Looking For A Smaller Guild

Taylor Martin Guild

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Play Dred size guitars has been a bit painful for a couple of years.
I have a very nice Washburn GA size guitar and a Reso guitar that are a bit smaller than a Dred.
These guitars are less painful on my shoulder when I play them.

So what would be a good Guild that has a big sound with a strong bass presence?
Probably needs to be Rosewood B and S for the bass that I want.

Is there such a Guild out there?
 

richardp69

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Well, an F 30R comes to mind. Really nice guitars and they have plenty of volume (at least to my ears they do). You may not want to limit yourself to just RW back and sides. I just sold a Mahogany 000 Orpheum that could hold its own with any Dreadnaught. Not sure if they made a RW 000 Orpheum but they may have. The Orpheums tend to be a bit pricey but also very good.
 

twocorgis

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Play Dred size guitars has been a bit painful for a couple of years.
I have a very nice Washburn GA size guitar and a Reso guitar that are a bit smaller than a Dred.
These guitars are less painful on my shoulder when I play them.

So what would be a good Guild that has a big sound with a strong bass presence?
Probably needs to be Rosewood B and S for the bass that I want.

Is there such a Guild out there?

If it's in your budget, the Orpheum OM 14 fret is maybe the best acoustic guitar Guild ever made, certainly the best OM. It's also the best OM type guitar I've ever played. They're very hard to find though!
 

Guildedagain

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Rosewood guitars seem to get buried in the mix, for me, in a Bluegrassy jam environment with a couple really good veteran players.

It's pretty, but it doesn't cut through the same as my D35 or the neighbor's D18. Also, I hear a lot of very pleasing natural distortion (that bark) coming out of the Mahogany bodied guitars that just really puts me in the zone... It's not as pretty as Rosewood, but I don't think there it has a lack of either bass or projection.

An F-30 as mentioned is a lot of sound (and bass) in a very pleasing and compact package.

I'd love to hear a well done shootout between a Westerly F-30 and F-30R.

Then there's the F-20, another even more compact legend, and the F-20M, and the beautiful thing is you can have any of these on the cheap, or for a lot.

I'm finding myself tempted by all manner of newer Guilds all the time, they are beautiful...

Has there ever been a better time to love Guilds?

All that Guilders does appear to be Guold ;-)
 
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Rayk

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The NH F30's hogs definitely put out more then the rosewood I've experienced .
And many find the rosewood harder to set in a mix then mahogany.
Billy said his F30r was to loud. I don't know if he sold it yet ? Also Beecee has one he might let go .
 

adorshki

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Play Dred size guitars has been a bit painful for a couple of years.
I have a very nice Washburn GA size guitar and a Reso guitar that are a bit smaller than a Dred.
These guitars are less painful on my shoulder when I play them.
Guild's GA size was the F40 and its progeny.
As Default mentioned, an F47 would be such an animal and an F47R would be rosewood bodied, F47M is maple.
"Plain" F47's were 'hog in case you discover that works better in that size body.
Even my F65ce, shallow maple archback, is no slouch in the bass department, it's just that it's also really strong in the treble.
I cured that with Silk'n'steel strings.
And being only 3" deep besides, it became my favorite for playability when I started getting easily fatigued on my dreadnoughts.
There are also some predecessors to the F65ce with 24-3/4" shortscales and/or different body woods for that heavier bass presence, but somewhat rare:
F25ce, F30ce, F15ce.
In general any Fxxce or any F4x and ALL the GF models're going to be a GA outline, 16" lower bout F-body, except for the Oxnard F40.
For incomprehensible reasons that one's 17" wide at lower bout.
 
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HeyMikey

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If you are a strummer, hard picker and/or player-singer, then the F30 mahogany back is my vote. I prefer the rosewood for a slower, fingered, more lush sound. With the overtones RW can sometimes build up on itself and get muddy in those other situations.
 

jedzep

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The weight differences here aren't that significant, so maybe all you need is a 'kindler', gentler strap. You might have to pony up a few pesos.
 

walrus

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The weight differences here aren't that significant, so maybe all you need is a 'kindler', gentler strap. You might have to pony up a few pesos.

For me it wasn't weight, but the position and "bulk" of the guitar under my right shoulder.

walrus
 

walrus

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Well, there's 3 of us in this thread with the problem!

For me, I'm not sure exactly - age plays a factor. Seemed to hit as I got close to 60. I have osteoporosis, and have had some major surgeries (although not on my shoulder.) I broke my right collar bone years ago - that can't be helping!

I think it's just "time" doing it's thing. It came on me pretty fast - from no discomfort to a lot within a year.

I'm just very happy the F-30 has solved the problem, at least for me.

walrus
 

adorshki

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Well, there's 3 of us in this thread with the problem!
"Loosely speaking", as I'm not suffering an actual degenerative problem (as far as I know yet) as much as just fatiguing easily with the dreadnought size, now.
I get tense and stiff between the shoulder blades.
Playing more as I've been doing lately increases stamina, but for sure I don't think it'll ever get back to where it was when I was in my 40's and good for several hours (spread out) in a day.
And there are at least 3 other members here who do have degenerative or flat out damage repair issues and thus difficulty dreadnoughts based on size, but can handle the F40/47 and smaller bodies easily.
 

gjmalcyon

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Do you mind me asking what is wrong with your shoulder?

Rotator cuff tears, osteoarthritis, labrum tear, complete biceps tendon tear. Once I get the arm up and over it is tolerable - it is the getting to and from that's annoying. There will come a time when the my biggest guitar, the JF4-12, (17" jumbo) will have to leave the herd.
 

SFIV1967

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Check out this M120 CH GAD at auction now.
TMG was looking for "a bit smaller than a Dread...good Guild that has a big sound with a strong bass presence". A M-120 wouldn't meet those criteria, it's not in the ballpark.
Ralf
 
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