How do value my Guild F30-NT HR?

HollyLLL

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Hi everyone,

I have a Guild F30-NT HR acoustic made in the USA. I received it as a gift in about 2001 or 2002. I don't have any information other than the model and serial numbers. I know it's not a full-size and it's natural colored, but how do I determine specifics like the actual color and size? I have found similar Guilds online but nothing exactly like mine yet. I am likely going to sell it and may replace with something else but how do I determine the value? I also had a pickup installed a few years ago. Any guidance from ya'll would be super appreciated!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mk9jW2jUH0wbtUHSJUfqtBoqSIuvpVBJpYihvSYg6ps/edit?usp=sharing
 

Stuball48

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Welcome Holly and lots of knowledge on this forum. Others will be along. I did not find a picture of the label in photos. Will try again.
 

HollyLLL

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This work?
 

Stuball48

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Holly:
I get two pictures. One of guitar in case and one of headstock. If you will post the serial number, someone will give you the year and if Hans (IMO the most knowledgeable Guild guitar person breathing) sees your post, he will give you an exact answer.
 

mavuser

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looks like a late 90's F-30, very nice. should be a 24.75" scale. lower bout should be 16". it is "natural" colored (NT=natural top), as u have already concluded. ive played one of these, had a chunky neck. is yours that way? value will depend largely on condition, but there aren't too many of these from this time period. if u got it as a gift, and it was brand new at the time (u are the original owner)...i would keep it
 

Cougar

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....I am likely going to sell it and may replace with something else but how do I determine the value?....

Hard to say! One way is to look at "sold listings" on ebay. There are a couple on there that went in the neighborhood of $650, but they were older than yours and probably not in as good of shape.

There are about 17 F30s for sale on reverb.com, and they range (optimistically) from $900 to $1700. Sellers in Japan price them considerably higher - up around $2500.

Cool guitar! Welcome to the boards!
 

tommym

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Hard to say! One way is to look at "sold listings" on ebay. There are a couple on there that went in the neighborhood of $650, but they were older than yours and probably not in as good of shape.

There are about 17 F30s for sale on reverb.com, and they range (optimistically) from $900 to $1700. Sellers in Japan price them considerably higher - up around $2500.

Cool guitar! Welcome to the boards!

FYI....you can now search the sold listings on Reverb too!

Tommy
 

GuildInAtlanta

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Actually that feature has been there for quite a while, but it's something most people really don't realize since you have to stumble upon checking the right box whenever you're doing a search request.

However, searching sold listings can be a little misleading?

I've bought and sold a couple guitars through Reverb and what's listed is not the actual or confirmed sale price. Reverb only provides the last list price from the seller. This was the case when I sold a guitar 3 years ago and is true today. At the beginning of the year I bought another guitar through Reverb on New Years Day, and what pops up within the sold listings is not what I actually paid.

It's still interesting to see what was sold in the past and what someone was asking for it, but just keep in mind it probably sold for less.

So...if you put two-and-two together, this variance in listed verses the actual sales price is probably reflected in Reverb's historical lists of prices on any specific model of guitar. These summary reports are available at Reverb too, but as I indicated take it with grain of salt. Here's an example below.

https://reverb.com/price-guide/guide/17679-guild-f-30-aragon-late-60s-sunburst

The good news is at least there's a record of the range of asking prices in the past, and it's something to consider whenever you're trying to pinpoint your starting price. If you're not in a hurry to sell maybe guesstimate closer to a recent asking price? If you want to move it quicker of course drop a little lower.

All the best with your sale, and you've come to a good place to start getting the word out among Guild buyers. I would also encourage you to post your sale on the acousticguitar.com forum. Many people here read multiple forums, and not every "Guild Guy" frequents this forum on a regular basis.

Good luck!
 
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adorshki

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looks like a late 90's F-30, very nice. should be a 24.75" scale. lower bout should be 16".
Welcome aboard Holly!
Thought F30's were always just a bit narrower (like about 1/2") than that,
That was spec size for the F40 family, just so it doesn't cause our new member undue confusion.

Also it's an "HR" (Hand Rubbed finish), something I'm not seeing shown as a finish option for those in late '90's catalogs, but that's not conclusive.
It was however fairly common in early '90's having been used on models as diverse as DV52's and D4's.
Holly, FWIW s/n is necessary to properly date guitar and it will likely have some relevance to market value.
 
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D30Man

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Welcome Holly. As you see there is plethora of info / knowledge here.. Good luck.. That is a fine example of an F-30..
 

