John Denver’s F50R

Butch

Junior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
91
Reaction score
12
Location
St. Petersburg
John Denver’s F50R

Anyone have a good clear picture of the headstock of John Denver’s F50R Artist Award?
 

gjmalcyon

Senior Member
Gold Supporting
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Messages
4,181
Reaction score
2,419
Location
Gloucester County, NJ
Guild Total
13
XGE4hm2h.jpg


And it's not really high-enough resolution to zoom it:

wIfJH6hl.jpg
 
Last edited:

SFIV1967

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,956
Location
Bavaria / Germany
Guild Total
8
All the pictures are low resolution, I also checked the Muppets videos with him, but no luck. However my best guess is that it simply shows "Artist Award Model". (EDIT: See also Post #28!)

maxresdefault.jpg


Ralf
 
Last edited:

txbumper57

Enlightened Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
7,577
Reaction score
58
Location
Texas
Hey Butch, There was a model that Guild made only for export that was a recreation of Denver's F50R. It was made in 1982 and was called an AA-82. They can be found on the Japanese market from time to time. Same Artist Award headstock with a German Spruce top if I recall correctly. Anyways if you search for that model you may find some more high res photos of a similar guitar to his original one.

Hope that helps.

TX
 

SFIV1967

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,956
Location
Bavaria / Germany
Guild Total
8
Last edited:

Butch

Junior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
91
Reaction score
12
Location
St. Petersburg
Thanks for the reply’s. Guild used a couple of different Artist Award inlays and I have been trying to figure out which one was used on JD’s guitar.
 

hansmoust

Enlightened Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2005
Messages
9,202
Reaction score
3,507
Location
Netherlands
Guild used a couple of different Artist Award inlays and I have been trying to figure out which one was used on JD’s guitar.

During that particular period the engraving was done by hand and very primitive looking; consequently they are all different, but it would have been very similar to the one in this photo:

ArtistAwardInlay.jpg


Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

Stuball48

Senior Member
Gold Supporting
Joined
Oct 22, 2017
Messages
4,736
Reaction score
2,534
Location
Dickson, TN
During that particular period the engraving was done by hand and very primitive looking; consequently they are all different, but it would have been very similar to the one in this photo:

ArtistAwardInlay.jpg


Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
Hans:
If I ever get chosen for the TV show, "How To Become A Millionaire" will you be my "phone a friend?" You have to have the best organized GUILD GUITARS research files, with pictures, in existence. You keep proving it again and again. Thank you!
 

hansmoust

Enlightened Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2005
Messages
9,202
Reaction score
3,507
Location
Netherlands
If I ever get chosen for the TV show, "How To Become A Millionaire" will you be my "phone a friend?"

Would love to help you out, but I'm afraid it's an evening show and you may wake me up in the middle of the night; there's a chance that my answers will not make sense!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

Butch

Junior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
91
Reaction score
12
Location
St. Petersburg
Thanks Hans! I have a couple of old F50R’s and I have been contemplating having a replica of his guitar built for me using the dimensions and bracing patterns from my other two F50R’s.
 

txbumper57

Enlightened Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
7,577
Reaction score
58
Location
Texas
Thanks Hans! I have a couple of old F50R’s and I have been contemplating having a replica of his guitar built for me using the dimensions and bracing patterns from my other two F50R’s.

If you want it to be an accurate replica of John Denver's make sure to trace the shape pattern for the Artist Award headstock as well as it is completely different from a F50R headstock of any period. The only one I have seen that is as close as possible to John's F50R headstock on a Jumbo rosewood acoustic is the shape of the AA-82 model mentioned earlier. Cool idea and would love to see pics if you get it made.

TX
 

Butch

Junior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
91
Reaction score
12
Location
St. Petersburg
The headstock on the Artist Award is, for lack of a better word, an exaggerated guild head stock. I’ve already had my luthier build a copy of my F50R out of cocobolo with an Engleman spruce top (I’m not sure of the spelling of either of those.) and it sounds amazing. So, the thought has just been rolling around in my mind. I wonder what Guild would charge to build one? I don’t even know if they take special orders.
 

