Disappointed again 😔

Rayk

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I just might have to stop buying guitars .
I bought NH F30 again . Just got it 2 hours ago .

Right off the bat the low saddle caught my eye check it out best guess from my other Guilds bridge is thicker .

Looking at the top I see weird waves in it being a gloss finish they stick out .

I find between the bridge and sound hole the top has sunk some , another area between upperbout and waist by the pick guard .

The tapper or curve of the top to the cutaway looks off dipping to the side .

A divit or narrow low spot on top following the grain just below the bridge high E side about an inch out .

Also another one between the bridge and pick guard . Not seen a top have this before .

Over all I’m not sure what to make of this .

I’m getting mad at this point being the 5th failed attempt add up lost shipping costs and I could bought another Wiborn custom 😠

Off to see sellers response all hopes for a easy return . 😐
 

Westerly Wood

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are they not sending good pics of the guitar before you buy it?
is this ebay or reverb?
 

geoguy

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Cutaway on an F30?

Can you post photos of the things that are concerning you?
 

adorshki

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Looking at the top I see weird waves in it being a gloss finish they stick out .

I find between the bridge and sound hole the top has sunk some , another area between upperbout and waist by the pick guard .

The tapper or curve of the top to the cutaway looks off dipping to the side .

A divit or narrow low spot on top following the grain just below the bridge high E side about an inch out .

Also another one between the bridge and pick guard . Not seen a top have this before .

Over all I’m not sure what to make of this .
What gauge strings on this?
F30's were one of the few NH's to actually come with lights instead of mediums.
Your description sounds like possible distortion from over-torqueing top?.
 

Rayk

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It sold on reverb guitar could still be listed .

String gauge not sure but felt like 12’s

Just to say I have a damn good eyes and instruments lol

The two depressions in the top ran along the grain line about a 1/2 inch you feel the depressions and see them but because the shine was darn good you had have the light right to see it .

The wavyness in the top was easily visible just had to know what you were seeing .

I compared all my guitars to make sure I was right .

The ares that were sunk had bracing close at hand so not good . Now understand you had to look at it from many angles to see what the heck was going on .

When the sides are glued together forming the body shape it’s sanded to form the contour you see forming the depth and radius of the guitar say 4 inches deep at the tail and 3 1/2 at the neck .

When it is sanded it looks like to much pressure was applied on the cutaway side removing more material causing a noticeable taper .

My Cv-1 was a good comparison her top is darn good it showed none of these things the f30 had going on . The waviness went front to back as well as side to side hence the sinking between the sound hole and bridge . My straight edges and other guitars confirmed what I was seeing

Sorry no pics she is pack up ready and to go .

My iPhone sucks at pics and with the gloss it would have been hard to get the right shots sorry .

The guitar looked great in the pics on site just like the last one and the one before that and before that and , and I can’t remember that one lol

Seller was great to work with all good no issues no hesitation in the return.
 

txbumper57

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So sorry to hear this again Ray. Man if weren't for bad luck you would have no luck at all on this quest of yours. If the guitar was not as described you should be able to get return shipping paid for by the seller, If they refuse you can always open a claim with Reverb but that takes some time as I am learning. Sounds to me like this F30 has been the victim of improper humidification throughout it's lifetime. The New Hartford Guilds did have a 25' or 30' radius on the top and I can see if someone let it dry out or get too much humidification the issues that you are listing coming to fruition, Especially the drop off in the cutaway area and the dip in the soundboard between the bridge and soundhole. So sorry to hear this and I really hope you find the one you are looking for. Unfortunately the more time it takes to find one it seems the less an less of Quality cared for New Hartford instruments are becoming available used. Best of luck man.

TX
 
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Rayk

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So sorry to hear this again Ray. Man if weren't for bad luck you would have no luck at all on this quest of yours. If the guitar was not as described you should be able to get return shipping paid for by the seller, If they refuse you can always open a claim with Reverb but hat takes some time as I am learning. Sounds to me like this F30 has been the victim of improper humidification throughout it's lifetime. The New Hartford Guilds did have a 25' or 30' radius on the top and I can see if someone let it dry out or get too much humidification the issues that you are listing coming to fruition, Especially the drop off in the cutaway area and the dip in the soundboard between the bridge and soundhole. So sorry to hear this and I really hope you find the one you are looking for. Unfortunately the more time it takes to find one it seems the less an less of Quality cared for New Hartford instruments are becoming available used. Best of luck man.

