I had some time today to go to my favorite Guild dealer (Guitar Resurrection) to check out their latest acquisition: a Standard Series F30R.
When I entered the store I saw it buried among their massive collection of Traditional Guilds. I noticed the differences in the finish right away when comparing it to the Trad. D50 and D55. The F30R, while still very glossy, had somewhat of an unfinished look to it as opposed to a darker stain/finish on the D50 and D55. Personally, I was not very impressed by the dull unfinished look of the glossy rosewood, but that was not going to stop me from giving it a closer exam. The top had pristine even and tight graining and a nice creamy color to it, but slightly more yellow that the off-white coloring on the Red spruce cousins. The neck (satin finish) also had an unfinished look to it, as opposed to the darker red tinting you find on the mahogany satin Martin necks. The bone nut was definitely 1&3/4" with a modern feel. The neck was not chunky like my F30 or the Trad. F30. I would place it closer to a GAD neck, but slightly larger if I had to guess. Since the neck is satin and the body is nitro, it appeared that each piece was finished separately before putting on the neck. I guess this means no more cracking of the finish when it comes time for a reset. It had a modest center strip on the back (I can't remember what) and the ivroid body binding. I personally like the touch of white or ivroid binding on a guitar as it really provides a nice contrast. Overall, the construction was flawless. The guitar was pretty light, but that is something I had noticed with my late '90s F30 as well as the Trad F30 hanging in the store. It had the feel of a perfectly constructed guitar.
So then I sit down to strum and pick......HOT DAMN! I was not expecting what I heard. On second thought I should not be surprised. It is a $2K American made guitar, so it should sound like that. The tone was perfectly balanced between the strings. With just a few chord strums you could hear the complexity that came out of it. It had a wide vocal range which is something I would expect from rosewood. The highs were crystal clear, and the bass was very pronounced but not overbearing. Everything was very even throughout and the midrange was definitely not emphasized. With each note that was plucked, you got somewhat of a crisp finish. The guitar was quite easy to play and had a very fast neck given its low profile. It was like playing my GAD without the sticky finish.
So my conclusion and where I would place it based on my very limited knowledge of guitars. I would have to say that I am no longer very impressed with my GAD. My GAD is good and has tonal properties I would say are superior to many guitar, but this F30R put is to shame. Sorry. The GAD just sounds repressed, like the finish is too thick. The F30R just vibrates so nicely...you can feel it. Nitro? I compared it to the Trad F30 (mahogany). The F30R just had so much more going on which was probably the rosewood. Also I would guess that the Red spruce top had not opened up. I had recently mentioned that I was really impressed with the Martin 000-MMV and I was. I would have to say that the Martin may still win out due to the incredible amount of overtones I could hear, though I would say the F30R is not far off.
When I entered the store I saw it buried among their massive collection of Traditional Guilds. I noticed the differences in the finish right away when comparing it to the Trad. D50 and D55. The F30R, while still very glossy, had somewhat of an unfinished look to it as opposed to a darker stain/finish on the D50 and D55. Personally, I was not very impressed by the dull unfinished look of the glossy rosewood, but that was not going to stop me from giving it a closer exam. The top had pristine even and tight graining and a nice creamy color to it, but slightly more yellow that the off-white coloring on the Red spruce cousins. The neck (satin finish) also had an unfinished look to it, as opposed to the darker red tinting you find on the mahogany satin Martin necks. The bone nut was definitely 1&3/4" with a modern feel. The neck was not chunky like my F30 or the Trad. F30. I would place it closer to a GAD neck, but slightly larger if I had to guess. Since the neck is satin and the body is nitro, it appeared that each piece was finished separately before putting on the neck. I guess this means no more cracking of the finish when it comes time for a reset. It had a modest center strip on the back (I can't remember what) and the ivroid body binding. I personally like the touch of white or ivroid binding on a guitar as it really provides a nice contrast. Overall, the construction was flawless. The guitar was pretty light, but that is something I had noticed with my late '90s F30 as well as the Trad F30 hanging in the store. It had the feel of a perfectly constructed guitar.
So then I sit down to strum and pick......HOT DAMN! I was not expecting what I heard. On second thought I should not be surprised. It is a $2K American made guitar, so it should sound like that. The tone was perfectly balanced between the strings. With just a few chord strums you could hear the complexity that came out of it. It had a wide vocal range which is something I would expect from rosewood. The highs were crystal clear, and the bass was very pronounced but not overbearing. Everything was very even throughout and the midrange was definitely not emphasized. With each note that was plucked, you got somewhat of a crisp finish. The guitar was quite easy to play and had a very fast neck given its low profile. It was like playing my GAD without the sticky finish.
So my conclusion and where I would place it based on my very limited knowledge of guitars. I would have to say that I am no longer very impressed with my GAD. My GAD is good and has tonal properties I would say are superior to many guitar, but this F30R put is to shame. Sorry. The GAD just sounds repressed, like the finish is too thick. The F30R just vibrates so nicely...you can feel it. Nitro? I compared it to the Trad F30 (mahogany). The F30R just had so much more going on which was probably the rosewood. Also I would guess that the Red spruce top had not opened up. I had recently mentioned that I was really impressed with the Martin 000-MMV and I was. I would have to say that the Martin may still win out due to the incredible amount of overtones I could hear, though I would say the F30R is not far off.