adorshki

Reverential Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2009
Messages
34,176
Reaction score
6,791
Location
Sillycon Valley CA
The headstock on the Artist Award is, for lack of a better word, an exaggerated guild head stock.
Right, "super-wide" at the top, we just don't know if you knew that yet, so trying to be helpful.
:friendly_wink:
I’ve already had my luthier build a copy of my F50R out of cocobolo with an Engleman spruce top (I’m not sure of the spelling of either of those.) and it sounds amazing. So, the thought has just been rolling around in my mind.
"Engelmann" has 2 "n"'s but we're not out to take people down on stuff like that.
I wonder what Guild would charge to build one? I don’t even know if they take special orders.
Not at this time.
I'm kinda keeping my fingers crossed myself, hoping they'll bring back a Grand Auditorium body that I can order some non-standard specs on.
They don't rule it out, but they won't commit to a date when they'll start doing it, which is entirely understandable.
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
It should also be noted that Oxnard Guild may not have the drawings or equipment required to replicate an instrument from a few decades ago. Some of the FMIC era Newark Street models were reverse engineered rather than built from file plans and Oxnard borrowed some electrics and acoustics from LTG member(s) that were reverse engineered and then incorporated into current production. Bottom line - just because they built it before does not mean they can build it again.
 

tommym

Member
Joined
May 5, 2013
Messages
894
Reaction score
315
Oxnard would probably just throw an Artist Award headstock on their current production F50R, add a double pickguard, and call it a day. Oxnard F55AA? :eagerness:

Truthfully, I don't see much of a market for one.

Tommy
 

adorshki

Reverential Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2009
Messages
34,176
Reaction score
6,791
Location
Sillycon Valley CA
Oxnard would probably just throw an Artist Award headstock on their current production F50R, add a double pickguard, and call it a day. Oxnard F55AA? :eagerness:

Truthfully, I don't see much of a market for one.

Tommy
I think I sense the intended humor but I suspect that's why the OP was only asking if they were taking special orders.
As it is simply cutting a headstock to that shape and getting the inlays right probably throws it into that category, and that's all JD's really was, that I've ever heard.
It's just that Westerly was able to do that kind of stuff quite easily at the time, especially since they already had templates and parts (inlays) for AA headstocks ready to go.
Even New Hartford shied away from limited editions until they had a repair department that could double as a custom shop where one-off and short-run pieces could be fabricated off the regular production line.
That's where the real expense comes in, interfering with the regular production line for short runs.
Or at least that's how I remember some LMG feedback about the issue.
 

Butch

Junior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
91
Reaction score
12
Location
St. Petersburg
Thank you everyone! I really appreciate all of the guidance. If I spent the money to have it built I want to make sure that it’s done correctly. I’m just starting my research so your input very important. I have numerous pictures of AA headstocks and I’m thinking that if I enlarge them to scale I should be ok. The shape seems to have been consistent over the years. I thought that I read somewhere that the dimensions of the neck on the AA were different than the standard neck.
 

adorshki

Reverential Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2009
Messages
34,176
Reaction score
6,791
Location
Sillycon Valley CA
Thank you everyone! I really appreciate all of the guidance. If I spent the money to have it built I want to make sure that it’s done correctly. I’m just starting my research so your input very important. I have numerous pictures of AA headstocks and I’m thinking that if I enlarge them to scale I should be ok. The shape seems to have been consistent over the years. I thought that I read somewhere that the dimensions of the neck on the AA were different than the standard neck.
I don't recall ever hearing that but given its place in the lineup and intended to appeal to jazz players, it's possible.
(Another detail is that Guild offered both 1-11/16" and 1-5/8" nuts as well as 2 different scale lengths (25-5/8 and 24-3/4) on electrics, so "standard dimensions" is somewhat of a misleading concept anyway)
The thing to remember is that in Westerly at least, every single neck was given final shaping by hand on a belt and/or spindle sander so even though there were "targets" for profile shape, some amount of variation was inevitable.
Also for sure the targets changed over the years for "every day production" guitars, suspect the same would apply for AA's if only to appeal to players who may not have liked a previous neck profile, or simply because "fashions" change, like the growth in taste for 1-3/4" nuts over the last few years.
EDIT: NOW THAT you mention it, I was having vague recollections of AA's with unusual scale length, and I see a Benedetto AA with a 25-9/16 scale on the '01 price list.
I think AA's traditionally had the same scale length as the F50, the 25-5/8".
Not sure if the rest of the neck was the same shape, but I was always under the impression that JD's F50s at least, were "stock" except for the custom headstock, and that could have easily been accomplished at the time of construction by just gluing the right width of wings onto a neck blank for an F50.
 
Last edited:
Top