Dating an F20 that's not on the charts

Hi All,

I am new to the forum because I just bought my first Guild!

And I am so ecstatic about the sound that comes out of it. It makes me want to hit my notes just because the payoff is so big.

There is a mystery to this F20 that I'd love to know more about. The serial number is AG 2996. It seems likely that it was the last of the Hobokens or the first of the Westerlies. It says its a Hoboken though.

What do you all think? Maybe because I'm originally from New England, I'm hoping to have some kind of crossover story for it.

Son,

Congratulations on your first Guild guitar. Oh what a feeling. I remember when I got my first, I thought it was the finest musical instrument made...........funny, I still do. I have to agree with you that the resonance and sustain they put out is truly amazing. I'm sure that baby will give you decades of enjoyment, as mine certainly have.

Welcome to the club. There are many knowledgable folks here, unfortunately for you, I'm not one of them. Inevitably, Mr. Moust will pop in here at some point and date your guitar to the minute.

Enjoy,
West

sonjacary said:

There is a mystery to this F20 that I'd love to know more about. The serial number is AG 2996. It seems likely that it was the last of the Hobokens or the first of the Westerlies. It says its a Hoboken though.

What do you all think? Maybe because I'm originally from New England, I'm hoping to have some kind of crossover story for it.

Click to expand...

Welcome sonjacary,

Your guitar is from 1970. That's the period after which the move from Hoboken to Westerly was completed. During the preceding years there had been 2 plants producing Guild guitars at the same time. The person who was supposed to keep track of the serial numbers lost track of it all, which is the reason why the serial numbers for 1970 are not complete.
During 1970 it was decided that they would go back to the original serial number system they abandoned in 1965, just to straighten things out.
During the transition period both factories, Hoboken en Westerly, used labels that only mentioned the Hoboken, NJ location. They used those till they ran out and a new one was introduced during 1970, but it didn't mention a location even though by that time there was just one production facility and it was located in Westerly, RI.

So, there's your crossover story!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust

1970 F20

Thanks to West for wecloming me and to Hans for dating my guitar as an early Westerly.

The sound of my guitar seems so exceptional. It was cracked as if it had been kicked at one point and a luthier did the repairs and set it up again.

I'm just curious if Guilds are all beautiful sounding over time or if there's a lot of variety as some of the posts seem to infer.

Son