GF-50 12 string

davismanLV

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Cameleye sent me photos of his beautiful guitar so I'm gonna share them with y'all. What a prime example of a seldom seen Guild 12 string!!

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davismanLV

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I have no doubt that the case shown is original to that guitar. But would the extra space seen around the body be reflective of the difference between an F50 body and the GF50? Just curious about that. Or did Guild have a case that would fit a GF50 perfectly back in 1987? Maybe it isn't the right case? Or......??
 

Cameleye

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Thanks, Cougar. That top has the tightest grain I've ever encountered. Maybe that's why it's stayed flat?
Just dropped it off at an area luthier for a good going over.
 

adorshki

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Wow, super gorgeous! Looks like a AAA top, and a beauty of a back to boot....
Yes it does and probably is, if the grading spec was the extreme consistency of grain/silking and color (minimal striping).
Looks like the top on my F65ce except the F65's whiter, barely ever seen any outdoor sun in its life.
Not sure if they actually used that term (AAA) at the time although they did by end of Westerly production, shown in the '01 price list.
In any case the "50"-and-up level guitars typically got their best (prettiest according to traditional grading customs) topwood.
Thank Willie Fritscher:
http://www.westerlyguildguitars.com/articles/woodselection.pdf
Thanks, Cougar. That top has the tightest grain I've ever encountered. Maybe that's why it's stayed flat?
Just dropped it off at an area luthier for a good going over.
Hmm, never thought of that, guess it's possible but I suspect more likely simply the that it was never over-stressed, probably always strung with lights, maybe even silks, maybe even kept tuned down, and probably extremely well-built to start.
Main reason I think that is that if it was only the grain tightness I think I'd we'd see less issues of bellying on vintage Guilds, and from what I cab recall seeing D50's and F50's are just as susceptible as lesser models.
Also grading standards are largely cosmetic although there is a school of thought that tighter grain indicates wood that might have better acoustic properties (resonance).


I have no doubt that the case shown is original to that guitar. But would the extra space seen around the body be reflective of the difference between an F50 body and the GF50? Just curious about that. Or did Guild have a case that would fit a GF50 perfectly back in 1987? Maybe it isn't the right case? Or......??

Interesting question.
They should have fit inside F212/312 cases and assume those got specifically-sized cases, they built enough to justify it..
But those were gone by '85, only 12's on the '86-88 price lists were F-50 bodies, so wouldn't surprise me if they just used those cases instead of trying to buy just enough cases to cover unknown demand, and if they didn't have any left-over F212 cases.
It does look like it's a perfect extra inch wider.
 

GuildFS4612CE

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re: case

almost looks like the guitar is sitting at an angle in the case, not straight/flat...could be seeing part of the dark side of the guitar rather than a big gap between it and the case.

and foam compresses as it ages over the years.
 
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Cameleye

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Well, it is a tad loose in the case. If I was going to take it somewhere, I'd pad the sides. Other that its trip to the luthier, so far it's just been home.
If I decide to gig with it I'll likely search for a quality gig bag.
 

adorshki

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Well, it is a tad loose in the case. If I was going to take it somewhere, I'd pad the sides. Other that its trip to the luthier, so far it's just been home.
If I decide to gig with it I'll likely search for a quality gig bag.

If I owned that puppy I wouldn't let it out of the house.
Or if I could justify taking it to some gig it wouldn't leave my sight.
It's just way too rare, I'd never expect to be able to replace it.
"Just sayin'"
:friendly_wink:
 

idealassets

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I have no doubt that the case shown is original to that guitar. But would the extra space seen around the body be reflective of the difference between an F50 body and the GF50? Just curious about that. Or did Guild have a case that would fit a GF50 perfectly back in 1987? Maybe it isn't the right case? Or......??
From owning a number of older Guild's I saw that often the older cases didn't fit well to the guitars. For example I owned a 1966 F312 where I had a routine of folding up a few hand towels into the case, especially around the headstock and neck. This was to gain an even weight distribution for the health of the guitar. The case was original, with burgundy colored padding, and was in excellent condition for it's age. I later sold the F312 and the new owner got all the towels with the deal for safe shipping.

Correct me, but it seemed that many cases prior to around 1980 were not the most perfect fit, and also were a little heavier in the construction.
 
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Cameleye

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Thanks for all the comments and discussion.
Sadly I've come to the realization that my arthritic hands cannot manage this guitar, even with its low action.
So ... it'll be up for sale, probably next week when the family and I get back from the Adirondacks.
 

Cameleye

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Posting this fine 12 string in the FS/FT section. If anyone could help migrate the pix to my for sale post I'd appreciate the help.
Thanks,
Ce.
 
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