Congrats Coop, that is a stunning guitar. Perfect size, drop dead gorgeous wood and appointments, and that great cutaway. Win win.
Win, win for sure. I can't believe I was agonizing over this for as long as I did. Richard and Sandy were both very generous with their time and assessments. Within my first 15 minutes of playing it, I was hooked - it was one of those "oh yeah - of course I should have gotten this" moments. Sometimes GAS rewards you.
I mostly play Jumbos and Dreads, and this feels very comfortable and natural. I tried out a NH F40 Valencia recently (currently on sale at the Natick GC - feel free to pm me for a scouting report), and the extra depth on the F47 is barely noticeable, but the sound is "bigger" than the F40. I wish I had come across an F47 a long time ago - it would've saved me some time and money searching for a smaller bodied guitar. The Koa tone (adding clarity and a little brightness to the mahog version I'm guessing), stunning woods and appointments are all icing on the cake. I think jumbos are still my favorite body size - followed closely by dreads - but the F47 gives me pretty much everything I could reasonably ask for in something smaller. And while I'm not a big fan of cutaways, it works on this one - I think it adds a ton of character. Lastly, I'm also not a big fan of clear pickguards, but this one in so well done I didn't even notice it until I went to wipe down the guitar.
Should also mentioned it was set up immaculately - I usually bring every new guitar to my tech buddy, but the action on this was even a touch lower than I usually want, but with no fret growl at all. I changed string gauge from mediums to my usual lights and it appears the neck didn't budge, which gives me great faith in the truss rod - not always a given. It was in immaculate condition, and Richard even included a Planet Waves humidifier (which I neglected to thank him for - Thanks Richard!).