How much is a custom ‘74 F-48 worth?

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Hey y’all!
I have a custom made 1974 Guild F-48.
I purchased it a few months back but I need to buy a passenger van for touring and I’m short on the necessary cash.
Do y’all know how much this Guild is worth?
It has a custom Red Mahogany paint job and has never had a pick guard. (This is all according to my guitar tech with 25 years+ exp) 682DA786-28E5-4CEE-BA15-D2A3105DD7BE.jpeg6CD80DEA-9854-40EE-A10E-1D070A68D232.jpeg
 

awagner

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Nice guitar. Is it just a custom color, or are there other custom features? It would be helpful to see a picture of the label and some closeups, so we can better assess originality and condition.
 
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Nothing else is custom other than the color and lack of pick guard. There’s also a Fishman Pick-up in it. See here:
 

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GuildFS4612CE

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Condition is everything...I'll let the experts provide the advice other than to check the sold listings online...in any case...it's not going to be your passenger van.
 
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Condition is everything...I'll let the experts provide the advice other than to check the sold listings online...in any case...it's not going to be your passenger van.
I’m not looking for all of my van in this one guitar. I know what I paid and I know what others have sold for. I’ve done research. I just need the EXTRA cash necessary to purchase my van. Not all of it.
 

davismanLV

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It's in pretty rough shape, cosmetically. How's the action and the neck angle? It's obviously been around the block a time or ten. As Jane says above, "condition is everything".
 

Sal

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I know what I paid and I know what others have sold for. I’ve done research.

Hello and welcome to the forum! Sorry but I'm confused. I thought you were first asking us what it might be worth? Or if you're here looking to sell it that's cool too but it sounds like you already have an idea what you'd like to get for it.
 
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adorshki

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Nothing else is custom other than the color and lack of pick guard. There’s also a Fishman Pick-up in it. See here:
Hey Brandon, welcome aboard!

Maybe just casual usage of the term on your part, but I wouldn't call that "custom" as the 2 details you mention could have been had simply by ordering the guitar that way.

In fact the finish color just looks like their regular "Mahogany" stain which got progressively darker through the '70's as seen on D25Ms.

Now if for example the inlays weren't standard on the F48, or it had D55-style neck, those could be considered a true "special order" or "custom". Those guitars were usually but not always ID'd as "spec" after the model number on the label.

"Custom" was usually reserved for guitars built in-house without a special order with some definite off-spec feature(s) compared to the standard model.

A pickguard delete could be special ordered if they didn't actually build it that way (and we've seen other examples) but again, I don't think that makes it a true "special" any more than the dual-guard guitars which were popular at the time and which could also be ordered if desired.

It looks like the label's missing, it would have been handy to see how it was actually labeled. My guess would be "F48M". Nothing special.

I agree with the folks who say "Condition is everything". Not only that, but I think there's gotta be a reason that model never really lasted.
I'm thinking a 'hog bodied true jumbo just doesn't grab a lot of people, or else somebody else had a better offering in that niche. So even if it were a true custom I don't think it's all that desirable which also holds back value, except to somebody who does love a hog bodied jumbo.

I'd look for sold prices and deduct for condition.

Hope that helps!
 
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HeyMikey

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Some of the things I would want to assess to determine if its value is above or below other sold examples in comparable cosmetic condition...

Does it need fret leveling or replacement?
> Are the frets flat, is there buzzing anywhere on the neck?
Does it need or has it had a neck reset?
> How is the action at the 12th, height of the bridge and saddle, and neck angle to the bridge
Does it need or has it had a bridge re-glue or replacement?
> Is the bridge lifting or has it been shaved to lower the action due to a bad neck angle?
Does it need or has it had crack repairs?
> How extensive are the finish cracks - do they go through to the wood?
Does the fingerboard have excessive wear and need work or replacement
Do any of the braces need to be re-glued, repaired or replaced?
Does it need any binding repair?
Do the tuners need to or have they been replaced?
Does it come with the OHSCase or any HSCase?
Do the electronics need to be replaced?
 

adorshki

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Some of the things I would want to assess to determine if its value is above or below other sold examples in comparable cosmetic condition...

