NGD - F40 Maple goodness

[HeyMikey]

Quick peak… while out school shopping with my daughter

I am weak. I tried, but couldn’t resist, though I had a good reason. I did, really… I am very good at convincing myself. Has a couple minor issues, NBD, but the sound is freaking amazing!

More later tonight…

 

[dreadnut]

I mean, how could you possibly resist?

 

[GGJaguar]

Sometimes weakness is a strength. Congrats!

 

[twocorgis]

Looks like a beauty Mike! Is the inside label missing?

 

[Bonneville88]

Wow - yeah baby! - here's to weakness! Beautiful F40 - congrats!

 

[Stuball48]

Really nice and the sound!!!

 

[bobouz]

Wonderful! Aesthetically & size-wise, the ‘70s F-40 is my all time favorite Guild acoustic. The ‘74 in my avatar has a natural top & wine-red back & sides. By comparison, your natural figured maple back & sides are stunningly gorgeous. If I saw that sitting in a store, the plastic would independently have jumped right out of my wallet - Congrats!

 

[Sal]

Oh that maple! A wise grab! Welcome to the elite brotherhood of F40 owners.

 

[walrus]

Beautiful! Congratulations!

walrus

 

[FNG]

Nice!

 

[Cougar]

Wowowowow!

 

[HeyMikey]

Alright… I have one guitar tuned down to D or drop-C for songs where I need to sing a little lower than standard pitch. The ones I’d been trying are smaller Rosewood models and seem to get a little muddy dropped down. I was thinking maple might be better. I saw this and thought it would be good. It is in fact very good. The maple and arch provide clarity and projection that cuts through. The extra depth provides a great low end that stays crisp.

This one is in good condition structurally. The neck angle is great, has saddle enough to lower the slightly high 7/64 action, and there are no cracks. Beautiful tight grained, silky spruce top and a flamey maple back. The label is off to the side and is perfectly written.

The only real problem is a crappy black nut that was slotted way too low and causes buzzing. Neck and frets look pretty good, so a new nut and setup should make this honey good to go.

It is a little large for me at 16x 5-1/8 deep with an arch, so not terribly comfortable sitting. Maybe at some point I’ll find a nice maple model that is a little thinner that provides a similar vibe. For now Mikey likes it.

If I can figure it out I’ll post a quick iphone of a song I’m learning (Cant find my way…) that someone posted here the other day. It is in drop-C and I think it demonstrates what I’m talking about.

 

[Bonneville88]

That woodgrain is beautiful

 

[JohnW63]

Cool man!

 

[HeyMikey]

Here is a short iphone clip of what I’m talking about. I’m still learning this but you can hear how clear the F40 stays in drop-C.

Stay tuned. Trying to figure out how to post…

 

[chazmo]

Beautiful. congrats!

 

[Bonneville88]

Sounds great - reminds of a baritone!

 

[FNG]

Here is a short iphone clip of what I’m talking about. I’m still learning this but you can hear how clear the F40 stays in drop-C.

Stay tuned. Trying to figure out how to post…

Nice!

So you dropped all the strings two steps down? It does project nicely for that lower tuning.

Is that a Blind Faith/Steve Winwood song? Can't find my way home?

 

[HeyMikey]

Everything is dropped two half-steps, essentially tuning to D instead of E. Then the low 6th string is dropped another two half steps to C.

Here is the Winwood acoustic version someone posted a few days ago. Really great song.

 

[HeyMikey]

I was playing the F40 today and I have to say I’m blown away. This guitar has greatly exceeded my expectations. I bought it thinking “hey, it’s a crap shot so why not give it a a try” but I am absolutely loving its tone. Crisp, clean, full bodied, with a long finish. Not unlike a fine wine. The bonus for me is that the nut width seems to be slightly wider at 11-23/32 so it is very comfortable.

I had pretty much discounted maple after the DD6. Even though that guitar was unquestionably the most beautiful, perfectly constructed and easiest to play guitar I’ve ever owned it didn’t have the sound I was searching for in my mind. The F40 has it in spades. I can’t put this one down despite the bad nut and setup. Now I need to find some other 16” maple bodies to compare it to and shake up my rosewood heavy lineup. GF30, GF60, , , what others?