HollyLLL

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https://imgur.com/gallery/kO8cES5

https://imgur.com/gallery/kO8cES5

I'm still trying to figure out posting images to this site. It's so weird. I uploaded some pics to Imgur. Hope it works! The guitar is in excellent condition but as the images show, it needs to be polished.

So, I received this guitar back in 2001 or 2002. It looked new but I can't be certain that the person didn't get it used somewhere. The model number is F30-NT HR and serial number is AF300280 and made in the USA. The nut and bridge have been replaced but I still have the original pieces and they're intact. A Fishman pickup was installed a few years ago by my ex-father-in-law, a request that I didn't make...and one of the pieces inside needs to be reattached. He also repaired the binding which you can see the splices if you look really close. Other than it being dusty, it's in excellent condition.

I used to play and sing all the time but I just don't play this gorgeous thing anymore mostly due to the history with the person that gifted it to me...It's hard because it really is a dream to play. I've played Gibson Hummingbirds, which I love, and the sound doesn't quite compare to this Guild. *Sigh*
 

HollyLLL

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Oh, and I received a reply from the folks at Guild and was told they don't have much information on their guitars pre-2014. Is that usual??
 

fronobulax

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Oh, and I received a reply from the folks at Guild and was told they don't have much information on their guitars pre-2014. Is that usual??

Yes. Usual for Guild. Over the years Guild has had different factories and a couple of owners. Whenever factory and/or owner change records get lost. Fender (FMIC) sold Guild to Cordoba in 2014 so that answer is about what I would expect. That's why folks come to LTG :)
 

fronobulax

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I used to play and sing all the time but I just don't play this gorgeous thing anymore mostly due to the history with the person that gifted it to me...It's hard because it really is a dream to play. I've played Gibson Hummingbirds, which I love, and the sound doesn't quite compare to this Guild. *Sigh*

Could you keep playing it out of spite, regardless of the history?

5wGRjQj.jpg


I viewed your images, picked one, copied the image location and then pasted that into an IMAGE tag by pressing the image icon. If that makes no sense say so and someone will probably embed images for you.
 

HollyLLL

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Yes. Usual for Guild. Over the years Guild has had different factories and a couple of owners. Whenever factory and/or owner change records get lost. Fender (FMIC) sold Guild to Cordoba in 2014 so that answer is about what I would expect. That's why folks come to LTG :)

Well, that makes it quite frustrating now doesn't it??? I found this handy link: http://support.guildguitars.com/downloads/datingyourguild.pdf but still can't be sure of the date.

Welcome aboard Holly!
Thought F30's were always just a bit narrower (like about 1/2") than that,
That was spec size for the F40 family, just so it doesn't cause our new member undue confusion.

Also it's an "HR" (Hand Rubbed finish), something I'm not seeing shown as a finish option for those in late '90's catalogs, but that's not conclusive.
It was however fairly common in early '90's having been used on models as diverse as DV52's and D4's.
Holly, FWIW s/n is necessary to properly date guitar and it will likely have some relevance to market value.

So, I also haven't found anything with the hand rubbed finish except mine. It can't be unique.

looks like a late 90's F-30, very nice. should be a 24.75" scale. lower bout should be 16". it is "natural" colored (NT=natural top), as u have already concluded. ive played one of these, had a chunky neck. is yours that way? value will depend largely on condition, but there aren't too many of these from this time period. if u got it as a gift, and it was brand new at the time (u are the original owner)...i would keep it

I don't think the neck is chunky. I have small hands and it feels just right in my hand. The body size is definitely smaller too, as it also fits just right and doesn't squish my boobs like a standard size or jumbo.

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Yay, I figured out the image thing. Thanks, frono!
 
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GuildInAtlanta

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HollyLLL - The label on your guitar indicates is was built in the Westerly, RI factory and as you've probably found pinpointing the exact year is challenging.

According to Wikipedia Guild moved production to Corona, CA late in 2001.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_Guitar_Company

Also I looked at a couple websites listing Guild serial numbers on the internet, and the last recorded date for an F30 in Westerly is in 1995, #AF300153, using this set of records.

http://support.guildguitars.com/downloads/datingyourguild.pdf

So, with this limited information it could have been made anywhere from 1996 to 2001?

There is a guy who frequents this site called Hans Moust who wrote a book about Guilds and may have more info to pinpoint the exact year for you.
 
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HollyLLL

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Ha! I didn't even know about the date stamp. It was made May 4 1998. Thanks guys!

Marius, does yours have a hand rubbed finish?
 
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