F50R New Hartford slightly superior to Westerly JF55 tonewise?

geoff2guitar

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Just a feeling I seem to get from a few opinions, and maybe I´m wrong , but in your opinion is the F50r from New Hartford slightly superior to the Westerly made JF55? Any differences in tone?

Thanks
 

JohnW63

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Two nice guitars to compare. I haven't had my hands on either one, but someone here just may have.

The difficulty in these comparisons is that it may very well depend on exactly which guitars you have to try. No two are precisely alike. I'm sure they are both very good. But one set of wood, one better day for the guys putting one together, one better conditions between build and a persons hands could make one the winner.
 

chazmo

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Tone I cannot speak to as I've never done that comparison.

I did have a 1971 (early Westerly) F-50R that might've been the best sounding 6-string I ever played, and certainly compared favorably to the New Hartford era F-50Rs. But, in the '90s, by the time Westerly had changed the model nomenclature and was doing the JFs, they were making some seriously heavy guitars. The New Hartford era, as well as the Tacoma era that preceded it, took a lot of heft out of these instruments. Sonically, how do they compare? I don't know.

Anyway, good luck in the hunt!
 

twocorgis

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FWIW, I've owned a couple of F50Rs, a couple of JF55s, and have played a few New Hartford F50Rs (and own a maple F50ce that I love). They're all good guitars, but Guild was doing stuff in New Hartford that made all the acoustic guitars that came from there just a little bit better than all their predecessors, with the possible exception of some of the really light Hoboken builds.

Of course, looking at my sig, you might think I favor the new Hartford Guilds just a wee bit...
 

chazmo

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In slight contrast to Sandy's post, I've played Westerly F-212XLs that outshine the New Hartford Standard model that I have. I'm gonna' be honest about that. The NH version is tighter, and maybe the comparison isn't perfect because I've always played other folks' guitars with whatever strings they've chosen for it. But, there you have it.

Don't get me wrong; I adore my F-212XL. Every time I open the case, I get a slight whiff of the NH shop and it takes me back to the four events that we held there. Gosh, I miss those folks!

That all said, I really don't think you can go wrong with F-50R or JF-55. *However*, be aware of the resale "issue" that the JF-55 nomenclature is less well-known (read less valuable) than the F-50R name. Seriously. When you resell the thing, expect confusion and possibly less of a market because of the name.
 

Grassdog

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be awaree of the resale "issue" that the JF-55 nomenclature is less well-known (read less valuable) than the F-50R name. Seriously. When you resell the thing, expect confusion and possibly less of a market because of the name.

There's some truth in this. I got a very good deal on my recently acquired a JF-55 in excellent shape. That guitar is starting to turn heads. I would love to get my hands on a New Hartford F-50R to compare it to.

I don't think you can go wrong with either of these, but the last of the JF-55's are almost 20 years old now so you've got to give some consideration to what shape it's in if you're going to go that route. As far as availability, my assumption is there are a lot more JF-55's out there but I've not seen any figures on that.
 

Antney

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Hi Geoff

I don’t understand questions like this one. Each guitar is tonally individual within itself. It begins with a completely unique set of organic materials that surrender themselves to the coincidence of human, mechanical, and chemical interaction to become the instruments we love or not. Even within that one instrument there are circumstances that enhance or prohibit optimum tone, either over the life of the instrument or even day to day. Comparisons therefore simply can’t hold any water.

I can guarantee this, however: everyday in China a no-name brand guitar comes out of finishing with a tonal palette that surpasses that of a high end American made thud. It’s simply the coincidence of the interaction.
 

chazmo

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I completely disagree with Antney's post.

The comment about MIC is almost edit-worthy. Please refrain from further comments like that.
 

twocorgis

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I completely disagree with Antney's post.

The comment about MIC is almost edit-worthy. Please refrain from further comments like that.

