Gordon-Smith Guitars

Gordon-Smith Guitars is a manufacturer of hand-crafted electric guitars originally based in Partington near Manchester, England. They are the UK's longest-established electric guitar manufacturer and have been called the English equivalent to Gibson on that basis.

The company was founded in 1979 and is named after its founders, Gordon Whitham and John Smith. In April 2015 Gordon-Smith Guitars was acquired by British-based Auden Guitars and production moved to their workshop in Higham Ferrers, Northampton.



The company aims to produce quality guitars for working musicians and say that they make "guitars, not furniture".

Gordon-Smith Guitars are among the highest-rated manufacturers, according to the Ethical Consumer's table for use of sustainable woods in guitar construction.

Range
The Gordon-Smith range includes models clearly inspired by classic guitars such as the Gibson Les Paul Junior, Gibson Les Paul, Gibson Flying V, Gibson Explorer, Fender Stratocaster and Fender Telecaster. The company also produces original designs such as the Galaxy. All models currently use a brass nut, compared to the plastic nut used by many other manufacturers.

The company offers many options for customising guitars, including a choice of hardware and finishes, single- or double-cutaway and left- or right-handed guitars. Twelve-string and double-necked versions of the range are also available.

Gordon-Smith produce their own pickups in-house.

Their humbucker pickups are coil-tapped as standard to give players access to a broader palette of sounds.

Players
The company does not offer any celebrity endorsements. Guitarists known to have used Gordon-Smith guitars include:
 * Mick Abrahams of Jethro Tull and Blodwyn Pig
 * Aaron Barrett of Reel Big Fish and The Forces of Evil
 * Billy Bragg
 * Nicky Garratt of U.K. Subs
 * Dee Dee Ramone of Ramones
 * Kloot Per W of Polyphonic Size and De Lama's
 * Pete Shelley of The Buzzcocks
 * John Squire of The Stone Roses
 * Midge Ure of Thin Lizzy and Ultravox
 * Members of The Futureheads
 * Nicke Andersson of The Hellacopters
 * Larry Hibbitt of Hundred Reasons
 * Adam Pearson and Mike Varjak of The Sisters Of Mercy
 * Frankie Stubbs and Dickie Hammond of Leatherface
 * Members of Snuff
 * James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers
 * Dave Wolfenden of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
 * Paul Kostabi of Psychotica
 * Bill McQueen of China Drum
 * William McGonagle of Hell Is For Heroes
 * JW of Hookworms
 * John Otway
 * Phillip Foxley