New Member NH F30

Bernie

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I'm the new owner of a very good guitar, that I was lucky enough to pay a very low price (for my country...).
I became a Guild man a bit by accident somehow, coz I came across an American made Guild guitar, for a bit more than we usually pay for all solid Chinese ones...
It is just perfect : love the size of it, its body depth, nut width, red spruce bracing and so on.
I bet the shop had ir for quite a while, and for some reason too few people knew enough about Guild to get it before...The make is not very widely spread here (my luck).
It's a New Hartford made F-30 (Standard), and it suits me perfectly...Unbeatable at that price , give a ten on all specs !! :courage:
 

Bernie

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Does anybody know about the red spruce bracing on the Guild F-30 standard made in New Hartford ? Is this a standard thing that has been done on these guitars since the beginning, or is it specific to this peculiar moment - this model not being currently made right now...
I had read that Taylor used the same idea on some high-end guitars such as 814 ce, and I had been interested in it : it had its share in my being turned on by this model...
I now wonder who started it too.
Any clues ?
 

txbumper57

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Hey Bernie, You got a great Guild there. New Hartford used the same scalloped Adirondack red spruce bracing on their Higher end traditional series guitars and they incorporated that into the standard series as well. Basically the Standard series was meant to have all of the tone of the more expensive higher end Flagship models but with minimal bling on the outside making it more of a players guitar. By far the best value on the market for bang for buck in my opinion is the New Hartford Standard series Guilds. All of the ones I have played sounded Amazing and the quality is top notch. I am partial to New Hartford made Guilds as I feel they are some of the finest models ever made under the brand. In my opinion The Red spruce bracing has a lot to do with sparkle of Magic that each one has in it's tone. Guild started using Red Spruce bracing in Tacoma Washington from around 2006-2009 but they really perfected the use of it as it was standard throughout all of the acoustic lines by the time of New Hartford production (2009-2014). Congrats again and don't be afraid to post some pics, There is a good sized following here for the New Hartford Standard series Guitars. Look forward to hearing more from you and enjoy that F30 Standard!

TX
 

adorshki

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I had read that Taylor used the same idea on some high-end guitars such as 814 ce, and I had been interested in it : it had its share in my being turned on by this model...
I now wonder who started it too.
Any clues ?
Confirming what TX said, red spruce (also known as "Adirondack") was first used by Guild in Tacoma, but the reputation of the wood itself goes back to "pre-War Martins".
At that time Adirondack was plentiful and freely available and in the '60's when these instruments were becoming prized for their tone, the "Adi" topwood was cited as one reason for it.
Problem was, during WWII the old-growth stands of ADI had been severely harvested in support of aircraft production, it is actually stronger than typical spruces (sitka) so elements like wing spars can be made thinner and still offer similar strength for less weight.
Which is why it's also nice for guitar braces: thinner pieces allow better top vibration with no strength penalty.
Anyway, most of he Adi that was left that was suitable for manufacturing was in protected National Forests.
Prviately owned tracts didn't really start to recover and offer suitable sized lumber until the early '90's when we started seeing it offered by high end makers.
Eventually it became available enough for makers like Guild and Tayler to offer it, but don't know when Taylor started.
Starting in Tacoma in late '05-'06, Guild even offered an Adi top on some models like D40's, D50's and F40's and F30's.
But Adi bracing was standard across the line and the practice was continued in New Hartford. (who also offered sitka or adi top options on all those models except the F40, where some limited edition alternatives were offered instead)
The question has come up before as to whether GuIld ever used it prior to Tacoma, but I've never seen credible evidence offered to support it, and the issues described above tend to indicate it wasn't used by them or anybody else from the end of WWII until the early '90's.
 
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Bernie

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Thanks Merlin for what you're now saying :courage:

Many Thanks Txbumper : good to hear from the connoisseur...
What you say about this guitar and the Red spruce bracing is about what i sometimes figured, being kind of amazed - or at least very surprised - to hear such good of a guitar in that simple but very efficient model, I first thought as an entry level high-end guitar, but that I keep discovering as a very serious instrument indeed...I'm not too familiar with Guild guitars' history, models or supposed ups and downs, but this guitar does not end up being delightful to get to know and enjoy :courage:

Yes I've got to post some pictures shortly ! I'll have to find some website to post with...

Thanks too Mr. Adorshki for the details on Adirondack : I do know quite a bit on Red spruce as my D-28 is Adorondack topped ; I'm quite fond of this wood, but this time I 'm getting an idea of how bracing in itself can affect the tone of a guitar. There is something very clear, very bright that is surely related to it...
As far as Taylor is concerned, their use of Adirondack braces on high-end series such as I have mentioned is very recent (kind of 3-4 years I believe).
 
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Rayk

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Congrats , a awesome guitar with awesome tone ;)
 

Bernie

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The link I have with serial number related to years when a guitar has been made stops in 2010, with second letter's equivalency standing as follows
(Tacoma and New Hartford built)

I 2005
J 2006
K 2007
L 2008
M 2009
N 2010
(first letter designing building location - N [New HartFord] from 2009, or end of 2008)...
Should I assume it goes on afterwards : O 2011, P 2012 and so forth...)
 

Bernie

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Thanks Geoguy : then it must end up with R=2014, since they moved from New Hartford that year if I understood well what Ren Ferguson was telling in the Tony Polecastro's for Music Villa that I reard...

And thanks RayK too for your comment : I really enjoy this guitar...
 
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