Biggest guitar manufacturer by sales ?

[Flat357]

Does anyone have a reasonably accurate chart depicting who is making & selling the most guitars these days ?

Anyone bigger than Sammick ?

[casterway]

I do know that Samick is the worlds largest piano manufacturer.

[marshman]

I have 'heard' that Taylor has just passed PRS as the third largest manufacturer of electric guitars in America. I guess if you count all the electro-acoustics, it mightbe possible.

But yeah, if I were to guess, I'd say Sammick.

[ye olde fretmonkey]

Are Samick and Cort two different entities?

[mrbdxmpl]

Oh, they didn't say electrics that sounded good. What is the world coming to?

[Guitar_Ninja]

It isn't Fender? According to a recent article I read they control upwards of 60-65% of the North American guitar market. That's a lot of guitars regardless of price.

[boneyguy]

Don't count Godin out. I don't know that they're no:1 but they are up there with the big players. I recall a reputable guitar tech telling me a few years back that they were the largest manufacturer in North America.

[XKnight]

I've never seen anyone with a Samick guitar. What are they and who's buying them? Are we talking global sales or just US sales? I was always under the impression that Fender sold the most guitars in the US followed by Gibson. A trip to any GC seems to support that claim.

[markinlondon]

Originally Posted by XKnight

I've never seen anyone with a Samick guitar. What are they and who's buying them? Are we talking global sales or just US sales? I was always under the impression that Fender sold the most guitars in the US followed by Gibson. A trip to any GC seems to support that claim.

Samick are a Korean manufacturer who build OEM guitars as well as some under their own brand. They used to make Epiphones for Gibson and (I think) Squiers for Fender etc. Think of all those brands that come and go, Samick build a lot of those.

[Catweazle]

I read somwhere that in 2001 (OK, not the newest data, but does give an indication of its size) Samick produced over 60% of all guitars made in the world in that year.
It will have gone down somewhat now that Epi has its own factory, but it's still a huge company.

[Unseen]

Originally Posted by boneyguy

Don't count Godin out. I don't know that they're no:1 but they are up there with the big players. I recall a reputable guitar tech telling me a few years back that they were the largest manufacturer in North America.

I'm a little puzzled. Does Godin manufacture guitars that appear in stores under other names? I can go into many a guitar store and not see a Godin headstock anywhere.

[markinlondon]

Originally Posted by Unseen

I'm a little puzzled. Does Godin manufacture guitars that appear in stores under other names? I can go into many a guitar store and not see a Godin headstock anywhere.

Godin, Seagull, Simon & Patrick are a few of their brands iirc.

[petebradt]

Originally Posted by XKnight

I've never seen anyone with a Samick guitar. What are they and who's buying them? Are we talking global sales or just US sales? I was always under the impression that Fender sold the most guitars in the US followed by Gibson. A trip to any GC seems to support that claim.

Ray Benson plays a Samick Tele knockoff.

[boneyguy]

Originally Posted by Unseen

I'm a little puzzled. Does Godin manufacture guitars that appear in stores under other names? I can go into many a guitar store and not see a Godin headstock anywhere.

The brand names they manufacture are Godin, Richmond, Art & Lutherie, Seagull, Simon & Patrick, Norman and La Patrie. Godin and Richmond (which appears to be a new line that competes with the retro design market like Eastwood) are the electric brands. The other brands are all acoustic guitars.

When I was told they were the largest N.A manufacturer that was probably 5yrs ago. Apparently they also made (or make) aftermarket necks and bodies which were branded by other companies I was told.

I don't know where exactly they fit in size wise globally but they are a major player in N.A at least.

From Wikipedia:

Godin started building Robert Godin's guitars in 1982 in La Patrie, Quebec.

Godin Guitars' head office is located in Montreal, and they build their instruments in six factories in four different locations, three in Quebec and one in New Hampshire.

[kp8]

I thought that i read a few years ago that Yamaha (Japan) & Young Chang (Korea) were the 2 largest manufacturers of musical instruments in the world (by far). As for guitars only, i dunno.

[Guitar_Ninja]

Found a related article on Google. It doesn't say who the top dog is, but states that the industry's sold nearly 10 million guitars in the last three years in North America.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Findin...t.-a0169923697


Finding the bright spot in the guitar market.

The current meltdown in the housing market illustrates a deeply ingrained human tendency to seamlessly extrapolate the recent past into the distant future. A decade of rising housing prices and low default rates prompted otherwise rational lenders and borrowers to throw caution to the wind, and bet big that the trend would continue forever. It didn't, and we're all feeling the effect of billions in bank write-downs, vast numbers of foreclosures, and collateral damage that has yet to be fully tallied. Closer to home, but on a far smaller scale, the guitar industry is experiencing similar shock and dismay as sales rates diverge from past trend lines. Just as a sizable percentage of the citizenry used a few years of results to forecast an eternally sunny housing market, many in the guitar business are now predicting a gloomy future based on two years of less than stellar results. We think that the concerns are more than a little overblown.

