Guild F47M

I just bought a new Guild F47M with the DTAR pickup and hardshell case and I'm very pleased with what I received. The F47 seems to be a return to the vintage Guilds and this one looks very similar in shape to the custom shop Valencia models. The guitar features a solid red spruce top, solid flame/tiger striped maple back and sides, mahogany/maple/mahogany three piece neck, old fashioned Gotoh tuners, fat headstock with chesterfield inlay, nice pearl block fret markers, rosewood fingerboard and bridge and creme body and neck binding. It even comes with bone nut, saddle AND bridge pins - a very nice bonus. I love the classic Guild tortoise pickguard and the shape is a grand auditorium style shape - very similar to an orchestra model (OM), but with a 16 inch lower bout - it looks small compared to a dreadnought, but feels larger than an OM. The neck is wider - I think 1 3/4 inches wide - and so smaller hands beware. Nice gloss finish all over...I have yet to try out the DTAR pickup, but I like what I see - an easy 'load n' lock' battery rig and nice volume and tone controls in the soundhole. Very discrete and no cutting into the body. Overall, a very classy presentation with top grade materials and precise craftsmanship.

This thing sounds like butter - rich and creamy...not boxey, but more like a boutique handcrafted quality guitar. I'm usually partial to rosewood guitars like my old D55 and D50, but I also had success with the D30 - and so getting this guitar was a joy when I took those first strums and heard that nice 'Guild' sound. Very balanced tonally - not boomy or tinny. Not thin, but rather, a thick mid section - you can feel the resonance and hear each string separately. This projects nicely - a nice pedigree voice - not a mass produced run-of-the-mill Guitar Center thing, but something that sounds like quality. The Tacoma folks put a nice guitar together.

I've gone through a number of guitars and so I can see imperfections here and there. None came with this one. It was new - and so there were no finish cracks, dents or warps. The inside bracing looks nice and clean. No glue marks to speak of. The action came to me nice - a tad high than I'm used to, and so I might shave the saddle ever so slightly. The things plays well - no string buzz with hard attacks and it's easy to fret up the neck and play different scales. I have to comment again about the shape - a nice 'mini jumbo' shape that doesn't feel bulky when playing. I used to own a Guild D30 and it was a very large dreadnought with it's arched back. And so this one is a nice - easier to handle. Not too small to be a porch guitar, but not to fat...you know, come to think of it, I said earlier that it felt large a slightly larger OM, but now I think it feels more like Taylor's new GS models or Larrivee's L series. Anyway, I keep thinking about this guitar and can't wait to play it when I get home from the office!

So far, so good. If you're familiar with Guilds, you know that they tend to be significant'y heavier than your average guitar. This one, with the solid wood construction, feels lighter by far. I used to think that the girth of the older Westerly Guilds contributed to their tank-like reputation, and so I realize that the solid wood construction of this guitar makes it more delicate than the older Guilds but regardless of the weight, this thing is very well put together. I live in Southern Cal and so hopefully I won't have to deal with finish cracking - it's a nice place to have a guitar - not too cold, not too dry...a great home awaits this F47M!

No comment...don't know.

I used to lead worship every weekend and so having a few guitars around that were my workhorses was crucial. I've always been partial to Guilds, but have ventured out with Larrivee's, Martin's and Yamaha's. Once my ministry responsibilities changed and worship was not my regular thing, I wanted to settle down with a guitar to "ride out in the sunset with." I knew I wanted a Guild for this journey, and so here I have this beautiful, brand new F47M. It has the pickup that will come in handy if I ever plug it in again, but for now, I have something that will serve me nicely as a guitar to worship the Lord with personally or in a home group. It's not a bulky jumbo or something that's going to pull my arm off - it's a mid-sized guitar with everything that I need and it's also a lovely guitar that makes me happy whenever I pick it up - and isn't that what a good guitar should do, after all? I love this guitar!