My Three Guild Jumbo Acoustics (Serial Numbers & Used)

GretschViking

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Howdy all! I'm new here to the forum. Glad i could join in the festivities! :)


Anyway, I have been digging around the internet to find the date of manufacture on my two Guild acoustics. Every serial number site I have encountered does not have a listing for my guitars. can anyone tell me the dates on these:


JF-65-12-BLD (blond) (bought in 1993). The serial number is "JF650524".

JF-30-12-AB (sunburst) (bought in 1998). The serial number is "AJ321511"



Also, in 2009, I bought an F-512-12 (sunburst) on Ebay. It was advertised as a "second" or "after market" instrument. The sound hole is about 1/3 on an inch smaller than normal, there is no Guild sticker inside the guitar and the back of the headstock has "USED" stamped in it. Any idea how to find the date for this or why it says "USED"?


Thanks in advance!
 

GardMan

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Guild SN lists are notoriously incomplete and, in some cases, inaccurate and misleading. I'd guess that your JF30-12 is from late '97 or early '98. I wouldn't fathom a guess on your 65-12... but if member Hans Moust doesn't chime in soon, shoot him a PM. He'll know.

The "USED" stamp over the SN usually denotes a second, or an instrument that has been refurbished. Based on your date of purchase, I'd bet it was a Tacoma-made 512-12 that was sold as a refurbished/second after the Tacoma operation was shut down. Specs changed from factory to factory, so the 1/3" smaller sound hole MIGHT be spec for a Tacoma 512-12...
 

adorshki

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Howdy all! I'm new here to the forum. Glad i could join in the festivities! :)
HI "Viking", welcome aboard!
Serial number charts are known to have errors and omissions, and the "JF"' models seem to be particularly prone to the problem, possibly because they were introduced at a time of frequent ownership turnover at Guild? (It's just an idea that occurred to me recently)
We also know those serial numbers seemed to get "re-defined" during the course of production, and I'm going to take a guess that your JF650524" could easily fit in the 1987 slot shown on Guild's site.
http://guildguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/history_of_your_guild.pdf
Remember the s/n's shown there are supposed to be the last ones for a given year, and if they changed formats during the year it could explain why yours is lacking the expected "JF6512" prefix.
Notice the regular "JF65M" 's from which the 12 is derived show the "JF65" prefix with 0031 being the last one they have record of for the 6-ers, in '87.
Seems kind of unlikely they only built 31 of 'em in '87, but I guess it's possible, depending on when they started building 'em.
I'm willing to bet they simply started stamping the 12's with the 6-er s/n sequence until they decided to give the 12's their own sequence, which then gives the last known number for them in that year, and gives the impression they were ALL "JF6512xxxx".
Another possibility is that they simply screwed up when they assigned JF65 type s/n's to some 12's. That's been shown to have occurred in other cases on other models.
I recall another member recently with a similar question, and our member Hans Moust who's our favorite go-to resource for questions about s/n dating was able to set him straight.
Hans prefers to be contacted at his website if he doesn't see this and answer within a day or 2:
http://www.guitarchives.nl/guitarsgalore/
For your JF3012: the lists actually end in '97 even though it's implied they cover a longer period than that.
For both of the 12's I think you'll also find a date stamp on either the heelblock or underside of the top for the JF6512, and the neck heelblock itself, of the JF30-12, although Westerly did discontinue that practice late in the game, but I don't remember when. I think '98's still had 'em?
The heelblock stamps can be a little hard to see, for example, it's on one of the bevels in my D25, and is only visible at just the right angle looking into the soundhole.
Those dates precede the actual completion date of the guitar by at least a few weeks to a couple of months depending on how popular the model was.

Also, in 2009, I bought an F-512-12 (sunburst) on Ebay. It was advertised as a "second" or "after market" instrument. The sound hole is about 1/3 on an inch smaller than normal, there is no Guild sticker inside the guitar and the back of the headstock has "USED" stamped in it. Any idea how to find the date for this or why it says "USED"?
Thanks in advance!
That has all the hallmarks of guitars that were "recycled " through Fender's liquidation channel, "Musical Instrument Reclamation Corporation": http://mircweb.com/
Is their an s/n visible under the "USED" stamp?
That would indicate a Corona-built model, '02-'04. MIRC put the stamp there to mark guitars that were sold expressly without warranty.
Over the course of the closure of Corona and Tacoma ('05-'08) some unsold inventory was liquidated through MIRC that may not have even had any problems, but because they were being liquidated at such low cost Fender needed to be sure to protect itself from future warranty claims.
Tacoma saw the cessation of stamping s/n's on the back of the headstock.
MIRC normally put a barcode stickers somewhere on the guitar, frequently right on the label to obscure the s/n, but it also ID'D the guitar for their purposes if needed.
So I'm guessing maybe the label was removed by somebody who started by trying to remove the barcode sticker.
As for soundhole size, we know they introduced some new specs on F512's in Tacoma and that might be one of 'em.
Oh, does it have a compensated saddle? That was a Tacoma innovation, assuming it's original.
Or if it's got a single adjusting nut under the truss rod cover, that was another Tacoma design introduction, a single truss with dual flanking rods in 12-ers, introduced around '07.
I discount the possibility it's a New Hartford F512 because we've seen so few reports of any New Hartfords being sent to MIRC.
In fact it was a surprise to many of us when we first heard of it a couple of years back.
Also I'm not sure they'd even built any F512's yet, in '09.
Edit: I see Gardman got his post in while I was still composing, but you can see we both agree on some "basic concepts".
Somebody oughta be along soon asking for pics, too.
:glee:
 
