John Guilford of Guilford Guitars

We frequently dote on our customers and talk about how much we love them. Most companies do this now days, but we really do mean it. Our employees come from a variety of industries and backgrounds, and we frequently comment on how cool and enjoyable our customers are compared to – you know – those we’ve dealt with in our previous professions.

Beyond the standard gratitude that we get from helping builders and shops get the guitar parts they need, we really like to see our customers do great things with their work. Of course we’re pleased to see our customers finished products, but nothing makes us more proud than to see someone do something that is truly extraordinary.

This brings us to today’s customer profile, which tells the story of John Guilford – owner of Guilford Guitars in Glasford, Illinois – and his recent efforts to honor our fallen soldiers.

John graduated from The Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, CA in the late 80′s. Since then, he has transitioned from player to builder as he has grown Guilford Guitars from the ground up, and we at Allparts are grateful to have done business with him during his journey.

To make a remarkable guitar, you have to know what a musician needs in an instrument and then produce it on a level that is beyond their expectation. Who better to do that than a player turned luthier? – John Guilford

Guilford’s United States Air Force Guitar

On April 27th of 2011, tragedy befell 8 US Air Force members and a civilian contractor in Kabul, Afghanistan. A rogue Afghan military trainee gunned down the servicemen, leaving a total of 32 children fatherless. Major Henry Cecil, who has guitar and music-related connections and friends and who was stationed with the men in Afghanistan, approached John with the story of his friends who had died in the line of duty. John then decided to pay tribute to the men by building a custom Redeemer model with parts donated from Allparts, Floyd Rose, Seymour Duncan, G&G Quality Case, and others.

The result of John’s project is a one of a kind guitar dedicated to the lives lost and altered by the events of April 27th 2011. The guitar features a graphic on the guitar’s front taken from a jacket worn by Major Cecil in Afghanistan, a neck containing mother of pearl inlays arranged to read “US Air Force,” and a back painted Air Force blue and listing the names of the fallen.

The Redeemer will see tour time with Lillian Axe, a band whose members Major Cecil is personal friends with, and will ultimately join the collection of a private owner by way of a raffle that benefits the surviving family members of the airmen.

Allparts is proud to do business with Guilford Guitars and contribute to his efforts to acknowledge our fallen airmen.

Major Henry Cecil with Guilford's USAF guitar

More Sources and Additional Information

If you would like to know more about Guilford Guitars, the Redeemer tribute guitar, Lillian Axe, or how you can help support the family members of the victims of the Kabul shooting of April 27th 2011 – please visit the following pages:

Guilford Guitars Website

John Guilford’s Redeemer Tribute at the Dallas, TX Guitar Show

The Official Air Advisor Memorial Website

Official US Air Force site article about the incident

Official US Air Force site article on John Guilford’s tribute guitar

Lillian Axe’s Website

Do you want to have your business featured by Allparts? Send us an e-mail at community@allparts.com and tell us about yourself.

USAF News Story Video

Schaller Da Vinci Tuners

Available in chrome, gold, and black in both 3×3 and 6-in-line configuration, these unique tuners from Schaller will really make your headstock stand out. In addition to Schaller’s quality precision machining, these tuners feature a scratch-proof polycarbonate window and pin mounting. Check out the full line of Da Vincis here.

Gretsch® Pickup Rings

These are authentic bezels from Fender® for your Gretsch® guitar. Available in gold sparkle as 006-1604-000 and silver sparkle as 006-1605-000. Unlike most pickup rings, these are sold individually. Dimensions are listed on our site.

1951 and 1954 Reproduction Capacitors

Attention authenticity nerds – we have the capacitor for your vintage amp. Check out our newest 0.1 mfd phonebook style reproduction capacitors. Available in the brown 1954 style as EP-4360-000 and in the white 1951 style as EP-4361-000.

Metal Cupcake Knobs

In response to countless requests, Allparts now stocks gold, chrome, and black metal cupcake knobs. They’re sold in sets of 2, each with an included set screw, for your split shaft pots. We think the black knob looks especially slick on effects pedals. View all three knob styles here.

The Allparts Ballad Band

If you missed out on our 2012 April Fool’s Day joke, you can still view the product for a chuckle. We introduced the Allparts Balland Band – designed to soak up the tears resulting from your power ballad without obstructing your vision. It works, and we have the customer feedback to prove it.

SpringNo Tremolo Spring Silencers

Hello friends – we have a short but sweet product announcement for you this morning.

Have you noticed that when you’re hooked up to an amp but aren’t playing, you can still hear the minor vibrations and hums of your tremolo springs as you move and handle your guitar? Surely you have – in fact, you may have heard so much of it for so long that you’ve tuned it out and accepted it as normal.

We’re pleased to now offer an instant, inexpensive, and effective solution to your spring hums.