Guitar sales dropped by about 7% in 2006 and all indications are that 2007 will be another down year. Top retailer Guitar Center has publicly complained about softness in the guitar market, as have most of the industry's key suppliers. Yet for all the hand wringing, guitar sales this year will still be over double the level of a decade ago. Furthermore, the current complaints sound eerily similar to those voiced in 1996 and 1997, the last two occasions guitar sales hit a speed bump. Summing up the industry mood in 1996, we wrote, "After five banner years, the industry is bracing for tough times. It's probably unrealistic to expect the growth to continue." Happily events proved us wrong. A few years later though, in the aftermath of the 9/11 catastrophe and the bursting of the dot.com bubble, guitar sales turned down, as did industry spirits. "Market conditions are a lot tougher and we don't expect any improvement," declared one CEO.

So why do we think a dire outlook is unwarranted? Based on a recent analysis we conducted of manufacturer warranty cards, about 60% of new guitars are purchased by males between the ages of 14 and 26 years old. According to the U.S. Census, this age and gender category currently includes 33 million individuals. Given that the industry has sold close to 10 million new guitars in the past three years alone, for one of the first times in history we are facing something bordering on market saturation. One guitar for every three core buyers is a pretty amazing number.

Guitars are durable products that don't change much from year-to-year, leading some to conclude that this "saturation" is a long-term problem that will dog the industry for years to come. We're not so sure. A few years ago, Red Octane was a nine-employee video game designer struggling for survival. Unable to come up with the cash to license big-name sports figures or cartoon action characters, the company took a major gamble on a game about becoming a rock 'n' roll guitarist. Today, Guitar Hero has become a national craze and ranks as the top-selling video game in the world, with three million units sold. What's more, a slew of imitators are in the works. From this unexpected success, we conclude that kids find the guitar just as alluring as their grandparents did when they were mesmerized by the Beatles in 1964, and the industry will enjoy a bumper crop of new customers. Better yet, in the next decade, the potential customer base will be nearly twice as big. Here's why this is more than just a pie-in-the-sky estimate: Our warranty card analysis showed that among guitar purchasers over the age of 18, 80% were male. Under the age of 18, however, the gender breakdown shifts dramatically to just 63% male. In other words, after a decade of trying, it would appear that the industry is finally making headway with a younger generation of female buyers.

Considering the broad-based consumer interest in the guitar, coupled with a dramatically larger customer base, it seems reasonable to conclude that whatever the industry's current woes, they will soon be forgotten as sales resume an upward trajectory.

Brian T. Majeski

Editor

[Unseen]

Originally Posted by markinlondon

Godin, Seagull, Simon & Patrick are a few of their brands iirc.

I've seen far more Godins around than those other brands, and I don't see a lot of Godins!

By contrast, Fender makes Squier, of course, and (according to Wikipedia):

Gretsch
Jackson Guitars
Charvel
Tacoma
Guild Guitar Company
SWR Sound Corporation
Brand X (amps)
Orpheum
Olympia

and Gibson makes Epiphone, of course, and (according to Wikipedia):

Epiphone
Garrison
Tobias
Valley Arts Guitar
Kramer
Steinberger
Kalamazoo

[markinlondon]

Gibson also "makes" the appalling Baldwin and Talent ranges but I can see why they'd want to keep that quiet

[Flat357]

Originally Posted by Unseen

I've seen far more Godins around than those other brands, and I don't see a lot of Godins!

By contrast, Fender makes Squier, of course, and (according to Wikipedia):

Gretsch
Jackson Guitars
Charvel
Tacoma
Guild Guitar Company
SWR Sound Corporation
Brand X (amps)
Orpheum
Olympia

and Gibson makes Epiphone, of course, and (according to Wikipedia):

Epiphone
Garrison
Tobias
Valley Arts Guitar
Kramer
Steinberger
Kalamazoo

Not sure I can back this up with facts as such , but i'm fairly sure that firstly Gretsch guitars made in Korea are made by Samick , and 1/2 of Valley Arts was sold to Samick in the early 90's . Not sure if they still own it .
Silvertone is another well known brand made by Samick .

Further more , i'm not sure if Samick actually still make Epiphones , and are possibly called Greg Bennett now .

They possibly also make guitars for Gibson , Honer , and Wasburn too .

Regarding Young Chang , I also believe 1/2 of it is owned by Samick too ; apparantly 46% .

At one point , Gibson actually tried to buy Samick , but I think it fell through .

Now then . As for Squires , there are quite a few fingers in the Squire pie , including Samick , and you can learn about how the serial numbers identify who made what here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squier