1973 Guild F50 Rosewood - newbie to Guilds

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Back story - a friend has had this guitar for years but because he's part of a couple who are in a group of four couples, friends with whom we hike and camp and have dinners, I've never heard him play. Never saw his guitar. Apparently he's had it since grad school in the 70's. It is a 1973 Rosewood Guild F50. He hadn't played it in years and when he pulled it out from under the bed after all those years the neck heel was completely separated from the body and the neck pulled up to cheese slicer height. There were two top cracks from each far end of the bridge down to the end of the lower bought. He decided to buy a Martin D1 or some like model and is really happy with the Martin. He offered to give me the Guild as he was not interested in having it repaired.

He delivered it some months ago at a dinner with the couples group. After dinner, I took it up to my music room and upon opening the case discovered what he saw when he pulled it from under his bed. I took down the model and serial number, loosened the strings!!, and closed the case. I contacted my luthier and sent it to him. I am getting seriously curious about how all this will turn out. I'll have about $700 into it after shipping to and fro. A neck set, a complete refret, new nut, whatever else my luthier has to do. He's looking at the cracks and I haven't heard back if they had been previously repaired or even need repair.

I have listened to several YouTube videos of this guitar +\- a few years vintage difference. The videos I've heard sound really good. Nothing like anything I currently own which is four Martin dreads, Collings Waterloo WL14XTR, and a CA Cargo. Funny thing is, I've been singing lots of Everly Brothers duets with a fella and though, not a Gibson, a jumbo similar in shape to the Gibson's they played.

Here's where you come in. Any thoughts on what I can expect to hear in this guitar I'm having repaired? Also, I figure its a no lose deal, but still, at what do you reckon a well playing, neckresetted, refretted, top cracked Guild F50 from 1973 would be valued? I'm not over the value of the guitar am I?

Also, and more importantly, what can I expect soundwise from this guitar? Just ... what exactly am I getting here?
 

chazmo

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GEFool,

First of all, welcome to LTG.

How wonderful that you were the recipient of such a nice piece of generosity.

F-50Rs are some of Guild's finest guitars (IMO). At ~$700 into it, no, you're definitely not in the hole. I would hope that you'd get back a pretty perfect guitar for that kind of money, so I'm crossing my fingers for you. A guitar from that era that you've restored to good playing condition should be worth double that.

That said, I think you'll fall in love with it when you get it back.

Keep us posted, and again welcome to the board.
 
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Thanks. It won't be pristine. The two top cracks aren't fresh and have discolored due to normal play wear and use. Mojo.
 

Westerly Wood

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The guild will sound warm, sweet and big. You will most likely think it the greatest sounding acoustic you have ever heard.
 

Neal

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I had a '74 F-50R for a while, and it was a big, beautiful, resonant monster of a guitar. I sold it because it actually overpowered my singing voice, just like every other large rosewood Guild I have ever owned. Really loud, really deep bass.

Even beat-up examples go for more than a grand. You are definitely not upside down. And don't be surprised if it doesn't give your Martins and Waterloo a run for their money. Bonnie Raitt plays this acoustic exclusively for a reason.
 
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GardMan

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You will hear angels sing!
 

txbumper57

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Welcome and what a treasure! A properly repaired early 70's F50R should make you hear Angels sing like Gardman said. They are wonderful instruments and while they are known for a Big Bold Tone when you dig in and start pushing them, They can also be Sweet and extremely balanced with a soft hand. These guitars perform extremely well for most all styles of playing from finger picking to hard pick strumming. I think you will be pleasantly surprised when you here it for the first time. I imagine even after the repairs the guitar may come off a bit tight from not playing it for an extended period of time. That should go away with a little playtime as the guitar starts to blossom into it's voice again. From the other names in your collection she will be in good company but don't be surprised if she starts to take up more playing time from the others!

With the work you are having done, if it is top quality work, you should be into it for a little less than half the value depending on appearance and Market fluctuation. Best of luck with her and let us know how it sounds, Some folks first Guild day have been described as almost a spiritual experience. Would also love to see some photos as well, once again Welcome to LTG!

TX
 
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Great score! And it's worth whatever it is worth to YOU...my guess is, after you play it for awhile...priceless! But to hedge your bet, check out prices on reverb.com and eBay and just google it from time to time. Seems like you got a bargain, especially if your luthier knows what he's doing! Let us know how it goes!
 
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Yes, this is a most competent luthier. He works on all my guitars and I have some nice ones - 1953 Martin D18, 1956 Martin D28, etc. He is well known in Martin circles but works on all makes if flat top guitars and even on carved topped A5 and F5 style mandolins. He'll get it playing and sounding as good as it can. His set ups are great as well.

You guys are getting me rev'ed up to get this guitar back in my hands!!
 

Cougar

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...He offered to give me the Guild as he was not interested in having it repaired....

Welcome to the boards, and bravo for bringing that F50R back to life! A couple months ago I acquired that same model jumbo, but made more recently. Beautiful guitar. I don't claim any extensive guitar experience or knowledge, but it's the best 6-string I've ever played.

....he's part of a couple who are in a group of four couples....

