Palmer Guitars: Open to Suggestion

Palmer Guitars USA and Prolok brands are bound by a few common threads: their quality, value, sheer variety of products — and the flexibility to continue innovating. The company says that in-house R&D, close factory partnerships, and a fast-paced production cycle have allowed both Palmer and Prolok to turn on a dime as consumer preferences change.

Sold through independent dealers throughout the United States, the Palmer Guitar line (www.palmerguitarsusa.com) is also one of the most popular, best-selling guitar brands in Latin America. Known for its competitive prices, and loaded with features, the line covers some serious ground in the guitar segment—ranging from classical and classical electrics to acoustics, acoustic-electrics, acoustic basses, electric guitars and basses, and mandolins. Palmer’s top-selling PC14 Marquis Series student guitars, available in five fractional sizes, have been called one of the best-sounding and easiest-playing student guitars on the market.

In November, Palmer became a sponsor of the national non-profit Guitars In The Classroom program, where its guitars are being used by teachers learning to teach every subject through making music with students and are “experiencing exceptional results,” according to GITC Executive Director Jessica Baron.

Earlier this year, Palmer unveiled a range of handcrafted Artist Series Indonesia electric guitars and basses that have earned endorsements from artists including guitarist A.J. Niilo (Joss Stone, Shakira, Taylor Dayne). Palmer also offers a line of strings for acoustic, classical, electric and bass guitars, as well as several models of capos and accessories including picks, maintenance kits, and straps.

Based on a review of customer service records and user comments, Palmer has also recently extended its warranty to a Limited Lifetime Warranty. Meanwhile, both brands appear to track closely to the wants and needs of the marketplace. MAP prices for Palmer guitars range from $99 to $499, squarely covering the average price point of a guitar sold in the U.S.—$353, as of 2010.

Marketed under the tagline “The Solid Solution,” Prolok (www.prolok-usa.com) is known for their diversity of products and designs that appeal to discerning buyers.  Prolok’s best-selling category, newly reinforced by improved tooling and design upgrades, is its selection of stands. The range covers boom mic stands to stackable round-base mic stands, guitar stands, keyboard stands, music stands, and lighting and speaker stands.

Bags and cases are also a key category for Prolok, which offers soft gig bags in six series for guitar and two series for keyboard. Identifiable by their bold trim colors in stylish designs, Prolok’s bags feature a variety of padding thicknesses and a vast assortment of pockets and compartments for iPods, headphones, and accessories. On its Jupiter series, an accessory compartment unzips to become a backpack. In hard cases, Prolok offers ABS and wood cases for guitar, ATA-style keyboard cases, DJ cases, and ABS rack cases. A complete line of cables is backed by a lifetime warranty, features, velcro cable ties and bar-coding for efficient inventory management. The cables’ four-color header cards are designed to make them instantly recognizable to consumers.  Completing the Prolok line are several guitar tuners and a slate of new products scheduled for introduction at the winter NAMM show

To showcase its latest product releases in the run-up to the winter NAMM show, Palmer is updating its catalog and website to coincide with its new Facebook page, Facebook.com/palmerguitars. To assist dealers in their own web marketing efforts, both Palmer and Prolok have made high-resolution images and ready-made content available retailers. In one of several measures to help minimize dealer freight costs and maintain competitive pricing, Palmer offers pre-packed color assortments of several best-selling guitars, allowing dealers to order a variety of colors in a master carton — thus minimizing labor costs of assembling mixed shipments from separate cartons. All Palmer guitars products are available in the U.S. from several distributors including Harris Teller, Tamarkin Music, Southland Music Distributors, Dillingham Marketing, and Tropical Music North America.

Above all, Palmer and Prolok brands are supported by personalized service. The company has stated: “Being accessible to customers remains a critical component in building confidence in our brands and the company behind them.”