Belated NGD post: 2007 iced tea burst F30

About two years ago, I started tracking a 2007 Tacoma-built F30 on gbase. It was $1295, a decent price but a bit more than I wanted to pay, especially as it had an aftermarket pickup that I didn’t really want (and which I knew was built into the price). And I had my heart set on an F30R, rather than the mahogany-backed (and sided) Tacoma F30. But there was something about that burst that kept me coming back. I’m generally not a huge fan of acoustic bursts, but this one was intoxicating.



Time passed, and Golden Age Fretted Instruments removed the aftermarket pickup and lowered the price to $995. At this point, the guitar became nearly irresistible, but I still was prioritizing other things. In early February of this year, Neal bought the F30. I wished him well with it, and every time he posted about how wonderful it was, I let out a wistful inner sigh.


(Neal’s photo—Neal, I hope you don’t mind my posting it).

And now, Neal having fallen under the sway of his new 12-fret Orpheums, the F30 is mine.

The guitar is every bit as beautiful as I’d hoped it would be. One of the things that hadn’t shown in the pictures I’d seen, both on gbase and from Neal, was just how stripy the red spruce top is. One of the reasons I’m not a huge fan of acoustic bursts is that I like to see the wood (yes, I know, I own and love a black D25--it's the exception that proves the rule). The Tacoma iced tea burst is light enough to let the wood show through, and there’s plenty of interest to see here. It’s hard to capture in pictures, for some reason, but it’s very distinct (and distinctive).



The guitar plays beautifully, as Neal promised it would. One thing I find interesting is that the neck is very different from the neck on the 2007 F40 that I also own. The F40 has a round, deep neck. It’s not quite a Gibson ‘50s-era baseball bat neck, but it’s noticeably thicker and rounder than the New Hartford necks I’ve played. The F30, on the other hand, has a thin neck, thinner than those New Hartford necks. It’s a pronounced difference—a variability reminiscent of the Westerly days.

Given the number of guitars I have, I wasn’t sure it made sense to add this F30. But I’d decided that I wanted an F30 to take with me to open mics as a smaller-bodied alternative to the New Hartford D50 that I’ve been using in those settings for the past 15 months. Neal’s telling me that he had installed a K&K Pure Mini clinched the deal--I have a Pure Mini in the D50, and I love it. So when the F30 arrived, I immediately put it to work preparing for Sunday night’s open mic.



And then it took the stage with me, and gave me what I’d been hoping for.



(The D50 was there too--two guitars for two tunings.)



I’m reserving final judgment on the tone until I can get new strings on the F30 (yes, Elixirs can and do wear out--Neal warned me that he’d played the crap out of them). But even with worn strings, I’m a happy man. It took a long time for this guitar to find its way to me, but now that it has, it’s going to get a lot of use.

That's quite a story, Jeff, with what certainly appears to be a happy ending. Can't get much better than a happy ending. :friendly_wink:

Congrats,
Joe

*Does the F130R get much playing time? You do have a healthy herd there so it might take a back seat? Just curious.

killdeer43 said:

That's quite a story, Jeff, with what certainly appears to be a happy ending. Can't get much better than a happy ending. :friendly_wink:

Congrats,
Joe

*Does the F130R get much playing time? You do have a healthy herd there so it might take a back seat? Just curious.

Click to expand...

It does get played, Joe, but not as much as I'd hoped. It's strange that such a minor difference should matter so much, but I'm really not crazy about the flatter 16" fretboard radius (I'd forgotten this, but about a decade ago i had a Godin electric that had a 16" fretboard radius, and I found it uncomfortable, too). I'll probably be moving the F130 along at some point soon. It deserves to be played more.

jeffcoop said:

It does get played, Joe, but not as much as I'd hoped. It's strange that such a minor difference should matter so much, but I'm really not crazy about the flatter 16" fretboard radius (I'd forgotten this, but about a decade ago i had a Godin electric that had a 16" fretboard radius, and I found it uncomfortable, too). I'll probably be moving the F130 along at some point soon. It deserves to be played more.

Click to expand...

