F1512 GAD VS F1512 Westerly

ClydeTower

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Hi,
I'm new here on LTG, but I've been lurking for a while. Picked up an awesome D55 (2012) last year and love it. I'm now in the market for pre-owned 12 string, was originally looking for a F512 sunburst but they're nearly impossible to find here in Canada. Plus, my budget is a little thin since acquiring the D55. So I thought I might try to acquire a F1512e. I know its not in the same league as the F512, but having never owned a 12er, it might be a good way to get my feet wet to start out. Any how, I've seen the GAD version and the Westerly version of the 1512 and was wondering if anyone had any experience with both, what are the main differences and if one is better than the other. Personally, I prefer the block inlays and satin finish neck on the GAD 1512 vs the Westerly, but the later has bone appointments.

What about the neck profile? Are they the same? The specs say the Westerly has the Guild vintage neck profile. Anybody know what that is? Having smallish hands, I do prefer a slimmer neck profile when possible, but as a reference, the neck on my D55 is very manageable, not as comfortable as my Taylors, but good none the less.

Thanks for your help!
 

chazmo

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Welcome aboard, Clyde. And, congrats on your D-55 acquisition.

Can't answer your questions as I've never actually seen the GAD1512 in person... It's probably not a fair comparison to make vs. the F-512. IMO, the F-512 is the mack daddy of ALL the Guild 12-strings. Certainly the most amazing 12-string guitar I've ever played... and I've played a lot.

Best of luck in the hunt, and again welcome aboard!
 

Stuball48

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Clyde:
Welcome to the Guild Knowledge Center.
Agree with your logic and understand "thin" budget. The "hunt" is much fun almost as much as the "find."
 

ClydeTower

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It's probably not a fair comparison to make vs. the F-512. IMO, the F-512 is the mack daddy of ALL the Guild 12-strings.

Hey they Chazmo,
Actually, I would never compare the F1512 to the F-512, which as you said would be an unfair comparison. Rather I'd like to know how the F-1512 Westerly Collection (made since 2015) differs in sound/play from the F-1512 GAD version (made until 2014):

GAD: http://guildguitars.com/g/f-1512e/
Westerly: http://guildguitars.com/g/westerly-f-1512/

As for the F512, its kinda of like the Lochness monster, I've heard stories about it, but have never really seen it in person. None of the shops have it, so you can't try it... you can't even order it because apparently they're back-ordered since Cordoba bought Guild, and they have yet to produce more... As for finding a pre-owned F512 sunburst in good condition, that's like even harder. People snap em up faster than you can strum a G chord...
 

txbumper57

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First off let me say Welcome to LTG ClydeTower! Congrats on a Great New Hartford Made D55, New Hartford Guilds are some of the best ever in my opinion. I also don't think it is fair to compare the Chinese made GAD F1512 with the American Made F512 but I have played both models side by side. The GAD F1512 was a nice enough guitar in it's own right but it came nowhere close to the tone, playability, and Craftsmanship of the F512. The GAD F1512 I played sounded much thinner than the F512 and was somewhat tinny sounding overall in comparison. The neck profiles of any of the 12 string guitars are going to be considerably wider than your D55's Neck. If you can try one in person that is highly recommended for feel and such.

That being said I have never played a Westerly Collection F1512. The GAD Version was a good guitar in my opinion but not worth the Asking price new that my local shop wanted which was around $1300-$1400. I have seen them for sale used and have watched more than a few examples sell for $600 give or take $100 in excellent condition. I feel that price is a good deal for what the GAD 1512 has to offer. If I remember correctly the GAD F1512 wasn't a full 17" width at the lower bout either, Think it was more like 16"-16.5".

Personally if you are thinking about shelling out more than $1000 for one of the Chinese made F1512's I would hold off and wait for your budget to grow a bit. I have seen several American Made F512's from different times of manufacturing go for between $1500-$1700 in Excellent playing and cosmetic condition. I think you would be way happier with one of the used American made F512's for a little bit more money.

