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What am I looking at here? (Garrison Guitar)


Raymond55

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http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280279305796&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018

 

Is this the same "Garrison" that got bought by Gibson last year? Weren't (aren't?) Garrisons built around a fiberglas skeleton? The pictures clearly show wood bracing and kerfing. Are (all) Garrisons still made in Canada or are some now made overseas?

 

I cannot find mention of the Garrison brand on Gibson's site, garrisonguitars.com is "temporarily unavailable", and the only domestic result of a Google search for Garrison AGP-500 is the listing above.

 

I've asked the seller for more details but I'm betting they won't have complete answers.

 

I'm so confused. Can anyone shed any light on this?

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Here is a link to a nice little article on them.

 

http://www.guitarsite.com/news/acoustic_guitar/gibson_acquires_garrison_guitars/

 

and on Gibson's site:

 

http://www.gibson.com/allaccessfeatures.aspx?aliaspath=/zTrash/AllAccess/Gibson+Announces+Acquisition+o

 

My guess is that they are putting together a website as part of their official branded instruments, but, at this point, they are probably trying to define what market they plan to hit with that line of guitars.

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Run, don't walk, away from that git.


Read this:

 

 

 

I had read that. It's one of only a few threads that comes up in a search for Garrison. It describes the termination of the lifetime warranty by Gibson. But as a used guitar, I doubt that a second owner would have a warranty anyway. Some people really liked their Garrisons, even with the plastic skeleton. The only faults I've read of had to do with the plastic framework that some people either didn't have good experiences with or expected to have trouble with.

 

The seller responded that the guitar was made in Canada. Not sure how he knows that. I can't tell if there's a label inside from any of the pics he's posted. From the pics, it appears to be a wood braced guitar. So the question is, is this the same "Garrison" as the company being discussed in the voided warranty thread? If it is, when did they start (or stop) using wood for bracing? If it's a different company, has anyone heard of this Canadian Garrison guitar company?

 

Interesting mystery.

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Here is a link to a nice little article on them.




and on Gibson's site:




My guess is that they are putting together a website as part of their official branded instruments, but, at this point, they are probably trying to define what market they plan to hit with that line of guitars.

 

 

I've seen similar articles, but that's about all I can find... Gibson bought Garrison last year then promptly terminated the lifetime warranties.

 

Evidently, they started using wood for bracing at some point or this is an imposter. No one seems to sell these new, so I can't find much about them. That begs the question of whether they're even still making them. If no one's selling them, where are all the new Garrisons going?

 

All but one Garrison listed on ebay appears to have black plastic bracing. One 12-string shows wood bracing, but I don't know if that's a relic from before the advent of the plastic skeleton or a newer model made after the plastic framework was abandoned. Or did they use wood on some guitars and plastic on others?

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Raymond55. What you see is a Chinese made Garrison. It is legit. Garrison authorized the production line and designated them the AG series. The back and side bracing is tradition wood and the top bracing is the Garrison fiber bracing. I have had one of the AG series and found it to be quite nice. I would imagine the P in this one (AGP) indicates it is a parlor size guitar. Hope this helps.:wave:

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Raymond55. What you see is a Chinese made Garrison. It is legit. Garrison authorized the production line and designated them the AG series. The back and side bracing is tradition wood and the top bracing is the Garrison fiber bracing. I have had one of the AG series and found it to be quite nice. I would imagine the P in this one (AGP) indicates it is a parlor size guitar. Hope this helps.
:wave:

 

 

THAT makes sense. I suspected that the P might designate parlor. What else can you tell me about this? Laminated or solid woods? What do/did they sell for new? (Is $200 a good clean used price?) Interestingly, the seller claims it's a Canadian guitar. I asked him to send me a pic of the inside label (which will hopefull say where it's made). I haven't heard from him on that yet.

 

At least I know a little more about this guitar's background. Thanks.

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Raymond. I'm not sure, but when Garrison starting doing the AG series thing, I'm pretty sure they were all made in China. I'm not sure about the top on this particular model, but I know the AG series ran from 200 thru 700 - beginning with the 400, the guitar had a solid top. I would imagine this one is probably solid also. Seller probably claims it's Canadian because the company is headquartered in Canada. That would equate to stating all Takamines are Japanese made since the Takamine company is located in Japan - we all know that isn't so! I feel the guitar would probably be a pretty good buy for that price if you are wanting a smaller guitar. I have one of the Canadian made ones, and had one of the Chinese made ones - I like them both. The Chinese one had a great tone, had good playability and was loud (at least I thought so for a cedar top). I liked it as well as my Canadian one. Was some difference in the feel of the neck, but that wasn't a big deal. The only reason I no longer have it is I decided to thin the herd out.

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Raymond. I'm not sure, but when Garrison starting doing the AG series thing, I'm pretty sure they were all made in China. I'm not sure about the top on this particular model, but I know the AG series ran from 200 thru 700 - beginning with the 400, the guitar had a solid top. I would imagine this one is probably solid also. Seller probably claims it's Canadian because the company is headquartered in Canada. That would equate to stating all Takamines are Japanese made since the Takamine company is located in Japan - we all know that isn't so! I feel the guitar would probably be a pretty good buy for that price if you are wanting a smaller guitar. I have one of the Canadian made ones, and had one of the Chinese made ones - I like them both. The Chinese one had a great tone, had good playability and was loud (at least I thought so for a cedar top). I liked it as well as my Canadian one. Was some difference in the feel of the neck, but that wasn't a big deal. The only reason I no longer have it is I decided to thin the herd out.

 

 

Now that I know about the "AG Series", I've been able to find a little more about these guitars. As you say, they're evidently all made in China. and as mentioned above, they have the fiberglas framework on the top only. According to this, they've been around since December 2003.

 

Assuming the only difference between an AG-500 and an AGP-500 is size (parlor), it has a solid spruce top, laminated sycamore back and sides and a nato neck. This site has some good descriptions.

 

With the full fiberglas framework, owners claimed that it helped to transfer the sound from the top to the sides and back. That's at least a logical explanation whether it's true or not. With the framework attached to the top only, I don't see what it accomplishes except that it's surely cheaper to glue on a one-piece framework than cutting and fitting individual wooden ribs.

 

The seller never did send me the picture I asked for. I gather that if the label says "Designed in Canada" it's made in China. The G seriers say "Made in Canada" but they cost more and I think they have the full fiberglas skeleton.

 

I have been looking for a small parlor sized guitar and that's how I ran across this one. It didn't sell for $200 today. All things considered, I won't lose a lot of sleep over not buying it.

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I feel the guitar would probably be a pretty good buy for that price if you are wanting a smaller guitar.

 

Well, I passed on the $199 price but it came back up on ebay and I couldn't help myself. :facepalm: Bought it tonight for $105 + $30 shipping. I was looking for a parlor sized guitar, but not necessarily Chinese. I appears to be very clean, almost new, and several here have owned and liked them. Guess I'll see what a $135 Chinese guitar is like. LOL

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