Was it 2001 when Guild moved mfging to CA?
- Thread starter merhere
- Start date
Graham
Venerated Member
I believe the first Corona models rolled out in 2002.
yettoblaster
Member
I believe that's correct, although I did have a 2002 Westerly, R.I. made Savoy X-150D that was one of the last made there.
The only difference I could ever tell was that the Westerly made one had a compensated rosewood bridge, and the ones I saw in stores immediately after I bought mine (and they were Corona - made) had straight (uncompensated) rosewood bridges.
Also, though Fender listed my Westerly made (under the auspices of FMIC) as having a lacquer finish, it always felt like poly to me.
My present ('05) Corona - made Savoy X-150D is definitely poly finish, as was a single pickup version I had briefly before it.
Other than the bridge, I have never been able to tell the difference in any of the recent Guilds from one factory origin or another, though I have handled plenty of older Westury Guilds that were definitely lacquer. Not mine though, if memory serves.
The only difference I could ever tell was that the Westerly made one had a compensated rosewood bridge, and the ones I saw in stores immediately after I bought mine (and they were Corona - made) had straight (uncompensated) rosewood bridges.
Also, though Fender listed my Westerly made (under the auspices of FMIC) as having a lacquer finish, it always felt like poly to me.
My present ('05) Corona - made Savoy X-150D is definitely poly finish, as was a single pickup version I had briefly before it.
Other than the bridge, I have never been able to tell the difference in any of the recent Guilds from one factory origin or another, though I have handled plenty of older Westury Guilds that were definitely lacquer. Not mine though, if memory serves.
adorshki
Reverential Member
YEP. Westerly officially closed 8/31/01, per letter from Guild in this thread:Graham said:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14105&hilit=Artist+Award&start=0
I have a letter from Guild stating my F65 was part of a batch of 3 guitars shipped from Westerly to Guitar Center in November of '01 so obviously there was still some activity going on after the official close, but Corona was already ramping up for production.
If I'm interpreting the meaning of Guild's letter of authenticity for the "Last Westerly Guild", it seems a 2001 X150 from Westerly is not possible. For example, my F65 was displayed with a hang tag that said "Last of the Westerlys" which definitley caught my attention, but after I contacted Fender I realized it was just marketing hype on the part of Guitar Center, what it really meant was it was the last of the Westerlys THEY'D ever get. :lol: I think someone may have zinged Yettoblaster the same way.
The finish issues have been taken up before. I thought it had been pretty well demonstrated Westerly never used anything but lacquer and Fender MAY have used it in Corona (at least one guy here has pretty convincing evidence due to the presence of a couple of classic finish blemishes caused by over-exposure to rubber, and I'm pretty sure my D40 is lacquer as well), and PROBABLY went to the poly finish coincident with the move to Tacoma. At least that's when it was first advertised.
yettoblaster
Member
adorshki said:
"D'oH!"
I'm always out of the loop, but that doesn't keep me from broadcasting my ignorance.
Thanks for the info. I guess I shouldn't have believed the labels inside.
I've stated many times I couldn't tell the difference. Well DUH!
Ha ha. Oh well, that's life in the industrial age.
I guess I'll just have to track down and buy a vintage Guild with Hoboken identifiers. I'm pretty sure THEY weren't made in Corona! :wink:
Graham said:
I have a 2002 D-25M that was made in Corona and according to a Fender Customer support email I got back from them after asking for more info, 2002 was the first year they put out the Corona models. Hope this helps.
hideglue
Senior Member
Guild used as much poly as lacquer on the archtop line before production shifted to Corona.adorshki said:
yettoblaster
Member
capnjuan said:
Poly is easier to shoot I guess. Lacquer takes several applications with wet-sanding in between.
There may be ecological considerations as well. FMIC Corona was building guitars before their state-of-the-art no emissions spray booth came on line. I think I may have had a "California" Strat, made in Corona but finished in Encinada.
Lacquer allows the wood to breathe. Poly can blanket the body like a plastic wrap. I've had both.
I used to think I could hear the difference in body response, but once on a bandstand I can't tell that my '06 Savoy is poly coated.
Hi YB; thanks .. I know about the application techniques ... my question really was aimed at, if the G-men were applying both, how would they decide between the two; coin flip?yettoblaster said:
Aha! I thought I had spotted later Westerly Guilds w poly. Once you know what to look for I think you can actually see the difference. Like Yetto, I don't think it makes any difference in the amplified sound of a laminate guitar, but I hate the way it looks. Maybe it's applied thicker or something, but it just looks too glassy and plastic to me. Furniture makers spent years trying to come up with a plastic that looked like nice wood and now instrument manufacturers are making nice wood that looks like plastic. :shock: It saves them a few bucks in the manufacturing process I guess but it will never age like a traditional quality finish. Maybe that's good for some folks but to me something is lost.hideglue said:
I have an '02 Corona X150 that I like a lot. It's well made, sounds great and does the job from the bandstand I want it to do. It's ideal for its purpose but that blinding shine was bugging me, and I like to mess with stuff, so I took the finish down to a semi-gloss and to my eye it looks like wood again. Most folks probably wouldn't care, but that's just me.
