# RIP Sparrow.



## Petey D (Sep 8, 2011)

My favorite local guitar dealer gave me the sad news yesterday, The Sparrow Guitar Co is in Receivership. Too bad, I thought they offered a unique, quality product, with great backing. My Rat Rod and Big Daddy are orphans now. RIP Sparrow, you'll be missed....


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Too bad, I would have liked one of the Streetlight series.

I had a couple of Rat Rods, they were a good bang for the buck.

You'd think that they'd have sold a pile of these guitars,
especially at the lower price point they were going for.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I played a few, and though I kinda dig the vibe, they were all a little on the heavy side. That's not to say they were bad in other ways. There are some good import semi and full hollowbodies, these among them. Sorry to see any guitar company fold.

Peace, Mooh.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Ya, especially a Canadian one.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

sulphur said:


> Ya, especially a Canadian one.


It's especially a venture that someone like me would like to do. Having an income stream from something other than my main business would be pretty sweet. Too bad it didn't work out for Sparrow.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

*sparrow*

I never care much for them, only because the two i picked up, weighed a ton..i didnt even play them just put them back and wonder what was making these guitars so heavy.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I tried three Rat Rods, the first was a buddies that dropped it off for me to try. That one was a ton of bricks!

The firsts one I picked up had the bigsby, but was lighter than my buddies and they were consecutively numbered.
The second one I got was a gold top without the bigsby and was lighter yet than the other two.
They were all pretty heavy though.


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## Petey D (Sep 8, 2011)

Yeah, they're heavy weights. My Rat Rod tips the scales at a tad over nine pounds. The Big Daddy's a feather weight in comparison.


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## Built4Speed (Aug 31, 2009)

I'm sad to see a Canadian company take a dive, but I can't say it entirely surprises me. The sparrow line seemed aimed at a niche market at best with the flames and pinstriping. Even if you took an undecorated model, it wasn't exactly a cheap guitar, at least based on what I saw. I priced out one of the hollowbodies once. When it was all said and done, it wasn't much more just to buy a Gretsch.

Also, in the end, they were still just a korean made guitar, albeit one with better appointments, and I'm assuming, better setup once received by Sparrow. But most people who want an asian made guitar want it dirt cheap, with the intent of modding it and setting it up themselves. On top of that, if you did buy a Sparrow, you better be sure you were keeping it for the long haul, as I imagine the resale value would be terrible.

Just my $0.02. I really did like their concept and ideas, and really hoped they'd find an audience. It's sad to see the company fail.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

The RRs that I bought were $700-800. Neither had the pinstriping.
Not dirt cheap, but less than I've paid for other offshore guitars.

I can see what you mean about a niche market, as they were kind of aesthetically angled at the rockabilly crowd.

The Streetlight series, that were supposed to be built inhouse were running around a grand.


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## Petey D (Sep 8, 2011)

The niche market point isn't lost on me either, but speaking as the niche, I had really hoped to see them succeed. For a while there it looked like they were here to stay, as they had some pretty serious endorsees. The punk and rockabilly angle wasn't the only one though, the underlying theme was high parts and production you'd expect from a high end instrument for an affordable price. I.E. The features and quality of a 6120 for the price of a 5120 if you're talking about the Hollow Bodies. Link to Anchor Guitars is anyone's interested in the remaining inventory. There are quite a few available of all varieties including the made entirely in house Street Lights (SG & LP Jrs.) Anchor Guitar Studios | studio + sales + repairs + social


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## The Lullaby (Dec 8, 2010)

they out priced themselves,which is what i think about eastwood's stuff to,korean made mostly,nice stuff,but too pricey.
personally it seems like asian guitars shouldn't cost what they do.

godin is often cheaper,have beautiful quality "everything" and made here/u.s.a/here.


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## SHodge (May 21, 2018)

Petey D said:


> My favorite local guitar dealer gave me the sad news yesterday, The Sparrow Guitar Co is in Receivership. Too bad, I thought they offered a unique, quality product, with great backing. My Rat Rod and Big Daddy are orphans now. RIP Sparrow, you'll be missed....


Any idea what this is?


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## BSTheTech (Sep 30, 2015)

Never heard of them.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Looks like something Sparrow Guitars would have done.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

BSTheTech said:


> Never heard of them.


Me neither but you would think something named "Sparrow" would be pretty light, not heavy, wouldn't you?


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

I remember picking up a couple of them , the semi-hollow must have weight 12 lbs , I was afraid to pick up there solid body...and quite pricey , I am surprise they lasted this long, Guitars made overseas and then shipped to Canada to be finished did not seem like a good idea to me...


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Sparrow Guitar Company


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

Bought in 2014 from Anchor Guitars who picked up the Sparrow inventory. Anchor may be gone too, not sure. Never had any issue with the weight on this, just don't care much for the pickups. Great feeling guitar though and plays nice.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Built4Speed said:


> I'm sad to see a Canadian company take a dive, but I can't say it entirely surprises me. The sparrow line seemed aimed at a niche market at best with the flames and pinstriping. Even if you took an undecorated model, it wasn't exactly a cheap guitar, at least based on what I saw. I priced out one of the hollowbodies once. When it was all said and done, it wasn't much more just to buy a Gretsch.
> 
> Also, in the end, they were still just a korean made guitar, albeit one with better appointments, and I'm assuming, better setup once received by Sparrow. But most people who want an asian made guitar want it dirt cheap, with the intent of modding it and setting it up themselves. On top of that, if you did buy a Sparrow, you better be sure you were keeping it for the long haul, as I imagine the resale value would be terrible.
> 
> Just my $0.02. I really did like their concept and ideas, and really hoped they'd find an audience. It's sad to see the company fail.


I actually would be that niche market. Though I am 41 I still play in a Punk band with rockabilly and surf influences. But they just weren't really a value compared to other gear out there. As you said, you can get pretty killer Electromatic series Gretsch's for less, and there's so many Tele options out there. I hadn't looked at them forever, and didn't know they were still making a go.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

The Lullaby said:


> they out priced themselves,which is what i think about eastwood's stuff to,korean made mostly,nice stuff,but too pricey.
> personally it seems like asian guitars shouldn't cost what they do.
> 
> godin is often cheaper,have beautiful quality "everything" and made here/u.s.a/here.


I will say Eastwood has made some good strides. I live near the warehouse, so I have gone down over the years to try out guitars. For how much they have improved the build quality, the prices have actually dropped on some items. Like their Univox Hi Flyer copy is pretty cool. They make some models that are extremely pricey as well, but I am just talking about some of their general stuff.

The problem I saw with the Sparrow stuff was that it wasn't really that much different than other options out there. There were all kinds of Tele and Hollowbody options. I have a Gretsch ProJet that I got for less than what their models had, and everything on it stock is really quite good. Eastwood specializes in remakes of specific guitars, and is doing well with it, so they are kind of a difference case.


*EDIT: I just noticed the original post is from 2012 and got bumped. That explains a lot hah, I thought they went under a long time ago. And they did.*


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

LanceT said:


> Bought in 2014 from Anchor Guitars who picked up the Sparrow inventory. Anchor may be gone too, not sure. Never had any issue with the weight on this, just don't care much for the pickups. Great feeling guitar though and plays nice.
> 
> View attachment 208569


that is a fancy pickguard


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