F-212 feedback please?

Hi Pascal; I'm pretty sure a complete re-finish of the top would tighten it up ... deaden the tone ... and then after some time, the tone would return without any loss or degradation but it's not the same as getting a deux-chevaux repainted.

This is my 63-64 F-212. I've never played another 12 string with the tone and projection that this instrument has. Playing it is a dream. I don't have the expertise that some of the other members here have when it comes to the physical properties of stringed instruments but I can tell you this...nobody I have allowed to play this instrument wants to give it back. It's not constructed like a tank, she developed a bit of a "paunch" over the years, but my luthier agrees with me, there has never been a finer 12 string marketed than the Guild F-212.

Arf! Arf!

' Strang

Well, seems this thread wouldn't be complete without the "grand finale" and the before / after pics..... I am ecstatic, as this whole deal has gone way beyond my wildest dreams and expectations!

First, the already awesome sounding guitar sounds even better, and got easier to play, thanks to a new set of strings, a bone saddle and an action adjustment, now I need a PA if I want to hear myself sing over her!!!! :shock:

Then the crack...... remember?
In case some readers are just picking up this thread and don't feel like going back through the 6 pages here it is (was):



And after a week in the hands of a repairman, this is what it looks like:




I must add that when you look at the guitar "in the flesh", the black line of the ex-crack exposed by the flash of the digital camera on these pics is almost invisible to whom never knew a crack once existed there... you actually have to look for a source of light to find it.
I am probably not going to bed until very late tonight.....

ME HAPPY!!!!!!!

Looks like a very well-done job Pascal!

Monsieur Bouchard

John

Looks like a great finish touch up tool.......some of those guys are ammmmazing... :lol: sweetness itself now. :lol: I'm happy for you. Steffan

Blues, that is EXCELLENT! I'm very happy for ya'! Enjoy!!!!!!

Thanks guys for the kind words and the valuable inputs offered throughout this thread.
I made a lot of good deals with guitars in my life, but I think that F-212 is topping them all...

John, thanks again for introducing me to Monsieur Bouchard, this guy has some real luthier skills and his rates are the icing on the cake, so reasonable, I will definitely keep his number in my book and spread the good word around... (And, not that I wouldn't drive for a couple of hours to go to him, but he lives 3 miles from my house! Now, how better could it get?) :mrgreen:

ME HAPPY FOR YOU!!!! BLUESYPICKY.....I have enjoyed this thread very much and learned ALOT!!! yep........NOW, Im itching for a F212 so bad !!! NO "ocean of calomine LOTION " can cure me!!! ONLY a 12 string will do! It will have to fester for awhile.....but my eyes are OPEN for a fine 212....Best to start a savings fund !! YOURS looks GREAT, and the repairs look REALLY fine. EASY to be happy with THAT!!!! NOW.......just PLAY and ENJOY!!! as you surely ARE!!! Cheers :wink: "Scratchin like a hound" Southern!!

bluesypicky said:

John, thanks again for introducing me to Monsieur Bouchard, this guy has some real luthier skills and his rates are the icing on the cake ...

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For those of you following this thread, Walter Bouchard lives in Jupiter FL - not far from Bluesypicky and I - and works out of his house. He worked for some years as a Gibson repairman. If you have a pre-conceived idea about what a luthier's shop should look like, patronizing him can be a little unsettling when you walk into his slightly disheveled living room and enclosed porch. Walter and his set-up aren't especially pretty but his work is first-class and his rates are very reasonable. So ... who needs pretty? :wink:

capnjuan said:

bluesypicky said:

John, thanks again for introducing me to Monsieur Bouchard, this guy has some real luthier skills and his rates are the icing on the cake ...

Click to expand...

For those of you following this thread, Walter Bouchard lives in Jupiter FL - not far from Bluesypicky and I - and works out of his house. He worked for some years as a Gibson repairman. If you have a pre-conceived idea about what a luthier's shop should look like, patronizing him can be a little unsettling when you walk into his slightly disheveled living room and enclosed porch. Walter and his set-up aren't especially pretty but his work is first-class and his rates are very reasonable. So ... who needs pretty? :wink:

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I actually spent a good hour with Walter today, since when I picked up the guitar last Saturday he wasn't home (his wife handed it to me), to thank him for the work on my F-212 , and we ended up really connecting with each other and exchanging accounts of our lives experiences as we both moved around the planet between Europe and the US, and ended up pretty much the same way (randomly) in Jupiter.
He saw I was very interested in his trade and nicely offered to show me his equipment and share with me a bunch of his trademarks, I was captivated.
He confirmed his experience with the Gibson warranty department, that didn't last very long as Gibson was expecting him to fix anything and everything on a guitar on a ridiculously low budget (somehow that didn't surprise me).
He started his carreer working for Ovation in CT. and he also worked for Bob Taylor in CA.
He left Taylor because he got bored with the clockwatcher mentality of the workers and the automated procecesses that limited his artistic aspiration to the finishing and set up only.
He was telling me how a piece of mahogany was placed in a machine, and came out a finished neck that only required a little fine hand sanding before getting bolted onto the body.
He also did some repair work for Martin, so needless to say that he has a little hint on how a guitar is built. :wink:
He showed me one of his builds in progress with a fine headstock inlay representing the Jupiter lighthouse, pretty cool!

Nice feed, CJ. Another assist for the John Stockton of LTG.

Congrats, Pascal. Good thread, great results.

guildzilla said:

Nice feed, CJ. Another assist for the John Stockton of LTG.

Congrats, Pascal. Good thread, great results.

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:lol: :lol: :lol: Agreeed!!!
John: with all these assists, ranging from amps schematics to luthier's contact numbers, you really deserve the "Stockton award"!!!!! :wink:

WAY COOL!!! :lol: Great story!

C'mon ... yer making me blush .. :wink:

.......been a while CJ :?: Steffan

I have a 73 212 which I’ve owned since new. It’s a wonderful instrument. As noted previously the tuners are going bad and I’m having difficulty finding replacements.
Otherwise I’m putting the sound of this up against anything else out there. The 45 year old mahogany can’t be beat.