Would you buy a Corona-made F-50 sight unseen?

[Recky]

Hi,

I've come across a Corona-made F-50 (Bentley Guitar Studio, Parkville MO) and was wondering what exactly the quality control issues at that factory were. I'm aware of the fact that there were seconds, stamped as USED, so is that what they mean by quality control issues, or are there many duds among the regularly released guitars as well?

The guitar I'm looking at has a serial number and is not stamped USED.

Would you buy a Corona sight unseen? I'm surprised at the low prices for guitars of that era, compared to Tacoma-made ones, in this case $ 1200 compared to $ 2000.

A gamble?

Thanks very much,
Recky

 

[Graham]

Hey Recky,

I bought a Corona F-512 sight unseen, from a forumite. It was described perfectly played beautifully.

I think one of the important things to consider is a return policy. However, you being in Europe, return shipping for something you're not overly exited about may eat up a good portion of the cost of the guitar.

Ask for "volunteers" from the Guild Army in the area to check it out for you. Another thing the guys and gals around here are very good at is helping you spend your money wisely. :wink:

 

[Recky]

Hey Recky,

I bought a Corona F-512 sight unseen, from a forumite. It was described perfectly played beautifully.

I think one of the important things to consider is a return policy. However, you being in Europe, return shipping for something you're not overly exited about may eat up a good portion of the cost of the guitar.

Ask for "volunteers" from the Guild Army in the area to check it out for you. Another thing the guys and gals around here are very good at is helping you spend your money wisely. :wink:

*LOL* Yeah, looks like they're really good at spending my money

GardMan has kindly checked out a couple of guitars for me, but I doubt there's anyone on this forum living in Parkville, MO (is that Missouri??). But then you never know...

Cheers,
Recky

 

[benwantland]

GardMan has kindly checked out a couple of guitars for me, but I doubt there's anyone on this forum living in Parkville, MO (is that Missouri??). But then you never know...

Cheers,
Recky

That's in the Kansas City metro area, so I'd guess there probably are forum members living very close... It's about 3 hours from me, and, unfortunately, I won't be going through there for a month or two, but, if you still haven't gotten anyone to check it out, I will when I'm in the area.

 

[Recky]

Hi Ben,

thanks for offering! Let's see if we can find someone of lives or works nearby

Cheers,
Recky

 

[chazmo]

Recky,

That'd be good if someone here could check it out for you. I wouldn't hesitate because of the Corona build, but that's still a lot of money sight unseen, and shipping will add to it. Definitely not a bad price though if it's good!

I don't know if we've got any LTGers in the Kansas City region.

Wish I could help. I'll keep my eyes peeled for an F50 in my area for you.

 

[Recky]

Thanks Chazmo!!!

You can tell I'm desperate for an F-50, eh?

Cheers,
Recky

 

[Recky]

Anyone up in Chicago? There's a nice looking Corona F-50 available on eBay, although the price is a bit steep:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Guild-F50-Jumbo...yZ159947QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Cheers,
Recky

 

[TonyT]

Anyone up in Chicago? There's a nice looking Corona F-50 available on eBay, although the price is a bit steep:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Guild-F50-Jumbo...yZ159947QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Cheers,
Recky

I saw that, Recky. Too rich for my blood at the moment. I would be happy to go have a look for anyone that asked.

 

[Dr Izza Plumber]

Hi,

I've come across a Corona-made F-50 (Bentley Guitar Studio, Parkville MO) and was wondering what exactly the quality control issues at that factory were. I'm aware of the fact that there were seconds, stamped as USED, so is that what they mean by quality control issues, or are there many duds among the regularly released guitars as well?

The guitar I'm looking at has a serial number and is not stamped USED.

Would you buy a Corona sight unseen? I'm surprised at the low prices for guitars of that era, compared to Tacoma-made ones, in this case $ 1200 compared to $ 2000.

A gamble?

Thanks very much,
Recky

FWIW: http://www.gruhn.com/ has a JF55 NT Westerly built in stock.
The stock number is AM6567
They told me I could have it for $1550 and shipping costs.

 

[Recky]

FWIW: http://www.gruhn.com/ has a JF55 NT Westerly built in stock.
The stock number is AM6567
They told me I could have it for $1550 and shipping costs.

Hi Doc,

if that were a blonde back & sides one, I'd be all over it, but unfortunately, it isn't Looks very nice, though. Thanks for pointing it out.

Cheers,
Recky

 

[workedinwesterly]

Would I buy a Corona-made F-50 sight unseen?

No.

 

[Recky]

Let me expand this thread:

What is the problem generally associated with Corona-made guitars? There seem to have been a lot of seconds, but these are marked USED, apparently. Sounds like regularly released guitars are also inconsistent in the quality department.

But what exactly is the problem???

Cheers,
Recky

 

[Walter Broes]

From what I've seen online, Corona seemed to have some finish problems - at a certain point, there were an awful lot of "new" Corona flattops on Ebay with the serial numbers taken off, and all of them had at least a little finish checking (hairline cracks), some looked terrible, more like a broken mirror.

I'm not aware of any other problems, but that's not to say there aren't any, I just don't know.

I wouldn't buy a Corona guitar sight unseen, but that's because I have no experience with them whatsoever.
I have bought two Hoboken-made archtops sight unseen, but that was after having played a bunch of them, and owning two, that made me confident enough, gave me sort of a "can't go wrong with these" feeling.