Tom Petty´s Guild, Color? Cherry? Mahogany brown? Help!

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Tom Petty´s Guild, Color? Cherry? Mahogany brown? Help!

Hi all!This is my first post, I am new to the forum. I am a big Tom Petty fan, I would like to know what color is his 12 string Guild. I know it´s a D212 but I can´t make out the top color, sometimes it looks cherry and sometimes brownish. Perhaps he has more than one. Stage lights can be very confusing. Let me tell you that I own a D 25 12 string mahogany tinted! I hope Tom does too!!! Thanks a lot !!!
 

Neal

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Welcome, Petty!

His looks to be a dark cherry-stained spruce top D-212.

I own an '81 in a tobacco sunburst. It has gone head to head with an F-412 and an F-212XL, and survived both challengers.
 

mavuser

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those are 2 different guitars and there is also a third one (sunburst), autographed by Petty and on display at the Hard Rock Cafe.
 
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Check this one, here the top seems brownish and it has two white lines around the soundhole. I think he has more than one!!
 

johnny3j

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Hi all!This is my first post, I am new to the forum. I am a big Tom Petty fan, I would like to know what color is his 12 string Guild. I know it´s a D212 but I can´t make out the top color, sometimes it looks cherry and sometimes brownish. Perhaps he has more than one. Stage lights can be very confusing.

I've seen at least one of his Guild 12s up close and as far as I remember it was a darkish brown D25-12. The lights on stage can sometimes make guitars look different, but I was doing some work with TP's guitar tech Alan Rogan at the time and the axes were in a guitar boat side-stage under work lights.


Let me tell you that I own a D 25 12 string mahogany tinted! I hope Tom does too!!! Thanks a lot !!!

I used to have a cherry finished D25-12 too and vaguely remember thinking that his was a different colour, but that was around 10 years ago and I could be wrong.
 
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I've seen at least one of his Guild 12s up close and as far as I remember it was a darkish brown D25-12. The lights on stage can sometimes make guitars look different, but I was doing some work with TP's guitar tech Alan Rogan at the time and the axes were in a guitar boat side-stage under work lights.




I used to have a cherry finished D25-12 too and vaguely remember thinking that his was a different colour, but that was around 10 years ago and I could be wrong.

thanks for your input, I think he uses 2 Guilds, one has a white (rosette).
 

Bmack59F30

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Welcome, Petty!

His looks to be a dark cherry-stained spruce top D-212.

I own an '81 in a tobacco sunburst. It has gone head to head with an F-412 and an F-212XL, and survived both challengers.

I have an '81 D212 tobacco sunburst also and it really can hang with the best of them. I actually play leads on it because it cuts so well. It is a serious Cannon. The culmination of so many nice design features. Sturdy as heck, but not over built in my opinion. It was on craigslist for 200 bucks two years ago, but it was a really bad picture, and the dude called it an O212. And, in all fairness, the hand written D is very "O" like. I met him at the train station and he wouldn't give me the case unless I gave him 20 more bucks. lol. So, I didn't feel too bad for him after all.

barry
 

mavuser

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I met him at the train station and he wouldn't give me the case unless I gave him 20 more bucks. lol. So, I didn't feel too bad for him after all.
barry

Should have told him u only had another 15!!
 

Bmack59F30

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Should have told him u only had another 15!!

It was weird moment because the train was just arriving for me to head back to the city. I had like about a second to do the deal. I looked at the neck, and it seemed straight. And then he told me, "not the case."

I had the feeling that he would not take 19. He had figured a way to corner that small train station case market. It made me think that I should sell cases at train stations. He wouldn't have acted so cavalier if there was some heavy case competition where the rails meet the lonely guild buying dude, that's for sure. lol
 

walrus

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It was weird moment because the train was just arriving for me to head back to the city. I had like about a second to do the deal. I looked at the neck, and it seemed straight. And then he told me, "not the case."

I had the feeling that he would not take 19. He had figured a way to corner that small train station case market. It made me think that I should sell cases at train stations. He wouldn't have acted so cavalier if there was some heavy case competition where the rails meet the lonely guild buying dude, that's for sure. lol

Great story!

