High prices of the new Guilds; maybe should shop around.

[adorshki]

Gotta tell you Al....I'm lovin' those open backs.....tuners Al, tuners :lol: :lol: The smaller heads on mine just feel great and not crowded...very smooth and accurate....a pleasure actually..... Steffan

HI Steff: It's just that I don't wanna have to worry about havin' to clean 'em. Only that and no other reason. If it was the still the '50s I would have been one of those guys to put the clear vinyl covers over my cloth seats, and then an indian blanket so I wouldn't stick to those seat covers! :lol:

 

[Ridgemont]

Gotta tell you Al....I'm lovin' those open backs.....tuners Al, tuners :lol: :lol: The smaller heads on mine just feel great and not crowded...very smooth and accurate....a pleasure actually..... Steffan

HI Steff: It's just that I don't wanna have to worry about havin' to clean 'em. Only that and no other reason. If it was the still the '50s I would have been one of those guys to put the clear vinyl covers over my cloth seats, and then an indian blanket so I wouldn't stick to those seat covers! :lol:

Keep the plastic covers on the lamp shades too heh? :lol:

 

[West R Lee]

Well I'm sure this will raise some eyebrows and probably really tick some of the New Hartford fans off, but that is not my intention, but merely to state the facts.

As some of you may know, others may not, I had knee surgery a few weeks ago. The finest orthopedic surgeon in 150 mile radius is without a doubt a man that practices in Shreveport, Louisiana. Today I made the hour and 15 minute drive over for a checkup. Mrs. West made the trip with me so I promised her a nice lunch and a trip to one of her favorite stores, but told her I'd like to find a Guild dealer in Shreveport and check out the new Guilds.

After having called about 6 dealers in Shreveport/Bossier while in the waiting room, we found 1 that had been identified as the only Guild dealer in the city. Not a big city, but no small community either as it is home to 375,000 residents. Not Dallas, not Houston, but a good sized town.

We arrived at Shreveport Music and I looked to my right to see the same Guild banner that Bing was so good to donate to the Arlington Convention. And there next to the banner rested exactly 1 GAD JF30. So I aksked the store owner where all the Guilds were and told him that he had indentified himself as a Guild dealer. He replied, "Yes sir, I can order one for you." I then asked why he didn't keep any in stock? And he told me that he hadn't since Fender bought Guild in '95. Funny, that's the same answer I got from Harvey Blankenstein who had been the only Guild dealer in my home town.........until 1995.

I sensed that the dealer in Shreveport was treading lightly, suspecting I was a Guild fan. I then told him that I had a collection of Westerlys. At that point, the young man behind the counter asked what I had, and when I told him, he lit up. Especially when I mentioned the D55. The owner went on to tell me in a very diplomatic way....."Sir, I could pay a bunch of money and get several in here to hang on the wall, but to be honest, at the price point they are now, folks look on the other wall and see a Taylor or a Martin for about the same price and that's all she wrote. They just don't sell."

Pretty sad I thought. But after my discussion with Harvey several years ago, and now with this man, it makes me wonder if there's not more to it than that. Who knows? To be fair, this man today was a bit put out with Martin. He smiled and asked who's picture was on the guitar on the wall....a Martin? I looked over, sort of turned my head sideways and asked....Abe Lincoln (but he didn't have a beard)? He grinned and told me Martin makes all of the dealers buy them.....the picture is C.F. Martin Sr. . He said it had hung in the store since he bought the guitar and that he'd had it for sale at his cost for a year.....he couldn't give it away.......it was ugly :shock: . Apparently, manufacturers have been known to make some pretty outrageous demands of dealers.......I got the sense that was the case with Guild, combined with the new pricing and relative obscurity, especially in this economy......they just ain't sellin'.

