The Last NH F-30 Std Sunburst

[tommym]

I'm sorry, I haven't used Dropbox in a while. Here are the links. BTW, the GUILD tag on the guitar + store invoice says it's a "Standard" model. -Will


https://www.dropbox.com/s/172h811oltaoshf/GUILD F-30k.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z4ujlxols0xpkra/GUILD F-30d.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l5id1bw4am3noo3/GUILD F-30i.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bgt1d4x31mefcpd/GUILD F-30e.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ab4sbojm3nc9l6g/GUILD F-30g.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ym12508u5gmjy75/GUILD F-30b.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bwmrglzxjiv34qp/GUILD F-30h.JPG?dl=0

Looks to be a F30 Traditional based on the trim level and the label inside the body (the Standard models typically have STD added to the label after the model number)

Truss rod cover is upside down.

Tommy

 

[fronobulax]

BTW, the GUILD tag on the guitar + store invoice says it's a "Standard" model. -Will

Given the choice of believing the catalog specs or believing an unknown store using the word "Standard" I am inclined to believe the store made an error. We have seen all sorts of misinformation that was ultimately traced back to a store employee not being as precise as we wish they would be. Heard the one about how they stopped making Guilds after Fender bought them? A former Guild dealer told me that one in the late 90's.

If it is important to you to believe you have a blinged out F30 Standard and not an F30 Traditional then I guess I should let you believe that. Nice guitar no matter what you call it.

 

[geoguy]

Nice-looking guitar!

You mentioned that the nut width was 1 3/4-inches. Have you actually measured that width on your guitar?

IIRC the F30 Standard had that wider nut, whereas the F30 Traditional had a 1 11/16-inch nut.

 

[SFIV1967]

You mentioned that the nut width was 1 3/4-inches. Have you actually measured that width on your guitar?

Good question! To me that entire guitar looks like the 2014 F-30 Aragon model which was part of the Traditional Series. And it would have had a Red Spruce Top. The pictures show wide grain typical for Red Spruce.
Specs are here: https://guildguitars.com/g/f-30-aragon/



And as already mentioned, the truss rod cover is mounted wrongly...



Ralf

 

[HeyMikey]

It’s not the nut width but the width of the neck at the nut that matters. The two may not necessarily be the same.

 

[beecee]

Great looking F-30 Traditional Series Aragon in burst!

 

[fronobulax]

It’s not the nut width but the width of the neck at the nut that matters. The two may not necessarily be the same.

Actually in the context of the discussion "Nut Width:" as defined by Guild when they report it as a spec is exactly what matters. The reported spec for an F-30 Traditional is 1 11/16" and the reported spec for an F-30 Standard is 1 3/4". So measuring what Guild measured would be useful.

 

[adorshki]

Well, mine was made on April 17, 2014. It has a hog neck w/Rosewood fretboard. It’s completely gloss, inclu neck, scallop bracing, tortoise binding, and ‘G’ headstock inlay, usually reserved for Traditionals. So it’s clearly a mutt—but a very fine mutt indeed.

Anyone know how can I tell if a guitar has an Adirondack (red) spruce top? Mine sure sounds like it. I've never heard such a balanced Woody tone.

Good question! To me that entire guitar looks like the 2014 F-30 Aragon model which was part of the Traditional Series. And it would have had a Red Spruce Top. The pictures show wide grain typical for Red Spruce.
Ralf

