Guild F40 - body shape???

[F30]

I'm been looking at a lot of F40's on the net and to my eye it appears the shape has changed quite a few times over the years.
Maybe it is just the pictures and they way they are taken.
Not sure, but if anyone has any info on this subject - love to be educated.
thx

 

[adorshki]

I'm been looking at a lot of F40's on the net and to my eye it appears the shape has changed quite a few times over the years.
Maybe it is just the pictures and they way they are taken.

More that than anything else, but there are 2 primary shapes:
GJMalcyon's '61, from here: https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?threads/f40-lovers-unite.195241/page-2 , in which a lot of pics are no longer available:

'56:

In late '63 F40 was replaced by F47, flat back 'hog body using same outline:

I know what you mean, though. I see a slight change in the "roundness" of the 'bouts when the shape was revised ca '72:


So it's like the upper bout used to appear a a bit "slope-shouldered" and with a "flat" bottom, morphing to something a bit more "square-shouldered" with a definitely rounder lower bout.
'75:

F47 was '64-'74 when F40 was revived until 'about '85 when Gruhn revamped the F-bodies.

That shape lasted with F47's through end of Corona ('04),

but F40 went on extended hiatus, except for the 45th Anniversary Valencia which used the original F40 "Valencia" outline:

When Tacoma revived the F40 they revived the earlier outline which carried through to NH, and body depths were slightly different IIRC.

I do not speak of the Oxnard F40, it is dead to me.

 

[jeffcoop]

Prior to Cordoba Music Group's reconfiguration of the Guild lineup, the F40 was what many call a grand auditorium size, with a 16" lower bout that put it midway between the roughly OM-sized F30 (15" lower bout) and the jumbo-sized F50 (17" lower bout). When Cordoba began production of the F40 in Oxnard, it converted the model to a jumbo with spruce top and African mahogany back and sides. So yes, there's been a bit change in size in the last eight years. Prior to that, I think shape and size changes were trivial. Certainly the Ft0s built in Tacoma (2005-08) and New Hartford (2009-14) were the same grand auditorium size and shape (although, question for the true experts: were there any changes in body depth over the years?).

 

[ReevesRd]

The Oxnard F-40 has a 17 1/4" bottom bout (similar to the F-48 Navarre).

 

[ReevesRd]

Personally, I prefer the F-40 Valencia body shape (grand auditorium size).

 

[F30]

Thanks for all the info and reply's.
Interesting Model changes.

 

[GGJaguar]

I do not speak of the Oxnard F40, it is dead to me.

 

[GGJaguar]

When Tacoma revived the F40 they revived the earlier outline which carried through to NH

 

[adorshki]

Thanks for all the info and reply's.
Interesting Model changes.

Might wanna double-check my post, I was editing.

 

[ReevesRd]

This is a beautiful Valencia! I love the top.

 

[Rich Cohen]

I'm been looking at a lot of F40's on the net and to my eye it appears the shape has changed quite a few times over the years.
Maybe it is just the pictures and they way they are taken.
Not sure, but if anyone has any info on this subject - love to be educated.
thx

I have a 1972 F-40. It's a great tone machine. Richard Petersen sold to me after he had Tom Jacobs (Mr. Fixit) do an overhaul and setup for it. It's now in what I would characterize as excellent condition. Guild reintroduced the F-40 as maple back and sides models in 1972. The back is arched, thus it has great projection. If your interested in it, send me a PM.

 

[F30]

Thx for the heads up offer on the 72 F-40. Fishing and thinking of the next Guild with a shallow wallet at the moment.
Need to sell a few guitars before a buy something else.
But thank you - it looks like a real fine guitar.

 

[F30]

Really like those older ones:

 

[bobouz]

Borrowed from BGUF, two of my all-time favorite models - 1974 F40 & 2012 J185. Similar body shapes (with clear differences when viewed side by side) & 16” maple bodies, but the J185 is a short scale.

 

[Bill Ashton]

If I am recalling correctly, the first NH "Standard" Series guitar was an F40, in the non-mini-jumbo shape; the first GSR Guild from
NH was also an F40 in the "N-M-J" shape, but with Carpathian Spruce top and Cocobolo sides and back...did I get that right?

At one of the LMG gatherings, Kim brought an F40 that had been returned for a defect, but they could not find what that defect was...I could not put that guitar down, played it a LOT...I add that, sadly, to the "one-that-got-away" list. Not sure however if it was a standard or a GSR.

Anybody?

 

[chazmo]

Hi Bill!

Hmm... I remember that we were the first to see, publicly, the Standard series unveiled. But I don't remember there being a "first" model in the series, Bill, just the group of them... An F-40 may have been among them; I don't remember. I do know for sure that the F-212XL Standard was not in that first group and came later -- as it took me months to get my hands on one after the LMG where we were introduced to the Standards.

As for the GSRs, I have one of those cocobolo F-40s. Yup, you got the deets right:

https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?threads/ngd-2010-gsr-f-40.204229/

 

[plaidseason]

More that than anything else, but there are 2 primary shapes:
GJMalcyon's '61, from here: https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?threads/f40-lovers-unite.195241/page-2 , in which a lot of pics are no longer available:

'56:

In late '63 F40 was replaced by F47, flat back 'hog body using same outline:

I know what you mean, though. I see a slight change in the "roundness" of the 'bouts when the shape was revised ca '72:


So it's like the upper bout used to appear a a bit "slope-shouldered" and with a "flat" bottom, morphing to something a bit more "square-shouldered" with a definitely rounder lower bout.
'75:

F47 was '64-'74 when F40 was revived until 'about '85 when Gruhn revamped the F-bodies.

That shape lasted with F47's through end of Corona ('04),

but F40 went on extended hiatus, except for the 45th Anniversary Valencia which used the original F40 "Valencia" outline:

When Tacoma revived the F40 they revived the earlier outline which carried through to NH, and body depths were slightly different IIRC.

I do not speak of the Oxnard F40, it is dead to me.

We track the same on this! There is nothing "traditional" about the current F40.

 

[E-Type]

If I have this right, in Tacoma and New Hartford, the F-40 Valencia had a simpler neck while the F-47 had block markers and bound necks. Has anyone tried both a Tacoma and a New Hartford? Any significant differences. I have been looking at Tacoma F-47s, but they all have the Lock and Load D-Tar, which I'm not sure I'd like and is hard to replace.

 

[chazmo]

Do you want electronics, E-Type? Just checking. The Lock 'n Load can be removed/replaced and some small lutherie can fill that hole. As for the D-TAR, I'm not a big fan of the Wavelength UST just by itself, but their blended system (Wavelength Duo) is killer.

 

[E-Type]

Do you want electronics, E-Type? Just checking. The Lock 'n Load can be removed/replaced and some small lutherie can fill that hole. As for the D-TAR, I'm not a big fan of the Wavelength UST just by itself, but their blended system (Wavelength Duo) is killer.

I'm a fan of the K&K Pure mini. I haven't heard back from my luthier as to how spendy plugging the 7/8" hole would be. But it seems they made way more f-47 with D-Tar than without it.