Impressions about the Guild F40 GSR Cocobolo?

ClydeTower

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Hi,
A local seller near me in Montreal has a mint Guild F40 GSR (Cocobolo back and sides) up for sale. Asking about 1750$USD. I know these are a limited run of the F40 made in New Hartford. What are your impressions of this edition of the F40, is it worth it?

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chazmo

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Honestly, Clyde, I never played that one, but most of the GSRs are seriously undervalued in the marketplace. I'd love to try this instrument. I'll bet it's wonderful.
 

Stuball48

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Clyde:
You have Maxed out onFine Guilds. The next time you will be able to buy a guitar of this quality will be in June. Just kidding and "buy it."
 

txbumper57

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Hey Clyde, Man I can honestly say you have good taste! Just got your F512 and you are already checking out another jewel. The GSR F40 Cocobolo is an Awesome guitar. They have a Carpathian Spruce top with Beautiful Cocobolo Back and sides. They also have the same scalloped Adirondack bracing as the other New Hartford Models do. According to the records there were only 20 of them made with 10 being offered for sale new in the USA and 10 being offered for sale Internationally. I have one of the GSR D50 Cocobolo Guilds which were Englemann Spruce tops and Cocobolo back and sides and it is one of my favorite all time Dreads. The Cocobolo gives off a wonderfully rich low end with good mids and highs and lots of sparkle to the tone. It also has a wonderful Percussive element to the attack on the strings with an abundance of overtones. I actually own 2 Brazilian RW Guilds, one D55 Anniversary model and a Custom Shop Masterbuilt F47 BRZ. I would put my Cocobolo Guild as equal in tone to the Brazilian RW models if not a bit sweeter but that is just my personal opinion of course. After playing my GSR D50 Cocobolo, the Cocobolo has taken over as my Favorite Tone Wood but it is becoming rather scarce so you rarely see any guitars made from it these days unless they are special ordered. As far as pricing I think $1750 American is a steal for that guitar. New they sold in the Mid to high $3K range and used I see them selling for anywhere from $2000-$2750 depending on condition. If you ordered a Guitar with those woods from Martin in a 000 body style you would probably have to wait 8 months for it and spend close to $5000-$5500 on it. I still don't think the Martin would have the same attention to detail and quality as the GSR F40 Cocobolo does. Just my opinion of course.

I believe Rich Cohen here on the forum owns one of these that used to belong to RichardP69 so there should be some more first hand info available on this model if you want to reach out to those guys. Both Great guys and Awesome forum members with lots of info. Best of luck and It would be really hard for me to pass that one up, especially at that price. Heck you might even try to talk them down a bit and get even a better deal! There is a really good chance you won't get the opportunity to buy another one of those models for a long time let alone with it already being in Canada. I would go for it if I were you.

TX
 
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Rich Cohen

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Yes, I do have the GSR F-40 Cocobolo, made in 2010 in New Hartford. It came out of a shop in Arizona into Richard Peterson's hands, then into mine. Rumor has it that Chris Fleming, the then Product Manager of Fender/Guild R&D owned this one. I believe the arid environment of Arizona, where Fender's head office is located, and where Fleming probably lives/lived, was responsible for it drying out, producing a crack in the lower bout (since cleated). For its size, it's a cannon, with sustain and overtones that go on forever. I second all that TX has said about the sonic qualities of cocobolo, especially when crafted by Guild pros. It competes well with the rest of my Guild flock. IMHO, I think the asking price of $1,750 is, practically speaking, a VERY good price, especially if it's in mint condition. You won't lose money on it going forward. My piece doesn't have the pick guard. I would assume that the pick guard was applied by the first owner? It may have been shipped with the guard as a separate item to be applied on the owner's discretion. Go for it! Definitely a great investment in sonic quality, playability, and resale value.

RC

P.S. Guitar Resurrection in Austin, TX is offering a "brand new" one for $2,999. The ad claims the axe was "on display behind their counter." No date is given in the ad, nor is the label shown. I don't see how they can claim it's "brand new" given that it's been "on display" for many years! Such is the retail business ethics.
https://reverb.com/item/3434218-guild-gsr-40-limited-edition-coco-bolo-back-and-sides
 
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Kitarkus

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I know nothing of this guitar aside from the fact that it is making me drool. Dare I ask...is this short scale?

I'm glad that this is not available locally in my area....as I would likely be forced to pull my wallet out.

Best of luck using your restraint.

Kit
 

ClydeTower

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Stuball48, TX, Rich:

Thanks for the advice guys. My search for the F512 got me into the daily routine of scouring through local ads for Guilds, and now I think I'm hooked! To be honest, the F40 GSR wasn't even on my list, but when I saw this ad pop up, I didn't know what it was but I knew it had to be something special... which you have confirmed. Having recently acquired the F512, my budget for new acquisitions is a little on the low side. I'd probably have to sell one of my Taylors. Gonna have to think about that.
 
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Stuball48

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My .02 worth. You have three Taylors and, probably, one of those three would be easier to let go than the others. It would, also, be easier to repace that Taylor than find another F40 GSR in that condition for that price. Proceed with caution but don!t take a nap--opportunity knocks seldom.
 

merlin6666

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Rich Cohen

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Be careful about this dealer. The same shop's Reverb account offers the same guitar for something like $3,600 Canadian, not the $4,089 Canadian mentioned on Ebay. Plus, I would take issue with the statement that the guitar is brand new when it was produced quite a number of years ago.

