Wow, super gorgeous! Looks like a AAA top, and a beauty of a back to boot....
Yes it does and probably is, if the grading spec was the extreme consistency of grain/silking and color (minimal striping).
Looks like the top on my F65ce except the F65's whiter, barely ever seen any outdoor sun in its life.
Not sure if they actually used that term (AAA) at the time although they did by end of Westerly production, shown in the '01 price list.
In any case the "50"-and-up level guitars typically got their best (prettiest according to traditional grading customs) topwood.
Thank Willie Fritscher:
http://www.westerlyguildguitars.com/articles/woodselection.pdf
Thanks, Cougar. That top has the tightest grain I've ever encountered. Maybe that's why it's stayed flat?
Just dropped it off at an area luthier for a good going over.
Hmm, never thought of that, guess it's possible but I suspect more likely simply the that it was never over-stressed, probably always strung with lights, maybe even silks, maybe even kept tuned down, and probably extremely well-built to start.
Main reason I think that is that if it was
only the grain tightness I think I'd we'd see less issues of bellying on vintage Guilds, and from what I cab recall seeing D50's and F50's are just as susceptible as lesser models.
Also grading standards are largely cosmetic although there is a school of thought that tighter grain indicates wood that might have better acoustic properties (resonance).
I have no doubt that the case shown is original to that guitar. But would the extra space seen around the body be reflective of the difference between an F50 body and the GF50? Just curious about that. Or did Guild have a case that would fit a GF50 perfectly back in 1987? Maybe it isn't the right case? Or......??
Interesting question.
They should have fit inside F212/312 cases and
assume those got specifically-sized cases, they built enough to justify it..
But those were gone by '85, only 12's on the '86-88 price lists were F-50 bodies, so wouldn't surprise me if they just used those cases instead of trying to buy just enough cases to cover unknown demand, and if they didn't have any left-over F212 cases.
It does look like it's a perfect extra inch wider.