Hey LTGers.
I'm happy to say that the GSR F-40 finally came in today!
Here's my pretty brief review of it:
UPS dropped the package off at about noon. I was weary of opening it right away, so I let it sit for a good 7 hours or so to acclimate to its new environment.
Opening the case revealed several things: Guild shipped this guitar with a hand-tooled leather strap (which I totally forgot to take a picture of), a Planet Waves humidifier, the typical Fender spray and wipe pack, and the pickguard, which can be installed later, if wanted. I personally like the pickguard-less look.
Anyways, visually, the guitar is pretty stunning:
-The back and sides are Cocobolo (as well as the headstock, or headcap... whatever they call it). The top is Carpathian Spruce, which is a very pure honey color with some dark grain lines within it. Action and setup were very good straight out of the box, with a tiny bit more relief than I personally like, but action was low and smooth all the way around. No buzzing to be found at all.
-Saddle height (and therefore string break angle) is very liberal, which most assuredly contributes to its sound, which I'll describe shortly.
-The bridge pins are called 'Parisian Eye' style bridge pins. They are made of bone and have a gold ring around a MOP (Mother of Pearl) inlay circle. The saddle is also made of a hefty piece of bone. Saddle size seems to be in line with what Tacoma started doing back in 2007 or so, with it being a slightly thicker saddle than the Westerly Guilds of yore.
-In line with some of the new CT Guilds, the GSR F-40 has a thin, 'half width' abalone rosette ring. I refer to it as 'half-width' because its about half the width of a Tacoma or Westerly Guild's. Also, the body is bound in ivoroid binding which is a nice, slighty off-white color. Nitro finish is very good with just a small amount of thickness on the side of the fretboard after it meets the body. The guitar smells like fresh wood and resembles the smell of my former Tacoma F-50R very closely.
Now on to the important part: The sound.
The guitar is classified as a Grand Orchestra body styled guitar with a slightly narrow top bout and a 16" lower bout. The guitar's sound is complex and really immersive. It came loaded with medium strings, I believe. Coupled with the great string break angle, the guitar is loud and powerful when it needs to be. At lower volumes, it retains its great overall balance and has a very rich, mellow, and woody tone. She sustains wonderfully and keeps the low end smooth throughout the sustain.
While strumming certainly sounds sweet and rich, fingerpicking really seems to bring out the tonal complexity of this wood combination and results in some spectacularly rich sounds. The guitar has quite a strong low end (which I attribute to both the medium strings and great string break angle) and the highs are clear as a bell without ever showing a hint of harshness. The midrange is woody, textured, and just exactly where it needs to be. The guitar has more mids than a D-55, lets say, but still retains great string to string balance and richness.
Its hard to fully describe a guitar's sound in words, as we all know, so hopefully I'll be able to put up a good recording of it very soon.
Here are some pics in my Picasa Album: http://picasaweb.google.com/jazzman...CKOi077BiM_s5QE#slideshow/5418972517397461970
Edit: Added more impressions of the sound of the guitar.
I'm happy to say that the GSR F-40 finally came in today!
Here's my pretty brief review of it:
UPS dropped the package off at about noon. I was weary of opening it right away, so I let it sit for a good 7 hours or so to acclimate to its new environment.
Opening the case revealed several things: Guild shipped this guitar with a hand-tooled leather strap (which I totally forgot to take a picture of), a Planet Waves humidifier, the typical Fender spray and wipe pack, and the pickguard, which can be installed later, if wanted. I personally like the pickguard-less look.
Anyways, visually, the guitar is pretty stunning:
-The back and sides are Cocobolo (as well as the headstock, or headcap... whatever they call it). The top is Carpathian Spruce, which is a very pure honey color with some dark grain lines within it. Action and setup were very good straight out of the box, with a tiny bit more relief than I personally like, but action was low and smooth all the way around. No buzzing to be found at all.
-Saddle height (and therefore string break angle) is very liberal, which most assuredly contributes to its sound, which I'll describe shortly.
-The bridge pins are called 'Parisian Eye' style bridge pins. They are made of bone and have a gold ring around a MOP (Mother of Pearl) inlay circle. The saddle is also made of a hefty piece of bone. Saddle size seems to be in line with what Tacoma started doing back in 2007 or so, with it being a slightly thicker saddle than the Westerly Guilds of yore.
-In line with some of the new CT Guilds, the GSR F-40 has a thin, 'half width' abalone rosette ring. I refer to it as 'half-width' because its about half the width of a Tacoma or Westerly Guild's. Also, the body is bound in ivoroid binding which is a nice, slighty off-white color. Nitro finish is very good with just a small amount of thickness on the side of the fretboard after it meets the body. The guitar smells like fresh wood and resembles the smell of my former Tacoma F-50R very closely.
Now on to the important part: The sound.
The guitar is classified as a Grand Orchestra body styled guitar with a slightly narrow top bout and a 16" lower bout. The guitar's sound is complex and really immersive. It came loaded with medium strings, I believe. Coupled with the great string break angle, the guitar is loud and powerful when it needs to be. At lower volumes, it retains its great overall balance and has a very rich, mellow, and woody tone. She sustains wonderfully and keeps the low end smooth throughout the sustain.
While strumming certainly sounds sweet and rich, fingerpicking really seems to bring out the tonal complexity of this wood combination and results in some spectacularly rich sounds. The guitar has quite a strong low end (which I attribute to both the medium strings and great string break angle) and the highs are clear as a bell without ever showing a hint of harshness. The midrange is woody, textured, and just exactly where it needs to be. The guitar has more mids than a D-55, lets say, but still retains great string to string balance and richness.
Its hard to fully describe a guitar's sound in words, as we all know, so hopefully I'll be able to put up a good recording of it very soon.
Here are some pics in my Picasa Album: http://picasaweb.google.com/jazzman...CKOi077BiM_s5QE#slideshow/5418972517397461970
Edit: Added more impressions of the sound of the guitar.
