Corona D40 Serial Numbers

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I have read that Corona used SNs without dates embedded. The guitars were denoted for the location (Corona), the model and then numbered sequentially. So mine is 650, whereas I have only seen a sequential number of 874 at the highest. My best guess is a 2003-2004 build, probably 2003.

As a guitar ages it is nice to know it's pedigree and sadly I don't have that. I did write to Hans Moust who added my info to what is presumably his extensive data. I have to admit we are lucky to have him. But his book now costs more than a Westerly Collection guitar!

My D-40 is a gorgeous black with printed tortoise pickguard. Got it used with a Tusq saddle and non-descript undersaddle p/u which I pulled. Fitted the end hole with a chrome Taylor end-pin and had a new bone saddle made. Very well balanced but experimenting with light strings. Daddario NB are not bad, but will try Martin monel and low tension Tommy Emmanuel PB. So begins the search for "the voice".
 

chazmo

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Are you saying that Hans didn't know when it was built?

Anyway, welcome aboard, Guildguy! Good luck in the hunt for the strings that make it sing.
 

Tom O

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My D-40 is CVH0275 which Hans said is a 2002. email Hans for a good date.
 
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Are you saying that Hans didn't know when it was built?

Anyway, welcome aboard, Guildguy! Good luck in the hunt for the strings that make it sing.
My understanding is that Fender destroyed any records so the manufacturing date can be only roughly derived since it was not embedded in the serial number. Fender also passed on a lot of seconds to a vendor that caused a lot of folks to believe all Corona Guilds were substandard. Since Guild was bouncing from coast to coast, the folks making them had a learning curve since the old hands did not move with the factory. But Corona was putting together Waverly kits at first before making Guilds from scratch.

So tell me about your D40?
 

hansmoust

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As for manufacturing date, if Hans doesn't know then no one does.
Actually, I did answer Guildguy's question. This is what I wrote to him:

Thanks for your email. That particular Guild D-40 was completed during the year 2003.
Actually, the serial number prefix should read # CVM not CVH, but sometimes these imprinted numbers/letters are a little hard to read, especially on a black finished guitar.

The serial number prefixes from this particular period are just random letters with no particular meaning; the 650 however means that it was the 650st D-40 since the start of production in Corona.


Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
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Just to clear up any confusion, I wasn't claiming Hans didn't get back to me, just that a precise date was not available.
 

fronobulax

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My understanding is that Fender destroyed any records

Please do not repeat that or at least qualify it to specifically apply only to Guilds produced at Corona.

Fender also passed on a lot of seconds to a vendor that caused a lot of folks to believe all Corona Guilds were substandard.

That story is sometimes told about Guilds made at Tacoma.
 
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I was focused on Corona Guilds because I have one. The story of Guild involves periodic new beginnings with workers laid off and different approaches to retaining records based on ownership at the time. I am sure the craftsmen deserved better as well as the brand. This is why I am excited about Cordoba being the new owners. They have taken the time to do it right. I absolutely love my D-20 and hope that the future of Guild will be secured. Growing up in NJ I had lots of friends who played D25 and D35 models. That wonderful tone was everywhere. And now the quality and consistency is getting rave reviews.
 

davismanLV

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Yeah, well.... Waverly. :ROFLMAO::LOL::p It probably had Westerly tuners, tho.....

Oh and p.s. - when Hans tells you when your guitar was built, you KNOW when it was built.
 
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Somehow we seem to not be communicating. I only know the year.

You're right about Waverly vs Westerly. I wasshopping for tuners for my old Tacoma DM-9 and ordered Gotoh since I would have had to drill with Waverly and had to order oversized press fit bushings.

Hopefully "venetated" doesn't mean missing my point.
 

fronobulax

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Somehow we seem to not be communicating. I only know the year.

Perhaps your belief that you can find out something besides the year needs to be reconsidered? If date information is not embedded in the serial number "format" that was used at the time then it is not certain that anything more precise than the year can be determined.

If I were going to try anyway I would inspect the interior of the instrument carefully since there were times when Westerly instruments had dates penciled in at the time of an assembly milestone. Perhaps that practice continued unoffically? Depending upon what information was contained in production logs it might be possibly to derive a date from the log data. The last time that possibility was discussed for Corona no one reported that the logs were accessible. Whether that was because FMIC didn't look for them, chose not to share or had lost or destroyed the logs remains unknown.
 
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There are no annotations anywhere in the instrument that I can access. Thanks for the suggestion.

Like one experiences on the internet, there is more "expertise" than documentation of where information originated. The consensus among articles and postings published about Guild is that the Corona logs are lost or destroyed. Hans Moust has a great deal of integrity and is universally recognized as a Guild expert, but in the absence of logs it is not clear where the evidence of manufacture is coming from. I presume Hans would find what can be found out from surviving sources. Quite possibly someone who worked in Corona. The fact that he can only say 2003 makes quite clear official records do not exist for whatever reason.

At the end of the day I am happy with my guitar regardless. My point is it is a disservice committed by Fender that disrespects the legacy of a great guitar brand. Sadly, many judge Guild by it's legacy of abrupt moves and bean-counter driven owner decisions. I am again happy Ren Ferguson and Cordoba took the long view in re-launching Guild. Granted Gibson also had similar issues with consistency (and still does).

I grew up with Hoboken up the highway. I connected with Guild in my formative years. It seems the old gal had a series of up and down relationships and instability. Like a person, you want to see her get what she has always yearned for. I think Guild will be a big player now and be universally recognized what the rest of us already knew.
 

SFIV1967

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The fact that he can only say 2003 makes quite clear official records do not exist for whatever reason.
Not sure what the reason is you need to know if it left the factory in January or February... The published serial number lists always only showed the year. Yes, some guitars show date stamps but they do not necessarily mean that this was the date the guitar left the factory. Maybe a date stamp was put on the neck block and the guitar left the factory only two years later. So what now? But enough about that topic I think...

Ralf
 
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