Framus launches Legacy acoustic guitars, starting out with Dreadnought, Grand Auditorium, Folk and Parlor models.
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This new line of acoustics is part of Warwick’s efforts to revive the Framus brand, which was once considered as the biggest guitar manufacturer in Europe.
The Framus brand had a good run building guitar’s in the 50s and 60s, they were doing so well that they were outproducing other guitar builders in Europe during the late ’60s. Although the company ended up filing for bankruptcy (said to be due to the influx of cheaper Japanese built-guitars), they were soon revived by Warwick. The brand has since been trying to make a comeback, producing electric guitars and various guitar parts.
Paul McCartney is one of the many popular artists that played an old Framus, the story goes that he swapped his trumpet for a Framus Zenith when he was just starting out. He used it to practice playing while singing, and it became the instrument where he wrote some of his earlier songs including “When I’m Sixty-Four”. This guitar is so important to him, he still keeps it in his studio.
The press release says, “Framus guitars were and are workhorses, companions and inspirations for many of the the biggest names in the music world: Elvis Presley with his Framus Tango and Riviera, John Lennon with the 12-string Hootenanny, David Bowie with his Texan E12, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Ray Davies and many, many more with different guitars from the seemingly endless variety of Framus guitars!”
Now the company is hoping to further revive the Framus brand’s legacy by releasing a new acoustic line. The Legacy will start off with four conventional acoustic guitar models: the big sized Grand Auditorium, the traditional Dreadnought, the mid-sized Folk shape and finally, the small and vintage style “Parlor” models.
Each of these four guitar shapes come with four different variants, making the total number of Framus Legacy acoustic guitars to be 16 in all. The Dreadnought, Folk and Grand Auditorium have the same four variants, two of which are solid mahogany top models that come in non-cutaway form, or pickup equipped cutaway body form. The other two follow the more conventional build that utilizes solid sitka spruce tops, also available in either cutaway or non-cutaway versions, with the cutaway one having built-in electronics.
There are also four Legacy Parlor models that are divided into the type of top used (solid mahogany or solid sitka pruce top) and whether electronics is installed or not. The electronics equipped parlor models does not have a cutaway, unlike the bigger legacy models.
The price range for the new Framus Legacy Series Acoustics starts at around $320 and goes up to around $480. The specifications and finish from model to model will vary, you can head over to Warwick for more information.
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