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54-568: Extracting elements from one of the prototypes of a synthesizer he was developing for Guild Guitar Company , Mike Beigel based the Mu-Tron III, at the instigation of Guild engineer Aaron Newman, on a prototype called the Timbre Generator. The Mu-tron III could be used for any number of electric instruments. Beigel said he chose the envelope-controlled filter over other synthesizer elements, such as ring modulation, because it sounded more musical; it

108-532: A barbershop quartet since 1949, but left before finishing high school spending time in the Merchant Marine . His first professional gigs were playing tenor banjola, a wooden bodied combination of mandola and banjo, with various traditional jazz bands around New York City, of which he later observed: "We wanted to play traditional jazz in the worst way ... and we did!" But the trad jazz revival had already passed its prime, and Van Ronk turned to performing

162-732: A chart-topping rock single for them in 1964, helping inaugurate the folk rock movement. Van Ronk received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ( ASCAP ) in December 1997. Van Ronk was born in Brooklyn, New York City , to a family that was "mostly Irish, despite the Dutch ' Van ' name". He moved from Brooklyn to Queens around 1945 and began attending Holy Child Jesus Catholic School, whose students were mainly of Irish descent. He had been performing in

216-483: A concert organized by Phil Ochs , alongside such other performers as his old friend Bob Dylan, to protest the overthrow of the democratic socialist government of Chile and to aid refugees from the U.S.-backed military junta led by Augusto Pinochet . After Ochs's suicide in 1976, Van Ronk joined the many performers who played at his memorial concert in the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden , playing his bluesy version of

270-587: A few months before his death. Van Ronk was married to Terri Thal in the 1960s, lived for many years with Joanne Grace, then married Andrea Vuocolo, with whom he spent the rest of his life. On February 10, 2002, Van Ronk died in a New York hospital of cardiopulmonary failure while undergoing postoperative treatment for colon cancer . He died before completing work on his memoirs, which were finished by his collaborator, Elijah Wald , and published in 2005 as The Mayor Of MacDougal Street . Van Ronk's guitar work, for which he credits Tom Paley as fingerpicking teacher,

324-544: A manner consistent with other high-end, boutique guitar builders. The New Hartford Guild facility began production in early 2009, starting with the top-end D-55 and F-50 models. Production quickly ramped up to include most of the popular Traditional Series acoustic guitar models. Acoustic-Electric versions of these models were also made available. Starting with 2012 models, all US-built Guild Traditional Series guitars were available in right- and left-handed configurations. In 2011, Traditional Series models' were improved by means of

378-403: A minute, he resembled an unmade bed strewn with books, record jackets, pipes, empty whiskey bottles, lines from obscure poets, finger picks, and broken guitar strings. He was [Dylan]'s first New York guru. Van Ronk was a walking museum of the blues. Through an early interest in jazz, he had gravitated toward black music—its jazz pole, its jug-band and ragtime center, its blues bedrock.... His manner

432-488: A new DTAR pickup system (DTAR-MS, for 'multi-source'), which allows blending between an internal microphone element and an under-saddle transducer. Previous DTAR configurations only included an under-saddle transducer. Also, hard shell case material was upgraded to a high-end, faux alligator skin material with crushed velvet interior padding, closely resembling the Custom Shop guitar cases that Guild had used when its Custom Shop

486-619: A new series of guitars from Guild. This choice caused confusion for buyers, as it marked the first time that an import had actually donned the Guild brand name, which had previously only been used to describe US-made guitars. Because of this, it was no longer immediately clear if a Guild-branded guitar is a US-made model or an import, although the GAD models usually had unique ornamentation. The 2011 GAD models brought new features, looks, and model numbers. These new GAD-series Guild guitars could be identified with

540-506: A number 1 as the first number in the model number. For example, a US-built F-50R's GAD-level version would be called an F-150R. Similarly, a US-built F-512 would be an F-1512 as a GAD version. With Cordoba taking over as owners of the Guild brand, as of May, 2015, the GAD line-up was discontinued, but two newly formed lines, Westerly Collection (acoustics) and Newark Street (electrics) were revealed, which also aimed to pay homage Guild's production history that took place at those locations (with

594-425: A short time in the 1960s). Van Ronk's trademark stoneware jug of Tullamore Dew was frequently seen on stage next to him in his early days. Critic Robert Shelton described Van Ronk as "the musical mayor of MacDougal Street" - ..."a tall, garrulous, hairy man of three quarters, or, more accurately, three fifths Irish descent. Topped by light brownish hair and a leonine beard which he smoothed down several times

