shepke
Member
I'd been looking for a rosewood Guild in recent months, but everything I'd seen was too pricey. I finally ran across a new Tacoma F47R on eBay from a reputable dealer and in desperation made what I thought was a ridiculously low offer. I was surprised that it was accepted and the guitar arrived late this afternoon. It’s a beautiful instrument and sounds tremendous – well balanced with a very pleasing full-bodied depth in the bass and crystal clarity in the high end. It’s perfect for finger style but a real cannon when I hit it with a flat pick (louder than my Corona D40 even). I’ve been playing it all evening and it’s the only new guitar I’ve ever purchased that sounded like it was opened up right out of the case. It’s definitely a keeper.
Anyway, I have a few questions that maybe someone here can answer. Looking it over, it’s absolutely clean and doesn’t look to me like a “blem” or 2nd in any way. The only thing I can say is that the grain on the spruce top is a little wider at the outside edges of the upper and lower bouts than toward the center where it's quite close and nicely feathered. Would this be regarded as a flaw? It doesn’t have a serial # on the back of the headstock, only on the sound hole label. Is this normal for Tacoma Guilds? The serial # is TK085010. Any idea what year it was made? Also what kind of spruce is the top made of on these models? Were a lot of these dumped on the market when the Tacoma facility closed? Why was it so inexpensive?
Here are a few pics.
Anyway, I have a few questions that maybe someone here can answer. Looking it over, it’s absolutely clean and doesn’t look to me like a “blem” or 2nd in any way. The only thing I can say is that the grain on the spruce top is a little wider at the outside edges of the upper and lower bouts than toward the center where it's quite close and nicely feathered. Would this be regarded as a flaw? It doesn’t have a serial # on the back of the headstock, only on the sound hole label. Is this normal for Tacoma Guilds? The serial # is TK085010. Any idea what year it was made? Also what kind of spruce is the top made of on these models? Were a lot of these dumped on the market when the Tacoma facility closed? Why was it so inexpensive?
Here are a few pics.