British guitar brand Westfield is set to make a return to the instrument market, thanks to new owners Rotosound.
Westfield specialized in building entry-level instruments for UK players but its guitars found homes with a number of notable musicians along the way, including Jason Mraz and Amy Winehouse.
The firm was established in Scotland in 1989 by P&R Howard Music Ltd. and produced a large catalogue of instruments – most commonly affordable imitation models of Fender and Gibson guitars – before it ceased trading in 2013.
Now string-maker Rotosound has acquired Westfield and plans to restart production, sticking to acoustic guitar builds initially, with two new ranges of instruments: the entry-level Performer models and higher-spec Artist series.
Both lines will offer Parlour, Folk, Dreadnought, Grand Auditorium, Thinline Folk and Thinline Classical body shapes/sizes, but the specs will otherwise differ between the ranges.
The Performer Series models offer laminate spruce tops and GraphTech NuBone saddles and nuts, alongside optional Fishman Presys II preamps. The Artist range upgrades the tonewoods and electronics, offering solid spruce and cedar tops, Fishman’s Flex preamp system and a padded gigbag.
As you might expect, all of the instruments also come equipped with Rotosound’s Nexus strings.
Further details of the individual instruments are expected to arrive in the coming days, but prices will start at £199 (approx. $248, at the time of writing).
Westfield is not the only British brand to be revived in recent months. Back in October UK distributor JHS announced its intention to revive Watkins Electric Music (WEM) Rapier electric guitar design.
Keep an eye on Westfield Guitars' (new!) official site for more information.
