1967 D-40 + 1972 F-212XL

[Dimitrije]

Hello everyone!

Greetings from Serbia, Europe.

I've always liked this forum, there was something good about it, the way it connected people who fell in love with Guild guitars.

I own a 1972 F-212XL, which was my childhood dream for such a long time, as I listened to Ralph Towner's records, getting enamoured of his sound and approach to 12-string.

The best sounding D-40 I've ever heard arrived yesterday. It's magic.

Both guitars were clearly well played and loved. I feel incredibly privileged to own two such instruments with so much history and stories to tell.

I will be posting some more details on my findings, what my luthier worked on and all that. Now, I just wanted to share what I felt with you.

 

[GGJaguar]

Welcome to LTG! Thanks for sharing the photos of your Guild guitars. They are beautiful!

 

[Cougar]

I own a 1972 F-212XL...

Excellent choice! Can't get much better than a jumbo Guild 12-string!

The best sounding D-40 I've ever heard arrived yesterday. It's magic.

Man, you've got a couple of winners! Super major congrats!

 

[walrus]

Wow! Two great guitars! Welcome to LTG!

walrus

 

[Boneman]

Welcome to LTG, and congrats on two classic acoustics! I love the aged yellow tops, just beautiful

 

[jeffcoop]

Welcome! Those are two beautiful guitars.

 

[PreacherBob]

Nice. That’s a nice and tall saddle for a 50+ year old 12 string. If it hasn’t had a neck reset it’ll never need one. I’ve got a ‘72 212XL as well, with a neck reset 3 years ago. I bet the D40 has a very dry and woody tone with lots of boom, mahogany is wonderful.

 

[Br1ck]

That is an envious pair of Guilds, from a great era. That they ended up in Serbia is a great piece of luck for you.

 

[Dimitrije]

Thanks a lot, you all.

I did my homework and lured these two to my region. Well worth it. But you would be amazed what else we have here, when it comes to other things in life.

They both had a neck reset. D-40 has got some repaired usual cracks on the back and front, I think it was refretted too. Everything else seems original. These tuning pegs are very interesting. Did they install them on some other guitars other than D-40? I don't get to see a lot of them around.
F-212XL was also refretted and some low-quality unoriginal Schaller tuning pegs (from the 80s) which were on when I bought it were substituted for 12-string set of Grovers.
I put D'Addario Silk&Steel strings on it, to get less of that zing and more volume and nuance.

Which strings do you like on your D-40s or similar Guild dreadnoughts? Mine has Elixir 80/20 Bronze on it, from the shop where I purchased it and they're probably a tad too bright for my taste.
Nevertheless, that guitar is just pure sonic bliss. So much resonance to it, with that woodiness PreacherBob mentioned.

 

[chazmo]

Welcome aboard, Dimitrije!

Beautiful guitars!

I think the truss rod covers is upside down on your F-212XL.

 

[BradHK]

These tuning pegs are very interesting. Did they install them on some other guitars other than D-40?

The tuning keys look like the late 1960’s Japanese tuners Guild put on some guitars. Not a lot of fans of those tuners. Are the mounting holes diagonal on the back?

 

[Dimitrije]

 

[Dimitrije]

The are currently a bit stiff, would definitely need some lubrication and cleaning.

 

[BradHK]

Yup, those are the Japanese tuners I was referencing

 

[12 string]

Chaz is correct about the 212...TRC is USD.

' Strang

 

[wileypickett]

Yup, those are the Japanese tuners I was referencing

IMO, those tuners are the very worst Guild ever put on a guitar!

 

[Dimitrije]

I see a lot of Guilds from the 60s and 70s with replaced tuners. A weak spot in general, maybe?

 

[chazmo]

I'd agree with that, Dimitrije... But all tuners have improved a lot over the years. That era of tuners don't age particularly well, especially closed-gear ones. That includes the higher-end Schallers and US-built Grovers, as far as I'm concerned, that were on a lot of Guilds...

 

[wileypickett]

Tuner technology has improved exponentially over the decades. But even at the time your guitar was made these were poor tuners. So much so that Guild switched back to better ones in short order. (I've owned dozens of Guilds over the years -- only one came with these tuners, so I suspect the company didn't use them for very long.)

Even among hardcore ("OMG!, keep everything original at all costs!") Guildaholics, there's little love for these tuners. Rather than cleaning and lubricating the ones that came on my guitar, I pulled 'em off and replaced them with Grover 18:1s. What a difference!

 

[Br1ck]

The three on a plate tuners used on my 70 D 35 and I believe on D 25s of the early 70s, while almost universally panned, are just fine, thank you. I've seen so many butchered closed back tuner installations that I'm happy to have the Japanese originals. While not the silky smooth tuners we are used to, they function adequately, as my luthier tells me. The upgraded tuners on the D 40s as they say, aren't great either, but I imagine they too are adequate. Guild was after all, building in affordability with these models.