Which Guild for me?

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Hello everyone! I've always had an affinity towards Guild acoustics and now that I have some extra money I'm hoping to soon be an Guild owning member. Now I've been reading up on these guitars and I'm not sure which one is right for me. Of course I would love to play and inspect a guitar before I buy but living in Tampa leaves me a little limited. From what I've taken in so far is the older ones are better bang for the buck ( I do like the idea of owning a vintage guitar ) and the Chinese made newer ones are least to be desired.

Here's my questions, which Guild acoustic do you guys and gals recommend? This will be a guitar I will keep for a long time and take care of, I strum mostly and will be playing songs with my wife in our home.

I have a budget between $600-$900 to spend, I don't have very big hands and was born with a slight disability on my left arm so easy playability helps a lot ( she has a Takamine that's incredibly easy to play ) but I'm not a beginner at guitar. What I've looked at so far are D25's D40's and a F47MCE Corona made that looked beautiful and was close to my price range but I've read negative things about the Fender made Guilds or are they just rumors? What are some things to look out for, or ask for better pictures of when buying online if I go that route? Mainly what do you recommend and about what price range should I expect for a fair price.

Anyways sorry for the wall of text, was hoping you all could help a newbie out.

Thanks
 

swiveltung

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adorshki

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What I've looked at so far are D25's D40's and a F47MCE Corona made that looked beautiful and was close to my price range but I've read negative things about the Fender made Guilds or are they just rumors?
Welcome aboard Staygold.
I can assure you there's no reason to discount Corona Guilds purely based on build location.
There are some grains of truth that led to that internet myth but for the most part they were not due to inherent quality issues with the guitars.
(Full disclosure: my D40 is a Corona build I bought brand new)
Recommendations for ease of play would be F40-sized guitars including the F47 (16" lower bouts with "jumbo" shape), F30-sized guitars (slightly smaller bodies).
Things to watch out for:
Guitars which have had their s/n's blacked out or obliterated and replaced with bar code stickers.
When Fender closed Corona and then Tacoma, they liquidated a lot of product through a refurbishing outfit and when that product got to market it was often touted as "NEW" but without warranty, which was one source of the bad rep for Corona.
A lot (maybe even most) of those don't have any discernible flaws but sellers are asking "A" grade prices for product that will always have a "factory second" value to an appraiser.
If priced right they can be great deals for somebody who's not concerned about "resale value".
Another source of Corona's "bad rep" was the constant bashing of Fender by sellers in the late '00's.
The supreme irony is that so many of those ads imply Fender didn't make Guilds until the move to Corona, when actually they bought Guild while it was still in Westerly in late '95, and the Guilds made there from '96-'01 are very highly regarded by the market.
You can still see it today about '96-'01 guitars: "Before Fender ruined 'em".
Grrrrrrr......
The primary reason Fender moved Guild to Corona was that Westerly was too costly to refurbish to a modern production environment.
Fender built a brand new manufacturing area dedicated to Guild acoustic production in Corona, before completing the move.
I'll let other folks cover the "What to ask and look for in photos" question.
 

killdeer43

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WELCOME TO LTG!
All I can say is good luck...so many Guilds so little time. Judging from your budget range, I'd say that there's a perfect Guild waiting for you to find it.
You'll hear opinions aplenty here, but the decision will be yours. :courage:

Keep us posted,
Joe
 

dreadnut

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My recommendation would be to find a nice late '70's or early '80's D-25 with a spruce top. Pretty much Guild's entry-level dread at the time, but they are outstanding Westerly-made guitars, and a nice one should be available in your price range.
 

richardp69

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In a $600 to $900 price range you will likely be able to find a really nice D 40 (mahogany) or D 50 (Rosewood) or JF 30 (Maple). I just sold both a D 40 and a D 50 at the upper end of your range. Both were exceptional Guilds.
 

dreadnut

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Yeah, richardp has got a pretty good handle on this. He might have something for you.
 