Check out Allparts part BP-2009-000 – SpringNO Tremolo Spring Silencers. SpringNO spring silencers are made of a patented material that, when installed in your tremolo springs, absorbs superfluous spring vibrations without affecting your tone while you play.

We think this brief video is proof enough. Turn up your volume and listen as SpringNO ends the humming of this Strat’s springs. Oh and, SpringNO is brought to you from Spain, so pardon the grammar:

With that in mind, here’s our top 10 best selling guitar and bass parts of 2011, without the stuff that we normally blast out the doors. Share your thoughts in the comments at the bottom on what makes these parts sell so well and what, if anything, they have in common.

#10 – LT-1422-000 – Double Action Truss Rod
With all the new custom builders and mom-and-pop neck shops popping up, a really good idea has surfaced: it makes sense that if you’re going to invest in a custom-built neck, you may want to spend a few more dollars on a truss rod with greater corrective flexibility. Our double action truss rods add support for the opposing flex in a neck. We have them in 24-inch and 25-inch bass models too. Not only is it a smart buy, but, who doesn’t like double the action? Honestly.

#9 – BP-0653-010 – Jaguar / Jazzmaster Buzz Stop
There are some things we know even though you haven’t admitted them. First, we know you have a Jazzmaster, even though all your Facebook photos picture you with your Tele – we can tell by our sales. Second, we know you hate the bridge buzz that Jazzmasters and Jaguars are prone to. We know all of this because our Buzz Stop is one of the best selling products of the year. It’s awesome, it works, and for the price of 5 concert beers, you can rid yourself of that buzz for good. The Jazzmaster buzz, that is.

#8 – MK-3030 series – 12 Gauge Shotgun Shell Knob
Some of us were skeptical about how well this knob would sell when we started selling these late last year. Fortunately, these knobs were quickly embraced across our customer base. Available in gold or chrome, these knobs are reclaimed from actual Remington shotgun shells, and filled with a proprietary material that allows for quick push-on installation without wear and stripping. Because they’re not metal through and through, the knobs remain light and responsive. Pick up two today, because they’re sold individually.

#7 – All Case Parts
At first, we were surprised by how well every part in our line of instruments case parts was selling. After all, we’re a distributor, not a retailer. And then we remembered that these people are musicians too. Duh. Additionally, our savvy customers have embraced the opportunity to offer a value-added service to their own customers. When someone brings in their guitar for a fix or upgrade, why not offer to fix up the ratty and ragged case holding said guitar? Our customers are smart, and the rate at which we’re selling case parts is proof of this.

#6 – LT-0815-000 – Tapered Reamer Tool for Tuning Peg Holes
“Just push… it’ll go.” Yeah, right. Having the right tool at your disposal is often less expensive and more effective than brute force. Our tapered reamer has quickly found a place in every luthier’s toolset, making unevenly carved-out peg holes and split headstocks a thing of the past. It’s been such a success that we launched a similar tool just this year for enlarging bridge pin holes.

#5 – 0 to 11 Knobs
Fact: These knobs refuse to stop selling well. Why? Because people won’t stop asking for them. Be sure you’ve got these on your shelf and are offering them to your customers. Even though these knobs have been strong sellers since we launched them a few years ago, people are still just now finding out about them thanks to mass photo-sharing on sites like Facebook and Twitter. With demand this high, quality this good, and an Allparts Dealer price this low, there’s no reason to pass on these.

#4 – LT-1401-023 – Knob Puller Tool
We went out of our way to tell you about this product several months ago, so we hope you took our advice. This product sells so well for several reasons: 1) it’s nearly universal in its application. 2) it offers a solution to an epic frustration. 3) it’s popular with the full spectrum of buyers – techs, players, and retail shops. If you don’t have the Knob Puller next to your register as an impulse buy, or on your website as a last-minute accessory, you’re missing out. And if you’re still using the wrap-and-yank pantyhose method, well… don’t forget your protective eyewear.

#3 – The Tremol-No Collection
There’s nothing we can say here that hasn’t already been conveyed in product reviews, YouTube videos, forums and discussion boards, and in the sound of countless players worldwide. The Tremol-No is an awesome, unique, works-as-advertised product that – similar to most of these top products – is only available through Allparts. If you haven’t taken all of 5 or 10 minutes to learn about the Tremol-No and what it does for your sound, then make it a priority to visit www.tremol-no.com for all the details including video demonstrations and compatibility charts. We also want to give a quick shout out to the Tremol-No’s inventor, Kevan, who is a regular on our Facebook page.