"Where the rails meet the lonely Guild buying dude" is an excellent song title!

walrus
 

Bonneville88

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Best story about a guitar case I've heard :biggrin-new:
...agreed, might be good material for a song!

I have an '81 D212M with a rich, amber-brown top (no pics yet, it's on the to-do list).
Depending on the lighting, it can appear to be anything from medium mahogany brown to
amber-brown to dark red, or shades in between.
It looks remarkably similar to the 12-string(s) in these photos, the only thing missing is a white rosette,
the sound hole pickup, and Tom Petty.



large_102009-tom_petty_617_409.jpg


tom_petty_fb.jpg
 

mavuser

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It was weird moment because the train was just arriving for me to head back to the city. I had like about a second to do the deal. I looked at the neck, and it seemed straight. And then he told me, "not the case."

I had the feeling that he would not take 19. He had figured a way to corner that small train station case market. It made me think that I should sell cases at train stations. He wouldn't have acted so cavalier if there was some heavy case competition where the rails meet the lonely guild buying dude, that's for sure. lol

haa, classic!
 

txbumper57

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Best story about a guitar case I've heard :biggrin-new:
...agreed, might be good material for a song!

I have an '81 D212M with a rich, amber-brown top (no pics yet, it's on the to-do list).
Depending on the lighting, it can appear to be anything from medium mahogany brown to
amber-brown to dark red, or shades in between.
It looks remarkably similar to the 12-string(s) in these photos, the only thing missing is a white rosette,
the sound hole pickup, and Tom Petty.



large_102009-tom_petty_617_409.jpg


tom_petty_fb.jpg

Honestly I think these two pictures are of the same guitar in different lighting. Look at the bridge and the unique grain pattern right down the middle of it at an angle in the first picture where the guitar appears to be cherry colored. Then on the bottom picture which appears to be Brown or Mahogany colored you can see the same grain pattern down the middle of the visible part of the bridge. I would bet money these 2 pictures are of the same D212M in different lighting.

Also recently read an article on Tom Petty's Gear list from 5 or 6 years ago and it only listed one Guild. That Guild was a 70's D212M which would be the brown finish. Regardless the color I know it sounds Awesome. These are very under appreciated 12 strings in my opinion. Great Rich tone to them.

TX
 

Bonneville88

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TX - after studying these pics magnified, I have to agree!
Remarkable what changes lighting conditions can bring on...
 

sailingshoes72

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There's another distinctive mark on both guitars... a three inch dark line that comes off the center strip of the top, down near the tail block. It angles away from the center strip toward the bass side. It is clearly visible in both photos! It is difficult to realize that Tom Petty has passed away. I saw him once in concert back in 1995 when he was on tour in support of "Wildflowers". Great show! What impressed me the most was how hard he and the band worked for the full ninety minutes. They really PLAYED for the fans!

A slight veer... during the show that I saw on the "Dogs With Wings Tour", Mike Campbell played a vintage Thunderbird/S-200 on a couple of songs. In between songs, he made a point of engaging the built-in kickstand and setting the guitar up onstage, instead of returning it to the multi-guitar rack. I was amazed that no one knocked it over during the set. Pretty cool!

Bill
 
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Bmack59F30

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Great story!

"Where the rails meet the lonely Guild buying dude" is an excellent song title!

walrus

Well, this guitar really is a song writing machine. That is what is intoxicatingly interesting to me. The mids are so powerful that the melody lines come with ease. Great guitar in my opinion. What I am trying to say is that, when you play a regular old G chord, or what ever chord, you do a pentatonic run on this thing, and the crowd hears it. It just cuts through. It just has big balls on the front of the note. It really cuts. And really can sustain if you so choose. And, I am no lead player, but with this thing, it is like I am doing chordal leads. Perhaps it is something modal going on, but the notes that are only suggested are really there with this thing.
 

Bmack59F30

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Right!

He sure got over on me, darnit all. By the way, I named this guitar "Thor" simply because I have never met such a beast. It plays well, and really can pound if I like. I mean, all 12's can thump, but I really think these have great articulation, and pump. Damn good tool, especially for writing.

b
 
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