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648-548: Is mentioned in David Bowie 's 2013 song ‘(You Will) Set the World on Fire' on The Next Day album and was mentioned among the dead musicians and recording artists in the song "Mirror Door" by the Who in 2006 on the album Endless Wire . In 2004, a section of Sheridan Square , where Barrow Street meets Washington Place, was renamed Dave Van Ronk Street in his memory. Van Ronk was awarded

702-500: Is noteworthy for both syncopation and precision. Revealing similarities to Mississippi John Hurt 's, Van Ronk's main influence was the Reverend Gary Davis , who conceived the guitar as "a piano around his neck." Van Ronk took this pianistic approach and added a harmonic sophistication adapted from the band voicings of Jelly Roll Morton and Duke Ellington . Van Ronk was among the first to adapt traditional jazz and ragtime to

756-517: The 'CE' suffix at the end of the guitar's model number. The New Hartford facility had also created a new line of specialty, limited edition guitars, referred to as the GSR Series. The GSR designation stands for "Guild Special Run." This series was first revealed to Guild dealers at Guild's dealer-only factory tour in mid-2009 called the "Guild Summit Retreat". These models featured unique takes on classic Guild Traditional Series models. GSR models include

810-466: The 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street ". Van Ronk's work ranged from old English ballads to blues , gospel , rock , New Orleans jazz , and swing . He was also known for performing instrumental ragtime guitar music, especially his transcription of "St. Louis Tickle" and Scott Joplin 's " Maple Leaf Rag ". Van Ronk was a widely admired avuncular figure in the Village, presiding over

864-621: The 1970s and 1980s are considered still made to the high-quality standards the Westerly plant was known for. In the 1980s, Guild introduced a series of Superstrat solid bodies including models such as the Flyer, Aviator, Liberator and Detonator, the Tele-style T-200 and T-250 (endorsed by Roy Buchanan ) and the Pilot Bass, available in fretted, fretless, and 4- and 5-string versions. These guitars were

918-455: The Corona facility (which had only made electric guitars up to this point) into making archtop and acoustic guitars, the Westerly factory artisans and workers prepared guitar 'kits' that they shipped to Corona. These kits were near-complete production guitars that only needed finishing and final assembly before being sent to retailers. Production in Corona was short-lived, however, as Fender acquired

972-497: The D40-C. In 1972, under Guild's new president Leon Tell, noteworthy guitarist/designer Richard "Rick" Excellente came up with the design. It is still made, copied by virtually every guitar manufacturer. The decline of the folk and acoustic market in the later 1970s and early 1980s put severe economic pressure on the company. While instrument specialists generally concede that quality suffered at other American competitors, Guild models from

1026-645: The Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron, and he also designed a Bi-Filter for E-H. Three other pedals, the Mini Q-Tron, Micro Q-Tron and Q-Tron+, are available from EHX as well, who now also offer the Bi-Filter, a modern version of Beigel Sound Lab's Envelope Controlled Filter, made in 1979. Michael Dregni, in Vintage Guitar , noted that none of the "clones, copycats, and other attempts to bring it back...sounded quite like

1080-591: The F-20 (figured Cocbolo), F-30R (master-grade Rosewood), F-40 (figured Cocobolo), F-50 (figured Koa), and D-50 (figured Cocobolo), and Guild's only electric guitar to be produced since 2003, the GSR Starfire VI (only 20 produced). Each of these instruments features unique designs, wood selection, ornamentation, and has extremely limited production numbers. In the late spring/early summer of 2014, Fender's New Hartford Guild facility closed its doors as FMIC prepared to sell off

1134-512: The F-212XL 12-string model. All Standard Series models featured red spruce bracing, satin mahogany necks, and bone saddles, nuts, and bridge pins, but have nondescript grade wood and different ornamentation than their Traditional Series counterparts. In 2011, cutaway acoustic-electric versions of all Standard Series models were released. These guitars featured venetian cutaways and a DTAR 18V under-saddle pickup system. These models can be identified by

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1188-551: The Guild brand name except for a modified Chesterfield headstock inlay on most models. The DeArmond line also included other less expensive models similar in design to the Guild reissues and manufactured in Indonesia. The DeArmond brand was discontinued in the early 2000s. While not a discrete brand, in the early 2000s, FMIC created a new line of Guild acoustic guitars called the GAD-series, which stood for "Guild Acoustic Design." As with

