1967 Guild F-20

songsmith7

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Hi, Guild-ians,

I've been hankering for a small-bodied Hoboken Guild, so I pulled the trigger on one from Elderly for $350. I wanted to get a Guild from my birth year. It needs a neck reset, the bridge replaced, and a couple of small cracks on the bouts cleated and glued. The top is pretty clean, with the exception of some small scratches. what's a ballpark figure on the repair costs? Thanks in advance.
Jan
 

dklsplace

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Where are you located? Elderly has a well respected repair shop, (though their customer service ain't what it used to be). In this area, I'd say you're looking at between what you paid for it...& $500.
 

Dirt123

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I had a neck repair & somewhat major body reconstruction done on an old Gibson L-75 arch top for $550 in Minneapolis. I would agree your repairs shouldn't go over $500. Nice this about Guilds, they didn't use goofy glue (like epoxy) & don't have weird neck joints. Makes it easier on the repairman.

You may question the wisdom of doing a repair that will cause you to sink more into a guitar than what its value is going to be. I don't know what a F-20 would normally go for. The plus side, is that after the reset & bridge job, that guitar should play like new, but sound old. In my book, that makes it worthwhile.

BTW, does it have an original case?


D
 

songsmith7

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Thanks for the responses. I was hoping that repairs wouldn't be more than $500, so this is encouraging. The only F-20's from this period that I've seen on the web seem to be going for more than the roughly $850 I will end up paying out (I think these small-bodied Guilds from the 60's are commanding more than they're probably worth, thanks to Nick Drake), so I'm ok with that. There was a '67 F20 on eBay recently with a starting bid of $1199. Yikes.

No, the case is newer, non-original, so I'll just keep my eyes open for one from the same time period.

Anyone know of a good, reasonable luthier in Southern California? I'm in Rancho Cucamonga, but would be willing to drive a fair ways for the right person.

Thanks, all!
Jan
 

Jeff

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My research is less than scientific, but It would seem the going prices for a nice F 20 is maybe $800 to a thousand dollars less than a vintage Martin mahogany 00. So far I haven't found a Martin 00 (or any other for that matter) that was appreciably better than My F20, it simply makes pretty sounds the Martins can't match, plus the F20 is smaller than a 00.

The Martin's are usually more forgiving & easier to play.


My Lady paid $300 for mine & it cost me another $600 or so to get the neck resert, replace the bridgeplate, reglue the bridge, replace the frets & a couple other minor cosmetic binding fixes. Oh I almost forgot, I laid out another $125 for a decent case and I should have had the tuners replaced.

I suspect I might have a hard time making any money on the deal so far, but a thousand dollars for a nice small body these days is a good value. Last F20 I saw for sale in a shop here in the great NW went for $1300. It was nice, with a fresh neck set, refret, & a new set of high end tuners.

Still, $1300 for a guitar that sold new for maybe $150.00?

I blame E bay.
 

songsmith7

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So I took my F-20 down to a local guy, Richard Barnes, of the Folk Music Center in Claremont, California, and he said a neck reset would cost $500. Then, he told me that a refret was in order (it isn't), and the cracks would cost a boatload, too. I promptly picked up my guitar and it was all I could do to restrain myself from beating him to a pulp right there in the store. If you live in Southern California, avoid this place like the plague.

It's very hard to find good luthier help, these days.
 

songsmith7

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Hey experts, I'm looking for a replacement rosewood bridge for the F-20, and was wondering if Guild bridges come in different sizes in terms of string width. Does one Guild bridge fit all?? Thanks in advance!
 

Jeff

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Song, Can't help you with the bridge but I saw some really nice 3 in a
line tuners today at "Trading Musician" in North Seattle. I don't want to modify my F20 drillin holes & such but I sure would like a better set of tuners.

The had several styles running about $45.00

I was told high end replacement tuners often fit without drilling.
 
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