Little things mean a lot, and given how sensitive our sense of touch is, I totally understand.
I had an Epiphone Masterbilt EF500M ( nice little guitar) that sounded great but the neck just didn't feel good....so I took my belt sander to it!! Drastic, I know, but it felt great afterward. Refinished it and you can hardly tell I was there. :friendly_wink:

Take care,
Joe

Great story, Jeff!! It's a pretty guitar and I LOVE the Adirondack Spruce top!! Looks like it has a little figure here and there. Yes?? Thanks for all the photos! Can't ask for more than that!! :encouragement:

That's a really pretty guitar. Except...you didn't take a picture of the back!

We'll wait for your review of the sound.

Glad you are pleased.

Jeff was awesome to partner with in this sale. I had reservations about letting this one go, and at one point took it off the market. But his interest in this particular F-30 runs deep. And from the looks of the open mic photo, it will get played!

I love that NGD look he has on his face. Something all of us can appreciate.

Neal

Belatedly, a picture of the back for Earwitness:



Not much to see--the back stain is pretty dark, and there's no center strip on the back (though there is on the three-piece neck, as you can see).

The F30 accompanied me to open mic again tonight, this time alone (the D50 stayed home). The F30/K&K Pure Mini combination sounds terrific (the small venue uses a Fishman SA220, a recent replacement for a more traditional PA system, and it works very well in the space). I fully expect that the F30 and the D50 will take turns from now on.

Edit: Should add that Neal was fantastic to work with, and I'm grateful that he contacted me when he decided to sell the F30.

Thanks for that!

I am curious as to how the '07 Tacoma stacks up against your '64 Hoboken F-30. Other than different use of tone woods for the tops (Adi vs. sitka), are they of a similar spec? And how do they differ in tone?

Neal

Gorgeous.... I LOVE that finish!!! I too am a recent owner of a F30... mine is a 2013 F-30RCE... natural top though... I would have preferred some sort of burst but I couldn't fine one at my price point and I got tired of waiting I am happy with my natural top though. Mine was made in New Hartford CT, it is spec'd as having a "slim" neck profile but it's just a hair chunkier than I expected. I don't mean to say it is chunky, it's certainly not, just not 'slim' IMO. It's fine though, I don't have an issue with it.

What really put the Guild on my radar though is the 12" radius... my prior acoustic was a Martin GPCPA1 with the standard Martin 16" radius, and I was fine with it for the first couple years where I was only playing it casually, but several months ago I started playing it A LOT (I started an acoustic duo and we're pretty busy) and so suddenly I was playing it way more than normal and for long durations (3-4 hours) and that's when I realized I'm not compatible with the 'flat' 16" radius. Holy fatigue batman! I tried and tried to get used to it but eventually had to admit it wasn't working for me. So I sold the Martin and bought 2 acoustics - a PRS Angelus and a Guild F30, both with 12", and I'm very happy! I can play for hours and hours with no fatigue!

Congrats and good luck with yours!

The F30 is a serious guitar I'd want to own. Thanks for posting!

In September I played five custom 14-fret 000's (yes, five) at Acoustic Vibes Music in Tempe. Next trip I'll ask Jeff to assemble all the F30s he has.

Great story and great guitar!! Congratulations.

Love Adi tops!

Seven months later, the 2007 F30 is my regular open mic companion. Such a sweet little guitar.

Great shot of an artist playing his Guild! :applause:

Joe

Nice read and one good looking little lady for some reason I've started ride the waves of the sunburst craze and I have to say of all ones I've seen to date I like the Guilds the best. Would love to hear some audio if you have any

Yes, she is a sweet F-30 alright.

Only guitar I have sold that I missed so much, I had to find another.

Neal

Neil you wanna sell it ? Lol

Not again, Rayk!

My F-30 reloaded is a little different, being a New Hartford product, and from the Standard Series, meaning it has a natural sitka top in lieu of that awesome Adirondack burst on jeffcoop's.

But it has that same sweet vibe going on. And the added advantage of the wider 1 3/4 nut, which my fat fingertips appreciate.

Neal

Hehehehe................