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Cougar

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JF-65-12-BLD (blond) (bought in 1993). The serial number is "JF650524".
JF-30-12-AB (sunburst) (bought in 1998). The serial number is "AJ321511"

Welcome to the boards! Can't help you with the dating thing. All I could say is that your JF30-12 was made no later than 1998 and the JF65-12 no later than 1993. :rolleyes: As mentioned, the 512 was sent to MIRC to be refurbished. Hard to say why. It's often some cosmetic "flaw." In your case, it might even be the "wrong" size soundhole.

In any case, congratulations on acquiring those three superfine Guild 12-strings you've got there! I am kind of focusing on and hugely enjoying my fantastic Corona-built JF30-12....

gfj350.jpg
 

davismanLV

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Heel block, aka neck block on the inside of the body. Shine a light in there and you may see a stamp on the bevel. Won't be exact finish date but it'll get you close.
 

JohnW63

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Photobucket doesn't allow third party hosting, anymore, so we can't see your photos. Putting them on another free site, like imager.com still works.
 

GretschViking

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Here are the three Guild Jumbo 12-strings in action!


1997-98 Guild JF-30-12. Notice the crummy job the dopey luthier did to cover up
the worn out spot next to the pick guard (long story). Photo taken in New York City (6/17).

JF30.jpg




1992-93 Guild JF-65-12. Photo taken in Louisville, Kentucky (5/16).
AROTR2016c.jpg




2007-08 (???) F-512-12 "USED" (smaller sound hole). Guitar is currently getting a neck reset (yes...a different luthier!). Photo taken in Sulo, Norway (9/15).
F512.jpg
 
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GretschViking

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HI "Viking", welcome aboard!
Serial number charts are known to have errors and omissions, and the "JF"' models seem to be particularly prone to the problem, possibly because they were introduced at a time of frequent ownership turnover at Guild? (It's just an idea that occurred to me recently)
We also know those serial numbers seemed to get "re-defined" during the course of production, and I'm going to take a guess that your JF650524" could easily fit in the 1987 slot shown on Guild's site.
http://guildguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/history_of_your_guild.pdf
Remember the s/n's shown there are supposed to be the last ones for a given year, and if they changed formats during the year it could explain why yours is lacking the expected "JF6512" prefix.
Notice the regular "JF65M" 's from which the 12 is derived show the "JF65" prefix with 0031 being the last one they have record of for the 6-ers, in '87.
Seems kind of unlikely they only built 31 of 'em in '87, but I guess it's possible, depending on when they started building 'em.
I'm willing to bet they simply started stamping the 12's with the 6-er s/n sequence until they decided to give the 12's their own sequence, which then gives the last known number for them in that year, and gives the impression they were ALL "JF6512xxxx".
Another possibility is that they simply screwed up when they assigned JF65 type s/n's to some 12's. That's been shown to have occurred in other cases on other models.
I recall another member recently with a similar question, and our member Hans Moust who's our favorite go-to resource for questions about s/n dating was able to set him straight.
Hans prefers to be contacted at his website if he doesn't see this and answer within a day or 2:
http://www.guitarchives.nl/guitarsgalore/
For your JF3012: the lists actually end in '97 even though it's implied they cover a longer period than that.
For both of the 12's I think you'll also find a date stamp on either the heelblock or underside of the top for the JF6512, and the neck heelblock itself, of the JF30-12, although Westerly did discontinue that practice late in the game, but I don't remember when. I think '98's still had 'em?
The heelblock stamps can be a little hard to see, for example, it's on one of the bevels in my D25, and is only visible at just the right angle looking into the soundhole.
Those dates precede the actual completion date of the guitar by at least a few weeks to a couple of months depending on how popular the model was.


