She's Finally Here!!! My 2010 New Hartford Mistress

[Shovelhead]

This F-412 is a wonderful instrument. It sounds very good but I've yet to change the strings. My worries are almost over however I gotta go to walmart to pickup a lady's small hand mirror to fit in the sound hole. The vendor did say there was one professionally repaired crack on the top which was cleated and lacquered over, sanded and buffed - excellent repair job but you still see the crack ... hence (love that word), the need to see the job from the inside.

- the LR Baggs Anthem sounds incredible (as I knew it would) .
- acoustically, this is not a 'loud' guitar ... from all the chatter about this, my particular model disagrees ... the tones are excellent! (even with dead strings)
- I am disappointed in the cosmetics of the top - it looks more AA than AAA (what detail/compounds for polishing do you recommend? I am judging this by my Gibson Les Paul and ES335 AAA standards.
- the gold Gotoh machine heads are gorgeous - even though my sausage fingers want smaller ones, I'm gonna make them lose weight.
- the flame maple back and sides are truly beautiful.
- the instrument truly looks unplayed and in almost perfect condition but for the repaired crack.
- in almost 50 years of playing professionally, having gone through dozens of high end electrics, I have never seen a stronger, beautifully designed case with a built in humidifier and faux alligator hide covering!
- I am convinced this instrument has been in a closet or under the bed for its' short 15 year life.

Now that I have a brand new F-512 (Rosewood) on order, I am more than thrilled to play this beauty until the new one comes in September. My only wish is that one of these 2 guitars would come in Sunburst but oh well ...

 

[GGJaguar]

Pix! We need pix! And congrats on your new 12er.

 

[chazmo]

Can we have some pictures of the things you're talking about, shovel. The top especially. I never saw a poor-grade top come from New Hartford and am curious. As for polishes, anything is good as long as it doesn't have silicone in it. I use dunlop 65 these days, plus a very old G&L polish that I've been using sparingly since the 1980s. You don't need much.

If the case has a built-in humidifier, it's not the original case that the NH guitars came from, just FYI.

 

[Shovelhead]

Pix! We need pix! And congrats on your new 12er.

I'll post 'em after string change and soundhole interior inspection. Then, SoundCloud here I come

 

[Shovelhead]

I'm stringin' 'er up with Martin 10 - 47s MA180.
Believe me, on my 6 stringers J-45, D-35 Martin & D-35 Guild, I've gone through almost every set created since neandrathals and have settled long ago on Martin's Light 12- 54 MA140T strings 80/20 Bronze.
This particular set maintains it's brightness and presence through out the constant soakings of my hand acids and chicken wing grease.
Lets' see how they do on my 412.
Pics'll come later today ... SoundClound - gimme a few days to get used to her.

 

[Shovelhead]

Can we have some pictures of the things you're talking about, shovel. The top especially. I never saw a poor-grade top come from New Hartford and am curious. As for polishes, anything is good as long as it doesn't have silicone in it. I use dunlop 65 these days, plus a very old G&L polish that I've been using sparingly since the 1980s. You don't need much.

If the case has a built-in humidifier, it's not the original case that the NH guitars came from, just FYI.

According to Guild Spec sheet, it does come with humidifier case.
On all my other high end acoustics, I use a 3M product called 'Finesse-It 2'. 412 finish is nitro cellulose as are my Martin & Gibby. Just wanna make sure there are no different additives or stuff going on calling for proprietory pastes.

 

[HeyMikey]

This F-412 is a wonderful instrument. It sounds very good but I've yet to change the strings. My worries are almost over however I gotta go to walmart to pickup a lady's small hand mirror to fit in the sound hole. The vendor did say there was one professionally repaired crack on the top which was cleated and lacquered over, sanded and buffed - excellent repair job but you still see the crack ... hence (love that word), the need to see the job from the inside.

- the LR Baggs Anthem sounds incredible (as I knew it would) .
- acoustically, this is not a 'loud' guitar ... from all the chatter about this, my particular model disagrees ... the tones are excellent! (even with dead strings)
- I am disappointed in the cosmetics of the top - it looks more AA than AAA (what detail/compounds for polishing do you recommend? I am judging this by my Gibson Les Paul and ES335 AAA standards.
- the gold Gotoh machine heads are gorgeous - even though my sausage fingers want smaller ones, I'm gonna make them lose weight.
- the flame maple back and sides are truly beautiful.
- the instrument truly looks unplayed and in almost perfect condition but for the repaired crack.
- in almost 50 years of playing professionally, having gone through dozens of high end electrics, I have never seen a stronger, beautifully designed case with a built in humidifier and faux alligator hide covering!
- I am convinced this instrument has been in a closet or under the bed for its' short 15 year life.

Now that I have a brand new F-512 (Rosewood) on order, I am more than thrilled to play this beauty until the new one comes in September. My only wish is that one of these 2 guitars would come in Sunburst but oh well ...

Instead of a lady’s hand mirror look for a “telescoping inspection mirror”. You can find them at most hardware or automotive stores or online such as from Amazon.

 

[Shovelhead]

Instead of a lady’s hand mirror look for a “telescoping inspection mirror”. You can find them at most hardware or automotive stores or online such as from Amazon.

heyMikey ... thanks! I'm going to HarborFreight to pickup one of those gooseneck gadgets you can hook up to your phone or computer. I have a couple harleys I'm always tinkering with and it's nice to see whats' happening inside the cylinders.