If on the other hand you can find a nice Chinese made F1512 model for $500-$600 then go for it. You could always get most of your money back out of it should you decide to sell it and upgrade to the American Version at a later date. American made used prices are only going to climb in the near future as Guild is getting ready to reintroduce the F512 to the active USA Made lineup at a considerably higher MSRP than they were previously available at. That along with some recent questions about Quality out of the new Oxnard facility should lead to higher prices on the used market for Tacoma and New Hartford Made F512's which a lot of folks including myself think were the best F512's Guild ever made.

Best of luck and I hope this info helps as much as it can!

TX
 

ClydeTower

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Hey TxBumper,
Thanks for sharing your precious experience with the Guild. I hear what you're saying about waiting for a F512. Its definitely my preferred option, but I've I got a bad case of GAS for a 12 and there are just no good F512s out there, at least not in Canada and barely any in the states. I would even have one shipped to Champlain and drive across the border to the US (I'm in Montreal) to bring one in if I could find one... since CITES regulations on rosewood last year, its really hard to import guitars with rosewood into Canada. Sellers in the states just don't want to deal with the hassle... So I'm pretty much stuck to what's available in Canada, which is limited. And a new F512 (if ever Cordoba decides to ship some up here) goes for 5K$ CDN!

So my options are either to get a F1512 just to tide me over until I find 'THE' F512 sunburst of my dreams, or get a Taylor, like a 855... but I already have 3 Taylors.
 

chazmo

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Hey they Chazmo,
Actually, I would never compare the F1512 to the F-512, which as you said would be an unfair comparison. Rather I'd like to know how the F-1512 Westerly Collection (made since 2015) differs in sound/play from the F-1512 GAD version (made until 2014):

GAD: http://guildguitars.com/g/f-1512e/
Westerly: http://guildguitars.com/g/westerly-f-1512/

As for the F512, its kinda of like the Lochness monster, I've heard stories about it, but have never really seen it in person. None of the shops have it, so you can't try it... you can't even order it because apparently they're back-ordered since Cordoba bought Guild, and they have yet to produce more... As for finding a pre-owned F512 sunburst in good condition, that's like even harder. People snap em up faster than you can strum a G chord...

Sorry, man... I totally misunderstood. I didn't even realize there were two different MIC versions.

Differences from GAD versus "100 series" models were fairly significant in trim appointments and whatnot. As for actual substance, I doubt there was much difference.
 

merlin6666

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My Guild dealer in in Regina has both a 1512 and 2512 in the store and I played and compared both last year. I found the 1512 very nice, super easy to play and decent tone. It was bought soon after it hit the store, but the original owner didn't play it at all for several months and returned it to the store for sale on consignment about $400 cheaper than when it was new. It was still there last time I checked a couple of weeks ago. However, I was really impressed by the 2512 which at much lower price seemed very solid and versatile. Definitely a lot of bang for the buck, though the looks are not my thing. The 1512 has solid EIR body, so if you want a used one you will likely be restricted to the Canada market as international private sellers will not have CITES paperwork to ship this across the border.
 

crank

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What about other American Made Guild 12 strings. 112, 212, 312...
 

Grassdog

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I'm going to throw some love out there for the F-1512E. After a long search for another Guild 12 string I recently pulled the trigger on one of these. The dealer knocked another 15% off the street price (getting it down to about $950). Guitar buying is so subjective sometimes but I just fell in love with the thing the first time I played it. The fit, finish, playability, and tone are just superb and it's a pleasure to play. I'm not sure exactly what the neck profile is, but to me it feels less bulky than my older Guild 12 strings and it's more comfortable for me to play. It's not quite as loud as my Westerly built JF-30-12 and D-25-12, but it holds it's own and I didn't really expect it to compete with those vintage 12's. At the end of the day, I wanted something that was comfortable to play (I plan on playing this out in gigs) and all the other factors just fell into place with this one. I never really thought I'd own a Chinese made Guild but I'm glad I gave it a chance.
 

dreadnut

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I used to own a 1981 F-512, it is in fact the granddaddy of 12 strings, but I sold it because the neck was so wide it hurt my left hand to play it for any length of time. Especially the barre chords. It had nice low action, but the width was a deal breaker for me. It was disappointing, but I couldn't justify keeping it.
 

