The Mystery Guild, prepare for the weird...

Guildedagain

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Thx guys.

I should get some proper pics and post. It has gotten really really stunning with a little bit of crazing here and there, and the burst, oh my lord, it's prettiest burst I've ever gazed. Had I ever a Les Paul with a burst this pretty, I'd still have it.

I got bored with the PB .12s and put the Silk and Steels back on it, to see what I would hear this time, and it was actually kind of magical, and my fingertips are happier.

So now I'm in love with the way it looks and sounds.

I think it is quite possibly the most beautiful acoustic guitar I've ever owned, it has a beauty that is almost beyond compare, for any instrument.

However, it is not for the faint of heart, or someone who doesn't see all of these "flaws" as art, but for that person who likes "character", I've never seen anything else like it.

Before I forget, in my guitar bliss...

I just got this info on the guitar, this is the most I've known yet.

It was my Moms older cousin that worked at the Westerly Guild Factory.
He gave my Mom the guitar 44 years ago. She played it for 4 years and
it hasn't been touched since. Her cousin never mentioned anything
about repairs or repainting. This is all of the history that she
remembers about the guitar.
 

Rayk

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What kind of witchcraft is this ??? There be spells about !

Yes more betterer pics ! 😁
 

Guildedagain

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;-)

Tis witchery indeed, I fell under it's spell at my first look.

He's a sister guitar posted today on fleaBay, an Aragon, and I swear the top grain comes from the same timbers, super wide grain, with the old finish, you can see it ripple...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1532871936...d=183730877797&itm=153287193659&ul_noapp=true

Posted over in the GAS section as well.

Spending a bit of time reading one of the mother of F30 threads from last year, I see that this body shape is rare, maybe even controversial for 1971, possibly introduced in late 1971.

As some have said, the shape of the mini jumbo is really... near perfection of the guitar body shape?

The history of the F30 is one of the fascinating ones, differing scales lengths, and the change from a 000 body shape with flat shoulders, it goes from old school (almost back to Martin's original body shape, his invention) to the sexiest thing you've ever held in your hand, for a guitar...
 
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Bonneville88

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That ebay F30 not a mini jumbo - this is the mini jumbo!

bbam1s4eqaa5giuw1z00.jpg
 

adorshki

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That ebay F30 not a mini jumbo - this is the mini jumbo!

bbam1s4eqaa5giuw1z00.jpg

Right, If I remember my "book" history correctly, F30 actually got 2 size bumps from original width, that "mini-jumbo" was the second "variation".
The earliest Hans had a record of for that shape was '71, in a recent comment.
From the evidence I have no doubt both sizes were made in that year so a '71 could have either outline.
Back to pedigrees of GuildedA's Aragorn:
Now wonder if it was slated to be bandsawed and rescued by the same guy who gave it to seller's mom?
Maybe as an "employee build/learning project"?
Could explain the sloppy glue work if it was "repaired" by somebody who wasn't actually in the building crew.
 

Guildedagain

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Weird thing is I don't know that it ever really needed a repair. It's never even had the pickguard crack, so how weird is that? I think the piece under the bottom of the guard was glued and clamped as preventative measure, to prevent cracking. I think all of the excess glue in that area might have been to strengthen the area, and it certainly worked. The downside is that hide glue (('m almost 100% sure this is hide on the work) shrinks as it dries (it's great, it pulls things together), and it pulled on the bottom of the pickguard, sucking it downward, that, and being left in the case for 40 years with .12-54 strings on it.

I like to think of it as an archtop, there's not a lot of flat on this flattop.
 

Guildedagain

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This is the eBay '71, serial 57208. The huge grain nearly is the same as on mine, although mine is serial 612### (but there is another number stamped below, in blue, below the Westerly logo, what does this mean?)


Also, get a load of the crazy broad vertical light and dark stripes in that wood, I can actually see that in mine also, although mostly hidden by "The Beauty of The Burst" (real Flametop lovers have this book very near their bed).


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1970 46696 50978
1971 50979 61463
1972 61464 75602
1973 75603 95496
1974 95497 112803
1975 112804 130304
1976 130305 149625
1977 149626 169867
1978 169868 195067
1979 195068 211877 (to September 30, 1979)
 

adorshki

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Weird thing is I don't know that it ever really needed a repair. It's never even had the pickguard crack, so how weird is that? I think the piece under the bottom of the guard was glued and clamped as preventative measure, to prevent cracking. I think all of the excess glue in that area might have been to strengthen the area, and it certainly worked. The downside is that hide glue (('m almost 100% sure this is hide on the work) shrinks as it dries (it's great, it pulls things together), and it pulled on the bottom of the pickguard, sucking it downward, that, and being left in the case for 40 years with .12-54 strings on it.
Love the evaluation hypothesis.
Makes sense.
I like to think of it as an archtop, there's not a lot of flat on this flattop.