Ralf is one of maybe 2 folks here whom I consider to be the next best thing to Hans Most when it comes to these kinds of questions.
(and the other guy is an electric specialist)
A couple of things did occur to me though, given the very late production date:
Perhaps it was labeled incorrectly in a rush to close out production?
OR
It really is a Traditional that for some reason (maybe the same one above, "rush to close out production") got a 1-3/4 nut (assuming it's measured accurately, from end to end of the face abutting the fretboard).
I'm inclined to suspect that latter explanation is the most likely suspect primarily due to Ralf and TommyM's comments.
One final thought occurs:
Maybe it really is a 1-3/4 nut installed on neck intended for a 1-11/16 nut which is what Heymikey was getting at.
And again, the explanation for any of the errors could be the result of prioritizing the close of production above all else, Chris Jarvis' attentions notwithstanding.
After all that I do have to acknowledge I'm duly impressed with the work you've detailed in researching this guitar's background.
If it was a Westerly we'd simply be shrugging and saying "Yeah, Guild did that more than a few times. Exceptions to the specs were as good as guaranteed to have occurred, especially nut widths", but it might be the first evidence of it ever occurring in New Hartford, that I can recall at least.
And that's excepting previous examples of Standards we've seen (F30's, in fact) with full-gloss treatment which appeared to be a legitimate late-production running spec change that never made the catalogs.

 

[chazmo]

My guess is that the advertiser was confusing the "Standard" business with the way Martin uses the term. Frankly, IMO, "Standard" series was a poor choice for a name from the New Hartford folks.

 

[extrakrispy]

Thank you all. Yes, this guitar--as wonderful as it is--is a "Traditional. I went & played a new M40 yesterday and the 1 3/4" neck was like night & day. This guitar is for sale. It comes with amazing provenance and an unmatched pedigree. $1,600. What I paid for it. A brand new 2014 F-30, as perfect as it can be. A time warp of the very best kind. Is there a place to post the guitar here? I'd like to offer it here for a few weeks, before I post it elsewhere. I'm not in a hurry. This is a firm price. It's a one-of-a-kind and should go to a deserving soul. If you need to negotiate or want something less expensive, this is not the guitar for you. Thanks to everyone. I've already given the dealer a piece of my mind. -Will Anyone got a late model NH F-30 Standard they want to sell?

 

[fronobulax]

Thank you all. Yes, this guitar--as wonderful as it is--is a "Traditional. I went & played a new M40 yesterday and the 1 3/4" neck was like night & day. This guitar is for sale. It comes with amazing provenance and an unmatched pedigree. $1,600. What I paid for it. A brand new 2014 F-30, as perfect as it can be. A time warp of the very best kind. Is there a place to post the guitar here? I'd like to offer it here for a few weeks, before I post it elsewhere. I'm not in a hurry. This is a firm price. It's a one-of-a-kind and should go to a deserving soul. If you need to negotiate or want something less expensive, this is not the guitar for you. Thanks to everyone. I've already given the dealer a piece of my mind. -Will Anyone got a late model NH F-30 Standard they want to sell?

Wow. First, there is a FS/FT section and you may certainly list it there. But do I have this right - you bought this instrument because the dealer claimed it was an F-30 Standard and thus should have had a 1 3/4" neck width. You found out, by comparison, that the neck was smaller(?) and thus you feel the dealer misrepresented the instrument? You have then elected to sell the instrument rather than return it because it was misrepresented? Are you going to list it as a F-30 Traditional?

 

[walrus]

frono makes an excellent point - if it was misrepresented (and nut width is big one!), I would simply return it.

walrus

 

[beecee]

Frankly I think you "made out" thinking you were paying for a Standard & getting a Traditional.

 

[fronobulax]

Frankly I think you "made out" thinking you were paying for a Standard & getting a Traditional.

LMG II had a petting zoo. Mrs. Fro. had recently realized she preferred the ergonomics of something smaller than her D-25. She spent a fair amount of time going between an F-30 Traditional and F-30 Standard. When she wasn't playing them she was listening to others play. The nut width was not an issue for her and she finally settled on the Traditional for primarily cosmetic reasons. My wallet wishes she had liked the Standard

 

[SFIV1967]

It's a one-of-a-kind.