AcornHouse

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I would suggest an F-20. They are a small body shape, very comfortable to play, the perfect guitar for sitting back on the couch. I also have smaller hands and love these small ones. For playing just at home, I’d say forget the larger bodies; F-30 or F-20. The only issue is that the specs change through the years, sometimes long scale, sometimes short. They also may push your budget, but you can find them in your range.
Heres a video I made that will give you an idea about size and sound of the F-20.
https://youtu.be/VEaoSYNS1tI
 

fronobulax

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Welcome. I bought Mrs. Fro. a D25 as her first Guild. (I picked it out). She liked it until she played a New Hartford F30 Traditional. The body size was so much easier for her to manage. Based on her experience I'd suggest you start with an F20 or F30. The MIC Guilds are fine guitars and might be the way to go if price, availability and warranty are important factors to you. But since the USA Guilds were targeted at a higher price point (and in some cases may have mellowed or opened up) most folks here will favor a used MIA Guild at a similar price. Your budget should allow you some choices if you are willing to search, be patient and probably buy something before you play it.

A general statement about FMIC made Guilds being inferior is false and not supported by anything other than urban legend. There are a couple specific models that you should be careful about but those have been noted above.

I'm sure we can help you make your selection :)
 

Ron from Texas

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One other Guild is a D35NT from early 70s' to early 80s' . They are very nice acoustics with good sounds and easily played .
 

Bernie

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One of the most important thing may well be to pick up the guitar that suits you best according to what use you'll have, how tall you are, how powerful your voice is, and how comfortable you feel when you'll play the guitar you'll get...
The Guild guitar I just bought fits me well in terms of size and shape, stimulates me to sing loud enough, and does not step over my voice then...It is deep but quite small, with a long scale and a rather wide neck, all of which works well for me.
I suspect it is likely one of the reasons that makes it my favourite steel strings so far.

The guitars you have mentioned all seem very good instruments, and are likely to show your tastes in terms of sound and woods perhaps. What I pointed out should help you make the best possible choice for you in between them all...

Best of luck
 

Kitarkus

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I would suggest an F-20. They are a small body shape, very comfortable to play, the perfect guitar for sitting back on the couch. I also have smaller hands and love these small ones. For playing just at home, I’d say forget the larger bodies; F-30 or F-20. The only issue is that the specs change through the years, sometimes long scale, sometimes short. They also may push your budget, but you can find them in your range.
Heres a video I made that will give you an idea about size and sound of the F-20.
https://youtu.be/VEaoSYNS1tI

That's you?? Ha!...I've watched that video multiple times. Thanks for doing that.
 

Kitarkus

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Hello everyone! I've always had an affinity towards Guild acoustics and now that I have some extra money I'm hoping to soon be an Guild owning member. Now I've been reading up on these guitars and I'm not sure which one is right for me. Of course I would love to play and inspect a guitar before I buy but living in Tampa leaves me a little limited. From what I've taken in so far is the older ones are better bang for the buck ( I do like the idea of owning a vintage guitar ) and the Chinese made newer ones are least to be desired.

Here's my questions, which Guild acoustic do you guys and gals recommend? This will be a guitar I will keep for a long time and take care of, I strum mostly and will be playing songs with my wife in our home.

I have a budget between $600-$900 to spend, I don't have very big hands and was born with a slight disability on my left arm so easy playability helps a lot ( she has a Takamine that's incredibly easy to play ) but I'm not a beginner at guitar. What I've looked at so far are D25's D40's and a F47MCE Corona made that looked beautiful and was close to my price range but I've read negative things about the Fender made Guilds or are they just rumors? What are some things to look out for, or ask for better pictures of when buying online if I go that route? Mainly what do you recommend and about what price range should I expect for a fair price.

Anyways sorry for the wall of text, was hoping you all could help a newbie out.