West

 

[taabru45]

HI Steff: It's just that I don't wanna have to worry about havin' to clean 'em. Only that and no other reason. If it was the still the '50s I would have been one of those guys to put the clear vinyl covers over my cloth seats, and then an indian blanket so I wouldn't stick to those seat covers! :lol:

Clean em??? Man .......maybe I could get a woman to come over a couple of times a week to do that....lets see....'woman wanted twice a week to clean out my gears.....' nope....they just wouldn't understand..... :lol: :lol: Steffan

 

[Ridgemont]

[quote="West R Lee":tn5psof7]
.. I do believe that some of the very best Guild guitars were built in Westerly AFTER Fender took over..West

I remember the first time I "saw" you say that..I knew my D25 was pretty special even for a Guild, and I felt so validated! :lol: I have to admit I suspect that WAS Guild's "golden age" even though I have no experience with a Tacoma or New Hartford. I stand by my hope that the New Hartfords will prove to be every bit as good if not better than those Westerlys (even though those open tuners are already a minus to me), because then I can relax knowing I can still buy a new Guild to raise that will be worth the effort..

Well I'll tell ya what I base that on Al. One of the guys that worked for several years at Westerly has told me that when Fender took Guild over, they implemented a bunch of quality control that had not previously been in place at Westerly. And the couple of post Fender Westerlys I've got are just impeccable. Nothing wrong with my pre Fender Westerlys, but the later ones are just gorgeous.

West[/quote:tn5psof7]


Well I hate to poke at the hornets nest some more but.... First off I sure hope you are right about this. I now have 2 late '90s Westerly Guilds and yes, in terms of construction they are pretty good. Both Treem and Dadaist can attest to my F30 being in tip top shape both in tone and construction. Now my D25 is an example of a lag in QC towards the end of Westerly. Construction wise, it is flawless. No checking issues, solid build, good frets and so on. But it has no more saddle and the truss rod is maxed out. If I want lower action, I can do two things: 1 shave the bridge or 2 get a neck reset. Now I bought this guitar used, but there is no evidence of mistreatment based on it condition so I have a hard time believing the bad neck is due to some type of abuse. I can only point my finger to the factory in that it could have been green wood, improper break angle at bridge, or some other issue that would cause it to need a reset 13 years later. How many of you are contemplating a neck reset on a 13 year old guitar...not many I bet. The tone is the only reason I refuse to part with it and is why I am saving for a complete overhaul. I am glad West and others have had their guitars for 30 years and have not needed a reset, but that does not mean that all of us have been so fortunate. Now I am not saying one is better that the other, heck, for all I know, every single NH Guild will need a reset in 13 years. All I am saying is that Westerly was not perfect either and my guitar is a good example of that.

 

[valleyguy]

......they just ain't sellin'.

West

Yep, clearly Fender has taken the high margin, low volume economic road for the new Guilds. Who knows, it may work for them in the long run when the economy turns up. In the meantime it elevates the status of the Guild name.

I'm telling you, now's the time to buy those used Guilds, low prices due to the economy, which will only appreciate as the economy moves up and the Guild name moves up in stature.......GAS...

 

[West R Lee]

......they just ain't sellin'.

West

Yep, clearly Fender has taken the high margin, low volume economic road for the new Guilds. Who knows, it may work for them in the long run when the economy turns up. In the meantime it elevates the status of the Guild name.

I'm telling you, now's the time to buy those used Guilds, low prices due to the economy, which will only appreciate as the economy moves up and the Guild name moves up in stature.......GAS...

I couldn't agree more. The problem is finding them anymore. It used to be fairly easy when there were a few hundred LTG members, but now we've got 3000 dedicated Guild watchers and I sense they're beginning to get pretty well picked over.

West

 

[twocorgis]

Well I hate to poke at the hornets nest some more but.... First off I sure hope you are right about this. I now have 2 late '90s Westerly Guilds and yes, in terms of construction they are pretty good. Both Treem and Dadaist can attest to my F30 being in tip top shape both in tone and construction. Now my D25 is an example of a lag in QC towards the end of Westerly. Construction wise, it is flawless. No checking issues, solid build, good frets and so on. But it has no more saddle and the truss rod is maxed out. If I want lower action, I can do two things: 1 shave the bridge or 2 get a neck reset. Now I bought this guitar used, but there is no evidence of mistreatment based on it condition so I have a hard time believing the bad neck is due to some type of abuse. I can only point my finger to the factory in that it could have been green wood, improper break angle at bridge, or some other issue that would cause it to need a reset 13 years later. How many of you are contemplating a neck reset on a 13 year old guitar...not many I bet. The tone is the only reason I refuse to part with it and is why I am saving for a complete overhaul. I am glad West and others have had their guitars for 30 years and have not needed a reset, but that does not mean that all of us have been so fortunate. Now I am not saying one is better that the other, heck, for all I know, every single NH Guild will need a reset in 13 years. All I am saying is that Westerly was not perfect either and my guitar is a good example of that.