Or maybe a "dishtop"?
:biggrin-new:
This is the eBay '71, serial 57208. The huge grain nearly is the same as on mine, although mine is serial 612### (but there is another number stamped below, in blue, below the Westerly logo, what does this mean?)
Can't recall ever hearing about something like that, I'd definitely send that one to Hans.
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/member.php?23172-hansmoust
That's his profile, you can click on "Send email option" which he has previously said he prefers, because his PM box fills up all the time.
 
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Guildedagain

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Well, you know, what makes the loveliest archtop is the dishing... ying and yang?

The guitar in that ad is special, I can tell just by looking at it. I can see what drew me to "that other guitar", other than a dread. I'd been wanting something that wasn't a dread for a long time. I thought I wanted an F20, still do, but the '71 Sunburst popped up, and I can't say that i have any regrets.

I didn't even know about a mini jumbo, but they are special.

Going back a page or two, I was on Youtube at 1am or whatever, listening to Guild videos of F30's (I don't have a problem) and there's this guy playing an old Tobacco Sunburst F30 (Wow!), playing it rather well, at at some point, you hear a voice singing along (goosebumps) and he claims it's just the guitar. You can hear some otherworldly tone in there, it sounds like someone softly singing harmony along.
 
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hansmoust

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This is the eBay '71, serial 57208. The huge grain nearly is the same as on mine, although mine is serial 612### (but there is another number stamped below, in blue, below the Westerly logo, what does this mean?)

That's the date the guitar was completed, which is a year later than the serial number suggest. It all makes sense when you look at the details.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
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My '75 F-30 (bought new - ordered from the factory) has similar "striping" to the grain on the top. I always figured the less expensive instruments got the "less pretty and perfect" wood.
 

Guildedagain

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Thx Hans,

So it's year, month and and day of the week.

I was afraid it was one of those reject resale numbers, I seem to remember reading about guitars with defects sold elsewhere with other numbers added.

Serial number tag with finish date

large.jpg


F112 stamped neck bock

large.jpg
 

Guildedagain

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My '75 F-30 (bought new - ordered from the factory) has similar "striping" to the grain on the top. I always figured the less expensive instruments got the "less pretty and perfect" wood.

I think the striping is neat?

The striping is striking, really stands out, unusual.

Impressive collection of F Guilds btw, what is the F30 like?
 

Guildedagain

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Sorry, meant day of the month ;-)

Suffering from Guild delirium...

Speaking of "nut jobs", here's a couple shots of that.

Very 3D edge of the Rosewood board, right there where you see it, a lot. This was the old nut, sort of cobbled in there with lots of glue, ick... and turned out it was sitting on two layers of paper, figured that wasn't from Guild and took it down to the wood. I think it was white glue, not crazy glue because it would get soft with water, but anyway, a nightmare to scrape on such a delicate area. I could tell that the factory edge was still on the board and I wanted that to stay 100% the same.

large.jpg


End of Rosewood board, painstakingly scraped of old glue, as straight and true as when it was cut. I tried to do the bone nut too fast, got bored using a fence sanding it down (slows you down), looked at it and it was seriously messed up without a lot left to remove, yikes!

Got it straight just in time to drop in even though I thought it was ruined, too many hours on the job trying to finish before bed.

Lowest nut I've ever seen on a guitar, still had clearance and it plays like a dream, as soon as I started tensioning the A and D strings, I could tell the guitar was going to be a lot louder and clearer, like removing cotton balls from your ears... It sounded so amazingly good, who knew plastic nuts could be this bad?

So, I thought I'd blown the nut job (haste makes waste) but it's nearly the most perfect one I've ever done, I'm still shaking my head, usually Murphy's got more to say about things like this...

It was weird, like I couldn't screw it up.

Which got me thinking, this thing's like Christine... You can't screw it up, and it somehow rebuilding itself, even with goofball here at the controls.



large.jpg
 
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gjmalcyon

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This 24" rule is 3/16" thick, aluminum, weighs 1lb, stands by itself, price of admission, $20. Awesome.
Awesome piece for the guitar tech in your life ;-)

large.jpg

Yes it is, and thanks to your tip I just bought one. They are very nice and will allow me to take the obligatory neck angle photos without resorting to holding the ruler.

Sands Level & Tool page here. SWMBO is an accomplished seamstress and furniture upholsterer - she took one look at their catalog and went "Ooooo, I want that. And that! And that, too!"
 
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