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MAY, 2013. NATURAL HYBRIDS ON THEIR WAY. After what seems like forever we can tell you that the natural flamed maple top Hybrids in production are now ready to ship. Due to the fact that we use solid figured maple caps instead of veneers, the task of sourcing highest quality figured maple is becoming more difficult at a time when the world's supply of superior figured maple is in rapid decline. This accounts for the major delay in our current run. Gaskell Guitars only uses the highest quality tonewoods in all our guitars, and we don't compromise by doing cheap veneers over the top of run-of-the-mill quality wood. We again apologize for the delay to those on the waitlist. This new run of Hybrids promises to be the most incredible guitars ever. For a $1000 guitar this is an absolute bargain. We have limited numbers. If you want one order now. We don't know if there will be any of this superior maple left for the next run. If not, natural flamed maple will either be withdrawn as a colour option on the Hybrid or the price of the guitar will go up in accordance with the costs of alternatively sourced maple.
MAY, 2013. KEVIN GASKELL INTERVIEWED ON SYDNEY RADIO. Check out the podcast of the live show broadcast 12/5/13 on Sydney radio Radio 2UE. (Hope you American and European folk can understand my Quasi-Aussie/Kiwi accent!) Podcast here: http://www.2ue.com.au/podcasts Click on "THE STIR WITH BRIAN CARLTON" It starts at 1:10:00.
APRIL, 2013. CHANGES TO THE ALLROUNDER. All production models (factory-made) of the Gaskell Allrounder will have single coil and rear humbucking pickup from now on. Since it's launch in 2011 it has become clear that there is not much point making a left handed Tele style guitar in the sub $1000 range as there is a still a plethora of poor-to-mediocre quality left handed Tele style guitars made by various brands including Fender that one can buy for the same money. A serious lefty guitarist isn't going to buy something like that anyway. Gaskell Guitars is not about making guitars you can already get. So we changed ours. Now it has TWO unique features: the body contours, and now more sounds thanks to the rear humbucker. You still get the classic "jingle jangle" of the Tele but it doesn't end there anymore. The Gaskell Allrounder is now truly an "all round" guitar, unique to Gaskell Guitars and unique to left handed guitarists. There will be no price change either. Any configuration of Allrounder is still available through Custom Shop.
MARCH, 2013. NEW MODELS. In and amongst everything else that is going on right now I want to let you all know that we are working on a Gaskell Superstrat guitar which will be available through Custom Shop to start with and will be ready by about mid 2013. We are calling it the "Eagle." 24 frets, DiMarzio pickups, Hipshot tremolo bridge, Sperzel locking tuners, CRL electronics, highest quality figured tops, and our own unique Strat-style body and headstock shapes. This is going to be the very best left handed Superstrat guitar in the world. Forget anyone else! (why would you even consider them?) The Gaskell Eagle will be the best left handed Superstrat guitar in the world. Designed by a lefty, for lefties only.
MARCH, 2013. FIGURED TOPS. With each passing year it is becoming more and more difficult to continue to source large quantities of quality figured maple. Like it or not, the world is losing much of its prized timber resources. Sadly, figured maple is becoming one of the casualties. We have started to notice this on recent production guitars and this is something we cannot resolve at the production guitar level. It's getting to be too hit-or-miss. As a result we are discontinuing all figured maple top options on our factory-made guitars, with the exception of the Firestarter Limited Edition, Rockitt, and Jazz (we have private stock of excellent flamed maple reserved for these models only.) We still have on hand and can still obtain high quality figured maple for Custom Shop builds. We can guarantee incredibly stunning maple tops and caps for all guitars made in Custom Shop. The best of the best.
FEBRUARY, 2013. ARRIVALS OF NEW STOCK. Our new year run of guitars is on it's way. Those with pre orders expect to hear from us very soon. We're not sure how fast Australian Customs is at this time so there are some variables to consider but we are almost there, people!
JANUARY, 2013. PRICES. Due to rising manufacturing costs and the rising cost of living in Australia we have been forced to put some of our prices up in 2013. (Sydney is the 7th most expensive city in the world, 50% more expensive than New York City, and Australia is for many things 2-5x more expensive than UK and Europe.) The price increase is only on our factory-made range and only some models. Our prices have always been wholesale prices anyway. Australia's cost of living has doubled in only the last 3 years. $100 today buys what would have cost $50 only 3 years ago. So no matter what, you are still saving. Our prices have not changed in over 5 years.
