rich johnson
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John Denver made the Guild F512 pretty famous in the 70's. Any differences between the 70's, 80's F512's and Modern Days F512 say ?
The biggest change to F512s occurred some time in the later Tacoma years, with the switch to a single truss rod with carbon fibre stiffeners, which resulted in a slimmer neck profile and a more stable neck, in my experience. Also, manufacturing changes implemented in New Hartford CT resulted in much better binding work around the headstock, along with lighter open back tuners, and it really is noticeable if you compare them side by side.John Denver made the Guild F512 pretty famous in the 70's. Any differences between the 70's, 80's F512's and Modern Days F512 say ?
I'll also add that it was @chazmo's excellent Tacoma F512 that set the hook with me when I played it at the first LMG back in 2010. They really are the top of the heap when it comes to 12 strings.Hey, Rich,
FYI, JD played an F-612 in some of his most famous clips, especially for "Bells of Rhymney," which I've posted many times around here. The F-612 is all but unobtainable these days. But, I think he did have an F-512 too. Not sure.
To answer your question, I've played many, many, many F-512s over the last 15 years since I bought mine, and they are ALL great. There is no era that's going to get you into sonic trouble. If there's anything to notice, I'd say the 1980s F-512s are the slightest bit darker in tone than the modern ones. I think that could be attributable to the weight savings and shallower bodes that the recent models (since Tacoma-era that is) have undertaken. But, if there's anything to that, it's extremely subtle...
Sadly, with 12 strings, that's what you find a lot of times... Heaps in closets.the top of the heap
thanks, weight doesn't bother me and I want the larger neck profiles..The biggest change to F512s occurred some time in the later Tacoma years, with the switch to a single truss rod with carbon fibre stiffeners, which resulted in a slimmer neck profile and a more stable neck, in my experience. Also, manufacturing changes implemented in New Hartford CT resulted in much better binding work around the headstock, along with lighter open back tuners, and it really is noticeable if you compare them side by side.
I'll take the larger neck profileI can't help much comparing F512's of the 70's to the 80's but i can add some interesting details of the early 70's models. I bought a new F512 in 1973, picked it up at the RI factory, got the dealer tour (from Jim Duerloo if I remember correctly). Kept looking for an older one with the fancy fingerboard inlays and finally found a used 1972 model. Not sure what happened between 1972 and 1973 but they are very different guitars. Differences include the following:
Fingerboard on 72 has the F612 style inlays, 73 has the typical 3 piece pearl / abalone blocks with the double stripes on each side
Bridge on the 72 is the older large shaped brazilian rosewood with slotted diamond inlays on the wings, 73 bridge is the smaller shaped standard ebony with no inlays.
Neck shape on the 72 is a bit thinner than the 73
The 72 model is noticeably lighter than the 73, construction seems more hand-built than the 73, just not as clean, not as 'factory' built
Pickguard on the 72 is tortoise colored, pick guard on the 73 is black
Unfortunately 1972 was a few years too late for brazilian back and sides by a couple years, both are EI
Both have Grover Rotomatics, three piece necks, similar binding and back center strip
Same size peghead and same inlays
Maybe Hans can comment on what was going on at the factory in those years to result such a difference between years. As I'm getting older I want to sell a few guitars and seems like selling one of the F512's would be an easy decision. Problem is the 72 is just too cool to sell but the 73 sounds better, so for now they both stay.
I think the 512 with 612 inlay has been discussed here before and, IIRC, the consensus was that it was either a special order or an aftermarket addition. Could be wrong, I have been before!....Fingerboard on 72 has the F612 style inlays, 73 has the typical 3 piece pearl / abalone blocks with the double stripes on each side....
The term "F612 inlays" is actually an incorrect designation, as they were the standard inlays of the early F512s, which were produced prior to the introduction of the F612. These inlays also appeared on some other models in the late '60s.I think the 512 with 612 inlay has been discussed here before and, IIRC, the consensus was that it was either a special order or an aftermarket addition. Could be wrong, I have been before!
I like the tortoise purfling in the middle of the rosette.
Threads around here and other forums tend to evolve (devolve?) the longer they go on. Part of the charm.