New Guild Jumbo - a few questions

I posted this over at the FDP, so some of you may be seeing it for the second time. I just received a new/nos-ish JF-30 and only have a 72 hour inspection window and the tech I usually use is out of town this week so I thought I'd get some input here to see if I should be concerned.

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Guitar arrived today - happy to report that the bridge is on firmly. The guitar shipped UPS ground to SoCal from IL, double boxed, packed well but without a case... and was only a smidge out of tune when I pulled her out this evening.

I was surprised.

She's a real looker, I'll get some pics up tomorrow.

I'm a little puzzled though, the bridge pins seem to be almost drilled at a slight angle (with the top ball end leaning toward the neck a touch), but the saddle and bridge for the most part appear to be straight. The straight factor could be an optical illusion.. I don't have a straight edge right at the moment to really see what's going on.

There's a fair amount of bulge behind the bridge, but between the bridge and the soundhole it's straight. Action is not excessively high, but it's not what you'd call low either. The saddle is a little lower than what I usually see on a new guitar, but it's not a nub or anything.

Does Guild give their jumbo tops a slight radius.. like Gibson or are they supposed to be flatter like Martin?

Open chords intonate well, the tone is really nice... almost exactly what I've been hearing in my head when I think about what I wanted from a guitar nice top end with the balance of mids and lows.. though I could live with a bit more bottom, maybe that will come as the top opens up.

the 1 11/16" nut on an acoustic will take some adjustment, but I can't see that being a problem over the long haul.

I'm working from home tonight with little free time. New strings tomorrow and we'll give her a week to adjust to the new climate then it's set up time.

Unless you all freak me out about the bulging.

actually correction... I've looked it over a bit more last night and this morning. The bridge definitely has a slight forward lean to it.

I'm just kind of ignorant here as I don't have a whole lot of experience with acoustics. Is a little lean acceptable? Or is this something that should be returned?

The bulging behind the bridge appears to be fairly uniform. I'll try and post some pictures this evening if that would help?

There's a fair amount of bulge behind the bridge, but between the bridge and the soundhole it's straight.

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Bellying. There are a few reasons this happens & it's likely a combination if this has been hanging on a wall in a shop for a couple years. You said new nos-ish...is this a Corona built Guild? I've had very limited experience with Corona acoustics, but there has been talk of bridges coming loose.

The saddle being that low & the action still on the high side is probably related to the "fair amount" of bellying, rather than the neck set being too shallow. Lighter strings & good humidity will help this, but no telling if it will ever totally correct itself.

You said you could live with a bit more bottom end. Yes, that can certainly ring out more as the guitar opens up, but I'm a bit surprised. From other discussions & my limited experience, it makes me think Corona.

Let me know if you have any trouble posting pics.

DKL - you nailed it, it's a Corona JF-30. With regards to the bass, I'm probably expecting too much as I've been playing a rosewood dread for the last 5 months. It's not really weak in the bottom end, it just doesn't smack ya in the face. The mids and top end are really nice though. I don't know if you can have a huge bass and a tight top end on the same guitar can ya?


As far as I can tell, the bridge itself is not lifting off the top. I'll get some paper and double check that tonight, but it looks like it's more the top giving behind the bridge (the bulging) allowing the string tension to pull it up a bit.

It doesn't look scary, but it doesn't look right either.

My hope was to drop 13's on a jumbo to get a really big projecting sound, I don't think that's gonna be such a good idea here. I'll post some pics when I get home.


Mr. P - thanks for the tip!

With regards to the bass, I'm probably expecting too much as I've been playing a rosewood dread for the last 5 months. It's not really weak in the bottom end, it just doesn't smack ya in the face. The mids and top end are really nice though. I don't know if you can have a huge bass and a tight top end on the same guitar can ya?

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Yes you can! My Westerly JF-30 (maple back & sides) has an amazing sound all the way around. I'm using John Pearse 11-52's, & my break angle over the bridge is on the shallow side...but I have huge bass response as it is.

dklsplace said:

I'm using John Pearse 11-52's, & my break angle over the bridge is on the shallow side...but I have huge bass response as it is.

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John Pearse strings can compensate for a lot of ailments!!

I assume you will agree that the tendancy of a low break angle is to reduce bass. I sure am glad to hear that that is not an absolute!!

Hmm.. okay...

No real need to post pics, I checked it out a bit more this evening, restrung it, and did an inspection of the braces & bridge.

The bridge pin holes aren't actually drilled at an angle, but are a little too big for the pins and they're a little sloppy when dropped in. The string tension pulls and sets them at an angle. At first glance and even with casual observation it screams to the brain that the bridge itself is at an angle.

The bridge... if it is leaning forward is definitely very minimal. Something to watch for, but nothing to be freaked out over right now.

I put new strings on and the bass came booming out, so I think all is well on that end too. Having played it a few hours this evening, I'm not really sure it's my thing, though it's a step in the right direction for me musically - I'll hang onto a bit and see where it goes from here.

Thanks for all the input.

You would think they would use properly sized bridge pins from the factory. The plastic ones in mine were larger & fit ok, but I've tried a few different kinds there were never quite big enough. I recently put a set of Allparts "oversized" ebony pins in & they fit great!