Can somebody school me a little bit on the Mark nylons...

S100

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I'd like to upgrade the cheap nylon string guitar I have and I love Guild. What are the things to look for/ watch out for with these guitars?
 

S100

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I guess it would help if I asked some questions. Are they all solid wood? Are the nut widths 1.75? Which woods were used for which models? It is my understanding that the higher the Roman numeral, the nicer the guitar is.
 

S100

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I just realized the answers I seek may very well be in the Book of Hans.
 

txbumper57

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Hey S100, Page 135 in Hans's Book has all of the build specs and details for all of the Mark Series Classical Guitars from the Mark I through the Mark VII. It also has the dates each model was introduced and the wood options for each model as some models came with options of Pearwood, Hog, or Rosewood back and sides. I have also seen other variations of The Mark Series that have wood that doesn't quite look like rosewood or Mahogany. Those models have Padauk back and sides. There are a few members here that own some of those models if I remember correctly.

Hope this helps and best of luck in your search!

TX
 
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gilded

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S100,

I have owned Mark II, III and 5 guitars in the past. I currently own and use a '75 Mark 4P guitar, with a recently installed Barbera Soloist pickup in it. Basically, the III is the middle-of-the-middle of the line of Guild Nylon Mark guitars. The Mark 4 is an upgrade of sorts to the III (ebony board, padauk or pear wood in place of mahogany), while the Mark II is the matte lacquer version of the III.

The Mark 5 sounded great to people in front of it, but I could never capture the sound I heard out front when I sat on the back side of the guitar.

I never owned any of the more expensive Mark guitars- VI, Mark VI special or the Mark VII, but I owned an early-mid '70s Ramirez 1A and I think I understand high dollar nylon classicals.

So that makes me the perfect person to go out and tell you to buy a Mark III or Mark II and have a blast!

Let me warn you about 3 things:

1) If the tuners go bad, it's hard to get a set that fits. They are a special size. Not impossible, hard.

2) Beware of high actions. My Mark 5 had a very high action and I ultimately sold it. Come to think of it, the II and III actions were too high for me as well. While it is true that I like low action height on nylon string guitars, I firmly believe that Guild didn't pay much attention to the issue of action height. It simply wasn't part of the equation.

3) If you see a crack on the top, it may be hard to fix. The traditional classical bracing on a Mark guitar makes it hard to get to the crack from underneath.

One guitar I owned had a crack right next to a bass-side brace. Some former repairman had put a large piece of wood right next to the underside of the crack. It was wedged and glued in so tight that we couldn't get the darn thing out without popping the back!

The Mark 5 had an crack right along the middle seam of the top. It was directly on top of the center top brace, so we couldn't get to that one either.

So the moral is, don't buy something with cracks on the top and don't buy something you can't return if the action is too high.

Luck to you, gil
 

Neal

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My experience with the all-mahogany Mark I was positive.

Pros: They can be had really cheap, they sound good, and they are pretty solid.

Cons: Inevitably, some fool will put steel strings on them and tear the bridge off. I could never get used to the flat and super-wide fretboard, but I guess the same goes with all nylon classical guitars.

For me, it was a fun, cheap novelty that I lost a little bit of money on when I sold it, but no big deal!
 

fronobulax

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Calling sliverfox who can add hands own experience to go with what you can read in Hans' book.

FWIW, Mrs. Fro's teacher keeps favorably comparing her Mark IV to instruments he's played in the $3,000-$5000 range.
 

gilded

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I like my Mark 4P a lot, though I think my '85 Mark 5 sounded better in terms of transparency and purity of the notes. Member Brad Little said his old Mark V held it's own in music school with Ramirez guitars.

Basically, my Mark 4P has a 'factory guitar' issue but still sounds good. The neck isn't twisted, but it is set in the body a few degrees off of axis and the difference from normal is compensated by a very shallow saddle height on the treble side and a comparatively deeper saddle on the bass side. It doesn't look good, once you know what you're looking at, but it's all taken care of at the saddle and functions perfectly. Still, it should have been a 2nd.

Speaking of teachers, my luthier told me that he has worked on a Mark III that belongs to a local college classical guitar teacher and it sounds like a zillion bucks! I think it was a Hoboken guitar.
 
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jack.plugg

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Hi S100.

I can't say anything about different models of the Guild range of Mark guitars, as I've never played them, but I do have a Mark II which I like.

I've got a few other classical guitars, (not high quality ones) and the Guild is certainly the lightest of them all. It has a fairly even volume level across all the strings, but isn't as loud as some of the others. Having said that, it is very nice to play, though I'm not a classical guitarist; I just like the sound of a nylon string guitar now and then, as a change from playing steel string dreadnoughts, etc.

For what it is worth, I've just put this little video clip on YouTube, (which I've also posted in our "Members' Music" section) featuring my Mark II. (I wish I'd filmed it in focus, but never mind...):-

 

silverfox103

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Hi S100

Looks like everyone has done a great job steer you in the right direction. I saw that you mentioned a 1.75" nut width. The Mark width is 2" at least the ones I've put my hands on. My Mark VI is the exception, I believe it is 2 1/16". Surprising, as 1/16" isn't much in the real world, but in the guitar world you notice. I can't figure it out. As some members mentioned, you have to watch out for high action. I've been lucky and only had this happen once out of the eight Mark guitars that I have owned.

The Mark 5 sounded great to people in front of it, but I could never capture the sound I heard out front when I sat on the back side of the guitar.

I have also thought that, Harry. But when someone plays it in front of me, it sounds great. I thought I was imagining things, so never mentioned it. But when I'm the only when in the house, no TV and no noise; it sounds different.

I have never had to replace tuners, just periodically lubricate them. Echoing what's been said, there plenty of quality and value in the lower and midrange of the Mark series. No need to overpay as they can be had for not a heck of a lot of $$$. You should be able to pick up one for somewhere around $300 to $400, you may have to search a little. Some of them are 50 to 60 years old, so they may not look perfect. But as Jimmy Soul sang in one of his songs from the early 60's "If you want to be happy for the rest of your like, don't make a pretty woman your wife".

Good Luck

Tom
 
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S100

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Thanks to everyone for the great insight. Very much appreciated
 

S100

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If anyone follows these guitars, could you post a ballpark of what they typically sell for by model? Looks like they start around $300 for the I's according to silverfox's post.
 
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westerlyborn

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As you can see, I've gotta few classics. Rosewoods, Pearwoods even an Ovation rip off. The one I love the most is the Mark I. At 3.0 pounds, she's not a heavyweight. Kinda funky looking. I call her my "Mousy Stradivarius". A true "Hog". I've replaced the tuners with cheapos from ebay. She was my first Guild, and she'll be the last go.
 
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