planned to purchase in the future but was never able to fulfill the desire. Now I might get too! I own two already and can't wait to see what the reborn brand brings to market.

[PorkPieGuy]

I actually won a Walden Madera (one of their higher-end models) from a local store. The guitar sounded pretty good, but it was a little "flat" for me. I ended up selling it for nowhere near what it would have cost in the store. I'm pretty sure the sale price of these guitars was like around $1200, and used they are going for about $350.

It had the absolutely, weirdest designed pickup in it. It was an LR Baggs Mi-Si Align XT. This was meant as a drop-in solution for people who were not happy with their first generation ES systems in their Taylor guitars.

What was so crazy about it was it was a "rechargeable" pickup system that had an internal battery. It came with a cable that had a 1/4" jack on one end and a wall receptacle on the other. When the pickup started to sound like the battery was dying, you simply plugged on end into the guitar and the other end into the wall for just a couple of minutes and it was recharged.

Here's a product description for those who are interested:

Align XT
The Mi-Si Align XT is a direct replacement for the Taylor Expression System. It features an active, battery-free preamp designed specifically to work with the L.R.Baggs Element undersaddle acoustic guitar pickup. This enables Taylor fans to takeadvantage of Mi-Si’s innovative battery-free technology.The Align XT comes standard with volume and active bass and treble controls thatfit the exact spacing of your Taylor’s existing Expression preamp. You can also usethe same knobs from the Expression System, so the appearance of your instrumentremains unchanged.The Align XT preamp uses Mi-Si’s custom piezo linearization scheme – allowing forthe most truthful and accurate sound from the pickup. The battery-free design isa benefit for both the stage performer and the environment. All you have to do ispower up for 60 seconds using the Mi-Si Power Charger, providing you with up to 8hours of performance time.
Active battery-free preamplifier, L.R. Baggs undersaddle pickup, and Power Charger

The Mi-Si Align XT is a direct upgrade/replacement for the Taylor Expression System®. It features a lightweight, active, battery-free preamp designed specifically to easily retrofit your Taylor guitar. This enables Taylor fans to take advantage of Mi-Si’s innovative active battery-free technology.

The Align XT comes standard with volume and active bass and treble controls that fit the exact spacing of your Taylor’s existing Expression preamp. You can also use the same knobs from the Taylor Expression System®, so the appearance of your instrument remains unchanged. The Align XT preamp uses Mi-Si’s custom piezo linearization scheme – allowing for the most truthful and accurate sound from the pickup.

The battery-free design is a benefit for both the stage performer and the environment. All you have to do is power up for 60 seconds using the Mi-Si Power Charger, providing you with up to 8 hours of performance time.