Finally one OM 120 on the way

Well after multiple delays in shipping I had a thought , yeah OMG it’s a miracle! Lol

I thought maybe I could get a demo one why not ? the F55E was and I do love heck out her . You get to save a few bucks as well .

So I went back to Johnson String Instruments talked with Justin, he didnt have any but he had thought maybe he could ask the salesman if there was any blemished models . What the heck nothing to loose .

I told Justin I wanted to get a darker stained ( brown verses Cherry I think ) model one that had less of the stripping .

Salesman came back saying they have two , I asked for pics . One had a fretboard repair which was noticeable the other , well the other had a fret dot marker drilled in the wrong spot just off center but in the right location .

They filled it and put in another dot . You can see the little filled hole but really no big deal .

Now that’s the only pic I’ve seen and because of location the pic was a close up so real idea what the color was .

He sent the pics and JOY ! my color is a tad off with the eyes mostly light shade issues but it looks just as wanted . The Top seems less strippie lol then the back and it’s the darker stain I wanted yuppie!

I’ll post a NGD thread when it gets here .

I know it’s not a USA model but I’d gladly upgrade if and when they make one . Lol

Link for pics via reverb

https://reverb.com/item/13989449-guild-om-120-orchestra-model-guitar-mint

"well the other had a fret dot marker drilled in the wrong spot just off center but in the right location .

They filled it and put in another dot"--chuckling a bit...

that OM-120 looks nice though, in the reverb pic. sweet and congrats!

you got a F55e? wow!

That's a great little guitar. The Chesterfield logo looks classy! I'll be interested to hear your what you think of the tone of a 'hog top guitar.

Huh, so that's actually a 'hog-topped F30, body shape wise, or what Guild produced as the M30 Del Rio for just a little while back in the early '60's IIRC.
That never really registered on me until just now.
I suspect it was discontinued for the same reason as the Del Rio, just not enough demand.
Got audio?
:glee:

Westerly Wood said:

"well the other had a fret dot marker drilled in the wrong spot just off center but in the right location .

They filled it and put in another dot"--chuckling a bit...

that OM-120 looks nice though, in the reverb pic. sweet and congrats!

you got a F55e? wow!

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Lol he said DOT !

F55E yeah where you been ? Lol
I’m still working on a demo , wish I could a good YouTube but not yet so it’s just an audio track for now .

sailingshoes72 said:

That's a great little guitar. The Chesterfield logo looks classy! I'll be interested to hear your what you think of the tone of a 'hog top guitar.

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Soon as get some alone time I’ll let ya know .
I did play one at Sam ash it was noisy when I first played it and honestly I thought it lacking . I kept drifting back in my head to the review by Tony at the acoustic letter , it’s on YouTube . Anyway he paired it against a Martin version . I liked the Guild better it had more low end and all around bit more fullness to me.

I didn’t hear any of it that first go around because of the noise and I did not consider the noise being the reason . We were there till closing at which point I picked it up again and there was the tone I was missing and I liked it but still not enough time on it .

It has that old school baseball bat neck nice and chunky . I don’t see a problem getting along with it though I am spoiled a bit on thin necks .

adorshki said:

Huh, so that's actually a 'hog-topped F30, body shape wise, or what Guild produced as the M30 Del Rio for just a little while back in the early '60's IIRC.
That never really registered on me until just now.
I suspect it was discontinued for the same reason as the Del Rio, just not enough demand.
Got audio?
:glee:

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I remember some of talk about the Del Rio can’t remember that it was a hog top though lol no surprise there . Haha

It’s a all solid Saple not Mahogany lol despite its tonal similarities.

I’m on a kick as I’m tired of paying for things or services that say their one thing but turn out other wise .

Example;
Don’t tell me Santos is a rare and premium Rosewood ! It’s neither . Your not getting Rosewood tone your getting a mixture of walnut and Mahongany tones leaning more towards the Mahogany side .

No audio as no guitar , it’s being shipped tomorrow best I know . It’ll be my birthday gift to me self lol

Rayk said:

It’s a all solid Saple not Mahogany lol despite its tonal similarities.

I’m on a kick as I’m tired of paying for things or services that say their one thing but turn out other wise .

Example;
Don’t tell me Santos is a rare and premium Rosewood ! It’s neither . Your not getting Rosewood tone your getting a mixture of walnut and Mahongany tones leaning more towards the Mahogany side .

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I'm with you on that 100% and the fact that it's actually Sapele got by me.

Rayk said:

No audio as no guitar , it’s being shipped tomorrow best I know . It’ll be my birthday gift to me self lol

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Right, just keeping an old tradition alive, some fellow used to ask for audio all the time around here..... :glee:

Fantastic Ryak, congrats! Nice price too.

Rayk said:

It’s a all solid Saple not Mahogany lol despite its tonal similarities.

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Since the waters aren’t quite muddy enough where hog is concerned...the Guild site lists the 120 series guitars as African Mahogany, which of course isn’t “genuine” mahogany but also isn’t Sapele.

marius said:

Since the waters aren’t quite muddy enough where hog is concerned...the Guild site lists the 120 series guitars as African Mahogany, which of course isn’t “genuine” mahogany but also isn’t Sapele.

