Twin NGD: Guild GAD-JF30 Jumbo & Faith Mars FRSB45 12-fret Slope

[boombox]

Background:
Nearly two Christmases ago, I sold my only dread, an Avalon D300A, to part-fund a nice 12-string, which, as fortune dictated, was a Huss & Dalton maple custom. I love the guitar, so never really got seller's remorse, but over the past year or so, I had begun to miss a dread, especially for folk and folk-rock material - a mahogany slope seemed the answer. Positive experience with that maple guitar also led me to start to look at maple dreads/jumbos. I also acquired a Guild F512 earlier this year and this began to turn me towards Guild. I played a few different guitars around and about, but I don't live in the best area for Guilds, so something cheap on ebay or Reverb seemed as good an avenue as any. Then, a couple of weeks ago, two possible candidates came up on ebay at once. And even weirder, my opening bids snagged both! Two weeks in, I'm finally getting round to posting a twin NGD.

FRSB45 Mars Specs:
Top - Solid Red Cedar; Back & Sides - Solid Mahogany; Fingerboard - Macassan Figured Ebony (16" radius); Binding - Solid Rosewood; Neck: 1-Piece Mahogany - joins at 12th fret; Scale length - 25.5"; Nut Width - 45mm; Nut & Saddle material - TUSQ; Machine Heads - Grover

Guild GAD-JF30 BLD Specs:
Top - Solid Spruce; Back - Solid Flame Maple; Sides - Solid Flame Maple; Binding - Solid Wood; Neck - 1-Piece Mahogany - joins at 14th fret; Fretboard - Ebony (12" radius); Scale Length - 25.5"; Nut Width - 1 11/16"; Nut & Saddle material - bone; Machine Heads - Grover

Materials & Workmanship:
Guild - 9/10
Uses some very nice maple - not in the same league as my H&D, but we are talking a guitar a fifth of the price. The only flaw is some slight shrinkage around one fretboard inlay. Back strip is well executed and the wood binding is gorgeous. Feels very sturdy - it's not particularly light.

Faith - 8.5/10
Mahogany is pretty boring looking, but the very nice sunburst on the front makes up for the back.The rosewood binding is excellent, adding some class to what is essentially a budget guitar. Neck appears to be hand-carved and is not 100% uniform, which some might not like. Feels very light, however.

Setup & Playability:
Guild - 7.5/10
I don't think either of the two previous owners did anything to the factory set up. There's a little too much relief for me, but it's playable, and there is plenty of scope to adjust at the saddle as well. The nut slots could probably do with being cut a little lower - capoed at the first, it plays better. The neck is also very skinny, making it not a great guitar for fingerpicking unless capoed, but I think it will make a good guitar for more rock-style playing with single note runs and leads.

Faith - 9/10:
Setup for me is almost perfect, though I might see if I can bring it down just a touch. The neck profile is quite chunky, but VERY comfortable and string spacing at both ends of the fretboard conducive to finger-picking. I'd often thought about getting a short-scale slope, but this guitar has changed my opinion on the necessity for short-scale. I will also say that this is my second 12-fret Faith guitar and they seem to have the ergonomics just right.

Sound:
Guild - 7.5/10
It's not particularly loud: I expected a bit more volume from a jumbo. Good bass and nice balance though, especially when finger-picked. It has an after-market pick-up added which is useful.

Faith - 10/10
I cannot stress how much I love the sound of this guitar - really rich and woody. Like my Faith Mercury, it throws out some beautiful bass and sounds equally good both strummed and finger-picked. This is my second cedar topped guitar and I am really liking this as a top material.

Overall:
Guild - 8/10
Faith - 9/10

When I bought both, my plan was to keep one and sell the other. Overall, the Faith is currently the clear winner, but I will see what a setup does for the Guild. Also, I need to replace the strings, especially on the Guild, as the previous owner just put a set of "cheap Chinese strings" on her to sell. What I will say about both guitars though is that you can get a lot of guitar for your money buying from Asia - all solid woods and high standards of workmanship. I love my Collings, H&D, Guild and Avalon, but I can understand why some people cannot justify spending that sport of money when so much can be had for a fraction less.

Anyway, some pics:

[Brucebubs]

2 very nice looking guitars - I'm a big fan of maple jumbo's but I like them both.