I can certainly relate. My '73 D50 I think has had neck problems since the get go after finding out that it had a neck reset (and not a very good one at that) before I bought it "new" in '76. I was too young, too stupid, and having too much fun playing it that I didn't notice. Hopefully all this time in Nashville will pay off and the guitar will finally be the way it should have been to start with.

My F50R seems fine, and is really an awesome guitar too. Nice low action, and plenty of saddle left. The best of my Westerlys.

My D25-12 had a neck reset before i bought it, and my guy said they did a good job. There were also two top cracks that were very well repaired. It's a great player now, and sounds huge! And it sure is fetching in Tobacco Burst

My B4 and Blues 90 seem just fine, but goes to show even Westerlys aren't perfect.

I think good Guilds can come from anywhere, really. Haven't tried a Corona yet, either. 8)

 

[West R Lee]

Certainly good, and bad Guilds could come from any of the Guild facilities...they have and they will, we just all have our favorites. :wink:

West

 

[Ridgemont]

Well I hate to poke at the hornets nest some more but.... First off I sure hope you are right about this. I now have 2 late '90s Westerly Guilds and yes, in terms of construction they are pretty good. Both Treem and Dadaist can attest to my F30 being in tip top shape both in tone and construction. Now my D25 is an example of a lag in QC towards the end of Westerly. Construction wise, it is flawless. No checking issues, solid build, good frets and so on. But it has no more saddle and the truss rod is maxed out. If I want lower action, I can do two things: 1 shave the bridge or 2 get a neck reset. Now I bought this guitar used, but there is no evidence of mistreatment based on it condition so I have a hard time believing the bad neck is due to some type of abuse. I can only point my finger to the factory in that it could have been green wood, improper break angle at bridge, or some other issue that would cause it to need a reset 13 years later. How many of you are contemplating a neck reset on a 13 year old guitar...not many I bet. The tone is the only reason I refuse to part with it and is why I am saving for a complete overhaul. I am glad West and others have had their guitars for 30 years and have not needed a reset, but that does not mean that all of us have been so fortunate. Now I am not saying one is better that the other, heck, for all I know, every single NH Guild will need a reset in 13 years. All I am saying is that Westerly was not perfect either and my guitar is a good example of that.

I can certainly relate. My '73 D50 I think has had neck problems since the get go after finding out that it had a neck reset (and not a very good one at that) before I bought it "new" in '76. I was too young, too stupid, and having too much fun playing it that I didn't notice. Hopefully all this time in Nashville will pay off and the guitar will finally be the way it should have been to start with.

My F50R seems fine, and is really an awesome guitar too. Nice low action, and plenty of saddle left. The best of my Westerlys.

My D25-12 had a neck reset before i bought it, and my guy said they did a good job. There were also two top cracks that were very well repaired. It's a great player now, and sounds huge! And it sure is fetching in Tobacco Burst

My B4 and Blues 90 seem just fine, but goes to show even Westerlys aren't perfect.

I think good Guilds can come from anywhere, really. Haven't tried a Corona yet, either. 8)

I just wanted to use my D25 as an example to prove my point that not everybody is perfect. While I just got my F30 a few days ago, it is a completely different story. I just put on a bone saddle and had it tweaked a bit for better playability. I have to say I have not seen a guitar with more saddle than this. Tons of it left and a straight neck to go along with it. Good construction all around.

 

[adorshki]

If it was the still the '50s I would have been one of those guys to put the clear vinyl covers over my cloth seats, and then an indian blanket so I wouldn't stick to those seat covers! :lol:

Keep the plastic covers on the lamp shades too heh? :lol:

Oh Yeah! Forgot about those! Savin' em for when I actually get a house! :lol:

 

[adorshki]

Now my D25 is an example of a lag in QC towards the end of Westerly. Construction wise, it is flawless. No checking issues, solid build, good frets and so on. But it has no more saddle and the truss rod is maxed out. If I want lower action, I can do two things: 1 shave the bridge or 2 get a neck reset. Now I bought this guitar used, but there is no evidence of mistreatment based on it condition so I have a hard time believing the bad neck is due to some type of abuse. I can only point my finger to the factory in that it could have been green wood, improper break angle at bridge, or some other issue that would cause it to need a reset 13 years later. How many of you are contemplating a neck reset on a 13 year old guitar...not many I bet. The tone is the only reason I refuse to part with it and is why I am saving for a complete overhaul. All I am saying is that Westerly was not perfect either and my guitar is a good example of that.

