This is my Guild number 20 and my first f-hole archtop Guild. It's a 59, like me.
I bought it from a gentleman in Denmark. The seller described it as a great guitar, but he also warned me it was not exactly in mint condition. He was right about both.
It has wear marks, scars and loose binding. There are finish cracks everywhere, except for the back of the neck where there is very little finish left.
I have never liked artificially aged "relics", but this is very different. This is a guitar that has been played for more than 50 years, and it shows, but it has been taken good care of and still has lots of music left in it.
Playability was a nice surprise. After light fret dressing, bridge adjustment and new strings, it was easily set up to play with perfect action and good intonation.
And the sound! I have noticed people here saying nice things about these old guitars and the Franz pickups, but I had never played anything like it before and did not really know what to expect.
Now I understand what you guys were talking about!
beinhard