Does it need fret leveling or replacement?
> Are the frets flat, is there buzzing anywhere on the neck?
Does it need or has it had a neck reset?
> How is the action at the 12th, height of the bridge and saddle, and neck angle to the bridge
Does it need or has it had a bridge re-glue or replacement?
> Is the bridge lifting or has it been shaved to lower the action due to a bad neck angle?
Does it need or has it had crack repairs?
> How extensive are the finish cracks - do they go through to the wood?
Does the fingerboard have excessive wear and need work or replacement
Do any of the braces need to be re-glued, repaired or replaced?
Does it need any binding repair?
Do the tuners need to or have they been replaced?
Does it come with the OHSCase or any HSCase?
Do the electronics need to be replaced?
Dude!
Couldn'ta said it any better myself!
:)

No disrespect intended to Brandon, btw. I'm recently beginning to see the appeal in old guitars showing evidence of their age, even though ideally I'd want it in optimum playing nick even if it meant needing to buy a piece that needed some fixing up to get it there.
 
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Cougar

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Crazy curved crazing. What's the dull looking areas below the bridge? Is the lacquer dull in areas, stained?

Yeah, looks like it needs a thorough buffing or something. That won't remove the crazing, but it'll shine up the top, I'd hope.
 

SFIV1967

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...I wouldn't call that "custom" as the 2 details you mention could have been had simply by ordering the guitar that way.
...the finish color just looks like their regular "Mahogany" stain which got progressively darker through the '70's as seen on D25Ms
I don't think there was a mahogany stained F-48, so that guitar was most likely a "Special order", which one could call a "custom" model. Since the label is missing it's hard to tell but you already mentioned it was most probably a "F-48 Spec.". Condition wise that guitar looks to be pretty used, so I guess the Reverb price guide is a good help and depending if she needs any work done like a neck reset or any structural work that would need to be deducted. I would not see any added value in the special order features.

Ralf
 

adorshki

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I don't think there was a mahogany stained F-48, so that guitar was most likely a "Special order", which one could call a "custom" model. Since the label is missing it's hard to tell but you already mentioned it was most probably a "F-48 Spec."
Ralf
Actually I said I don't even think it's a special, I said my guess was that the label just said "F48M", nothing special. But on a refresh read of the Guild Guitar Book I see that non-standard colors and dual 'guards were very common "special requests" that could result in a guitar being labeled as a special at the time, so it probably could be called a "special".
 

Guildedagain

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Crazing doesn't bother me and I think it always goes all the way to the wood, unless you have a half crazed guitar? ;]

Dulling though, because of utter neglect and the effects of corrosive sweat, I've never been able to get it off a guitar.

If you play shirtless, in shorts or just naked, easy to do in the sweltering summer heat, you will leave sweat on the front under your arm, where the guitar rests against your chest, on the bottom where it sits on your leg, and these three areas will dull badly if you don't get the sweat off. A little polish on a rag does a fine job.

Once it's permanently dulled, you would virtually have to cut and buff to get back to a good shine, maybe even deeper than you'd care to.

Nothing wrong with a guitar rode hard and put away wet, if it's your own guitar. But it's a whole lotta work come sale time, usually culminating in underwhelming results.

I can handle my own DNA on a guitar, but not other people's. I think we're all like that. We can handle our own grunge, but not other people's.
 

GuildFS4612CE

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Some of the things I would want to assess to determine if its value is above or below other sold examples in comparable cosmetic condition...

Does it need fret leveling or replacement?
> Are the frets flat, is there buzzing anywhere on the neck?
Does it need or has it had a neck reset?
> How is the action at the 12th, height of the bridge and saddle, and neck angle to the bridge
Does it need or has it had a bridge re-glue or replacement?
> Is the bridge lifting or has it been shaved to lower the action due to a bad neck angle?
Does it need or has it had crack repairs?
> How extensive are the finish cracks - do they go through to the wood?
Does the fingerboard have excessive wear and need work or replacement
Do any of the braces need to be re-glued, repaired or replaced?
Does it need any binding repair?
Do the tuners need to or have they been replaced?
Does it come with the OHSCase or any HSCase?
Do the electronics need to be replaced?

You might want to add: Has it been in a flood?

Also note it has no strings on it in any of the pics.

Hello and welcome to the forum! Sorry but I'm confused. I thought you were first asking us what it might be worth? Or if you're here looking to sell it that's cool too but it sounds like you already have an idea what you'd like to get for it.

I also thought perhaps our new member is fishing for a sale and hoping it's far more valuable than it is...he's certainly still welcome to stay here and learn...many have in the past...and, maybe, someone will want it after an in person inspection.

I do wish him good luck on his sale...and on his plans to somehow tour during the pandemic.
 

Guildedagain

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It appears to be pretty well strung in the first picture.

To be fair, it in no way looks like it's been under water.

As far as touring goes, I heard the pandemic was over finally.
 
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