Antique Sunburst JF30 - Westerly Built... surprise!

[beetlebomb]

Howdy all,

Well I heard this was the place to talk Guild, so here I am!

I've got a unique "problem", if you can call it that. It's like this... if you ordered a Porsche with a manual transmission, would you be satisfied to show up and find an automatic??

Well I feel like that's what happened to me on a recent craigslist purchase. For a month or so I'd been corresponding with a gentleman about a JF30 jumbo that was exactly what I wanted. Sunburst, Westerly... gorgeous! Long story short, I made a mini vacation out of the ordeal because it was some distance away, and unfortunately I couldn't meet the seller due to our schedules, so it was waiting in the hotel when I got there.

I opened it up and.... it was an acoustic-electric. Now, many wouldn't see this as that bad of a thing, but I literally had no idea that it had a pickup in it. Otherwise it's an awesome guitar, but I don't need a pickup and I don't want a pickup. Please, reference the aforementioned analogy.

So anyways, I'm curious if the A/E's fetch more money than a straight acoustic. I paid $750, and it's a '97 I believe. A few dings here and there but otherwise solid. I'd like to sell it and get exactly what I want. (it was a big purchase for me... recent college grad)

Anyways, here's the hail mary.... anyone out there with a Westerly built antique sunburst JF30 6-string with NO pickup who wants to trade straight-up??

Thanks guys!

 

[killdeer43]

Can't help you with the trade but I can say WELCOME, bb.
Someone will be along shortly, and more than likely lend a hand. LTG is just that kind of forum. :wink:

I will say that you have every right to be happy with the Guild you get, and you don't need to settle for less.

Take care and stay in tune,
Joe

 

[fronobulax]

Welcome.

My observation has been that an A/E will cost/sell for more than the equivalent A. How much will vary based upon a lot of factors but between $50 and $200 gives you a place to start. Also note the pricelist for new Guilds and you can do the subtraction yourself.

I have to ask why this is a problem? Is there some aspect of being an A/E that is visible or noticeable? Something that effects aesthetics or playing? If you can't tell or explain it then why not keep the A/E?

I don't really like your analogy but that is because a) a lot of people cannot even drive a manual transmission and b) there really is a performance and technique difference between the types of transmissions in certain driving conditions.

I will offer up, as an alternative analogy, a multi-function machine that prints, scans and copies. I buy it, open it up and find out that it faxes, too. So what? I don't have to use the fax or even hook up the phone line. I paid a price I thought was fair and if I ever want the fax, it is there at no extra cost.

 

[beetlebomb]

Thanks for the replies guys,

I know that 99% of people wouldn't be upset with "accidentally" getting an acoustic-electric, but I'm in that remaining 1%.

It's hard to qualify exactly why I don't want a pickup, but somehow, in my mind, it just cheapens the guitar. It's like having built in DSP on your amp when you could go out and buy a tube-screamer. I just really had my heart set on a classic acoustic guitar, you know, one that was timeless. Call it purity. I don't expect everyone to understand, but it's just the fact of the matter.

It's like a prehensile tale... if I don't need it, I don't want it!

 

[killdeer43]

I'm with you!
Contrary to what the song says, don't love the one you're with....be with the one you love! :wink:

Joe

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

I know where you're coming from bugbomb.

When I was looking for a B-50 bass I didn't want a pick-up in it either. Luckily I found one!

I wanted the aesthetic of a purely acoustical instrument!

Besides, if I need to an electric/acoustic bass I could play my B-500!

 

[Christopher Cozad]

It's like a prehensile tale... if I don't need it, I don't want it!

:lol: Hi, beetlebomb.

I have visions of folks walking around with little 'fanny packs' in which their unwanted, unused tails are coiled 'just in case'.

Owning a Guild guitar is such a subjective experience for most of us, and we want things to be 'just so'. Your surprise (and dismay) at discovering that your dream classic is other than how you imagined it is perfectly understood.

Pragmatism sets in, now, as a hard lesson is taught in the used instrument purchasing arena. Veterans are caught by surprise now and again on both sides of the transaction as they either fail to specify sufficient details or ask the right questions.

Just some thoughts: It has already been pointed out that your guitar can potentially garner a higher market price in it's current condition. If you don't find someone to trade with, you might wish to put your guitar up for sale and 'start over'. From what I have witnessed, if this forum is good at anything (and it is great at a lot of things) there will be plenty of enabling support when it comes to buying another guitar.

Christopher

 

[beetlebomb]

See... I knew I wasn't crazy!

If I don't find a trader (what are the odds, honestly?!) then I will definitely resell and rebuy. Don't get me wrong, in the meantime, it's an awesome guitar and it's definitely justified my decision to 'go Guild or go home'.

And FWIW, I'd be open to trading for a similar guitar; though I admit I'm partial to the sunburst and a Jumbo or large body is a must.

Wow, great forum to boot!

 

[fronobulax]

Thanks for the replies guys,

I know that 99% of people wouldn't be upset with "accidentally" getting an acoustic-electric, but I'm in that remaining 1%.