1242-632: The Guild brand. Cordoba Music Group (CMG), based in Santa Monica, California, stepped in and purchased the Guild brand rights and began setting up a new manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, led by Gibson alum Ren Ferguson as the VP of Manufacturing and R&D. Cordoba started production in late 2015, releasing its first models (M-20 and D-20) in early 2016. Higher-end models like the D-55 were released in late 2017. In

1296-715: The Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously by the World Folk Music Association in 2004. Joni Mitchell said that Van Ronk's rendition of her song " Both Sides Now " (which he called "Clouds") was her favorite version of the song. Van Ronk refused for many years to fly and never learned to drive (he took trains or buses or, when possible, recruited a girlfriend or young musician as his driver), and he declined to ever move from Greenwich Village for any extended period of time (having stayed in California for

1350-528: The Mu-tron III was no more. With the advent of the stompbox revival of the nineties, the Mu-tron III became one of the big-ticket items for collectors and players alike. There was a reissue of sorts, the HAZ Mu-tron III+, but Beigel says this (and other clones) did not have "the same magic". In early 1995, however, Beigel did lend his expertise to Electro-Harmonix , creating an update of his original design,

1404-635: The Newark Street address alluding to a link with the Hoboken factory). The Westerly Collection line-up includes a variety of guitars made with solid wood tops/laminate sides and body; and, solid wood tops/solid wood sides and solid wood backs. Dave Van Ronk David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City 's Greenwich Village scene in

1458-625: The United States. The headstocks on these guitars read "Burnside by Guild." Both brands were discontinued in the early 1990s. After Fender purchased Guild in the mid-1990s, reissues of some Guild electric guitars were manufactured in Korea under the DeArmond brand name, which Fender also owned the rights to. Import reissue models included the Starfire, X155, T400, M-75 Bluesbird, S-73, and Pilot Bass series. On

1512-471: The assets of Washington-based Tacoma Guitar Company in 2004, and moved all American Guild acoustic guitar production to Tacoma, Washington and discontinued production of US-made Guild electric guitars completely. In 2008, Fender again moved Guild when it acquired Kaman Music Corporation and its small production facility in New Hartford, Connecticut , where hand production of all US-made Guilds resumed in

1566-641: The blues he had stumbled across while shopping for jazz 78s by artists like the Reverend Gary Davis , Furry Lewis and Mississippi John Hurt . By about 1958, he was firmly committed to the folk-blues style, accompanying himself with his own acoustic guitar. He performed blues , jazz and folk music , occasionally writing his own songs but generally arranging the work of earlier artists and his folk revival peers. He became noted both for his large physical stature and for his expansive charisma which bespoke an intellectual, cultured gentleman of diverse talents. Among his many interests were cooking, science fiction (he

1620-504: The coffeehouse folk culture and acting as a friend to many up-and-coming artists by inspiring, assisting, and promoting them. Folk performers he befriended include Jim and Jean , Bob Dylan , Tom Paxton , Patrick Sky , Phil Ochs , Ramblin' Jack Elliott , and Joni Mitchell . Dylan recorded Van Ronk's arrangement of the traditional song " House of the Rising Sun " on his first album which The Animals would later cover and which would become

1674-538: The early 1970s, Guild began to form import brands for acoustic and electric guitars made in Asia. There was a total of three import brands: Madeira, Burnside, and DeArmond. Madeira Acoustic and Electric Guitars were import guitars based on existing Guild designs. They are characterized by their unique pickguard shape and differing headstock. Similarly to Madeira, Burnside Electric Guitars were Guild electric guitar designs (typically of super-Strat delineation) manufactured outside

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1728-411: The expanding riot, Van Ronk said, "There were more people out there [outside the building] when I came out than when I went in. Things were still flying through the air, cacophony—I mean, just screaming and yelling, sirens, strobe lights, the whole spaghetti." The next day, he was arrested and later released on his own recognizance for having thrown a heavy object at a police officer. City records show he

1782-510: The filter, which was novel for the time, a method would also be used for the Mu-tron Phasor II and Bi-Phase. The state variable filter in the Mu-tron III allowed for low-pass, bandpass, and high-pass filter response, which could be triggered from low to high or vice versa. When ARP Instruments bought Musitronics in ‘79, they made the Mu-tron line for about a year before going out of business, and

