Guild F-130 vs F-30 (Standard) (and both vs Martin?)

[MexicoMike]

I had a Guild GAD 12 string for about 6 months and of all the 12s I have owned (and there have been a lot), it was the worst sounding - nothing but treble. OTOH, the guitar was beautifully made and looked great but it was also very heavy. My current 12, a taylor GS5, sounds quite good and is very light in comparison…though it's still not what I want in a 12. Perhaps what I want doesn't exist.

"I tried a bunch of Taylors recently, and to my ear they sounded harsh and jangly in an A/B comparison with a Martin."

IMO, that IS the Taylor sound compared to Martin. Though some would call the difference in terms of a Taylor having "more articulate treble" rather than "harsh and jangly." At least that's how I always describe it!

[DCannon]

Originally Posted by MexicoMike

I had a Guild GAD 12 string for about 6 months and of all the 12s I have owned (and there have been a lot), it was the worst sounding - nothing but treble. OTOH, the guitar was beautifully made and looked great but it was also very heavy. My current 12, a taylor GS5, sounds quite good and is very light in comparison…though it's still not what I want in a 12. Perhaps what I want doesn't exist.

I've played a LOT of GADs and although the six-strings are impressive, like Mike, I can't say the same for the 12s. To me, the ones I played had no depth, unlike the U.S. Guild 12s which are very deep and rich.

Mike, have you tried an F-512 or a 412? The 512 is quite amazing and pretty much the standard by which 12 strings are compared. The F-512 is like playing a 9' Steinway concert grand. If you can find a good used F-212 or F-312, they're excellent as well, although all Guild 12s are pretty heavy. The only 12s I've ever owned have been U.S. Guilds.

But then, this thread is about the F-130 vs the F-30.

DC

[Arthur Slowhand]

Originally Posted by Jim

The F-130 is not a Guild made guitar, it is a guitar made by a private factory in China under contract to make them for Guild and to designs that Guild provides them. That is why is it called a Guild GAD where the GAD stands for Guild Acoustic Design. The F-30 on the other hand is actual Guild guitar made by the Guild company itself and its Guild employees in the Guild owned factory.

GADs are good guitars, especially if you are on a tight budget, but to my ears the real Guilds are the ones that have made the name for the company for the past 60 years.

Old thread, but I'm in the market for an F-130, so I read the whole thread.

This sort of snobbery needs calling out - it's an insult to anyone whose pride and joy is a MIC Guild. It's especially laughable when the comment comes from someone whose list of acoustics doesn't even include a Guild and who probably owns a phone, computer and white goods that were made outwith the USA.

(I'm not a big fan of the Communist Party of China, but I reckon non-tech companies in China, such as guitar makers, are not exactly instruments (excuse the pun) of the state. I know that wasn't the previous contributors point, but in the current climate I'll make it anyway.)

End of rant!

[Wildgift]

The F-130 is a wonderful guitar, and I'm sorry I sold mine although the Taylor 317 I replaced it with is also wonderful!

[MrErikJ]

I have two Chinese Guilds, a GAD-50 I've had since 05 and a Westerly OM-150 (very similar to the F-130r). I like both quite a bit but the Cordoba-era OM-150 is, in my opinion, nicer than the Fender-era GAD model. It's a really nice OM with a good balance of fundamental to overtones and plays very nicely.

I really like Guild and think it's hard to go wrong with one but YMMV.

[Peter Z]

I‘m going through a hard time right now. Yesterday I bought a D-140 and compared it side by side to the guitars listed in my signature. Maybe a honeymoon feeling, but this guitar could turn out as (one of) my favorite(s) at a fraction of the price.

With 1,74 kg it’s number 2 after my much smaller CEO-7. Ok, that doesn’t mean much but was a surprise - I mean, it’s a Guild!
The response and string separation is amazing and it fights against the D-18 for the first place in regards of volume. It just sounds more guildish than martinish.
Just unbelievable.
Whoever has built it wherever is an experienced guy/girl.

[MrErikJ]

Originally Posted by Peter Z

I‘m going through a hard time right now. Yesterday I bought a D-140 and compared it side by side to the guitars listed in my signature. Maybe a honeymoon feeling, but this guitar could turn out as (one of) my favorite(s) at a fraction of the price.

With 1,74 kg it’s number 2 after my much smaller CEO-7. Ok, that doesn’t mean much but was a surprise - I mean, it’s a Guild!
The response and string separation is amazing and it fights against the D-18 for the first place in regards of volume. It just sounds more guildish than martinish.
Just unbelievable.
Whoever has built it wherever is an experienced guy/girl.

I just really feel like Guild has done a great job outsourcing and managing the QC of their overseas line.

[elephony]

I have owned both a GAD F-30r (the prior iteration of the F-130r) and a 90s F30r. I sold the GAD F-30r to a good friend who wanted an acoustic, and have just gifted the F30r to my brother. Both were great guitars, with tremendous tone, excellent playability, and nice fit and finish. I would agree that Guild has done a tremendous job with their outsourced guitars; I could find no fault with the GAD F-30r I had whatsoever. Both were everything I wanted out of a spruce and rosewood OM. I prefer the nitro finish on the 90s F30r to the poly finish on the GAD one, but that is the only way it was lacking in comparison. Anyone looking for a bargain on an acoustic guitar should consider the Guild overseas lineup.

[rwmct]

I have a New Hartford made F-30 std. It came up for sale right when I was about to buy a OM-140, the import equivalent. I like the imported Guilds a lot. I doubt, however, that there are many people who would like the OM-140 more than the F-30 Std. New Hartford Guilds are wonderful guitars.

[Wellington]

Originally Posted by Arthur Slowhand

Old thread, but I'm in the market for an F-130, so I read the whole thread.

This sort of snobbery needs calling out - it's an insult to anyone whose pride and joy is a MIC Guild. It's especially laughable when the comment comes from someone whose list of acoustics doesn't even include a Guild and who probably owns a phone, computer and white goods that were made outwith the USA.

(I'm not a big fan of the Communist Party of China, but I reckon non-tech companies in China, such as guitar makers, are not exactly instruments (excuse the pun) of the state. I know that wasn't the previous contributors point, but in the current climate I'll make it anyway.)

End of rant!

Hmm, I don't think he's out of line, it's just an opinion, no need for it to be called out, especiallyfor something someone said 7 years ago. I said and did some stupid things 7 years ago I no longer believe in. . But regardless,
why is it an insult? It's true, from my understanding Guild is not like Yamaha who has there own Yamaha factory in China that make fantastic guitars, but rather they contract a different company that makes guitars for other brands as well to make their lower tier guitars, and they do an amazing job at it, they're great guitars, I'm thinking of buying an OM120 or M-120 myself, and I'm a USA Guild owner. But he has a valid point, he's still saying their great guitars, he didn't even say they were worse than the American Guilds, just that they weren't really a Guild.

Personally I don't think I'd say it's not a Guild at all, but there's an asterisk for me, doesn't mean I don't want one or I think they're inferior in anyway, in fact I really want one lol.

[hairpuller]

I owned an F-30 for a couple months, but it just could not hold a candle to my 000-18 or my Yamaha FS5. I'd always play the F-30 first because if I played one of the others it would just sound so thin and shallow. This is just one guitar, so I'm not saying there aren't some wonderful F-30's out there, as I'm sure there are.

Can't speak to the MIC Guilds, as I've never owned one nor wanted to. I'm sure I'm a snob.

scott