It's hard to qualify exactly why I don't want a pickup, but somehow, in my mind, it just cheapens the guitar. It's like having built in DSP on your amp when you could go out and buy a tube-screamer. I just really had my heart set on a classic acoustic guitar, you know, one that was timeless. Call it purity. I don't expect everyone to understand, but it's just the fact of the matter.

It's like a prehensile tale... if I don't need it, I don't want it!

OK. I was trying to apply an element of rationality to what is clearly not a rational preference. Been there, done that. I hope you are able to trade and "upgrade". :wink:

 

[jcwu]

I have two Guilds that each have two pickups installed (soundboard transducer and soundhole magnetic) that I'd love to trade! Oh wait, you *don't* want pickups...

I can see where you're coming from - when a guitar comes with a pickup, unless it's the pickup I wanted, I consider it a con, not a pro. Especially if it's an undersaddle element. There's just something about getting a purely acoustic guitar, and being the one who decides what pickup to put in it, or whether to put one in at all or not.

Just curious - what model pickup is on that guitar? Did it have one of those huge preamps mounted into the side of the guitar?

 

[beetlebomb]

I'm not sure what p/u it is actually, and fortunately it just has two knobs, one "double-tiered" and one single knob. Good question

fronobulax, I'm not sure how someone's personal preference can be irrational. As I see it, there are three unncessary holes drilled into my guitar and a plastic box with wires running around the inside. Would you put a p/u in a Stradivarius and say it's just as good, or better than without?

But that's neither here nor there...

 

[fronobulax]

fronobulax, I'm not sure how someone's personal preference can be irrational. As I see it, there are three unncessary holes drilled into my guitar and a plastic box with wires running around the inside. Would you put a p/u in a Stradivarius and say it's just as good, or better than without?

irrational as in unexplained by economics or statistics.

Actually I wish you had mentioned that there were mounted controls when I first asked how you could tell - as a bassist I don't know all the models - because I am in violent agreement that if you don't want visible knobs you shouldn't have to have them. The D-25 and the B-50 in my sig both have PUs but you don't know that unless you look at the end peg. In the absence of a more direct answer I assumed you were also dealing with a similar installation.

 

[Scratch]

Beetlebomb,

I love old Mustangs. If I bought what I thought to be a classic and found out the dude before me installed power windows, I'd be upset; others might not be and I would not be able to rationalize their logic.

You have your own standards. We all do and wish you the best. It's gonna work out somehow.

Best to you...

 

[evenkeel]

Welcome to LTG land.

Logic and guitars are seldom a good marriage. If you do not like the p/u in the guitar no amount of logic is ever going to change how you feel about it, nor should it. I've bought and sold bunches of guitars over the years. Some you just don't bond with no matter how good they are. Better to find a new home for the Jumbo and move on. Good luck.

 

[adorshki]

See... I knew I wasn't crazy!

Well, I don't know if I'd go that far..you're a musician, you're here, and crazy people by definition don't know they're crazy.... :lol: Welcome aboard!
I get it about the "purity" thing. It's an important thing to me about my D25. Not wanting to modify it even with an invisible high quality pickup was a contributing factor in the decision to purchase the F65ce. The Richie Havens also came with a pickup which was desirable to me.
I should point out that these were both "factory" pickups, and even though some folks here want to reserve the ability to decide what pickup to use, to me the "stock" originality is very important. Even if I VERY rarely use them. I like knowin' they're there, in those 2 guitars.

I don't find a trader (what are the odds, honestly?!) then I will definitely resell and rebuy. Don't get me wrong, in the meantime, it's an awesome guitar and it's definitely justified my decision to 'go Guild or go home'.
Wow, great forum to boot!

Yeah, what the heck, you got a nice piece to play around with in the meantime that may actually be more valuable to a buyer than it is to you. Usually it's the other way around. :shock:

 

[GuildFS4612CE]

Sounds like his pickup/preamp is the standard factory Fishman AGP1 or 2 that Guild used in the late 80's early 90's. The concentric control is usually bass/treble and the other one is volume. UST.

The gentleman didn't say what year it was.

If for whatever reason he is not happy, he can easily sell it and replace it with something he likes better.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[capnjuan]

Hi beetlebomb and welcome to LTG. If I'd gone a long way out of my way to buy the guitar, I might have been as crestfallen as you to find out it had something I wasn't expecting. AE guitars, at least when new, sell at a premium to the A guitars ... it has something to do with the mfr wanting to be paid back for the cost of the gadget. Sometimes that premiums stays with the guitar; even used, it sells at a premium to the A versions ... but sometimes not.

The only other comment I have is that pickups tend to have a limited technical life; there's always something out there that everyone's just raving about; version 4 ... the update ... the improved model ... so-and-so just came out with a new one blah blah blah ... I mean if I thought I'd paid a premium for something that I didn't want that, in a few years, would be out of date and would cost me several hundred bucks to get replaced, well ... that would make a difference. Also, another consideration is that if you weren't expecting an AE model and don't have an amplifier, then to get the full - but not expected - benefit of the deal, you have to go out of pocket the same several hundred dollars to get an amp ... otherwise the p/u has no value. Eh ... I guess not every cloud has a silver lining ... :? :wink: Welcome and good luck with your guitar.