1836-660: The first Guild instruments to bear slim pointed headstocks , sometimes called "pointy droopy", "duck foot" and "cake knife" for their distinctive shape. After several changes in management and ownership, Guild was eventually purchased by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation in 1995. In late 2001, Fender decided to shut down the Westerly, RI factory (citing difficulty in climate control and factory production workflow as primary motives) and moved all Guild production to its factory in Corona, California . To ease

1890-461: The front of the headstock, these instruments display the DeArmond logo above a modified version of Guild's Chesterfield logo. On early production versions, the truss rod cover is stenciled with the word 'Guild' stylized and the DeArmond reissue model number, and the back of the headstock is stenciled with 'DeArmond by Guild' above the guitar's serial number. Later production versions drop all references to

1944-451: The new sounds of Dylan, Mitchell and Leonard Cohen . Dylan says of his impact: "I'd heard Van Ronk back in the Midwest on records and thought he was pretty great, copied some of his recordings phrase for phrase. [...] Van Ronk could howl and whisper, turn blues into ballads and ballads into blues. I loved his style. He was what the city was all about. In Greenwich Village, Van Ronk was king of

1998-445: The old R. Neumann Leathers building. The advent of the folk music craze in the early 1960s had shifted the company into production of an important line of acoustic folk and blues guitars, including a dreadnought series (D-40, D-50 and, later, D-55) that competed successfully with Martin's D-18 and D-28 models, and jumbo and Grand Concert "F" models that were particularly popular with blues guitarists such as Dave Van Ronk . Notable also

2052-456: The other import lines, these guitars were based on past and present Guild acoustic guitar designs, but were built in China. All of these models were designated with a 'GAD' as a model prefix. These guitars featured poly finishes (as opposed to traditional nitrocellulose lacquer on US models) and nondescript wood grading. FMIC did not choose to create this line under a different brand name, but left it as

2106-554: The real deal". But in 2014, a renewed version of the Mu-Tron III, now called the Tru-Tron 3X, was made by Beigel's new company Mu-FX. The Tru-Tron can work "exactly like the original", but has added functionality and range, and is "smaller and more robust" than the original. It runs on 12 volts. In addition to the original's ability to control the upsweep of notes it adds control over the downsweep, and offers more gain for more intense effects. It also has an internal potentiometer which allows

2160-455: The solo acoustic guitar with arrangements of such ragtime staples as "St. Louis Tickle", " The Entertainer ", "The Pearls" and " Maple Leaf Rag ". Van Ronk brought the blues style to Greenwich Village during the 1960s, while introducing the folk music world to the complex harmonies of Kurt Weill with his many Brecht and Weill interpretations. A traditional revivalist who moved with the times, Van Ronk brought old blues and ballads together with

2214-429: The spark of the contemporary gay rights movement. He had been dining at a neighboring restaurant and joined the riot against the police occupation of the club and was dragged from the crowd into the building by police deputy inspector Seymour Pine . The police slapped and punched Van Ronk to the point of near unconsciousness, handcuffed him to a radiator near the doorway, and decided to charge him for assault. Recalling

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2268-584: The street, he reigned supreme". Van Ronk gave guitar lessons in Greenwich Village, including to Christine Lavin , David Massengill , Terre Roche and Suzzy Roche . He influenced his protégé Danny Kalb and the Blues Project . Van Ronk once said, "Painting is all about space, and music is all about time." The Coen brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis follows a folk singer similar to Van Ronk, and incorporates anecdotes based on Van Ronk's life. He

2322-594: The traditional folk ballad " He Was A Friend Of Mine ". Although Van Ronk was less politically active in later years, he remained committed to anarchist and socialist ideals and was a dues-paying member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) almost until his death. Van Ronk was among 13 people arrested at the Stonewall Inn June 28, 1969, the night of the Stonewall Riots , which is widely credited as

2376-573: The user to adjust the envelope filter's response time to match the player's style. Guild Guitar Company The Guild Guitar Company is a United States–based guitar manufacturer founded in 1952 by Alfred Dronge, a guitarist and music-store owner, and George Mann, a former executive with the Epiphone Guitar Company. The brand name currently exists as a brand under Córdoba Music Group. In February 2023, The Yamaha Guitar Group acquired Cordoba Music Group. [1] The first Guild workshop

