F50R New Hartford slightly superior to Westerly JF55 tonewise?

txbumper57

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Have you kept all your online purchases? Or have you had to make some returns after receiving a dud?

I have sold a few here and there over the years but for the most part I think I have kept 99% of my online purchases. There have been a one or two I sent back that had issues that didn't show up in the photos or were issues that I specifically asked the seller about and their response was not accurate.

TX
 

geoff2guitar

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Got the chance on a JF55 right now, won't be able to play it, wondering about pulling the trigger...
 

adorshki

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Got the chance on a JF55 right now, won't be able to play it, wondering about pulling the trigger...

Hey we might be a little biased here, but even guys who like other brands comment about how low the dud percentage is with Guilds, especially the high-ends.
Your odds of being happy are pretty darn high, assuming the guitar is simply in good shape, hasn't been mistreated.
:friendly_wink:
 

geoff2guitar

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Thanks Al! The only thing that made a little concerned was the fact that the owner(a guy I trust actually!), told me the guitar was both boomy and balanced at the same time....I´m not a fan of ´boomy´normally!
 

Westerly Wood

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Thanks Al! The only thing that made a little concerned was the fact that the owner(a guy I trust actually!), told me the guitar was both boomy and balanced at the same time....I´m not a fan of ´boomy´normally!

I hear they are more balanced than boomy.
 

txbumper57

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One word that is synonymous with F50R's and JF55's is "Balanced". You would be surprised how balanced they actually sound. As far as the "Boomy" goes you can adjust that with the type and gauge of strings you use if it is too much of an issue for you. As far as the JF55 is concerned, if you can get a good return policy on it I would go for it. Even though I am partial to the New Hartford and Tacoma builds that doesn't mean that a Westerly JF55 wouldn't blow my socks off if it was the right guitar. It may just be the one you are looking for but I would make sure you had a return policy before you bought it not being able to try it out in person.

If you had owned a few JF55's in the past and this wouldn't be your first one then you would know kind of what to expect out if it but being that this would be your first Jumbo Spruce Rosewood Guild I would want the reassurance that you could send it back if it wasn't right for you. Wish you could play it in person first to be sure.

Best of luck man!

TX
 

geoff2guitar

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You´re spot on in what you say,TX! I did have a Gibson SJ-300 rosewood/spruce, which was a lovely guitar but was a tiny bit too boomy for me, that´s why I decided to go for a Guild jumbo, going on the reputation they have for being more balanced....
 

chazmo

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I will be positively shocked if "boomy" is a word that you end up using when describing your future F-50R/JF-55, Geoff.

They are resonant like CRAZY, but not boomy.
 

geoff2guitar

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1800 bucks, yes, abalone rosette so I presume this JF55 was made between 1995 and 2001?
 

mavuser

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1800 bucks, yes, abalone rosette so I presume this JF55 was made between 1995 and 2001?

yes that sounds right.

tough call, sight unseen indeed. there is a nice one for sale on face book as well, located local to me. the guy has 2 posts one he asks 2,000 the other 2,500 (he may have got some low balls). claims it is 9.9/10 condition. its 1989 non-abalone. it does look really nice. facebook Guild guitars buy-sell-trade. look for the J-F 55. he is asking a lot no question. but u may want to look into it.
 

