F250CE Deluxe

[Rusty69]

Hey guys newbie here. I'm 53 and been playing guitar since I was a kid. I've built a couple of my own electric guitars and do most of my own repairs and set ups etc. For Christmas this year my parents, who are in their 80's, bought me my first Guild. A F250CE Deluxe. Out of the box the action was very high. The saddle was way too high and tons of relief. So after some truss rod adjusting and a lot of saddle sanding and very little nut work, I believe really like this guitar. Maybe even love it. It's still a little stiff but that could be all in my head because I've been playing an electric almost exclusively for a long time. This is the first acoustic I've played in a while. I'm thinking I might try to lower the action a little more but...... I strung it up with Ernie ball earthwoods and didn't care for them at all so I swapped them out with DAddario xs phosphor bronze 12-53 and it made a huge difference. I'm really liking these strings. I used to play DR but thought I'd experiment a little. The tone of this guitar is way better than I'd expect from a guitar in this price range. I absolutely love the neck and honestly it's a thing of beauty! I've always wanted a Guild but never owned one until now and I'm thinking maybe I shoulda bought one years ago. Plugged in to my marshall AS50R it sounds amazing!! I think I'm going to fall in love with this guitar.

 

[kitniyatran]

Folks will be along soon asking for pictures. In the meantime the D'Addario Phosphor Bronze seem to be very popular with Guild players, though I like GHS Silk and Bronze myself

 

[kitniyatran]

Also, yes, you should have bought a Guild years ago!

 

[davismanLV]

Hey Rusty, welcome. As has been mentioned, we love photos. It's pretty easy to post. Just drag and drop from your device. I'd love to see it. Happy New Year as well!!

 

[GGJaguar]

Welcome to LTG! The Westerly 200-series models are pretty well regarded here. Congrats!

 

[Rusty69]

Thanks for the replies guys! Heres some pics. The last pic I had to throw in and show you my #1, Maggie Mae. I named it after my dog that passed a few years ago. I built it last year around Christmas time and its been my #1 since. Maybe for a later post in the appropriate place. I still love the Guild but I cant quit thinking about the "stiff" feeling. Maybe "slightly firm" would be more correct if that makes sense. I’m really afraid that I'm going to get It too low. I don't want buzz obviously but I'm thinking I'm going to have to try. Anyone who knows me knows I tend to overthink and I love working on things. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I cant help it. I also realize the "lower my strings" topic has been discussed a million times so I'm trying to avoid it but it's just enough to bother me. Like I said earlier it's probably just me. Any way here they are.

 

[Rusty69]

Also….. Happy New Year!!

 

[richardp69]

I've got one that looks a lot like yours. A lot of sound/value for the money for sure.

 

[Rayk]

Nice congrats !

 

[SFIV1967]

Those seem to be nice guitars! Congrats and welcome to LTG!




Ralf

 

[Rusty69]

Those seem to be nice guitars! Congrats and welcome to LTG!




Ralf

I seen that video. He inspired me to learn whatever it is he’s playing.

 

[kitniyatran]

Considered stepping down one gauge in your string size? Could make a big difference or there may be another brand that might be a little slinkier. And by the way, yes welcome to LTG and Happy New Year

 

[Rusty69]

Considered stepping down one gauge in your string size? Could make a big difference or there may be another brand that might be a little slinkier. And by the way, yes welcome to LTG and Happy New Year

Yeah I've considered lighter strings but I've never played any lighter on an acoustic than what I have on it. Honestly I'm starting to get used to it. I think it's probably that I've been playing electric so long it just feels different to me. I guarantee that if I handed this guitar to one of you guys youd look at me like I had a horn growing outta my head. It plays really good the way it is. Believe I'll probably leave it alone for now. The more I play it the better it feels to me. I might take a hair off the saddle next time I change strings, or go a gauge lighter if I feel it still needs it. I cant get over how good this thing sounds! If Guild's middle of the road is this nice I can only imagine what a high end Guild would be like. I'm sold to say the least!

 

[kitniyatran]

I happened to think while I was looking at another thread, if the strings feel a little stiff, switching to Flat wounds might solve that; you could stay with the same gauge and probably get a looser feel, and they last a lot longer

 

[Rusty69]

Never played flat wounds before. I'm always up for trying something new, I'll check em out. Thanks!

 

[kitniyatran]

Thomastik-Infelds and Pyramids are imported from Europe and they're kind of expensive, D'Adarrio has some flat wounds that are more expensive than roundwound but less expensive than the European ones.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Flat wounds on a flat top! Yeah, maybe not the best idea!

 

[kitniyatran]

You never know until you try!

 

[Rusty69]

Ok guys another question. Actually just looking for opinions and I'm sure this has been discussed a million times. I'm thinking I may change bridge pins. So opinions on Bone? Tusq? etc..... Or does it really matter? Also slotted pins or slotted bridge? 5deg or 3deg? Or does it matter? It now has 1.5deg plastic pins. I own a 3deg reamer. If I go 5 deg I'll have to buy a reamer but 3 deg unslotted pins in bone/tusq don't seem to exist. So you see my dilemma. Am I overthinking this?

 

[kitniyatran]

At least a couple of times I've had the plastic Bridge pins break and at least one time the ball went flying across the room somewhere. So if they have plastic pins I automatically change them to bone right away. More because of the plastic pins breaking than for sound.