2430-408: Was a more general effect that would lend itself to a variety of applications, and it was easy to use. The Mu-tron III was an instant success and was used by jazz/fusion guitarist Larry Coryell , Funkadelic bass player Bootsy Collins (for his "Space Bass"), guitarist Jerry Garcia , Yes bassist Chris Squire , and Stevie Wonder , who used it on his Clavinet for the song "Higher Ground". Beigel

2484-678: Was active for some time in science fiction fandom , referring to it as "mind rot", contributing to fanzines ), world history, and politics. During the 1960s he supported radical left-wing political causes and was a member of the Libertarian League and the Trotskyist American Committee for the Fourth International (ACFI, later renamed the Workers League ). In 1974, he appeared at "An Evening For Salvador Allende ",

2538-563: Was charged with felony assault in the second degree and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of harassment, classified in 1969 as a violation under PL 240.25. In 2000, he performed at Blind Willie's in Atlanta , speaking fondly of his impending return to Greenwich Village. He reminisced over tunes like "You've Been a Good Old Wagon", a song teasing a worn-out lover, which he ruefully remarked had seemed humorous to him back in 1962. He continued to perform for four decades and gave his last concert just

2592-542: Was located in Manhattan , New York, where Dronge (who soon took over full ownership) focused on electric and acoustic archtop jazz guitars. Much of the initial workforce consisted of former Epiphone workers who lost their jobs following their 1951 strike and the subsequent relocation of the company from Queens to Philadelphia. Rapid expansion forced the company to move to much larger quarters, on Newark St. in Hoboken, New Jersey , in

2646-767: Was on the D-40 that Richie Havens played when he opened Woodstock in 1969. During the 1960s, Guild moved aggressively into the electric guitar market, successfully promoting the Starfire line of semi-acoustic (Starfire I, II and III) and semi-solid (Starfire IV, V and VI) guitars and basses. A number of early West-Coast psychedelic bands used these instruments, notably guitarists Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia and bassist Phil Lesh of Grateful Dead , as well as Jefferson Airplane's bassist Jack Casady . Instrument maker Alembic started their transition from sound and recording work to instrument building by modifying Lesh & Casady's Starfire basses. The rare S-200 Thunderbird solid body electric

2700-507: Was open. In late 2010, Guild released its Standard Series acoustic guitars, which were US-built guitars (still manufactured in the New Hartford, Connecticut facility) that were based on models from their top-end Traditional Series. Differences in ornamentation and instrument finish options made them more affordable. Standard Series models included the F-30, F-30R, F-50, D-40, D-50, and the return of

2754-443: Was rough and testy, disguising a warm, sensitive core." For an in depth, illustrated discography, see https://www.wirz.de/music/vanronk.htm Van Ronk was author of a posthumous memoir, The Mayor of MacDougal Street (2005) written with Elijah Wald . Anecdotes from the book were used as a source for the film Inside Llewyn Davis . Van Ronk and Richard Ellington collected and edited The Bosses' Songbook: [32] Songs to Stifle

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2808-696: Was successfully granted a patent for the circuitry of the Mu-tron III. Musitronics licensed the Mu-tron III circuitry to a few different companies in the seventies – the Univox Funky Filter and Monacor Effectmatic are notable examples. The original Mu-tron III ran on 18V, using two 9V batteries; this gave it a wider dynamic range and more headroom compared to effects that ran on 9 volt. There was an optional power supply (the PS-1), and with later versions had built-in AC power supplies. The Mu-tron III used opto-isolators to control

2862-545: Was the Guild 12-string guitar, which used a Jumbo "F" body and dual truss rods in the neck to produce a workhorse instrument with a deep, rich tone distinctive from the chimier twelve-strings put out by Martin. The company continued to expand, and was sold to the Avnet Corporation, which moved production to Westerly, Rhode Island , in 1966. As the folk scene quieted, a new generation of folk-rockers took Guild guitars on stage. The most notable Guild performance of that era

2916-454: Was used by Muddy Waters and the Lovin' Spoonful 's Zal Yanovsky . Inspired by seeing Muddy Waters, Ross Hannaford acquired a Thunderbird, which he used extensively in the period that he played in popular Australian 1970s band Daddy Cool . Guild also successfully manufactured the first dreadnought acoustic guitar with a "cut-away" in its lower shoulder to allow better access to the upper frets,

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