Used Guitar on F50R

What does "Used" imprinted on the back of the headstock indicate please? It's on an F50R. Assuming it is some kind of reference to it being sub standard or factory reject or some kind. Don't own the guitar but thinking of buying.

Many thanks!

Welcome. Guild did not sell all that many seconds and how they were marked depends on the time period. Is there a label? Guild ran some perfectly fine instruments through MIRC https://mircweb.com/ and I think a USED stamp on the headstock and a MIRC lable designated those instruments.

Dr Crippen said:

What does "Used" imprinted on the back of the headstock indicate please? It's on an F50R....

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fronobulax said:

...Is there a label? Guild ran some perfectly fine instruments through MIRC....

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Yes, welcome to the Guild boards. (Well, we sometimes mention other guitars, I guess.) Anyway, yes, "used" signifies some sort of flaw that didn't pass QC at the factory. It could be a small finish blemish, or something more problematic. The guitar should be discounted from the usual F50R price.

If there's something that needs fixing coming out of the factory, MIRC will fix it. They will also put a numbered strip of tape over the original serial number. It's a guitar Guild didn't want to send out under warranty. More than a few guys are quite happy with their MIRC guitars, and happy with the discount. It's certainly worth looking into more, for an F50R. See if the seller knows what the assumed "flaw" was. And find out everything you can. What year/factory, how's the action, what are the measurements at the 12th fret and at the bridge, etc. Ask more questions here, too. There's some huge collective knowledge here! Best of luck in your hunt!

What Cougar & Frono said . . . I can vouch for a couple of Tacoma-built Guilds that were MIRC'd, and are very fine instruments. In both cases, due to trivial finish blemishes that are meaningless (to me, anyways; I have to look carefully to find them).

Welcome to LTG, Doc.

If an instrument went to/thru MIRC would it say that somewhere on the guitar. As I posted here awhile back, I have a New Hartford built D 40 that just says 2nd on the soundhole label and I don't see MIRC mentioned anywhere on the guitar. Personally, I don't really care, I'm just curious. It's a fine guitar and the price was very right. I added a nice DTAR Wavelength pickup system and I play it often.

In addition to the "Used" impression on the back of the headstock, all I've ever seen was a white label with a MIRC s/n on it, covering up the Guild s/n.

MIRC's company name isn't identified on the label . . . it just shows a multi-digit number that obscures the original s/n.

geoguy said:

....all I've ever seen was a white label with a MIRC s/n on it, covering up the Guild s/n.

MIRC's company name isn't identified on the label . . . it just shows a multi-digit number that obscures the original s/n.

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Right. I seem to recall also seeing an orange piece of tape with a MIRC s/n on it, covering up the Guild s/n.

Let us know how it works out, Doc!

Richard, ever since the Tacoma era, the branded "USED" stamp on the back of the headstock is a pretty clear indication that the guitar was sold without factory warrantee through MIRC. There isn't anything obvious, though, that says it went specifically through MIRC, at least not to my knowledge. Most of the time, MIRC also put a label on top of the factory soundhole label which obscured the factory numbers, if there were any.

Your D-40, if it isn't branded with USED on the headstock almost certainly was sold directly by Guild and not through MIRC.

chazmo said:

Richard, ever since the Tacoma era, the branded "USED" stamp on the back of the headstock is a pretty clear indication that the guitar was sold without factory warrantee through MIRC. There isn't anything obvious, though, that says it went specifically through MIRC, at least not to my knowledge. Most of the time, MIRC also put a label on top of the factory soundhole label which obscured the factory numbers, if there were any.

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Actually I remember reports of "USED" being stamped over the headstock s/n's from Corona, too.
In that case I think it was done to ensure that s/n was also obscured.

chazmo said:

Your D-40, if it isn't branded with USED on the headstock almost certainly was sold directly by Guild and not through MIRC.

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I agree, but I believe MIRC only stamped the headstock where the s/n needed to be obscured.
Think we've seen a lot of MIRC's that are only identifiable by the sticker but no "used" stamp (on headstock), or else the owners never mentioned the stamp but only the sticker..
ONE thing is consistent: MIRC ALWAYS obscured the s/n's in both places if needed, but factory 2nds and B stocks didn't.

Al, I think the MIRCs always have USED on the headstock, at least since Tacoma. That may have been branded at the factory, not MIRC, but I don't know.

As far as Corona's concerned, yeah that could certainly be the case. I don't know if Guild/Fender used MIRC back then or not.