adorshki

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1800 bucks, yes, abalone rosette so I presume this JF55 was made between 1995 and 2001?
Yeah, think you're right about when they got abalone, I think late '94 earliest.
Something else to know about the Fender Westerly period (Fender's purchase of Guild was finalized in November of '95 so their influence wasn't really felt until early '96):
Many years ago one of our members who actually worked there, Hideglue, made the casual observation that Westerly QC reached a zenith under Fender.
This caused a fair amount of controversy when some members interpreted that as meaning the guitars were better under Fender (who had a fair amount of irritated members here due to their later goofs with the brand); and understandably there were also members who believed other periods produced better guitars, to boot.
So Hideglue had to take pains to explain that what he meant was that the percentage of guitars passing QC reached its highest point ever under Fender because they introduced a checklist system to insure that no QC step was missed; not that the guitars were somehow "better".
That resonated with me because my '96 D25 was my first real "GOOD" guitar and one thing I noticed while still getting to know it over the first couple of months were the fit and finish were flawless.
I mean, you look inside the thing and there's not even a stray glue squeeze coming out of the kerfing.
THAT'S the sign of pride in workmanship, when it looks just as good on the inside as it does on the outside, and to this day there's still a contingent that believes late Westerly was "the BEST".
I've only modified my perspective myself from seeing all the glowing reviews from New Hartford owners, especially guys like TXBumper who've owned both.
Anyway, there's the reason why I say chances of getting a late Westerly dud are very low indeed, from the original construction quality standpoint.
And they were also some of the lightest builds Guild had done up to that time as well.
I chalk it up to all the development work done on the "Vintage" models, and maybe the George Gruhn/Kim Walker influence from the late '80's into the early '90's.
OH Yeah:
Up until '97 or '98 (I forget) they actually put a date stamp on the end of the heel block, usually on a beveled edge so it's easy to miss unless you know what you're looking for.
That's when the rim was completed just before top was installed, so not a true "born on date" but somewhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months from actual completion date.
And Guild s/n lists actually stop at '97, anything after that can be nailed down precisely by our guru Hans Moust.
And one more thing:
During that time all dreads were shipped with L350 strings, Guild's private label version of D'Addario EJ-16 pb lights, except Guild used an .025 G in their L350 sets whereas the current D'A set uses an .024.
I actually buy an .025 single from 'em to replicate the OEM set exactly.
That'll probably also contribute to balanced tone over potential "boominess" and might be good to know when auditioning for optimum sound.
 
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geoff2guitar

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Again Al, invaluable info, what can I say but thanks... again! Reckon I'm gonna bite even without return guarantee (shipping it to another country so more difficult to send back)
 

Curlington

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I am so glad the Guild brand has lived on with quality US made guitars from a number of different factories into present day. That said, Westerly and Hoboken will always be the legendary factories for me. We played Guilds back them because they were great guitars we could afford, best bang for our precious and limited bucks. When I pick up my Guilds today, I am transported back to those magical days of my youth.

So, I would lean Westerly for 1) Legendary factory mojo; and 2) Aged wood tone. Downside to an older acoustic though is potential need for neck reset sooner. FWIW
 

Westerly Wood

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I am so glad the Guild brand has lived on with quality US made guitars from a number of different factories into present day. That said, Westerly and Hoboken will always be the legendary factories for me. We played Guilds back them because they were great guitars we could afford, best bang for our precious and limited bucks. When I pick up my Guilds today, I am transported back to those magical days of my youth.

So, I would lean Westerly for 1) Legendary factory mojo; and 2) Aged wood tone. Downside to an older acoustic though is potential need for neck reset sooner. FWIW

me too. Hoboken and Westerly all the way :) my trc is from hoboken.
 

adorshki

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Again Al, invaluable info, what can I say but thanks... again! Reckon I'm gonna bite even without return guarantee (shipping it to another country so more difficult to send back)
AHA!
Good thing you mentioned that, because since 2017 international trade in all varieties of rosewood is subject to an international treaty intended to regulate trade in endangered species, known as "CITES".
Is the shipper going to handle the import/export paperwork due to it being a rosewood guitar?
(In fact you may have to handle the import side of the paperwork with US authorities yourself, don't know what the most current process is)
Hate to open up that can of worms, but here's an "introduction" to the issue from a couple of years ago:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/sh...-Regs-for-US-citizens-Official-FWS-newsletter
When you read that, be sure to open up the link to the letter from US Dept of Fish and Wildlife, it covers everything you need to know about shipping a piece internationally, from a CITES viewpoint.
The issue here is that since the guitar is coming across the US border in a commercial transaction, it's not eligible for any of the exemptions that might apply to hand-carrying a piece.
At least not any that I'm aware of since 15 months ago, but that's why consulting USDFW is a good idea.

US Dept of Fish and Wildlife is the domestic agency charged with enforcing CITES regs, and they've made it clear they're not out to target individuals or seize instruments intended for personal use by a buyer, but still, an instrument lacking proper paperwork could be seized at the border so you may want to do some homework if you were unaware of the issue.
Just one of those things better said than not.
And to be clear we've had reports of successful international shipments of guitars that contain rosewood.
Hope this was timely, and Good Luck!
 
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