Product: Guild JF-30
Price Paid: US $1000
Submitted
05/12/1999
at
08:58pm
by
Tim Hoekstra
Email: thoekstr at utk<dot>edu
Features
:
9
Mine is probably a 1998 USA made blonde jumbo. It has a solid AA spruce top and curly maple sides, a laminated maple arched back, a three piece maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, and joins at the 14th fret. It has Grover non-locking tuners and a Guild fitted hardshell case. She is gorgeous, nice flame on the back, great flame on the neck. She also has a nice thick neck that may take some getting used to by the less experienced. She didn't come with electronics but I had a Fishman Rare Earth Humbucker put in. She is real heavy and well-balanced.
Sound
:
8
I play with a singer in small bars. We play folk, blues, and soft rock mainly. I put in a Fishman Rare Earth Humbucker and it makes the guitar a little more versatile. Of course, being a jumbo the guitar lends herself to rhythmic strumming but she does fine on flatpicking too. Booming bass, a little weak on the treble side. I think a jumbo with rosewood sides and back would have been a better choice in retrospect. But what she is supposed to do she does great. Great volume naturally.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
The action is amazing. I have never played a guitar with better action! I took her to a luthier and he was amazed too. I noticed a lot of reviews in this database note that Guilds tend to have some glue visible at the joints; that is true for mine too. You really have to look though! The top is perfect although I've seen a lot of blonde JF-30's with flaws in the top. Nut, bridge, saddles, etc. no problems
Reliability/Durability
:
9
I've gigged with it for a month now and it still looks brand new. I'm sure the lemon oil and guitar polish help too but this guitar is built to last. They don't call it the workhorse for nothing. She can take the jolts in the back of my van.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never dealt with customer support.
Overall Rating
:
8
I've had classical training in elementary school for three years then I stopped playing until I picked up acoustics again at the start of my college career (still going strong 7 years later!). I have a Takamine EG330C that was my main guitar before this one. It is now my drop D guitar (and I'll probably replace it with a concert sized guitar). I also have a Lonestar Strat that I play through a Crate GX60C. And my old classical guitar of course.
If she was stolen I'd probably try to find a reasonably priced used JF55 or a Taylor jumbo. I think jumbos with rosewood or mahogany bodies are a little more responsive. Gibson jumbos I don't care for much (it's the mustache). I chose mine for the money and her looks, you can't beat the look of a big blonde!