ClydeTower

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I'm going to throw some love out there for the F-1512E. After a long search for another Guild 12 string I recently pulled the trigger on one of these. The dealer knocked another 15% off the street price (getting it down to about $950). Guitar buying is so subjective sometimes but I just fell in love with the thing the first time I played it. The fit, finish, playability, and tone are just superb and it's a pleasure to play. I'm not sure exactly what the neck profile is, but to me it feels less bulky than my older Guild 12 strings and it's more comfortable for me to play. It's not quite as loud as my Westerly built JF-30-12 and D-25-12, but it holds it's own and I didn't really expect it to compete with those vintage 12's. At the end of the day, I wanted something that was comfortable to play (I plan on playing this out in gigs) and all the other factors just fell into place with this one. I never really thought I'd own a Chinese made Guild but I'm glad I gave it a chance.

Is yours the GAD or Westerly Collection version of the 1512e?
 

adorshki

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The 1512 has solid EIR body, so if you want a used one you will likely be restricted to the Canada market as international private sellers will not have CITES paperwork to ship this across the border.
All they have to do is prove it was made prior to January 2017 which is the first date of CITES listing for D. Latifolia (EIR), "populations other than Madagascar".
CITES listing is not retroactive, it only applies to raw materials/finished goods made/sold after the listing date, exceptions are in a different category ("appendix").
More here:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/sh...-Regs-for-US-citizens-Official-FWS-newsletter
You can also travel across border to purchase and then bring it in under at east a couple of exemptions: Personal instrument not for resale, and/or allowance for less than 20lbs of wood.
Those were specifically intended to facilitate transport of personal property as opposed to goods for resale.
 
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ClydeTower

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You can also travel across border to purchase and then bring it in under at east a couple of exemptions: Personal instrument not for resale, and/or allowance for less than 20lbs of wood.
Those were specifically intended to facilitate transport of personal property as opposed to goods for resale.

If I find a worthy sunburst F-512 in the states, this is what I plan to do.
 

Cougar

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....but I've I got a bad case of GAS for a 12 and there are just no good F512s out there, at least not in Canada and barely any in the states...

And you're not the only one looking for one! :tiger:

But I'm here to tell you that if you're patient, you can get an American made Guild 12-string for under $1,000. Add the JF30-12 to your search. I got one (for under a grand) that was built in Corona that's in excellent shape, gorgeous burst, ebony fretboard, and it's a fantastic, super, extraordinary, tremendous 12er! You can do it!
 

ClydeTower

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And you're not the only one looking for one! :tiger:

But I'm here to tell you that if you're patient, you can get an American made Guild 12-string for under $1,000. Add the JF30-12 to your search. I got one (for under a grand) that was built in Corona that's in excellent shape, gorgeous burst, ebony fretboard, and it's a fantastic, super, extraordinary, tremendous 12er! You can do it!

Ya, that's a maple back isn't it? I've really got my heart set on a RW back and sides... Other options are a JF55 or a F312 but then again I'm really wanting a jumbo. There are a few Taylor 855s out there I'm sure play well, but I feel like I'd just be settling for something... The more I think about it, the more I feel like the only thing that will cure my GAS is the F-512 Sunburst, preferably a New Hartford. If I get a F1512, it would be nice in the short term, but the novelty would wear off leaving me with a feeling of longing for that perfect 12...

Geez, sounds like a bad Harlequin romance novel... I need help!
 
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