chazmo
Super Moderator
Once bitten, twice shy?
HI GE, welcome aboard!Yes, luthier told me that he thought it was maple laminate. Sorry, if I got everyone all hot and bothered over a rosewood F-50. BTW, I sent this Hans fellow some info on it that he requested as apparently he has a data base he's building on the guitars.
I'd bet money on repair too, Guild was very neat about workmanship both in- and outside the guitar, you could compare to the workmanship on the kerfing and braces for example.There is hide glue drips around the bridge plate. Maybe a repair? Was Guild good about neat glue work? I'd bet money on a repair.
"Better friend hath no man....".With shipping to and from, I've got $750 into this guitar. Not bad, I think. I won't sell it... and my friend doesn't want it back as he has moved on to his new $500 Martin D something or other.
'72 price list*** only shows 'em in "Sunburst" or "Blonde", in fact, the Blonde actually has the price premium, probably because of the old saw about hiding cosmetic imperfections under the 'burst?Fabulous red stain on the maple. Very typical for this era. Does the label say anything besides F-50 on it? Might be like "RS" or "TR" for transparent red stain or something.
Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend have both used F-50's, among many others.
Real-deal professional instruments.
txbumper57 said:I believe the designation for your guitar would have been F50M with the "M" standing for Mahogany colored Stain, Most folks confuse that thinking the "M" stood for Maple but it doesn't. The other finish option would have been F50BLD with the "BLD" standing for Blonde which would have had a Natural Finish on the Maple back and sides.
adorshki said:'72 price list only shows 'em in "Sunburst" or "Blonde", in fact, the Blonde actually has the price premium, probably because of the old saw about hiding cosmetic imperfections under the 'burst?
Anyway at that time it looks like the only other color options on acoustics were "Cherry" and "Mahogany" as on the D25's.
That's why I'm thinking it's an early F50"M" as noted above, although I just realized realize I might be confusing that with the F40M that had the same color scheme. (edit: I see TX confirmed it now, thanks TX!)
Actually, the correct finish designation was NT, which had been used since the '50s, but was not always mentioned as a suffix in the model designation written on the label. The 'M' suffix for the finish during the '70s meant a 'mahogany stained' top, but 'M' as a suffix was also used for the choice of wood like in D-44M, which had 'maple' back & sides.
Sincerely,
Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
Thank you sir! But then is that "F40M" I'm thinking of from later era?
I could swear we had a new member with one of those in the last 6 months.
All very confusing and not just for the consumer, but also for some of the workers in 'final assembly' who sometimes wrote down F-40MNT just to make sure that they had it all covered!
Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
Nope, take Hans' word for it, he is quite literally the world's foremost expert on vintage Guilds, at the very least, up through Corona years.Well, Hans already knows this but the label reads "F50" in pencil and then below that the serial number which matches the number on the back of the headstock. So, if it is anything more than a F50 model (M, NT, or otherwise) I'll have to take y'all's word for it.
Apologies for poor wording.One other thing. I didn't say that it doesn't ring until above the seventh fret. I just said it really shines up the neck. I will be trying different strings on it. Played it quite a bit today. Sweet guitar.
So that's not an "F40 Montana", then?Bwah ah ah ah!!!! That's hilarious. Got a good chuckle on this one, thanks!It was around 1979 that the F-40 with a Natural top and tinted back & sides did get the F-40M designation; before that it had been called F-40NT.
All very confusing and not just for the consumer, but also for some of the workers in 'final assembly' who sometimes wrote down F-40MNT just to make sure that they had it all covered!
Sincerely,
Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
Actually, the correct finish designation was NT, which had been used since the '50s, but was not always mentioned as a suffix in the model designation written on the label. The 'M' suffix for the finish during the '70s meant a 'mahogany stained' top, but 'M' as a suffix was also used for the choice of wood like in D-44M, which had 'maple' back & sides.
Sincerely,
Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl