NGD - 1983 G212

[jciampa]

Found this gem for sale locally. I just bought a new 12 string earlier this year (non-Guild) but this beauty was just too good to pass up. Met up with the original owner's son, who said his dad gave up playing a while back, so it sat for many years with the strings detuned until his son restrung it - a true under the bed/in the closet situation.

Pristine condition and the action is still spot on. Tone is phenomenal and this puppy stays in tune like a good six string. I'm a big fan of sunbursts and this one's really nice. Not quite as dark as the one on my '81 D25, but still what I'd call tobacco with a nice red/orange burst. Also includes the original case in great shape. Build date of Sept. 83 and serial number indicates this is one of the last G212s made, so a piece of history as well .

Now all I have to do is decide what to do with that other new 12 string!

 

[GGJaguar]

Beautiful 12er, congrats!!

 

[Stuball48]

What a score - happiness in the air.

 

[twocorgis]

That one's a beauty! Good luck with it.

 

[HeyMikey]

Congrats jciampa! That is a great guitar. It looks like it’s in fantastic condition. That is a Tobacco burst and one of my all time favorites. Westerly nailed that one. I had a 79 F112 with the same burst and it was a terrific looking and sounding instrument. Awesome score!

 

[Westerly Wood]

Fabulous! Congrats!

 

[Cougar]

I'm a big fan of sunbursts and this one's really nice.

Yes indeed, that's a gorgeous burst! What a score! Major congrats!

 

[jciampa]

Thanks all.

The 'Z' stamp on the back indicates a factory second, but I can't find any flaws that would warrant such a label. I wonder what the reasoning was?

 

[davismanLV]

It's usually finish flaws that are pretty minor. After all this time you may never know. But that thing looks like it just came from the factory!! What a SCORE!! Congrats!!

 

[fronobulax]

Thanks all.

The 'Z' stamp on the back indicates a factory second, but I can't find any flaws that would warrant such a label. I wonder what the reasoning was?

As noted we don't know why a specific instrument was labeled a second. Most of the time it is a cosmetic flaw that was noticeable but not easily fixed. On a used instrument it could be quite difficult to determine what was playwear and was a "factory defect".

Seconds with a "mechanical" flaw are rare. Guild usually fixed them or sent them to the bandsaw.

There are also times when factory firsts were sold at retail as seconds because FMIC (Guild's owner at the time) did not want to be responsible for warranty claims.

[Note that I am talking about seconds sold through the dealer network and not overstocked instruments sold through a refurbisher and liquidator such as MIRC. The problem with making generalizations about Guild is that very few of them are true across the entire history of the company and we love to talk about the nuanced exceptions. This is my notice to some people that I do know about MIRC and do not consider MIRC'd guitars as seconds in the context of this discussion.

]

 

[chazmo]

Pristine indeed, jciampa. Very nice. Congrats.

 

[7GuildsandanSG]

Found this gem for sale locally. I just bought a new 12 string earlier this year (non-Guild) but this beauty was just too good to pass up. Met up with the original owner's son, who said his dad gave up playing a while back, so it sat for many years with the strings detuned until his son restrung it - a true under the bed/in the closet situation.

Pristine condition and the action is still spot on. Tone is phenomenal and this puppy stays in tune like a good six string. I'm a big fan of sunbursts and this one's really nice. Not quite as dark as the one on my '81 D25, but still what I'd call tobacco with a nice red/orange burst. Also includes the original case in great shape. Build date of Sept. 83 and serial number indicates this is one of the last G212s made, so a piece of history as well .

Now all I have to do is decide what to do with that other new 12 string!

That's the most beautiful burst I've ever seen. The color is just plain sultry!

 

[stormin1155]

That's a beautiful guitar! Love the burst! Congratulations! I have a 1980 G-312, which is the rosewood version. Sounds like a choir of angels!