Guild news on the new factory.

[jazzmang]

Here's a news update from Guild's site:

Link!

BTW, the full Guild line (D and F series) are now up to date on the website. All the new models are shown and described. There are some pretty cool changes on some models...

It seems like Guild finally acknowledges that the F-50 and F-50R deserve to have an abalone rosette! :wink:
Although admittedly I'd like to see the return of the JF-55 (or F-55) moniker for continuity's sake.

 

[William63]

As a fan of abalone rosettes I am glad to see the return of those. However, I have mixed feelings about the slightly redesigned pickguard. I am not sure I like it.

 

[jazzmang]

...However, I have mixed feelings about the slightly redesigned pickguard. I am not sure I like it.

Yeah I'm a bit 'on the fence' about it as well. To be honest, I think it goes with the burst finishes really nicely. Funny enough, seeing it on a natural finish doesnt really sit with me very well.

Additionally, the open back tuners don't bother me as much, but the size and shape of the tuning pegs do. I like the Grover shape. Heck, I'd love to see some Imperials on this thing! Go broke or go home! :lol:

Anyways, I've got a Burst CT D-55 coming to me in the pipeline, so hopefully I'll be able to comment on it as soon as it gets here.

 

[chazmo]

As a fan of abalone rosettes I am glad to see the return of those. However, I have mixed feelings about the slightly redesigned pickguard. I am not sure I like it.

Yeah, that's unfortunate. Not a big fan of the new pickguard.

So, Willy Porter performed for the dealer summit. Cool. But I wonder how he feels about the fate of the Contemporary series, especially his own signature model??

Looks like the new G-shield faceplate has the Guild tent lower down and less cramped at the crown than the Tacoma G-shields.

 

[jazzmang]

Looks like the new G-shield faceplate has the Guild tent lower down and less cramped at the crown than the Tacoma G-shields.

I know! Isn't it great? No more ridiculously high logos!

BTW props to FMIC for giving a respectful nod to Westerly's heritage in that article.

 

[chazmo]

I wonder if the spec sheets (which have clearly been updated on the web site) are accurate. The nut on the F-512 is listed as 1-13/16". My Tacoma is 1/16 wider (1-7/8").

Finish is listed as nitrocellulose. I wonder if we will get any closure on what was used in Tacoma.

Oh, and I forgot... I wonder if the New Hartford models have two truss rods or one?

 

[jazzmang]

Finish is listed as nitrocellulose. I wonder if we will get any closure on what was used in Tacoma.

I know Guild's website has always left something to be desired, but they were usually pretty good about the specs and it always listed NCL as the finish type. Looking at the Tacoma guitars I've got here, I think they're NCL, but of course I could be mistaken.

I wonder if the New Hartford models have two truss rods or one?

The CT 12 stringers appear to just have 1 dual-action truss rod, but the neck is also reinforced with graphite. Hmmm. I'd like to see this in action!

Also noteworthy is that the D-55 has a dual action truss rod now.

 

[chazmo]

Finish is listed as nitrocellulose. I wonder if we will get any closure on what was used in Tacoma.

I know Guild's website has always left something to be desired, but they were usually pretty good about the specs and it always listed NCL as the finish type. Looking at the Tacoma guitars I've got here, I think they're NCL, but of course I could be mistaken.

I wonder if the New Hartford models have two truss rods or one?

The CT 12 stringers appear to just have 1 dual-action truss rod, but the neck is also reinforced with graphite. Hmmm. I'd like to see this in action!

Also noteworthy is that the D-55 has a dual action truss rod now.

Jazz, there was some contrary evidence regarding gloss finishes from Tacoma which I'm not certain about. I'm not sure I agree that the specs were accurate. In any case, we can get a definitive answer from New Hartford for sure.

So, how do you know about the truss rod? Where are you getting that from? Did I miss that in the specs? I do know that Tacoma started using the one rod flanked by two carbon (non-adjustable) rods. I was wondering if New Hartford was going to continue that.

 

[jazzmang]

The truss rod info is on the site under specs for the F-512, etc...

Also, one of the reasons I think Tacoma stuck with NCL is that I had a D-55 with crazing, which usually doesn't happen with poly, if thats what people think they used.