JANUARY, 2013! NEW YEAR! Happy New Year fellow lefty guitarists and bassists. 2013 is going to be a great year for lefties! We wish you all the best for 2013 and don't forget, if it is a left handed guitar you want, then the only way to go is with Gaskell Guitars! Please note. We have been on break for the last couple of weeks. Back on duty from 2 January! Talk to you then!
DECEMBER, 2012. How we send guitars. We send many guitars internationally from Australia and have been doing this successfully for over five years. There are a few ways to send things internationally and how we do it in the present we feel is important for you know. Firstly, the two most known international freight carriers are DHL and TNT. These are big corporations and there are a lot of behind-the-scenes activities that take place when using either of these companies. What happens during these services is invisible to the sender and to the receiver. The journey often has many waystops and transfers. Every stop is an interruption. Every stop requires manhandling of the goods. The more waystops and manhandling that takes place when delivering something internationally the more chances there are for things to go wrong. One runs the risk of encountering people whose knowledge (or care factor) of handling goods is low. DHL and TNT are companies that are focused on quantity and mass production. Secondly, before any goods depart Australia they may be inspected by people at the depot for the usual (drugs, bombs, contraband, etc) and this is done out of sight of the sender. Here there are possibilities of repacking blunders or mishandling of products resulting in damage happening before the goods have even started their journey! The same thing of course can happen upon arrival at the destination country by Customs staff. We have learned that you cannot trust these people to pay proper attention to packaging labels that say "FRAGILE", "Handle With Care" or "TOP LOAD ONLY", even though they are supposed to respect these notifications. Gaskell Guitars does not use DHL or TNT to send guitars internationally. We have learned the hard way. THIS IS HOW WE SEND GUITARS: We use an official agent who also does the final inspection and with whom we are always physically present when that it is done. We even handle the guitars ourselves rather than have someone else touch or handle them. Every single Gaskell guitar being sent overseas is personally delivered to the agent. We do not courier guitars to them. We do it all ourselves. One for one. We stay and watch every single guitar be inspected, attested and packed for the journey. Thirdly, we send our guitars by QANTAS Courier. This is not a "mass service" like DHL or TNT. It is usually a direct service, bypassing many of the waystops and extra manhandling steps that would otherwise happen if we used DHL or TNT. It is important to us that you receive your Gaskell guitar in perfect condition. We do not charge for the extra steps we take to ensure you delivery will be as risk free as possible. EVERY SINGLE GUITAR we send from Australia is sent in this way. International shipping is not cheap. We want you to be fully aware of what it is you get when you pay for shipping. To send one guitar takes up to TWO HOURS per guitar. If we send 4 or 5 guitars in one day (which we often do), that is a whole day gone, with nothing else done. That's the extra step we take to ensure you get your Gaskell guitar or bass, safe and sound!
DECEMBER, 2012 ARRIVAL OF NEW PRODUCTION RUN - IMPORTANT! Those waiting on Hybrid, Hybrid Deluxe, Rockitt and Firestarter Limited Edition, these were all meant to be in before Christmas but the current run of these models is not going to make this time frame. We spent a little more time on quality control than we factored in and there were some issues to sort out which have delayed the run overall. These are all excellent guitars, our minimum standard, and will not disappoint! With Christmas upon us the risk of damage or mishandling of incoming goods by the people at Sydney Ports and Australian Customs is much higher at this time due to some of those people's "I'd rather be elsewhere right now than doing my job" mindset as the "Christmas Spirit" consumes them. We do not want to put our guitars in harm's way. This very same situation in the past has led to damaged arrivals and the resultant "no responsibility" attitude of the culprits further complicates the matter. Hence, this new run is being worked to arrive after Christmas when freight and Customs crew have come back from their breaks and their brains can again register the meaning of a label that says "Fragile" or "Handle With Care."
2012 NEWS (PDF)
2011 NEWS (PDF)
2010 NEWS (PDF)
2009 NEWS (PDF)
2008 News (PDF)
2007 News (PDF)
2006 News (PDF)
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