NGD F40 Traditional

[richt54]

My F-40 Traditional is on its way and should arrive Friday. We'll see if my luck with Tundra is as good as Sandy's was.

Is it just a part of aging that one wants to deburden oneself of possessions? I had the good fortune of buying some great audio gear from a guy who was 75. He had his McIntosh setup and everything else went. Got a nice Fisher 500 from him. Later I got the SET bug and bought a Bottlehead kit and it's all I use. So here I am, 73 and looking at an unused Dynaco ST 70,a Scott, a couple of preamps, and an extra pair of AR speakers. I do use an ST70 kit I built, my ARxa turntable and Celestions inside the house. But I have a few guitars I don't use, and amps too. I could live with four guitars and two mandolins too.

Which model AR speakers did you set aside?

 

[twocorgis]

That's awesome! I own a D-40 Traditional and absolutely love it. Enjoy your Guild!

I love mine too! So much so that I sold my '66 D40 to...

My F-40 Traditional is on its way and should arrive Friday. We'll see if my luck with Tundra is as good as Sandy's was.

Congratulations Jeff! I think I made a run at that one, but we were a little apart, and I already have a superb mahogany jumbo (not that that ever stopped me before!).

 

[Rayk]

Nice , jumbos have some sweet tones enjoy .

 

[jeffcoop]

No sign of my F40 yet, other than a tracking number. Hmm.

 

[West R Lee]

Good lookin' guitar Rich. I like that.

West

 

[RBpicker]

Beautiful guitar. Congratulations! I think the Adirondack bracing on the Traditional series makes a huge difference in tone. My D40 Traditional has an incredible tone.
roger

 

[jeffcoop]

The good news: Tundra shipped my F40 Traditional today. Depending on the forecasted snowstorm, it should arrive Wednesday. The potentially bad news: I received a message from FedEx reminding me that I was responsible for paying all customs duties and import fees. Wasn't there a time when import of US-made goods back into the US was duty-free? Maybe I'm imagining that. And finally, the inevitable coincidence news: last Wednesday, the day after I ordered my first jumbo, I began to have shoulder pain. It's persisted since then.

 

[chazmo]

Ugh, Jeff. Good luck with the shoulder pain.

Hope it all works out for you. However, if the new F-40 gives you pain, give a holler. Might have something trade-worthy that's a little smaller for you.

 

[richt54]

The good news: Tundra shipped my F40 Traditional today. Depending on the forecasted snowstorm, it should arrive Wednesday. The potentially bad news: I received a message from FedEx reminding me that I was responsible for paying all customs duties and import fees. Wasn't there a time when import of US-made goods back into the US was duty-free? Maybe I'm imagining that. And finally, the inevitable coincidence news: last Wednesday, the day after I ordered my first jumbo, I began to have shoulder pain. It's persisted since then.

I bought a Mule Resonator from someone from Canada about 3 years ago. It was $2600. I paid about $40 in custom fees. I don’t think you would pay anything close to that for a used F-40 traditional. So I don’t expect you to have to pay much. I wish I still had that Mule. Hope the shoulder gets better. Unfortunately, shoulders heal slowly.

 

[twocorgis]

The good news: Tundra shipped my F40 Traditional today. Depending on the forecasted snowstorm, it should arrive Wednesday. The potentially bad news: I received a message from FedEx reminding me that I was responsible for paying all customs duties and import fees. Wasn't there a time when import of US-made goods back into the US was duty-free? Maybe I'm imagining that. And finally, the inevitable coincidence news: last Wednesday, the day after I ordered my first jumbo, I began to have shoulder pain. It's persisted since then.

Not sure if it's different where you are, but I paid nothing here in NY. I hope you get it soon.

 

[jeffcoop]

Quick update: delivery was delayed a day by heavy snowfall. In theory, it will arrive at my office tomorrow, and I'll unbox it and bring it home at the end of the workday on Friday. Fingers. crossed.

 

[twocorgis]

Quick update: delivery was delayed a day by heavy snowfall. In theory, it will arrive at my office tomorrow, and I'll unbox it and bring it home at the end of the workday on Friday. Fingers. crossed.

Great news Jeff! I hope it's as nice as the D40 Traditional I bought from them, which is remarkably good.

 

[jeffcoop]

Another update: my guitar is still being held at the border and is now scheduled for delivery on Monday. I have no idea what the problem is, but my fear of course is that customs officials will open the box to inspect without proper acclimatization, and that what I receive will have finish checking. Not much I can do.

 

[GGJaguar]

my guitar is still being held at the border

I wonder if that's a random thing.

 

[twocorgis]

Another update: my guitar is still being held at the border and is now scheduled for delivery on Monday. I have no idea what the problem is, but my fear of course is that customs officials will open the box to inspect without proper acclimatization, and that what I receive will have finish checking. Not much I can do.

Hoping for the best Jeff. I think mine got delayed a day at the border, but it arrived with no finish checking. Hopefully yours will be the same.

 

[jeffcoop]

The F40 unexpectedly arrived yesterday. Unboxing is about four hours away.

 

[GGJaguar]

T-minus 4 hours and counting...

 

[Wellington]

Weĺlllllllllll???!!

 

[jeffcoop]

First impressions:

• My eyes are poor, butt as far as I can tell this is a visually appealing guitar. I was surprised, when I took it out of the case, by how small the guitar appeared. I don't know what I was expecting, as I've spent little time around jumbos, but JUMBO sounds huge, and this didn't look huge. But then I sat down with it, balanced it on my let, reached my right arm around, and, oh yes, it is big. I was surprised, though, by how comfortable it felt. I'm having some shoulder issues, but, improbably, the F40 doesn't seem to aggravate my shoulder. And the fact hat the body is so big en outages (almost forces) me to sit up straight, which facilitates singing.
• The guitar is surprisingly easy to play. I'm not sure why. The scale length is basically the same as a dreadnought, and yet barre chords fall readily into place. I don't feel like the guitar is fighting with me, as I so often do with barre chords (I don't have great hand strength).
• The tone is articulate and focused. I've been playing mahogany-backed guitars a lot recently, some of them decades old and some of them newer. The older ones have more nuance than this one. It's also surprisingly quiet for a jumbo. It's not sonically dead (I've played guitars that are sonically dead), but if I play a bit on this, then pick up my 2014 D40 and play the same thing, the D40 is noticeably (though not overwhelmingly) louder, and with fuller bass. Maybe the top just needs to be broken in--this is a new guitar, after all. But is it somehow possible that the guitar is strung with extra-lights? It seems unlikely, but it would explain some things.
• I know it's been said before, but this isn't really an F40. Every Guild F40 made prior to CMG's acquisition of Guild, including my 2007, was distinctly smaller than a jumbo. The (re)introduction of a mahogany-bodied jumbo and the decision to call it an F40 was part of CMG's general decision to mess around with the Guild naming system, a decision that in some instances yielded logical results but In others did not, and that in any event upset decades of Guild tradition. Humbug.

On the whole, I'm satisfied. Not blown away, but satisfied. There's no question this is a good guitar, and I'm hopeful that it will improve as the top gets some work (which I'm happy to give it).

 

[Longnose Gar]

It's also surprisingly quiet for a jumbo.

I once read (maybe on LTG?) about jumbos: "don't expect it to be louder than a dreadnaught".
That has always been my experience. If anything, my jumbos are quieter than my dreads. But when it comes to acoustics and archtops, I just think bigger is cooler!