This is sounding kind of kinky, but I'm sure that's cool with this group... :cat:
 

rampside

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Welcome GEFool and that's certainly a great gesture on the part of your friend. Can't wait to see some pics and hear your report.
 
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UPDATE: 1973 Guild F50 - NOT Rosewood - Maple stained reddish brown

OK, the guitar has been here a few days. Duh! I didn't look the guitar over well before I sent it off! First thing I notice when it gets back is that the inside of the guitar is maple! I just looked at the stained b/s and thought Rosewood. Don't know why. It actually looks more a mahogany color, but the guitar is clearly maple. Not sure if solid or laminate. Anyway... after admitting that embarrassing fact -

Here are my impressions:
1. The guitar is better fingerpicking than my Martins. Not sure it will be replacing my Martins for most of my flat picking and bluegrass music, BUT... the action is low and the flatter neck seems to make things easier for fingerpicking.
2. This guitar shines above the middle of the neck (7th fret and up). With fingers or pick, the thing just rings up the neck. I'm impressed.
3. Seems to be made for vocal back up in pop/folk/etc. It leans mids and trebles and in a good way when playing back up. Stays out of the way of my vocals and just seems to find the right place to make the vocals stand out.
4. The more I play this guitar the more I appreciate just how great this Guild sounds - quite good to excellent. Responsive, clear, pleasing tone without any harshness. What you'd expect really for a maple b/s jumbo.

It is a very pleasant diversion from my Martins. I have a 1953 D18, a 1967 D28 modified (braces shaved), and a 1956 D28 straight braced. It may be because it is 'new' to me, but the mids and trebles on this Guild beat out the modified 67 D28 in rhythm and up the neck breaks. The straight braced 56 D28 can hang and then some. Really, the Guild can't compete with what I like to play on flatpicking fiddle tunes, but it is just different and has qualities of airiness and chiming tones as opposed to the 56 D28's clear, ringing bell like tones. Where both D28 Martins win hands down is the bass and low mids. The Guild just cannot hang there with the D28s. But the Guild bass is very good, just different - not as growling as the 67D28 or punchy as the bass on the 56D28. The 53 D18 has better, clearer, cleaner, louder bass and low mids than the Guild. The mids and trebles excel on the 53D18 - just very different than the mids and trebles on the Guild.

I'm going to appreciate this Guild as it is a different sound than the Martins. It is a vocal backup genius. I mean that. It may be the better guitar for solo vocal/guitar numbers. Now, when I feel like playing some vocal numbers (and I've been working on vocals with voice lessons) the Guild is a very, very solid choice. I like it a lot. Just like I love the Waterloo 14XTR that I have, the Guild just opened up an entire new tone choice for me. So different, and yet I love it. This Guild broadens the spectrum of guitar color and tones that I have available to me.

I'm a very happy camper.
 

chazmo

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:) Indeed, (maple) F-50s were available with some different stains. But, if it's really a '73 then I'm nearly certain you've got an arched-back, laminate maple back. There won't be any braces on the back. This is the quintessential F-50. The tone you're talking about is quite unique, and it has converted lots of people over the years to Guilds.

They are quite different sounding from the (solid) rosewood versions of the F-50 (a.k.a, F-50R). An F-50R would be a better comparison to your D-28s, sonically.

Anyway, hope you enjoy it. Would love to see some pictures so we could tell you what stain you're talking about.
 
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OK, forgot to mention the work it needed and a few obligatory, though less than stellar, photos.
The guitar's neck was just about falling off when I got it. This is the main reason I didn't look it over. As soon as I got it, I loosened the strings, packed it up and sent it to my luthier. Here's what he had to do:
1. Remove and reset the neck. Someone in the 1980's repaired the guitar (I'm the third owner apparently). That was the only previous repair. But the luthier cut the fretboard at the wrong fret (14th) so there was some extra work involved getting the fretboard on the body correctly.
2. Complete refret. The frets were flat as a pancake. The luthier sent the old frets back. He didn't have the wider fretwire that was the type original to the Guild, but he did put on the closest wire he had. The guitar plays GREAT, BTW.
3. New bone nut.
4. New water buffalo horn bridge pins. The original pins, which he sent back, were deformed all crazily and were not long for this world.

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.

Here's my lousy photos.

IMG_0329.jpg

IMG_0330.jpg

IMG_0321.jpg

IMG_0322.jpg


Here's a slide show link. http://s1055.photobucket.com/user/GEFool/slideshow/1973%20Guild%20F50
 
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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.

Also, forgot to mention, the seam separation and cracks on either side do not appear to go through. Luthier tested them with naphtha. Finish cracks. 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.
 
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chazmo

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What a beautiful guitar. The soundboard is magnificent with all that silking. I can't stop looking at it. It almost doesn't look like spruce! :) (but it is!)

The finish checking that you see is fairly extensive on yours, but has great character. Most likely this guitar saw rapid thermal changes (cold guitar in a warm room) at some point to cause this. That is of no concern, structurally.

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.
 

bluesypicky

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That's a lot of guitar for $750, nicely done.

Charlie: If you don't say it three times, we can't hear you. :tongue-new:

Awwww...... you ruined my joke by taking the duplicate post down!! lmao
 
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