I'm gonna stick my neck out come to West's defense: I don't remember him saying Fender era Westerlys are universally flawless, only that some of the best Guilds ever made were Fender-era Westerlys.
It's a nit-pick, but a neck could get whacked by being stuck in the case with a loose truss and over-tensioned heavy gauge strings for 5 years and look good because it spent all that time in a case. It's just another possibility which you'll probably never be able to figure out. It's one of the reasons I like to buy new, I'll always know exactly what the guitar's history is. Your primary point is valid: a few turkeys made it out of Westerly, no doubt.

 

[adorshki]

While I just got my F30 a few days ago, it is a completely different story. I just put on a bone saddle and had it tweaked a bit for better playability. I have to say I have not seen a guitar with more saddle than this. Tons of it left and a straight neck to go along with it. Good construction all around.

Must have been the same bunch that built my D25.

 

[twocorgis]

I think good Guilds can come from anywhere, really. Haven't tried a Corona yet, either. 8)

I just wanted to use my D25 as an example to prove my point that not everybody is perfect.

Absolutely agreed. Guitars don't know where they were born. My Tacoma F40 is nice, too.

While I just got my F30 a few days ago, it is a completely different story. I just put on a bone saddle and had it tweaked a bit for better playability. I have to say I have not seen a guitar with more saddle than this. Tons of it left and a straight neck to go along with it. Good construction all around.

The JF65 that I sold to SG has more saddle than any guitar I've ever seen. I don't know if there becomes a point where you have too much break angle. But SG can lower the action a lot if he needs to for a long time. 8)

 

[adorshki]

I think good Guilds can come from anywhere, really. Haven't tried a Corona yet, either. 8)

I've said it before, my Corona D40 appears to have every bit the build qualiity of the 2 Westerlys. Maybe something'll show up as it ages but right now my only complaints are that the neck's a little thick, and it don't sustain as well as the archbacks.

 

[Ridgemont]

and it don't sustain as well as the archbacks.

Ha, neither does my archback.

 

[devellis]

Just an observation about open-back tuners. I have a 1945 Martin tenor guitar with the original open-backs. The neck needed a reset, there were some braces coming a bit loose, and the frets needed some leveling. The pickguard is showing a little puckering, too. But those original tuners still work flawlessly and I never clean them. By the way, all the structural issues have been addressed and it's saaa-weeeet now.

 

[chazmo]

Just an observation about open-back tuners. I have a 1945 Martin tenor guitar with the original open-backs. The neck needed a reset, there were some braces coming a bit loose, and the frets needed some leveling. The pickguard is showing a little puckering, too. But those original tuners still work flawlessly and I never clean them. By the way, all the structural issues have been addressed and it's saaa-weeeet now.

Bob, I think we need some pictures.

 

[twocorgis]

Just an observation about open-back tuners. I have a 1945 Martin tenor guitar with the original open-backs. The neck needed a reset, there were some braces coming a bit loose, and the frets needed some leveling. The pickguard is showing a little puckering, too. But those original tuners still work flawlessly and I never clean them. By the way, all the structural issues have been addressed and it's saaa-weeeet now.

Bob, I think we need some pictures.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

Are non-Guild pictures allowed here?

 

[Dr. Spivey]

Just an observation about open-back tuners. I have a 1945 Martin tenor guitar with the original open-backs. The neck needed a reset, there were some braces coming a bit loose, and the frets needed some leveling. The pickguard is showing a little puckering, too. But those original tuners still work flawlessly and I never clean them. By the way, all the structural issues have been addressed and it's saaa-weeeet now.

Bob, I think we need some pictures.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

Are non-Guild pictures allowed here?

This guitar would pre-date the manufacture of Guild. It is exempt under sub section 15, paragraph 8, of the forum rules. :roll: