NGDuhhh ?

HeyMikey

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New Guitar Duhhhh ?

I've been working with beecee (Bill) for a little while to buy a guitar from the herd he was in the process of downsizing. This particular one was of interest to me because I originally spotted it on Reverb last fall and came very close to buying it. However I ended up posting it on LTG because I had just settled on my F30 and couldn't swing two so soon, no matter how much I wanted it.

Luckily Neal was quick to the draw and scooped it up. However, he just couldn't quite bond with the neck and offered it up a month or so later. I almost bought it from Neal, but again painfully just couldn't swing it so soon. Luckily Bill was wise enough to buy it this time and keep it in the family. When I heard through the grapevine some months later that he was considering letting it go I decided that there was no way in hell I could pass it up a third time, so I reached out to him. We go back and forth. He's not sure. I'm not sure. Timing is bad. The weather is bad. Yadda, yadda, but in the end we do the deal.

Finally I get the shipping notice that it arrived to the UPS on Thursday. Woot! On Friday I go to pick it up. Stoked. Had it finally made its way to me? In my car "The long and winding road" is playing on the radio. Yep that's about right. It sure has been. At UPS the package looks undamaged, always a good sign. I take it home. Here is a Reverb photo of what it looks like. Pretty darn nice, right?

HrJ26Tr.jpg



Well you can imagine my giddiness and surprise when I open the box, then
I pull out the Guild case (which just doesn't seem quite right), and then
I open it up to find this magnificent beauty of a guitar!





Yippie! Huh? What? Ok, wait a minute. It is a New Hartford Standard. Check. Natural top. Check.
However it seems to have put on a little bit of weight around the mid section.
Yep, I check the label and...




Was I disappointed? Yes. Was I surprised? A little, but not completely. You see, Bill had just gotten back from the hospital after a chainsaw mishap (he's fine) and clearly was not in his right state of mind when he packed it. Prescription pain killers? 18 year old single malt? A little bit of both? Who knows. After I thought to myself "Oh man, Bill is going to be really pissed" all I could do is laugh. You see, this is one of his favorite guitars. The only reason he agreed to sell the F30R to me is because he plays this one so much.

After a really good laugh on the phone about the Duhhhh move (his term and suggestion to post about it by the way) I don't think Bill was pleased when I offered (jokingly) that I was keeping the D-40. And I have to tell you, this D-40 is pretty special. It is everything a singer, songwriter could ever want in a guitar. The sound is pure, resonant, expressive to the touch and the notes just jump off the fretboard. I can't play anything over an OM size for any period of time of without pain, but I would gladly mainline Motrin for this one.

And now... both New Hardfords are back in transit going to their rightful stewards. Bill will be very happy to have his baby back. And I will be very happy, after a number of misses, to have the shoulda, coulda, woulda guitar finally in my hands. Fingers crossed.


Maybe a proper NGD will actually happen soon. Or, will it?


Edit: Oh and Bill, on the D-40, if you ever do let it go..."Dibs" :wink:
 
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Cougar

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Wow, what a story! Some guitars have a little story behind them, but that F30 you've got coming has the making for a novel!
 

richardp69

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You know, that's always been one of my fears. I haven't done it yet but give me time. When you're in sell mode and you have 3 or 4 packaged up and ready to go, I think it would be very easy to put the wrong label and the box or the wrong guitar in the box. Thanks for the reminder to be careful.
 

walrus

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Great story! Looking forward to your thoughts on the F-30!

walrus
 

beecee

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uhhh....any chance there was a set of car keys in there??? :playful:

Thanks for the kind write up!

What he forgot to tell you was that I played the D-40 for a bit prior to packing it up.

I asked myself more than once why the heck I was selling such a nice sounding guitar. You'd think I would have noticed.

I guess it was an odd few days...the cats and 3 dogs have been giving me wide berth lately,

Thank you for the patience!!
 

gilded

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Bill,

It ain't no different at my house! I've got your back!
 

rwmct

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That is a lovely D-40 Std. I love the standard series. Everything you need, nothing you don't, and priced accordingly. Oxnard should bring back every one of them.
 

HeyMikey

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Quick shot of the siblings. Both from 2012. F30 on the left, F30R right




 

GuildInAtlanta

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Wow!! Congratulations on the new guitar!!!

Since you've now got a set, both a 2012 F30 Standard & F30R Standard, I would love to hear your first impressions on the F30R and how it compares to the F30.

