c.1988 Guild JF-30 Jumbo Guitar

This pretty Guild is a customer's guitar and it sounds great! It also has the usual features of Guild jumbos in a slightly less-fancy format: flamed-maple arched (pressed) back, flamed maple sides, solid spruce top, 17" wide lower bout, and an unbound rosewood fretboard. Personally, I'm a fan of no binding and simpler trim, so this guitar appeals to me in so many ways...

Work included a very light fret level/dress, slight bridge and saddle adjustments, cleaning, and setup. This came with a dryness crack through the center of the bridge (though not entirely through it) and I was originally going to replace the bridge with a typical Guild aftermarket type, but I found out that the footprint of the bridge that's on it is larger than usual, so rather than go to the trouble and cost of making one to fit for my customer, I filled and sealed the crack instead since this one is still glued pretty decently to the top, anyway.

Adjustments to the bridge included new string ramps for better break-angle of the strings, recutting of the saddle, and slight reaming of the pin-holes to seat them more securely.

While you can't see it in the photos, this guitar has a fair amount of bellying to the top which is evidence of a life strung up with heavier-than-necessary strings. I've restrung this with 52w-11 which, while not having the big pronounced boom of a 56w on the bottom, certainly sound huge on this guitar and are all it really needs to produce good tone.

If you've noticed that the photos in this post and the last are cleaner with better color than usual, it's because I'm using a new Leica D-Lux 6 that I picked up from Tamarkin in Chicago. Dan (the owner) and I did some horse-trading and I'm pleased to hear he's making good use of the tenor guitar I sent out to him as well!

The D-Lux 6 is the Leica version of a similar Panasonic model point & shoot, but I have to say that after having had my hands on both of them, the Leica really does feel and shoot better. It also has the option to shoot in full manual mode and sports an aperture ring right on the barrel, which is fantastic for those of us that like that extra bit of control.

This neck is electric-like fast. It's surprising to me because I'm used to the 1960s-70s Guilds which feel a little more traditional.

The maple sure is pretty.

The arched back on Guilds really does add a bunch to projection and clear tone. If you compare models that have flat and arched backs side-by-side you can really hear the nuanced sound these create.

All-in-all? I'm a bit jealous of this guitar's owner!