Spectrum13
Junior Member
I'm thinking this might be a usefull thead to posted here rather than the repair section. Back in March 1975 I purchased what I believed to be the best Jumbo made in the USA. Before the internet all I knew about flat tops was Kalamazoo could not make anything like they did before 1968 and Martins were a hit or miss. I went to high school in Hoboken and the old factory was on the same corner as my bus stop plus I knew they made great guitars. My F50R smelled great, played great and sounded great from day one. While my friends would always compaired it to Martins and Gibsons which at the time were the benchmark was ?, but I was cool with it, I loved my guitar. Flash foward 34 years. It matured into something like a Steinway, a super loud, beautiful and even toned jumbo in a different class than your Norlin era Gibsons or even your "normal" Martins. The top stayed flat, the bridge steadfast but the pickguard needed to be removed and reglued due to shrinking and years began to pass.
Now we come to my "discovery" of this forum and the reason for this post. First, Hans was able to send me a replacement TRC. Very cool, as the original cracked. However the major issue was the neck set. I was down to using 10's rather than 13's and delaying major surgery when someone mentioned, lifetime warranty. Why not take a shot? I called Fender service but they were less than eager to call a reset after 34 years a "defect". I was refered to the list of local authorised repair contractors and already knew and used the services of Mark Biniasz at "the Guitar Bar" in Marietta Georgia. While Mark was less than optomistic on the warranty, I left him my Guild as well as an Archtop. Also mention here was the Kent Armstrong's Johnny Smith floaters were either made in the USA or Korea with a a big difference between the two so I asked Mark do the switch. I thought my 903C sounded tinny. You people were right on, it's night and day! A big fat tone from that little humbucker, but back to the F50.
After speaking with Fender, Mark had to certify, I was the original owner (keep your receipts), the guitar was not abused (taken very good care of) and supply a ton of photos inside and out then await their decision. Mark said when Fender purchased Guild they agreed to warranty back to 1980 but there was some room for exceptions. So the good news is... they agreed to do the repair, sent Mark the paperwork and my F50's going to Nashville!
If you guys are interested, I will post the "how long it took and how it came out" followup. Thanks for restoring my faith in Guild and their lifetime warranty. I had no idea this was a option until I dropped into this forum.
Now we come to my "discovery" of this forum and the reason for this post. First, Hans was able to send me a replacement TRC. Very cool, as the original cracked. However the major issue was the neck set. I was down to using 10's rather than 13's and delaying major surgery when someone mentioned, lifetime warranty. Why not take a shot? I called Fender service but they were less than eager to call a reset after 34 years a "defect". I was refered to the list of local authorised repair contractors and already knew and used the services of Mark Biniasz at "the Guitar Bar" in Marietta Georgia. While Mark was less than optomistic on the warranty, I left him my Guild as well as an Archtop. Also mention here was the Kent Armstrong's Johnny Smith floaters were either made in the USA or Korea with a a big difference between the two so I asked Mark do the switch. I thought my 903C sounded tinny. You people were right on, it's night and day! A big fat tone from that little humbucker, but back to the F50.
After speaking with Fender, Mark had to certify, I was the original owner (keep your receipts), the guitar was not abused (taken very good care of) and supply a ton of photos inside and out then await their decision. Mark said when Fender purchased Guild they agreed to warranty back to 1980 but there was some room for exceptions. So the good news is... they agreed to do the repair, sent Mark the paperwork and my F50's going to Nashville!
If you guys are interested, I will post the "how long it took and how it came out" followup. Thanks for restoring my faith in Guild and their lifetime warranty. I had no idea this was a option until I dropped into this forum.