Thanks

AcornHouse gave you some good information. Finding a guitar that you can play with your existing disability is key and obviously none of us can speak to that. Though able bodied, I too am finding myself grabbing smaller bodied guitars far more often than my D-40 dread sized guitar. The 000, 00, 0 or similar smaller bodied guitars are just easier (for me) to play comfortably. Swiveltung is also right in that these older Guilds have widely varying neck shapes and nut widths. If you can narrow what body type and neck/nut size you would prefer...surely we can be of far more assistance to you.
 

docfishr

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Welcome aboard. You do start off with a tough question. One that only you can answer ultimately. But you sure came to the right place to get well founded opinions and good advice. Good luck in your search.

Oh, and by the way, I have owned most every Guild model over the 54 years since I bought my first F-20. But my all time favorite for ease of play, sweet sound for backing vocals strummed or finger picked is the F-30 Aragon. It has the 1 11/16" neck nut. Note that the recent "standard " models have the wider 1 3/4" neck. I currently have 3 of the Aragon's, one 1964 from Hoboken, one 1989 from Westerly. Both have the shorter 24 3/4" scale length making them very easy to play. The 3rd one is a 2006 from Tacoma. It has a deeper body and a 25 1/2" scale. It also has the fullest most beautiful sound of the three I own. I have seen Tacoma F-30's in your budget range from time to time.
Be patient and you will find what you are looking for.
I don't think you can go wrong with a any Guild guitar that has a good set up.
 

AcornHouse

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I currently have 3 of the Aragon's, one 1964 from Hoboken, one 1989 from Westerly. Both have the shorter 24 3/4" scale length making them very easy to play. ...
Do you mean a '99, Doc? They only reissued the short scale F-30s at the very end of the Westerly residency for a few years. (I know, I have one and had to search for awhile to find one of them.)
 
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Thank you so much for all the information, it's definitely helping. I'm looking at a few guitars and enjoy reading and learning about them. The sunburst Corona F47mce was a little out of my price range and had some finish checking on it, ( it was actually posted on this forum already about a week ago ) which I wouldn't mind on an older one but it was from 2002. I have my eyes on a J30 blonde from 1980, it's on reverb for 850 I think. Not sure if that's the right one for me but it's real pretty.
 
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It’s usually the guys that are trying to SELL Westerly-made Guilds that are the ones bashing Fender. And if they get their hands on, and want to sell, a Corona-made Guild is when they start singing Fenders’ praises!

I own two Corona-made Guilds, and one of those is a MIRC- refurbished JF30. Fine guitars and value-priced when I got them. There does seem to be a stigma attached to Corona-made, for all the reasons previously stated, that seems to have put a slight taint on the whole run, which is great when you’re looking to BUY! But the Corona factory turned out some fine instruments.

But make sure you’re buying the instrument, not the label. There could be duds from any plant of manufacture and/or brand. ( Just seems to happen less with Guild!)

And. as a side note, when Fender took over Gretsch, the quality and innovation improved exponentially! I know first-hand because I’ve owned both vintage and modern proline Gretsch guitars since the 80’s. The general consensus is that Fender/Gretsch is a very good thing... in all likelihood the best thing that ever happened to Gretsch!

Fender also owned Guild when they were made at Tacoma and New Hartford... and they manufactured some of the finest acoustic guitars ever produced!
 

adorshki

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Thank you so much for all the information, it's definitely helping. I'm looking at a few guitars and enjoy reading and learning about them. The sunburst Corona F47mce was a little out of my price range and had some finish checking on it, ( it was actually posted on this forum already about a week ago ) which I wouldn't mind on an older one but it was from 2002. I have my eyes on a J30 blonde from 1980, it's on reverb for 850 I think. Not sure if that's the right one for me but it's real pretty.

Is that a typo, did you mean F30?
There was also a JF30 which was a much larger guitar but those weren't introduced until 1987: they had maple arched back bodies, 17" lower bout width.
Actually, on re-read, think it must be a JF30 due to the "Blonde", that's unstained maple with a natural spruce top.
And yeah they are real pretty but it sounds like you've got an unknowledgeable seller there.
$850's high for a 6 string, even immaculate with OHSC; that's "ok" for the 12-string version, the JF30-12.
IF JF30 $5-600's more realistic.
For some reason they're not that highly sought after compared to their 12-string versions.
 
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