Guild Guitars and Cordoba find new ownership under Yamaha

Yamaha Guitar Group is the new owner of the Córdoba Music Group, which includes the portfolios for Cordoba Guitars, Guild Guitars, and DeArmond Pickups, among other brands.

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In a statement shared with Guitar World, Yamaha Guitar Group President Joe Bentivenga expressed that “Córdoba Music Group’s brands, in particular their flagship Córdoba and Guild lines, are revered throughout the world,” adding that Yamaha would be “honoured” to take the brands to the next level.

The acquisition also includes Córdoba’s HumiCase, Savarez, and Aquila product lines.

The president also elaborated on what the acquisition meant for Yamaha, “This new venture is an instant complement to Yamaha’s own array of nylon fretted instruments and adds ukuleles and acoustic bass guitars to the mix, as well as a selection of pickups, cases, and strings,” while noting that the acquisition included “skilled US-based premium guitar manufacturing and processes”.

Founded by CEO Tim Miklaucic in 1997, Córdoba Music Group began by producing nylon-string guitars under the Cordoba Guitar line. In 2014, it acquired Guild Guitars, later expanding further with the subsequent acquisitions of case maker HumiCase and pickup maker DeArmond, and becoming the official distributor of Savarez and Aquila guitar strings in the US.

The Yamaha Revstar Standard was named Guitar.com’s Best Value Award winner for 2022, with a glowing recommendation that reads: “the Revstar Standard may look and play like a million bucks, but it will cost you far, far less”, The motorcycle design-inspired electric guitars were launched back in 2015 and received a update last year, featuring chambered bodies and an in-house acoustic design process .