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Well depends on if "African" refers to the continent of origin, which could then be a whole bunch of Mahogany-likes, or more specifically to Khaya. This labeling gives them some flexibility and is open to interpretation.

Yeah Al I typo’d Again lol
It’s Sapele (I just feel it is lol it’s all in the stripes ?) but I can’t leave out a possible mix ? Lol

Anyway I’ll link this quote and you all can figure out what wood it is

“ Different from mahogany: Sapele is a star in its own right, and has its own unique characteristics. It’s darker in color, heavier, and exhibits more varieties of figured grain (pommele, ribbon-stripe, etc.). Its interlocked grain also mean it’s a bit more challenging to work with than genuine mahogany. “

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/mahogany-mixups-the-lowdown/

Have fun I’m getting a beer and BBQ’n some steak and potatoes.

Sal said:

Fantastic Ryak, congrats! Nice price too.

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Thanks fingers crossed the Return King doesn’t show its ugly face ! Lol

marius said:

Since the waters aren’t quite muddy enough where hog is concerned...the Guild site lists the 120 series guitars as African Mahogany, which of course isn’t “genuine” mahogany but also isn’t Sapele.

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To add more mud into the mix it seems the Westerly Collection is switching over to Santos

Now the mud guild says it closely resembles Rosewood tones um not from my info ahhhh mud slide . Haha

So all EIR is now Pau Ferro . So unless already discussed what’s the American line using ? Maybe need to start another thread ,If interested?

Rayk said:

He sent the pics and JOY ! my color is a tad off with the eyes mostly light shade issues but it looks just as wanted .

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That's going to be a kick! I like the looks of that top. And a nice dark fretboard.... With an abalone or MOP rosette. Sweet!

merlin6666 said:

Well depends on if "African" refers to the continent of origin, which could then be a whole bunch of Mahogany-likes, or more specifically to Khaya. This labeling gives them some flexibility and is open to interpretation.

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All the references I've found to "African Mahogany" do seem to refer to the continent of origin. As you say that could be a number of Mahogany-likes but Khaya is not really more specific. All of those Mahogany-likes seem to be different species within the Khaya genus. At this point if I read African Mahogany I'd assume it is a species of Khaya.

Rayk said:

To add more mud into the mix it seems the Westerly Collection is switching over to Santos

Now the mud guild says it closely resembles Rosewood tones um not from my info ahhhh mud slide . Haha

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Marketing a Mahogany alternative as resembling Rosewood tones...WTH why not?!

marius said:

Marketing a Mahogany alternative as resembling Rosewood tones...WTH why not?!

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Sorry I meant that they say Santos sounds like Rosewood .

Cougar said:

That's going to be a kick! I like the looks of that top. And a nice dark fretboard.... With an abalone or MOP rosette. Sweet!

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Hope it turns out sweet lol
I’ll know today when it scheduled to arrive maybe I get lucky and get it tomorrow... one can wish right ? Lol

merlin6666 said:

This labeling gives them some flexibility and is open to interpretation.

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It also reduces the chance of a lawsuit. I remember things that did not happen, so get your salt shaker out, but I recall a couple of times in the 70's when the catalog spec/dealer presentation identified a specific species of wood and a lawsuit ensued when the customer determined it was a related species but not the correct one and sued for false advertising.

On firmer ground, memory wise, at one of the LMGs the folks in New Hartford talked about how they liked some flexibility in the spec because they could freely substitute based upon supply on hand and what was in the pipeline. They were clear that they did not believe the unannounced substitutions in any way degraded the product.

Rayk said:

Sorry I meant that they say Santos sounds like Rosewood .

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Yup, I got that, but Santos is supposed to be a Mahogany-like wood? I can’t imagine why they’d claim it sounds like Rosewood....

Gah! Now I get it. Pau Ferro (or Morado) which you mentioned before is also known as Santos Rosewood which is of course different than Santos Mahogany.

marius said:

Yup, I got that, but Santos is supposed to be a Mahogany-like wood? I can’t imagine why they’d claim it sounds like Rosewood....

Gah! Now I get it. Pau Ferro (or Morado) which you mentioned before is also known as Santos Rosewood which is of course different than Santos Mahogany.

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Yeah there’s that Ray speak again lol I didn’t think about Santos Mahogany sorry about the confusion .



On a delivery date it’s this Monday

I have a strong suspicion that a major portion of the guitar buying public just sees it as "wood". That may be due to never having the opportunity to learn / hear the tonal differences, or because their ears are not that good anyway, or because they just do not care. There are also that only care what the name says and not how it sounds. Then there is the group that cares how it sounds and therein lies the concern / issue / problem. Those folks expect certain tonal qualities based on the the actual wood, so if it says it is "Rosewood" the expectation is at minimum East Indian and at best Brazilian. Anything else should not be / could not be labeled Rosewood. Cuban mahogany should be the 'hog equivilant of Brazilian Rosewood for those that want the mahogany sound but it has been off the market seemingly forever, hence substitutes abound. All else being said, unless you want one just because it is "pretty" I would say let your ears be the judge. I suspect in the next decade a number of tonewoods might appear, each with their own characteristics, not only because the prime sources of mahogany and rosewood may become less (restrictions, over harvested, etc) but because someone wants to try what was never tried before as there was neither a need or a desire.
If it sounds good and looks like you want then what difference does the wood make?