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Guitar firm winning battle of the brands(Harrogate Advertiser Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) IN THE acoustic guitar world, brands like Fender and Gibson have been renowned for decades but now guitars manufactured for a Wetherby business are hiting the right notes with top musicians. Not only has the Tanglewood Guitar Company Ltd been thanked by Leeds singing sensation Corrine Bailey Rae in the cover notes of her debut CD but its electric guitars are also played by the likes of Ash, Muse and Def Leppard. And according to an industry survey of musical instrument retailers, Tanglewood's acoustic guitars are now the best sellers in Britain. More than 300 different models of six-string acoustic, electric and bass guitars are made in China for Tanglewood, which is based on the Thorp Arch Estate, to its own specification and sold through music retailers worldwide. The business, which has 13 staff, sells 50,000 Tanglewood brand acoustic guitars a year worldwide and outsells brands such as Fender and Gibson. Tanglewood guitars managing director, Tony Flatt, who founded the business in Leeds in 1999, says: "Traditionally well-known US guitar brands, such as Fender and Gibson, dominate the UK acoustic guitar market so it is great for a British brand to hold top place in this sales survey. "Coming top in this survey also strengthens our credibility because music retailers make recommendations to buyers - whether they are learners or top class - so you cannot better that recognition. "The MI Pro survey is very influential and I am expecting it to help us to sell more guitars in countries such as Germany, Holland and the Netherlands." Tanglewood Guitars Company Ltd, which has a sister UK business, European Music Company Ltd, in Biggin Hill, handling exports, sells through 32 distribution companies globally. Tony adds: "Guitars are part of the leisure market and go in and out of fashion. "Sales fell in the early 1990s when there was a craze in computer games such as Nintendo but now there is a new generation of guitar bands, they are very popular again." Copyright 2007 Johnston Press Plc. Source: Financial Times Information Limited |