#2 – The Electrosocket
We detect… a pattern here. Unique products that solve problems sell well. Be part of that pattern by offering these products to your customers, because the need for them will never go away. Case in point – the Electrosocket – a unique, problem-solving, top-selling product over the past several years. As stubborn and true-to-spec as guitar enthusiasts can be, we’ve seen a shift from “authentic spec” to “realistic and functional” recently with many players adding Electrosockets to their otherwise cherry Telecasters.

And the best-selling part of 2010 is…

#1 – LT-1400-023 – The Bullet Guitar Jack Tightener
We saw this coming. The Bullet is the definitive show-stopper product because it combines all of the characteristics that make a product sell well: it works, it’s inexpensive, it’s simple and intuitive, it’s made in the USA, it’s portable, it fixes a problem, it won’t damage things, it’s an impulse buy, it’s gift-able, and it’s sellable and usable by everyone involved with guitars. Selling the Bullet to your customer may not make you rich, but it will garner their gratitude; they will remember the guitar shop and the helpful face that sold them a fantastic product, and will speak highly of you in their recommendations to others.

That’s the power of a truly excellent product in the hands of a smart business, and that’s why we hope you will stay tuned to the Allparts blog and Facebook page throughout 2012 – so you can experience the success of selling and using top-quality guitar and bass parts from Allparts.

TBF-PKP - Allparts Pink Paisley Telecaster Body

Hello friends!  We know you love new parts so we’ve brought quite a bit of them to you this time around – far too many to post the details on all of them.  Instead, we’ll provide a brief rundown of some of the more exciting and anticipated parts.  This is mostly a summation of the last several posts we’ve made announcing new parts – along with some additions.  The full lineup of new guitar, bass, and amplifier parts for 2012 can be found on Allparts’ New Products section.

Bodies

We’ve added three bodies to our regular inventory stock. The first is, at the time of this writing, already sold out. Take at look at TBF-PKP – our new pink paisley finished Telecaster body. Pretty cool, yes? Also available are two new unfinished Ash bodies – SBAO-NPO and TBAO-NPO – “neck pocket only” non-routed Stratocaster and Telecaster bodies.

While we have your attention on bodies, go check out our 2nd quality guitar and bass bodies while they last.

Various Knobs

In the same way our shotgun shell guitar knobs saw big sales upon release last year, our new heavy knurl barrel knobs have been seeing the same success since we launched them 2 months ago. Check out part MK-0112 on Allparts.com to see what’s got everyone so excited. The knobs have even gained favor with the relic and aging community, as seen in our recent post featuring these reliced heavy knurl knobs.

We also have new silver and gold glitter dice knobs and chrome and gold Marshall knobs. Find them all in our New Products listing.

Amp Hardware

http://www.allparts.com/Amp-Hardware-s/423.htm

We had previously announced the a new Amp Hardware product line (with product code prefix AH) and we’ve already added to it.  Along with jack plates and speaker plates for your amp we’ve added several parts, such as caster wheel sets and assorted cabinet piping, to help you restore your amp to the look and functionality it had before you started hauling it around in trucks.  You’ll want to keep an eye on this category of parts because we will be adding to it steadily throughout the year.

Bone Nuts and Saddles

Many additions have been made to our already large selection of bone nuts and saddles. They include slotted nuts for Precision Bass and Jazz Bass, BN-2350 and BN-2351 respectively, and a new part number suffixes -0U0 denoting unbleached bone and -00Y for resonant plastic. The result is a wide selection of various bone and synthetic materials for most popular Fender and Gibson guitars. Check out our new products section to see these in once place.

Bridge Pins

We wrote about this a while back too, but we’ve added more pins since then. Head to the New Parts section on allparts.com to see them all.

Auricap and Black Bee Capacitors

http://www.allparts.com/Auricap

http://www.allparts.com/Black-Bee-Oil-Paper-Capacitors-s/462.htm

We wrote about Auricaps and Black Bees a few months ago too, so we hope you’ve been following the Allparts Blog to get the scoop on parts as soon as they hit the shelves. Check out these stellar new products on Allparts.com today.

Black Bee Oil Paper Capacitors

Tools

Allparts is now your stop for must-have tools that you’ll wonder how you got along without. These include our already popular knob puller tool, tapered reamer, soldering station, digital calipers, and more. Visit our list of new parts to find a tool that will make your life easier.

New Bulk Parts

You ask and we listen. In response to customer feedback, we’ve created bulk packs for more of your favorite and frequently-purchased guitar and bass parts. New additions include bulk packs of 4-way Oak Grigsby switches, push-pull pots, and more. Visit the new products section to see what’s… new!

Much More…

Like we said, there’s just too much to list. Head over to Allparts.com and check out the new parts list to see everything we didn’t mention – like new pickups, short Telecaster bridges, Epiphone and ES-335 wiring kits, bridges, Wilkinson-style trems, high-purity wire, screws, neck accessories, and a guitar case.