Considering a 2014 F-30 Aragon--Any Thoughts?

stevendv

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After lurking as a non-member on this forum and learning a ton about all things Guild, and after having bought a 1512 last year (a 512 shimmers in the future as an aspiration--or maybe mirage), I now have my eye on the F-30 in the subject heading. Right now I've got a Gibson J-45 granadillo (sitka top, a rosewood-like b & s, but without rosewood's possibility of "muddiness"), the Guild 1512 (rosewood b & s), and a nice old Seagull Grand Artist Parlor guitar (also solid rosewood b & s). I have never actually played an F-30 (!) but from everything I've read and listened to, it seems like it would be a missing piece to my range of guitars in terms of body size and tonal qualities and finally bring some mahogany into the mix, a 25.5" scale length to my 6 strings, and an Adi top.

From my other 6 strings I know I'm comfortable with the the Aragon F-30's 1 11/16th nut, even for finger style. I'd be hoping that I could use it for both finger and flat picking and strumming. Anyone have experience with how it handles these things? I don't expect a dread, as I've got one, but wondering about your thoughts.

In terms of what I play: finger style example: Townes Van Vandt's version of "Dead Flowers," "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," Franz Ferdinand's "Katherine, Kiss Me"; flat-picking: Rolling Stones' version of "Love in Vain," Lucinda Williams' version of "Return of the Grievous Angel," Stones's "Sweet Virginia,": strumming, well, mostly classics from late 60s-early 70s, "Let It Bleed," "Maggie May"...

The F-30 I'm looking at is sold as New Old Stock, and would come with a warranty, and is supposed to be in mint shape. Any thoughts on reasonable price to offer? Thank you very much in advance for any thoughts.
 

gibsonjunkie

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I own a 2012 F-30 purchased when Fender sold off their last inventory. I bought it sight unseen for the same reason; it filled a gap. It soon became the one I grab most of the time. It plays and sounds amazing. I can't remember the exact price but it was somewhere around $2000 at the time.
 

stevendv

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Okay, good idea...
 

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SFIV1967

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Does she has a NN or NR serial number? Looks NN to me, means she is from year 2010. 2014 would be NR. In any case a New Hartford made F-30 is a great guitar!

Ralf
 

stevendv

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Does she has a NN or NR serial number? Looks NN to me, means she is from year 2010. 2014 would be NR. In any case a New Hartford made F-30 is a great guitar!

Ralf
[/QUO

It is NN. Specifically, NN014002
 

stevendv

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I own a 2012 F-30 purchased when Fender sold off their last inventory. I bought it sight unseen for the same reason; it filled a gap. It soon became the one I grab most of the time. It plays and sounds amazing. I can't remember the exact price but it was somewhere around $2000 at the time.

That's good to hear. Do you use for all kinds of music or find it best for certain things/styles/approaches?
 

Rayk

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Very nice can’t go wrong with Adirondack and mahogany. My CO-2 is the same guitar basically except for the bolt on neck .

she’s sounds great and definitely not short on voice . 😊
 

stevendv

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According to the serial number it turns out to be a New Hartford F-30 Aragon built in 2010 (not 2014), the 2nd guitar finished on the 14 of January. Comes from a small store in Europe whose proprietor--who's received excellent reviews on Reverb and 72 excellent reviews (almost all 5 star) from local buyers on Google--says it's been on display but never sold. He's asking 2,200 euro--it comes with warranty--will take offers. Any suggestions of what a good offer might be? (2,200 euro at current US exchange rate is $2,619).
 

ruedi

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Hi @stevendv, welcome! Where are you located?

There is a F-30 Aragon in Switzerland for CHF 1100 which equals roughly USD 1182//EUR 994

f30aragon.jpg


It has been listed for a while, maybe the seller will react positively to an offer.

Here's the listing:

https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/guild-f-30-aragon-1975-1154253828/

I'm sure the more knowledgeable members can tell you more about it, if desired.
 

stevendv

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Hi @stevendv, welcome! Where are you located?

There is a F-30 Aragon in Switzerland for CHF 1100 which equals roughly USD 1182//EUR 994

f30aragon.jpg


It has been listed for a while, maybe the seller will react positively to an offer.

Here's the listing:

https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/guild-f-30-aragon-1975-1154253828/

I'm sure the more knowledgeable members can tell you more about it, if desired.

Thank you very much for letting me know about this! An older well-played well-cared for guitar can be a dream, I'm just a little worried about not being able to play and see in person an older guitar first before buying (though that one was purchased at the Chicago Music Exchange in 2018 and they're reliable used dealers). There's also a Tacoma 2006 Guild F-30 in Rome with a lower asking price and some normal signs of wear, but even the seller says that without playing it first it's hard for me to appreciate its value (asking price of that one is 1,400 euro). That's why the one with a warranty was appealing....

I do appreciate you letting me know about this.
 

krysh

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That sounds like a great price.
It was a great price. :)
here is aJF-30 for sale in hamburg, germany:
and one in Wismar, germany:
 

SFIV1967

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That's why the one with a warranty was appealing....
Warranty in that case means whatever rights a private person as buyer has in the country in Europe where you found the guitar. Because the "Guild warranty" is only valid for original buyers in the US. Plus this 2010 Guild was built when FMIC (Fender) owned Guild but since 2014 CMG (Cordoba Music Group) owns Guild, so they couldn't even replace the instrument or do warranty work on it. So warranty here in Europe is usually only honored by the seller means store and it depends which rules they have.
Ralf
 

stevendv

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Warranty in that case means whatever rights a private person as buyer has in the country in Europe where you found the guitar. Because the "Guild warranty" is only valid for original buyers in the US. Plus this 2010 Guild was built when FMIC (Fender) owned Guild but since 2014 CMG (Cordoba Music Group) owns Guild, so they couldn't even replace the instrument or do warranty work on it. So warranty here in Europe is usually only honored by the seller means store and it depends which rules they have.
Ralf

All very good points, Ralf, thanks.
 

Westerly Wood

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fronobulax

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Welcome. One thing to keep in mind with New Hartford F-30's is that the specs are different for the F-30 Traditional and F-30 Standard. The nut width ( 1 11/16" vs. 1 3/4") is the one that concerns most people. Guild only used "F-30 Aragon" for the Traditional so you have correctly identified the model. (Tortoiseshell binding is another difference). This matters most when looking for comparable instruments since the MSRP of the Traditional was a couple hundred dollars (US) higher.

My recollection is that the street price for a new one was around $2,200 (plus or minus a couple hundred) in 2013 (plus or minus a year or two) so the price for the new one seems reasonable. The question would be what exactly is the warranty, who is responsible for warranty claims, and how much is that worth to you?
 

HeyMikey

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The price seems high, but it is new old stock. I’ve seen them used in very good shape in the US for about half that.

There is also one new old stock in Canada for essentially same price which suggests to me it is a dealer MSRP price.

I’d shoot them an offer for 65% or about 1430 euros and see if they bite.
 
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