Not sure what a production model as listed on the Guild webpage makes it a "one-of-a-kind"? There were a lot produced of them. https://guildguitars.com/g/f-30-aragon/
Ralf

 

[adorshki]

Not sure what a production model as listed on the Guild webpage makes it a "one-of-a-kind"? There were a lot produced of them. https://guildguitars.com/g/f-30-aragon/
Ralf

Based on the OP's original belief it was actually a Standard model with Traditional features, which he now seems to agree isn't the case, in post #50.
:friendly_wink:

 

[Bernie]

Glad to be aboard. This is my first post on LTG. I’m a perpetual beginner--from my first Emenee plastic guitar in 1964--through the wonderful brand new! 2014 Guild F-30 Sunburst Standard I picked up last weekend. It had been sitting in Downtown Sounds, in Northampton, MA, since April 2014. I asked why it hadn’t sold in 5yrs? “Most of our sales are $200-$600 guitars,” the manager said.

I live in NYC & sold my Gene Larrivee Italian Spruce/Hog OM-03 for nearly what I paid 8yrs ago. It didn’t ‘ring’ the way I liked. This Guild rings! Best guitar I’ve owned… or at least it helps me make the sounds I like.

But here’s the story. Guild mythology aside, my guitar could likely be the last Guild F-30 made in New Hartford, CT.

Sr# NR107004
N = New Hartford, CT
R = 2014
107 = 107th day of the year
(Thursday April 17, 2014)
004 = 4th instrument built that day

On Tuesday April 22, 2014 (five days after my guitar was built), Fender notified NH employees it was closing the New Hartford, CT facility.

The next day, Wednesday April 23, a press release confirmed the closing of the New Hartford factory. Initial plans were to “move manufacturing to California.” But as we all know, that was only a ruse by Fender.

Two weeks later, May 7, 2014, Fender announced, in a formal letter of intent, that they had sold the Guild brand to Cordoba Music Group. By the end of May 2014, CMG had laid off most of the NH employees and begun to move the machinery to their CA factory.

A June 2014 Hartford Courant article quotes a NH staff member: "In the last year [before the NH plant closed], the crew of 47 was generally making about 14 guitars a day... most were Guild guitars." Compared to Martin, Taylor & Gibson’s output, that makes NH Guild a veritable custom shop. So, it’s entirely likely my F-30 Std Sunburst was the last F-30 built in NH.

There are a few telltales this might be true. Very few Sunburst F-30’s were made in NH. Most were natural finish—even fewer in those final 5 months in 2014. My F-30 Standard has the usual 1 ¾” nut, rosewood fingerboard, etc…. but it also has Tortoise binding, which was usually found on Traditional (Aragon) F-30’s. The entire guitar is Nitro gloss finish, including the neck. The top is also much nicer looking than other F-30’s I’ve seen. An exceptional cut of hog on the back & sides--compared to my Larrivee! It likely received a little extra attention to detail, as I’m sure the crew knew the Rats were abandoning the ship. As they literally did five days later. “CJ” signed off on the build-sheet for my instrument. Does anyone know who “CJ” was at NH? I’d love to thank him/her.

Downtown Sounds in Northampton, Massachusetts is only a short 1-hour drive from New Hartford, CT. And I think the closest Guild dealer to NH, I suspect they might have made one last run down to Connecticut in April 2014 & pulled a few choice guitars from whatever was on the racks. A brand new 5yr old guitar. I paid $1,500 -- which for a brand new 5yr old Sunburst Guild F-30 with extra detail is worth every cent. At least to me anyway.

I called CMG and they said that since it’s a new guitar, they will honor the full Guild warrantee. It was delicious peeling the plastic off the pick-guard as I sat in the shop and played it for the first time.

Same thing more or less happened to me...I bought a New Hartford made F-30 new, many years after it was built, and never quite understood why it had been hanging on there for so long...After several years of reading LTG, and occasionally participating, I started to understand it probably had a lot to do with Guild changing owner in 2014...Surely more than with Guild loosing public esteem, or this very guitar individual quality...Mine was made a bit earlier than yours and I envy the sunburst varnish (especially after finding it was the one Mississipi John Hurt had on his guitar ). But considering the great price I paid for mine, no regrets at all...Enjoy !