 

[ac1dt3st]

...However, I have mixed feelings about the slightly redesigned pickguard. I am not sure I like it.

Yeah I'm a bit 'on the fence' about it as well. To be honest, I think it goes with the burst finishes really nicely. Funny enough, seeing it on a natural finish doesnt really sit with me very well.

hmmm... guess i feel the opposite way on this one. i kind of like the new design, and i think it looks good on the natural finish, but for some reason it kind of bugs me on the vintage burst. i don't think it meshes well with the burst pattern...

 

[Walter Broes]

Love the new pickguards, tuners, don't like the abalone rosette!!

 

[steverok]

Along with the new pickguard shape, I am also sorry to see that they are not using mini-Grovers on the 12-strings anymore. Those just looked right to me, now these little tulip tuners look "incorrect". Well I'm sure they sound great ...

 

[jazzmang]

Love the new pickguards, tuners, don't like the abalone rosette!!

Really? I always thought that the F-50 was a bit of an odd duck with the fretboard bling and G-shield but no abalone rosette.

Is it just me or does the soundhole seem a bit smaller than it was before?

 

[Walter Broes]

Really? I always thought that the F-50 was a bit of an odd duck with the fretboard bling and G-shield but no abalone rosette.

I'm a sucker for the 50's styled Guilds, I'd even love it if Guild went back to the Gibson-esque headstock if they could, and I generally don't like abalone on guitars....

 

[chazmo]

The truss rod info is on the site under specs for the F-512, etc...

Also, one of the reasons I think Tacoma stuck with NCL is that I had a D-55 with crazing, which usually doesn't happen with poly, if thats what people think they used.

Ah, I see it in the "unique features" part of the specs now, jazzy.

Well, I thought it was nitro too until someone posted recently about the unlikely use of nitro in Corona... Also, that posted said that he'd had to sand down one of his guitars recently and the finish was tacky, not brittle like nitro. Then the Tacoma facility came up and I read the Tacoma guitar brochure from a few years ago and they mentioned a UV-cured (polyurethane??) finish on their gloss products. Anyway, I remain unsure. You're right though; crazing is not something that happens with poly, I think.

 

[killdeer43]

I certainly wish them success and major prosperity at the new Guild factory, but FWIW and for my money, I'll stay in the market for Westerly Guilds. For one thing, I don't care for the 'tweaked' pickguards at all. No matter how long I stare at one, it just doesn't do it for me.

I appreciate the quality instruments that came from Westerly.

On the prowl for vintage and I don't need any bling,
Joe

 

[Pike]

To find out what finish is on a guitar, remove a tuner, put a dab of acetone on the finish area that the tuner covered. If it melts, its lacquer, if not, it's poly. Oh, and goes without saying, if you do this, be very careful not to get acetone anywhere else!

 

[jcwu]

To find out what finish is on a guitar, remove a tuner, put a dab of acetone on the finish area that the tuner covered. If it melts, its lacquer, if not, it's poly. Oh, and goes without saying, if you do this, be very careful not to get acetone anywhere else!

Unless you have a guitar that's poly on the neck and nitro on the body. Could happen!

 

[Paddlefoot]

I don't think I'd put acetone on it to test the finish. Lacquer thinner would be the ticket. I don't know if you guys caught it on the other posts but I checked that guitar that a repairman told me was poly and the label inside showed it was actually a Westerly guitar. I will do some more testing to see if it really is NCL as I would think it should be if it came from RI. Could be that repair guy was just in error as I was when I said the guitar was a Corona Guild. I thought it was later than it is. The finish that sanded sort of gummy was on a Tacoma D-55 and on a Corona X-150 single pu. That's what makes me think there might have been some experimenting with the finish in Corona. Of course there may have been some change to the finish from the hanger that caused those spots in the first place. Not a chemist so I can't say for sure.
As for the new CT Guilds I like everything I have seen so far. I like all the bling you can load on the top of the line models. I really want a nice F-50R. I think there is a place for the plainer models but if you are going to fancy it up, go all the way.

 

[killdeer43]

I think there is a place for the plainer models but if you are going to fancy it up, go all the way.

I can appreciate that, but I'm a plain, mostly-unfancy guy and I don't bling very well. Can't help it, it's just the way I am, and probably related to genetics. Thanks, Mom!

Joe