Just to confirm what we're doing here, as Jim says they are branded 'Craftine' which is a brand owned by an Irish music distribution company (who used to handle the Avalon Silver series) and who have approached Avalon exclusively to make these guitars. As the brand grows and develops, the collaboration with Avalon will be obvious.
Why Craftine and not Avalon? Good question, if anyone's asking. It has come about through the idea of a guitar with an overt Irishness, coupled with what we think is a unique concept - the double bevel acoustic (front & back). The conceptual input came from the guys behind Craftine.
It is also linked in with a new development in the Irish domestic music retail market, with the launch this week of the largest music shop anywhere in the UK or Ireland - http://www.xmusic.ie - if you're interested. I paid a visit to the store last week while preparations for the opening were underway and I have to say it is most impressive - three floors covering 20,000 sq ft of retail space. Craftine will be centre stage in the very plush acoustic room!
Where can I lay eyes/hands/ears on some Legacy models ?
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by Ross A » 06 Oct 2008, 12:58
stevemac wrote:Why Craftine and not Avalon?
Obviously you guys know more about the guitar business than I do, but just when the confusion regarding Avalon/Lowden/Irish Gold/Czech Gold/Silver Series seems to be clearing, you go and start making guitars for someone else.
If it were up to me these Craftine Guitars would be very clearly Avalon guitars, and I feel that by making guitars for somebody else you could devalue the Avalon brand.
I hope they are a great success for you, but I do worry about the logic behind it. Not that it is any of my business.
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by stevemac » 06 Oct 2008, 19:19
You put some very sensible points across Ross and I agree with you that we need to be careful not to risk devaluing the Avalon brand. Perhaps it might be useful to give a perspective from the point of view of Avalon as a guitar maker (as distinct to Avalon the brand).
The ups and downs of our story as a guitar maker is well known therefore, no need to elaborate on the detail, except to say that our particular business model was and is established primarily on the basis of making affordable, exceptionally high quality handmade instruments within a standard timescale. This makes Avalon the guitar maker somewhat unique in being the only (if not one of a very few) guitar makers in the British Isles having the capability to build a varied range of instruments to both a standard and quantity required.
So it has been, historically, a business that has facilitated the making of several different brands, Avalon included, together with other brand projects that we have initiated (Goodfellow comes to mind) and we have been approached on several occasions to make high-end guitars for other brands - you would be amazed what we've been asked to make! Perhaps most notable example has been our building of several high-end Zemaitis acoustics a few years ago.
Craftine is in a similar vein - there won't be hundreds built every year, but what we do build will continue to showcase the fantastic skills of our talented team and feedback into the development of the core Avalon range.
Our view is that projects like Craftine are very complimentary to what we do as Avalon the guitar maker and a real endorsement of the quality we are capable of producing. We believe such projects should enhance the reputation of Avalon the brand, while we are conscious that the Avalon range will always be foremost in our design and development plans.
Hope this ramble makes sense!
The ups and downs of our story as a guitar maker is well known therefore, no need to elaborate on the detail, except to say that our particular business model was and is established primarily on the basis of making affordable, exceptionally high quality handmade instruments within a standard timescale. This makes Avalon the guitar maker somewhat unique in being the only (if not one of a very few) guitar makers in the British Isles having the capability to build a varied range of instruments to both a standard and quantity required.
So it has been, historically, a business that has facilitated the making of several different brands, Avalon included, together with other brand projects that we have initiated (Goodfellow comes to mind) and we have been approached on several occasions to make high-end guitars for other brands - you would be amazed what we've been asked to make! Perhaps most notable example has been our building of several high-end Zemaitis acoustics a few years ago.
Craftine is in a similar vein - there won't be hundreds built every year, but what we do build will continue to showcase the fantastic skills of our talented team and feedback into the development of the core Avalon range.
Our view is that projects like Craftine are very complimentary to what we do as Avalon the guitar maker and a real endorsement of the quality we are capable of producing. We believe such projects should enhance the reputation of Avalon the brand, while we are conscious that the Avalon range will always be foremost in our design and development plans.
Hope this ramble makes sense!
- stevemac
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by stevemac » 07 Oct 2008, 07:49
We're in fact just about to dispatch another batch but it seems things are very slow in the US market right now where most of these guitars are sold. Still, if you have a spare $15,000 I can highly recommend one!
- stevemac
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- Joined: 14 Sep 2004, 10:33
- Location: The Avalon Workshops
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