 

[chazmo]

According to Guild Spec sheet, it does come with humidifier case.

Sorry, Shovel, I think you're confused. If this was a guitar that you bought which came from New Hartford (2009-2014), then the humidicase is not original. That case is a product of CMG, which is currently Guild's owner. The case of the New Hartford-era F-412 would be a nice TKL case.

 

[jeffcoop]

Congratulations! Sound clips are even better than pics.

 

[Shovelhead]

Sorry, Shovel, I think you're confused. If this was a guitar that you bought which came from New Hartford (2009-2014), then the humidicase is not original. That case is a product of CMG, which is currently Guild's owner. The case of the New Hartford-era F-412 would be a nice TKL case.

No .. not confused ... I just happen to believe what I'm told by Guild Customer Support. So unless you are employed by or, have some kind of knowledge they don't, I'll stick to what they said. It's just a f---ng case.
You can't see the color but, it is a very plush dark green interior.

 

[Shovelhead]

Congratulations! Sound clips are even better than pics.

Thanks ... and yes - I will do sound clips within the next week or two.

 

[chazmo]

No .. not confused ... I just happen to believe what I'm told by Guild Customer Support. So unless you are employed by or, have some kind of knowledge they don't, I'll stick to what they said. It's just a f---ng case.
You can't see the color but, it is a very plush dark green interior.

Wow nice attitude, Shovel. Take a nice break for a week or so.

 

[Cougar]

If the case has a built-in humidifier, it's not the original case that the NH guitars came from, just FYI.

Oh, you mean the Guild Humi-cases came later? They are definitely cool!

 

[chazmo]

Oh, you mean the Guild Humi-cases came later? They are definitely cool!

They are indeed, although some have complained that they're not as effective as people want them to be. The Humicase is Córdoba's product and came into use by Guild was bought by them, 2014+

 

[Cougar]

They are indeed, although some have complained that they're not as effective as people want them to be.

Yeah, actually, the surface area is less than the couple half-sponges in a baggie that I continue to use.

@Shovelhead, super major congrats on your F412! Yeah, too bad it's not a burst, lol. And you are more than welcome on this forum!

 

[SFIV1967]

That is not a New Hartford case but a later Cordoba Guitar Group Case from HumiCase. If a New Hartford built guitar came in that case it means it is not the original case. The current "Guild" people (which are CMG people) just don't know this. They know nothing that happened before 2014. But yes, it's just a case and the guitar matters!

Ralf

 

[Rich Cohen]

I have owned two different F-412s, one burst the other blond. Both of them blew me away. I have been a life-long musician (piano, clarinet, sax, banjo and guitar), and loved the orchestral fog of those guitars. My twelve-string guitar "love" goes back as far as when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in India in the late 60s. Unfortunately, the twelver necks would always challenge my playing hand beyond its sustaining strength. My ears said "don't sell," but my hands and arms said, "I can't do this. Nevertheless, I have owned and tried to bond with a F-212XL, F-312 Braz, 2 F-412s and 2 F-512s. Frustrated!

 

[Rayk]

This F-412 is a wonderful instrument. It sounds very good but I've yet to change the strings. My worries are almost over however I gotta go to walmart to pickup a lady's small hand mirror to fit in the sound hole. The vendor did say there was one professionally repaired crack on the top which was cleated and lacquered over, sanded and buffed - excellent repair job but you still see the crack ... hence (love that word), the need to see the job from the inside.

- the LR Baggs Anthem sounds incredible (as I knew it would) .
- acoustically, this is not a 'loud' guitar ... from all the chatter about this, my particular model disagrees ... the tones are excellent! (even with dead strings)
- I am disappointed in the cosmetics of the top - it looks more AA than AAA (what detail/compounds for polishing do you recommend? I am judging this by my Gibson Les Paul and ES335 AAA standards.
- the gold Gotoh machine heads are gorgeous - even though my sausage fingers want smaller ones, I'm gonna make them lose weight.
- the flame maple back and sides are truly beautiful.
- the instrument truly looks unplayed and in almost perfect condition but for the repaired crack.
- in almost 50 years of playing professionally, having gone through dozens of high end electrics, I have never seen a stronger, beautifully designed case with a built in humidifier and faux alligator hide covering!
- I am convinced this instrument has been in a closet or under the bed for its' short 15 year life.

Now that I have a brand new F-512 (Rosewood) on order, I am more than thrilled to play this beauty until the new one comes in September. My only wish is that one of these 2 guitars would come in Sunburst but oh well ...

Change strings and jam your cell phone in there and take pics ! lol unless it was mentioned already lol congrats !

 

[Rayk]

I have owned two different F-412s, one burst the other blond. Both of them blew me away. I have been a life-long musician (piano, clarinet, sax, banjo and guitar), and loved the orchestral fog of those guitars. My twelve-string guitar "love" goes back as far as when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in India in the late 60s. Unfortunately, the twelver necks would always challenge my playing hand beyond its sustaining strength. My ears said "don't sell," but my hands and arms said, "I can't do this. Nevertheless, I have owned and tried to bond with a F-212XL, F-312 Braz, 2 F-412s and 2 F-512s. Frustrated!

Me love the F212XLCE NH Sweet BLISS ! lol