HeyMikey
Enlightened Member
New Guitar Duhhhh ?
I've been working with beecee (Bill) for a little while to buy a guitar from the herd he was in the process of downsizing. This particular one was of interest to me because I originally spotted it on Reverb last fall and came very close to buying it. However I ended up posting it on LTG because I had just settled on my F30 and couldn't swing two so soon, no matter how much I wanted it.
Luckily Neal was quick to the draw and scooped it up. However, he just couldn't quite bond with the neck and offered it up a month or so later. I almost bought it from Neal, but again painfully just couldn't swing it so soon. Luckily Bill was wise enough to buy it this time and keep it in the family. When I heard through the grapevine some months later that he was considering letting it go I decided that there was no way in hell I could pass it up a third time, so I reached out to him. We go back and forth. He's not sure. I'm not sure. Timing is bad. The weather is bad. Yadda, yadda, but in the end we do the deal.
Finally I get the shipping notice that it arrived to the UPS on Thursday. Woot! On Friday I go to pick it up. Stoked. Had it finally made its way to me? In my car "The long and winding road" is playing on the radio. Yep that's about right. It sure has been. At UPS the package looks undamaged, always a good sign. I take it home. Here is a Reverb photo of what it looks like. Pretty darn nice, right?
Well you can imagine my giddiness and surprise when I open the box, then
I pull out the Guild case (which just doesn't seem quite right), and then
I open it up to find this magnificent beauty of a guitar!
Yippie! Huh? What? Ok, wait a minute. It is a New Hartford Standard. Check. Natural top. Check.
However it seems to have put on a little bit of weight around the mid section.
Yep, I check the label and...
Was I disappointed? Yes. Was I surprised? A little, but not completely. You see, Bill had just gotten back from the hospital after a chainsaw mishap (he's fine) and clearly was not in his right state of mind when he packed it. Prescription pain killers? 18 year old single malt? A little bit of both? Who knows. After I thought to myself "Oh man, Bill is going to be really pissed" all I could do is laugh. You see, this is one of his favorite guitars. The only reason he agreed to sell the F30R to me is because he plays this one so much.
After a really good laugh on the phone about the Duhhhh move (his term and suggestion to post about it by the way) I don't think Bill was pleased when I offered (jokingly) that I was keeping the D-40. And I have to tell you, this D-40 is pretty special. It is everything a singer, songwriter could ever want in a guitar. The sound is pure, resonant, expressive to the touch and the notes just jump off the fretboard. I can't play anything over an OM size for any period of time of without pain, but I would gladly mainline Motrin for this one.
And now... both New Hardfords are back in transit going to their rightful stewards. Bill will be very happy to have his baby back. And I will be very happy, after a number of misses, to have the shoulda, coulda, woulda guitar finally in my hands. Fingers crossed.
Maybe a proper NGD will actually happen soon. Or, will it?
Edit: Oh and Bill, on the D-40, if you ever do let it go..."Dibs" :wink:
I've been working with beecee (Bill) for a little while to buy a guitar from the herd he was in the process of downsizing. This particular one was of interest to me because I originally spotted it on Reverb last fall and came very close to buying it. However I ended up posting it on LTG because I had just settled on my F30 and couldn't swing two so soon, no matter how much I wanted it.
Luckily Neal was quick to the draw and scooped it up. However, he just couldn't quite bond with the neck and offered it up a month or so later. I almost bought it from Neal, but again painfully just couldn't swing it so soon. Luckily Bill was wise enough to buy it this time and keep it in the family. When I heard through the grapevine some months later that he was considering letting it go I decided that there was no way in hell I could pass it up a third time, so I reached out to him. We go back and forth. He's not sure. I'm not sure. Timing is bad. The weather is bad. Yadda, yadda, but in the end we do the deal.
Finally I get the shipping notice that it arrived to the UPS on Thursday. Woot! On Friday I go to pick it up. Stoked. Had it finally made its way to me? In my car "The long and winding road" is playing on the radio. Yep that's about right. It sure has been. At UPS the package looks undamaged, always a good sign. I take it home. Here is a Reverb photo of what it looks like. Pretty darn nice, right?
Well you can imagine my giddiness and surprise when I open the box, then
I pull out the Guild case (which just doesn't seem quite right), and then
I open it up to find this magnificent beauty of a guitar!
Yippie! Huh? What? Ok, wait a minute. It is a New Hartford Standard. Check. Natural top. Check.
However it seems to have put on a little bit of weight around the mid section.
Yep, I check the label and...
Was I disappointed? Yes. Was I surprised? A little, but not completely. You see, Bill had just gotten back from the hospital after a chainsaw mishap (he's fine) and clearly was not in his right state of mind when he packed it. Prescription pain killers? 18 year old single malt? A little bit of both? Who knows. After I thought to myself "Oh man, Bill is going to be really pissed" all I could do is laugh. You see, this is one of his favorite guitars. The only reason he agreed to sell the F30R to me is because he plays this one so much.
After a really good laugh on the phone about the Duhhhh move (his term and suggestion to post about it by the way) I don't think Bill was pleased when I offered (jokingly) that I was keeping the D-40. And I have to tell you, this D-40 is pretty special. It is everything a singer, songwriter could ever want in a guitar. The sound is pure, resonant, expressive to the touch and the notes just jump off the fretboard. I can't play anything over an OM size for any period of time of without pain, but I would gladly mainline Motrin for this one.
And now... both New Hardfords are back in transit going to their rightful stewards. Bill will be very happy to have his baby back. And I will be very happy, after a number of misses, to have the shoulda, coulda, woulda guitar finally in my hands. Fingers crossed.
Maybe a proper NGD will actually happen soon. Or, will it?
Edit: Oh and Bill, on the D-40, if you ever do let it go..."Dibs" :wink:
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