RC
 

fronobulax

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Yes, I do have the GSR F-40 Cocobolo, made in 2010 in New Hartford. It came out of a shop in Arizona into Richard Peterson's hands, then into mine. Rumor has it that Chris Fleming, the then Product Manager of Fender/Guild R&D owned this one. I believe the arid environment of Arizona, where Fender's head office is located, and where Fleming probably lives/lived, was responsible for it drying out, producing a crack in the lower bout (since cleated). For its size, it's a cannon, with sustain and overtones that go on forever. I second all that TX has said about the sonic qualities of cocobolo, especially when crafted by Guild pros. It competes well with the rest of my Guild flock. IMHO, I think the asking price of $1,750 is, practically speaking, a VERY good price, especially if it's in mint condition. You won't lose money on it going forward. My piece doesn't have the pick guard. I would assume that the pick guard was applied by the first owner? It may have been shipped with the guard as a separate item to be applied on the owner's discretion. Go for it! Definitely a great investment in sonic quality, playability, and resale value.

RC

P.S. Guitar Resurrection in Austin, TX is offering a "brand new" one for $2,999. The ad claims the axe was "on display behind their counter." No date is given in the ad, nor is the label shown. I don't see how they can claim it's "brand new" given that it's been "on display" for many years! Such is the retail business ethics.
https://reverb.com/item/3434218-guild-gsr-40-limited-edition-coco-bolo-back-and-sides

I don't recall any stories about Chris Fleming being involved with day to day production at New Hartford. If my memory is correct then this sounds like a pretty special instrument because it was almost certainly cherry picked by someone who knows guitars.

As for "new" the description is probably legally correct. By itself, with no qualifiers, "new" means the item so described has never been sold at retail. In the guitar world "new" usually means the manufacturer's warranty will be extended to the purchaser. It is common to use "display model" or "new old stock" in cases like this but the failure to do so is not, in my opinion, an indication of an unethical retailer. They did, for example, point out it was on display. IMO. YMMV.
 

Cougar

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My search for the F512 got me into the daily routine of scouring local ads for Guilds, and now I think I'm hooked!

I've found it to be a serious let-down after scoring the one I've been looking for. I mean, scoring the one is not a let-down -- just the opposite -- a real honeymoon! But the hunt is over. That's the let-down. I've got the guitar I want; I'm out of money to spend on guitars anyway; So there's not much sense in torturing myself continuing to check out more guitars! I mean, if you're building up a nice collection, then yeah, keep on keeping on! But I figure I've got the ultimate 6-string in the F50R (still feel that way), and the Corona-built JF30-12 does everything I want it to, and exquisitely, so.... I've arrived. No real need to keep in hunting. But I like the hunt! It's a real conundrum! :dejection:
 

ClydeTower

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UPDATE: So I contacted the seller to get some additional details and unfortunately the guitar has just sold. Which is probably a good thing for me... I gotta get my GAS under control :)
However, the guy is selling off some other Guilds. He's got a 1972 F20, says its in good condition, asking 1250$ USD, no pics yet. Also selling this JF55 with the double pickguards:

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He says it has some wear though. Don't know if the double pickguards is rare or sought after. He's asking $2000 USD for it.
I already have my jumbo, so not for me...

I'd be happy to post my findings in the members cove "craigslist" thread to help out any other LTGers stoke their GAS, but since these are local ads AND in Canada, I figure there wouldn't be much interest.
You never know though, maybe there are some other crazy LTGers like me willing to cross the border to pick up "THE" Guild :)
 

Rich Cohen

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UPDATE: So I contacted the seller to get some additional details and unfortunately the guitar has just sold. Which is probably a good thing for me... I gotta get my GAS under control :)
However, the guy is selling off some other Guilds. He's got a 1972 F20, says its in good condition, asking 1250$ USD, no pics yet. Also selling this JF55 with the double pickguards:

59a.jpg


He says it has some wear though. Don't know if the double pickguards is rare or sought after. He's asking $2000 USD for it.
I already have my jumbo, so not for me...

I'd be happy to post my findings in the members cove "craigslist" thread to help out any other LTGers stoke their GAS, but since these are local ads AND in Canada, I figure there wouldn't be much interest.
You never know though, maybe there are some other crazy LTGers like me willing to cross the border to pick up "THE" Guild :)

According to a substantial number of LTGers, the JF models go for less mullah than the "F" models. Browsing Reverb prices on both iterations will essentially yield confirmation of such an opinion. Thus, I would say, unless the JF 55 is in really good, if not excellent condition, the $2,000 price tag is a bit on the high side, IMHO. In no way do I think that any given JF model is inferior to its "F" cousin. Of course, over the decades, Guild production standards changed, along with materials used. The JF series was introduced around 1989, and continues up to 2001 -- 2003 depending on the model. Essentially, the move to Tacoma from Corona precipitated the change in model IDs. Market values tend to be dependent on subjective attitudes, more than what a particular guitar is intrinsically worth, especially relative to the opinion of any one collector. I'd like to hear what TX has to say about all this banter of mine.

RC
 
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