So do I. The main reason for the all-around goodness of New Hartford Guilds was changing production techniques in their pursuit of consistency. And from the guitars I've played, they achieved it, with a bit of help from Collings.
 

swiveltung

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Hi Geoff

I don’t understand questions like this one. Each guitar is tonally individual within itself. It begins with a completely unique set of organic materials that surrender themselves to the coincidence of human, mechanical, and chemical interaction to become the instruments we love or not. Even within that one instrument there are circumstances that enhance or prohibit optimum tone, either over the life of the instrument or even day to day. Comparisons therefore simply can’t hold any water.

I can guarantee this, however: everyday in China a no-name brand guitar comes out of finishing with a tonal palette that surpasses that of a high end American made thud. It’s simply the coincidence of the interaction.

I agree with the each guitar is different part. Even in bolt together, machine made Stratocasters! But certain combinations of materials, ie: models, have a GENERAL tone expectation.
 

FNG

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I don't get the issue with Antney's post. It reads to me that he dais that sometimes a mass produced low cost guitar can sometimes sound better than an expensive boutique type guitar.
 

Cougar

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I don't get the issue with Antney's post. It reads to me that he dais that sometimes a mass produced low cost guitar can sometimes sound better than an expensive boutique type guitar.

Me neither, but he might have edited the offensive bit.
 

adorshki

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I don't get the issue with Antney's post. It reads to me that he said that sometimes a mass produced low cost guitar can sometimes sound better than an expensive boutique type guitar.
That's exactly how I read it too.
Hoping Chaz won't take this wrong but sometimes he does misinterpret posts.
And in fairness, sometimes they're not worded all that well, I should know. (insert sheepish grin emoji here)
Me neither, but he might have edited the offensive bit.
Nope, edits show up with a time stamp, no edit.
 

beecee

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Hoping Chaz won't take this wrong but sometimes he does misinterpret posts.


Ha! About as often as Al is corrected???
 

adorshki

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Hoping Chaz won't take this wrong but sometimes he does misinterpret posts.


Ha! About as often as Al is corrected???

Not quite sure how to take that, but suspect there was a bit of elbow-in-the-ribs humor intended.
In terms of raw count comparison, ie, misinterpretations vs corrections, I'm pretty sure I'm way ahead of him, but as percentage of total posts, even limiting 'em to my purely informational ones, I'd say my accuracy rate's pretty d--n good.
:pride:
 

bobouz

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Hi Geoff

I don’t understand questions like this one. Each guitar is tonally individual within itself. It begins with a completely unique set of organic materials that surrender themselves to the coincidence of human, mechanical, and chemical interaction to become the instruments we love or not. Even within that one instrument there are circumstances that enhance or prohibit optimum tone, either over the life of the instrument or even day to day. Comparisons therefore simply can’t hold any water.

I can guarantee this, however: everyday in China a no-name brand guitar comes out of finishing with a tonal palette that surpasses that of a high end American made thud. It’s simply the coincidence of the interaction.

I don't see anything offensive here - just a somewhat overstated attempt to say that no two guitars are the same.

That said, I believe the point of the OP's question is quite valid. It is possible to draw generalizations about tone from various eras of a company's production, and frequently with guitars, a particular model will develop a signature tone - based on the best examples of that model over time. What's important to remember is that these are generalizations, and there will clearly be a spectrum of differences within any given model's (or era's) production.
 

Westerly Wood

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Not quite sure how to take that, but suspect there was a bit of elbow-in-the-ribs humor intended.
In terms of raw count comparison, ie, misinterpretations vs corrections, I'm pretty sure I'm way ahead of him, but as percentage of total posts, even limiting 'em to my purely informational ones, I'd say my accuracy rate's pretty d--n good.
:pride:

You and Chaz are two of my favorite LTGers so keep on keeping on in your respective talents and approaches to LTGness :)
 

adorshki

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You and Chaz are two of my favorite LTGers so keep on keeping on in your respective talents and approaches to LTGness :)

So no showdown?

cassidy.jpg


Butch-Cassidy-The-Sundance-Kid-Paul-Newman.jpg
 

beecee

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Not quite sure how to take that, but suspect there was a bit of elbow-in-the-ribs humor intended.

It was in jest......but in retrospect, poorly written.
 
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