That has all the hallmarks of guitars that were "recycled " through Fender's liquidation channel, "Musical Instrument Reclamation Corporation": http://mircweb.com/
Is their an s/n visible under the "USED" stamp?
That would indicate a Corona-built model, '02-'04. MIRC put the stamp there to mark guitars that were sold expressly without warranty.
Over the course of the closure of Corona and Tacoma ('05-'08) some unsold inventory was liquidated through MIRC that may not have even had any problems, but because they were being liquidated at such low cost Fender needed to be sure to protect itself from future warranty claims.
Tacoma saw the cessation of stamping s/n's on the back of the headstock.
MIRC normally put a barcode stickers somewhere on the guitar, frequently right on the label to obscure the s/n, but it also ID'D the guitar for their purposes if needed.
So I'm guessing maybe the label was removed by somebody who started by trying to remove the barcode sticker.
As for soundhole size, we know they introduced some new specs on F512's in Tacoma and that might be one of 'em.
Oh, does it have a compensated saddle? That was a Tacoma innovation, assuming it's original.
Or if it's got a single adjusting nut under the truss rod cover, that was another Tacoma design introduction, a single truss with dual flanking rods in 12-ers, introduced around '07.
I discount the possibility it's a New Hartford F512 because we've seen so few reports of any New Hartfords being sent to MIRC.
In fact it was a surprise to many of us when we first heard of it a couple of years back.
Also I'm not sure they'd even built any F512's yet, in '09.
Edit: I see Gardman got his post in while I was still composing, but you can see we both agree on some "basic concepts".
Somebody oughta be along soon asking for pics, too.
:glee:



On my F512-12, there is no serial number under the word "USED" on the back of the headstock.


I just heard back from my luthier. He says there is a sticker over the inside label which has this number on it: 311482716


Any idea what it means?
 

chazmo

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This is a "reclaimed" instrument, through MIRC. The factory sold these to MIRC who in turn sold them to (mostly) online dealers without Guild warrantee support.

These instruments were primarily "blems," GV. I.e., they had some sort of cosmetic problem that wasn't worth fixing. You may or may not be able to find that blem.
 

GretschViking

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This is a "reclaimed" instrument, through MIRC. The factory sold these to MIRC who in turn sold them to (mostly) online dealers without Guild warrantee support.

These instruments were primarily "blems," GV. I.e., they had some sort of cosmetic problem that wasn't worth fixing. You may or may not be able to find that blem.


Cool. Any idea what year or where it was built? Again, I bought it on Ebay in early to mid 2009.
 
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Rayk

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Welcome GV missed this whole thread lol
Nice guitars sir :) a general comment , why does the 512 in the pic look shallow or is just it being a shot taken from farther away ?
 

chazmo

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Your picture shows the Grover tuners, so it pre-dates New Hartford. I believe you said there's nothing branded on the back of the headstock except "USED," in which case it's a Tacoma-era (2005-2008) instrument, as GardMan suggested. The paper label, even though covered up by a MIRC sticker, should say Made in Tacoma. The original serial number, if there is one, is kind of meaningless as there's no way to know what condition the instrument was in (possibly complete, possibly not) when it was sold to MIRC.
 

adorshki

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Your picture shows the Grover tuners, so it pre-dates New Hartford. I believe you said there's nothing branded on the back of the headstock except "USED," in which case it's a Tacoma-era (2005-2008) instrument, as GardMan suggested. The paper label, even though covered up by a MIRC sticker, should say Made in Tacoma. The original serial number, if there is one, is kind of meaningless as there's no way to know what condition the instrument was in (possibly complete, possibly not) when it was sold to MIRC.
I don't think MIRC was in the "assembly completion" business.
BUT I do remember that the single truss rod on '12's was instituted some time in '07 and that's as close as I think we're ever gonna get.
SO....dual truss rods narrow it down to '05-'06 (Did they even make F512's in '05?).
Single nut under the truss rod cover narrows it down to '07-'08.
That's as close as you're gonna get.
RE Rayk's question:
it does look kind of shallow in depth. Thought Tacomas should at least be same depth or within minute fractions of the depth of your other 2.
Combined with smaller soundhole it's got me wondering if it might have actually been a prototype, like a design study to see if those detail changes were "a good thing".
Since we know Tacoma did institute some new design details, I could see that being a proof-of-concept prototype.
It might also be a "first article" like we've seen from Corona, where they built a D55 on the line which was then minutely inspected for conformance to spec. It was the unit that would prove that the production line was ready to produce, or that something still needed tweaking.
 

GretschViking

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Thanks everyone for your input!


I've never noticed the depth of the F512 being any different than the others, but- comparing the photos- I see what you mean! When I get it back, I will make the comparison.. Also, I'll assume it's a 2007-08.


Thanks again!


:)
 
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GretschViking

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Welcome GV missed this whole thread lol
Nice guitars sir :) a general comment , why does the 512 in the pic look shallow or is just it being a shot taken from farther away ?

Hello!

Only took me six years to respond!

:cool::cool::cool::cool:

Sorry about that!

Yup. I just measured the width of the body and the F512-12 is about 11 1/2 centimeters where the JF30-12 and JF-65 are 12 centimeters.

What d'ya think?
 
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