TX

You got my back brother maybe you’ll find me the next one lol

There’s a few options out there but the price is to high once again .
 
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adorshki

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When the sides are glued together forming the body shape it’s sanded to form the contour you see forming the depth and radius of the guitar say 4 inches deep at the tail and 3 1/2 at the neck .

When it is sanded it looks like to much pressure was applied on the cutaway side removing more material causing a noticeable taper .
OK we know that in Westerly the body bucks weren't all the same depth and this was the source of individual variations in depth, but thought they were standardized in Corona and going forward, especially NH Where they introduced CNC machining besides.
Still, I get what you're saying, I'm just at a loss to think how it could have happened unless a buck itself was out of whack or the sides were done outside of a buck.
Did you get an S/N, is it possible this was very early or very late production?
 

Neal

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Sorry to hear of your troubles, Ray.

Personally, I have gravitated toward old guitars that are the picture of imperfection. It takes all the pressure off, knowing that whatever shape they have assumed is how they have probably been for a long, long time, and they are unlikely to change much.
 

beecee

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Sorry to hear of your troubles, Ray.

Personally, I have gravitated toward old guitars that are the picture of imperfection. It takes all the pressure off, knowing that whatever shape they have assumed is how they have probably been for a long, long time, and they are unlikely to change much.

Neal,

My thoughts exactly. I like mojo and patina.

Relative to some of the folks here I feel like such a noob, even after owning guitars for over 40 years, that I'd be afraid to buy a newer one at this point.

I'd probably never have noticed the issues Rayk did...ha ask texbumper and the F-50R he got from me.

Not sure if it is failing eyesight, ignorance or low standards, or a combo of all three.
 

Rayk

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Ok if you folks can read this great I can’t access page 2 lol at least on my phone . I can page up on another thread just not this one lol

Why me hahaha
 

geoguy

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Ray, can you post a link to the Reverb listing for this guitar? I'm curious to see what it looked like.

Also, a couple years ago I purchased a guitar that arrived with medium-gauge strings on it, that also had a dip in the top near the soundhole. Switched to light-gauge strings, gave it proper humidity for awhile, and the top mostly flattened out.

Its still here.

edit: One of my best-sounding guitars is a D44M that came with multiple cracks in the top, a neck block that moved slightly some time ago, divots in numerous frets and a few water-stains on the interior. I really liked that instrument's tone, and the intonation was good enough for my old ears. So I had Chris Seeger (formerly with Guild at New Hartford) cleat the cracks & refret it. It is also still here, and is one of my favorites. Like others pointed out above, if it sounds good & plays good, I wouldn't be put off by appearance issues that you have to look closely to see.
 
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Rayk

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It’s been removed so I can’t find it done if you google search you can find sold listings but I could find there either .

I’m not taking the risk of said top getting better at best that’s a hope and a prayer. Matt’s music was the store . He a pleasure to deal with .
 

richardp69

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Neal,

My thoughts exactly. I like mojo and patina.

Relative to some of the folks here I feel like such a noob, even after owning guitars for over 40 years, that I'd be afraid to buy a newer one at this point.

I'd probably never have noticed the issues Rayk did...ha ask texbumper and the F-50R he got from me.

Not sure if it is failing eyesight, ignorance or low standards, or a combo of all three.

I'm right there with ya. Some folks are really anal when it comes to cosmetics and looks of a guitar they're buying. I'm not saying that's bad by the way just that some are more so than others. I typically buy older, more well used gear as well. If it shows up at all like the description in the listing, if there aren't any severe structural issues and most importantly, if it sounds like I want it to sound then I'm typically fine with it. Don't get me wrong. If I had the choice of two models, one being nearly perfect and one not and provided the sound/vibe was similar, I'd want the near perfect one as well. It's just that a used guitar in my mind is just that. It's used and personally, I feel it may be unrealistic to expect it to be in show room condition

I'm sure there are many that disagree with me and that's fine. Most folks typically do disagree with me about most everything.
 
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