Great photos and enjoy your new guitar!

- Robert

(Edit - Oops, typos. Guess I was excited. :wink:)
 
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HeyMikey

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Hi Robert. Thanks. I will spend a little quality time playing and comparing over the next week.

My initial impression is that that using EJ16 strings the F30 and F30R are similar in that they have a little bit of a punchy mid-range tone, but the R has a little more bass end and overtones - though not as much I hoped. Still too early though for me to say that with confidence. The F30 has good note separation, is great for hard picking / strumming and singing. It doesn't get in the way of itself or me. Like a good accompanying Gibson would do. The F30R I plan to use on softer songs so hope I can coax a little more warmth and depth out of it. I may need to experiment with different strings, pick material and my technique (or lack thereof.) I really need to spend some quality time with it.

Quickly comparing the Guild F30R to the Martin and Alvarez rosewood OM's all are very different sounding. The Martin plays very easily, is warm and has lush overtones, but projects evenly and softest of the three - a beautiful finger picking (which I don't do often) guitar. The Alvarez is on the opposite end of the spectrum. It is punchy, clear, has good bass and projects the best of them all. A proverbial canon. It is a little harder to play (may be the setup) and lacks warmth on the softer side of things. Different strings might be in order. The Guild(s) seems to be in the middle of things on all counts - play-ability, tonal clarity, warmth, projection. They seem to have the best overall combination but don't excel to the extremes on anything. In the end that is probably what makes them more desirable to me in that they are more versatile for what I play (pop songs). I wish I could keep them all but unfortunately can't.

- Mike
 

WayToBlue

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Loved the story, and I'm glad it had a happy ending for all parties!!! For sure those are beautiful guitars, and very cool to have siblings of the same year!

Does Guild still make F-30's at all? I have no need for another guitar at this time... but if at some point down the road a need were to suddenly arise, I could very well see myself splurging for something like the F-30 (smaller bodied, mahogany/spruce). A brief glance at Guild's current offerings seem to suggest that they have consolidated non-dreadnaughts into the catch-all category of 'M-40', with multiple variations. Is that model basically the same as an F-30? I apologize if this topic has been exhausted in previous posts, but I was just curious.
 

adorshki

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Does Guild still make F-30's at all?
Not in the USA, at this time.
Only offered in the "Westerly Collection" at this time.

A brief glance at Guild's current offerings seem to suggest that they have consolidated non-dreadnaughts into the catch-all category of 'M-40', with multiple variations. Is that model basically the same as an F-30?
M40 is actually the new code for "F20"; the logic for producing those is based on ease of production of the all-hog M20; which was in fact the first model produced in Oxnard and not-so-coincidentally, Westerly as well.
Model number decoder here:
http://guildguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/guild-acoustic-naming-structure.pdf
Under that system F30 would be "OM40" and F30R would be "OM50".

I apologize if this topic has been exhausted in previous posts, but I was just curious.
NO worries, it hasn't been covered that often, actually, and that number system decoder isn't all that easy to find on their site.
There are at lease a couple of guys who're hoping to see their announcement of domestic F30 production, at least now you know what to look for.
My memory is that they acknowledge plans to make 'em sooner or later but simply can't commit to a date yet.
(I say "can't" instead of "won't" because I can see there may be variables beyond their control when it comes to forecasting that kind of thing)
 

bobouz

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A neat pair of F-30s from the same year, and the tops look like they quite possibly came from the same tree. How cool is that?

Your description of their sound tends to confirm what I've long thought: It's so much more about the top & overall construction than about the back & sides regarding the tonal end product of a guitar. It would be hard to find a significantly better A-B test of this than your two F-30s.
 

tommym

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Quick shot of the siblings. Both from 2012. F30 on the left, F30R right





Nice! Welcome to the club! Not too many people will ever own one of each, especially in the condition that they are in. I grabbed mine when the news came that New Hartford was shutting down, and not knowing if Guild would ever rise from the ashes. I used my deposit fund for a Froggy Bottom H14 to by both the Guild F30 Standard and F30R Standard, and have absolutely no regrets what so ever in doing so.

I tried many of my friend's Martin OM's, and some of them are indeed spectacular in trim level and tone. That being said, I don't find my Guild F30 Standard and F30R Standard lacking in any way for my needs and wants.


Tommy
 
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