1968 Guild F212

[donnylang]

Some of you might have seen my Reverb thread - got the F212 today, and it’s a keeper.

Don’t think I’ve seen another with the Guild logo on outside and Ess & Ess badge on the inside:

Action is perfect, tall saddle, stays in tune, sounds just right. I plan on eventually removing this pickup system.

I’ve had a few of these, and this one is probably the best (the other ‘68 I had was my other favorite).

Made a couple quick videos (excuse the lockdown beard and sweat):

 

[Budha]

Very good. Thanks for sharing.

 

[GGJaguar]

Wonderful, congrats!!

 

[walrus]

Congratulations!

walrus

 

[rampside]

Looks good! Congrats!

 

[donnylang]

Oh also forgot to note - per Hans, this is a Hoboken, #AN-1637 ... whereas my old '68 (#AN-1919) was Westerly. I know the SNs might not match dates in perfect chronology, but this seems to suggest to me that '68 would be where the last Hobokens and the first Westerlys meet for this model.

I've now owned a total of 9 Guild 12s (all F212 unless noted), and it's odd how they all have a particular vibe, but how different they are from one another. This would be my ranking overall:

1 Hoboken '68
2 Westerly '68
3 an early '65
4 a 1969
5 a 1966
6 another early '65
7 a 1972
8 a 1970 (F-112)
9 a 1975 (XL)

The 68s, one of the '65s, and the '69 were all great. The others, not so much IMO. Though I didn't own these all at the same time, so these are not A/B comparisons, just my own experience at the time. I cold go through all of the reasons, but might be boring to anyone but me ha. Guess in some ways it's pretty random?

Other Guilds I've owned are:

1 '66 Mark I
2 '69 D-35
3 '72 D-25

These three were all quite fantastic.

 

[donnylang]

... and thanks to all for the nice thoughts.

 

[Guildedagain]

Chordally awesome.

 

[ezstrummer]

That is awesome. Thanks for the videos.

 

[Cougar]

There's nothing like a Guild 12. That's the way to strum that thing! Major congrats!

 

[HeyMikey]

Very nice! Man you’ve had some old ones. Congratulations!

 

[donnylang]

Very nice! Man you’ve had some old ones. Congratulations!

Yeh, it's been a strange trip ha - all in the past few years. Oh I forgot to list a '75 F50 (? I think it was called - didn't own it that long but it had a cool Cat Stevens sound).

 

[Aarfy]

I’m eyeing an ‘81 F212XL-NT right now.....any advice as to how the 80s 212s might compare to the absolute beauty of the OP?

 

[donnylang]

Well I have not actually played any ‘80s models, mostly because I was interested in a sort of ‘60s vibe. I will say the ‘75 XL I had was almost too loud if that makes sense. That one did not play well either but hard to generalize based on one example. In my experience, I much prefer the pre-1972 shape also. I think they sound and feel different. I would recommend looking for a Hoboken if you can find one, secondly a pre-‘72 Westerly. I noticed 1970-71 guitars don’t seem to be any more expensive than the later ones. ‘60s ones usually are a bit more, probably the Hoboken label. I don’t know if they’re better guitars overall or if it’s just a personal preference. 1965-71 would be my recommendation.

 

[Aarfy]

Thanks! Will widen my search! Any ideas on what a good price? I know the variables will matter, but kinda baseline looking to see if it’s a $1200 or $2200 deal (or something more!)

 

[donnylang]

For the F212s, I’ve spent between $500-$1200 on each one. They are not super highly valued on the market for whatever reason, and there are deals out there. That said, I would go up to maybe $1500-ish range for the right example (clean w/ neck reset, original case, ‘60s model basically). I will say most on the lower end of the pricing have issues of some kind (usually minor top cracks and low saddle). The right price for a good playing one should be $900-$1200 IMO.

 

[Aarfy]

Super helpful— thank you!

 

[howardjeffreymusic]

Very similar to my '73!

 

[Br1ck]

When looking for Hoboken guitars, remember to not go by the label. My 70 D 35 has a Hoboken label. It's for sure a Westerly guitar.

 

[donnylang]

Yeh, it seems for an F212, the change occurred sometime toward the last serial numbers of 1968. They used the Hoboken label through 1969-70. Not sure there are any post-1968 Hoboken guitars, and no post-1970 Hoboken labels. Hans would of course know for sure.