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/epi...-dulling-poly-finished-guitars-pic-heavy.html
yettoblaster
Member
AlohaJoe said:
Yeah I think I had one!
I can usually tell by the feel of the neck. My chemistry makes newish lacquer necks feel schmutzy unless I keep some FingerEase on there for the first couple years.
I have no idea why they seemed to be switching back and forth after FMIC acquired Guild but still Westerly was building. I seem to remember ad copy about certain models being lacquer, but sometimes maybe it didn't extend to the bottom of the line. A very confusing era.
yettoblaster
Member
AlohaJoe said:
I did buy a sunburst single pickup Savoy there a couple years ago, but my present blonde Corona-stickered X-150D I got at Guitar Showcase, Bascomb Ave. San Jose.
The one I bought at Sylvan Music had a tune-o-matic, if that's a clue. It responded well to TI "Be-Bops" in 14's. Otherwise it was a little inert.
yettoblaster
Member
AlohaJoe said:
Yes, I prefer wooden bridges on hollowbodies, for a so-called "jazz" tone. The X-150D I have now ('06 Corona-made) has a straight wood bridge, as opposed to the compensated ones I had on Westerly-made ones.
I suppose trash-o-matics make hollowbodies more versatile, but I've got other guitars when I want bright sounds and sustain. :idea:
Interesting or old news? Fascinating or ho-hum? Too much free time? You tell me…. I recently tried out a sunburst Westerly 1 p/u X-150 found on CraigsList. I own a 2 p/u version and wondered how the 1 p/u version would be. I also have a 1 p/u Corona X-150.
The 1 p/u Westerly is s/n AK150840, hand written on the Westerly label and stamped into the back of the headstock. The body is clearly Westerly; small bout 11.75, big bout 16.5, depth 3 3/8, compensated bridge, traditional short-ish frets. The finish looked like my Westerly but I’m not expert in this stuff. Sitting on a guitar stand, it looks identical to my slightly older guitar – AK150802.
I find the Westerly necks to have a ‘D’ shape with a taper of 1/8” or so from the first to 10th fret. In comparison, the Corona guitar has a ‘C’ shape (not the same ‘shoulders’) and little or no taper from 1 to 10.
But…. The neck carve on the CL guitar is identical to that of my Corona 150. So, it a Westerly guitar with a Corona neck carve. Under the truss rod cover I find ‘JT’ on ‘802’ and ‘JB’ on ‘840’ (a little hard to read. It’s a ‘B’ for sure).
I wonder if the guy who did the neck travelled from west to east, or if the partially completed guitar travelled from east to west ???
BTW. The setup on the hybrid was exquisite, thought to be from the factory. All of the big and little things were attended to perfectly !!! A great instrument! I didn’t buy it however. I prefer the larger neck. That’s just me…..
This is all newsworthy to me as I had always thought that Guild necks were really consistent over the years. I guessed they would have finished ‘old’ guitars, the ‘old’ way. Who knew ???
The 1 p/u Westerly is s/n AK150840, hand written on the Westerly label and stamped into the back of the headstock. The body is clearly Westerly; small bout 11.75, big bout 16.5, depth 3 3/8, compensated bridge, traditional short-ish frets. The finish looked like my Westerly but I’m not expert in this stuff. Sitting on a guitar stand, it looks identical to my slightly older guitar – AK150802.
I find the Westerly necks to have a ‘D’ shape with a taper of 1/8” or so from the first to 10th fret. In comparison, the Corona guitar has a ‘C’ shape (not the same ‘shoulders’) and little or no taper from 1 to 10.
But…. The neck carve on the CL guitar is identical to that of my Corona 150. So, it a Westerly guitar with a Corona neck carve. Under the truss rod cover I find ‘JT’ on ‘802’ and ‘JB’ on ‘840’ (a little hard to read. It’s a ‘B’ for sure).
I wonder if the guy who did the neck travelled from west to east, or if the partially completed guitar travelled from east to west ???
BTW. The setup on the hybrid was exquisite, thought to be from the factory. All of the big and little things were attended to perfectly !!! A great instrument! I didn’t buy it however. I prefer the larger neck. That’s just me…..
This is all newsworthy to me as I had always thought that Guild necks were really consistent over the years. I guessed they would have finished ‘old’ guitars, the ‘old’ way. Who knew ???
fronobulax
Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
- Joined
- May 3, 2007
- Messages
- 24,769
- Reaction score
- 8,899
- Location
- Central Virginia, USA
- Guild Total
- 5
Welcome. I'm not following all your story but it is known that there were some electrics started in Westerly and finished in Corona. I don't recall that any employees made the move and I also recall stories about usable parts ending up in dumpsters in RI because Fender had no reason to spend money to move them.
hideglue
Senior Member
fronobulax said:
FMIC disrespected years of history shortly after purchasing Guild from US Music... long before the move. Needlesss to say, very little actually made it to/ or stayed in the dumpster.