Gower Guitar - Nashville Musical Instrument Co.
Melissa
since 1955. It is a G-100 model. It says it was made by the
Nashville Musical Instrument Co.
My father had the guitar for over 30 years. He bought it in a pawn
shop in Nashville, so I have no idea how old the guitar is. The sound
and tone of the guitar is absolutely incredible. But I can't seem to
find any information about the company. It is obviously out of
business, but I would like to know the history or frankly, any
information on the company.
Thanks so much for your help,
Melissa
JOHNPEARSE
John Pearse.
Peter MacDonald
>Wasn't Gower a precursor to Grammer Guitars?
>John Pearse.
According to the Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars, "Grammer succeeded
R.G.&G. Musical Instrument Company ... in the early 1960s in
Nashville, Tennessee. The company was very active in the Nashville
area, and many local performers used these acoustic guitars in the
1960s".
Sorry, no mention of whether one of the Gs in R.G.&G. was Gower.
Peter
George Gollin
I am the original owner of a Gower 6-string,
built in 1972. The Gowers lived near Nashville,
where they owned some sort of small recording studio.
Perhaps as a money-making hobby, Mr. and Mrs. Gower
built guitars (perhaps a half-dozen per year?) which
they sold through Grayson's Music, an instrument dealer
in New York. It's certainly possible that the Gowers
sold their instruments through other dealers too.
I don't know how Grayson's made initial contact with
the Gowers. I do recall that there would be a small amount
of written correspondance concerning what style of guitar
would be built (for example, a Martin D-45 imitation), and
when it might be ready to be shipped.
My guitar says "Gower Guitar established 1955" on the
head, but came without serial number or other identifying
information inside the guitar body. It has rosewood sides
and back, a mahogany neck, spruce top, ebony fingerboard.
The tuning machines should have been of better quality, and
I had them replaced last year. The pick guard is
layered, with a black surface attached to a slightly larger
white piece. The inlay in the fingerboard is simple: mother-
of-pearl dots in the usual places, but the purfling (the
striped binding where the back and sound board join to the
sides is pretty cool: it's 14 layers thick on the sound board-
to-sides edge. There is white binding along the edges of the
fingerboard. The quality of the (visible) craftsmanship is
excellent. I've never taken an inspection mirror to the guitar
when changing strings, so I can't comment about the bracing.
Mine's a nice instrument, with an unusually narrow neck
and good tone. In 1972 it cost me $300, which was the
"street price" for a Martin D-18. It's a much nicer guitar
than a D-18, and I've always been happy with it. I finally
had some maintenance done on it last year to adjust the
action and neck, and it is easier to play, as a result.
A luthier in Champaign, IL who knew of their guitars
told me that Mr. Gower had died a few years ago.
George Gollin, g-go...@uiuc.edu
3/30/2002
"Peter MacDonald" <pjm...@insightbb.com> wrote in message
news:v58aaus873ps5l7n6...@4ax.com...
