1974 Guild F-48 "Navarre" Flattop Jumbo Guitar

I like old Guilds -- I cannot lie. This big old 17" jumbo is like the venerable F-50 but a bit more understated and toting solid mahogany back and sides rather than flamed maple. I actually like it a bit better than the F-50s I've played -- but then again I've always been a fan of mahogany back/sides for that woody thick-mids punch (which this has). This is a consignment guitar and after giving it a light fret level/dress, compensation adjustment at the saddle, a setup, and cleaning -- it's spot-on and good to go.

Let's admit it: it's a great-looking guitar and will look handsome while you're riding away in your convertible with your Western shirt and bolo tie. It sounds great for both bluegrassy lead and fill work and also big, rumbly chords. It's a charmer -- and the last owner installed some sort of decent undersaddle pickup (not my preference but it works just fine -- especially for rock band use -- needs a 9V which I added fresh) so it's ready for the stage, too.

The top and sides are crack free but the back isn't. Still -- for an older guitar that's obviously seen a lot of play -- it's in good health. The neck angle is good, the saddle has some height, and the frets have many more years of use out of them.

Original plastic nut and big old Grover Rotomatic tuners. These ones are still going strong, thankfully. All the inlay is pearloid rather than real pearl.

...but even so, it looks grand.

The neck profile is a quick C/D hybrid shape that's very comfortable and the nut width is 1 11/16" as usual. Truss works great.

I prefer the tortoise look of this pickguard to the black of the F-50s.

Someone added some nice ebony pins at one point and the saddle is bone. There's an undersaddle element under it, however, and a tiny shim I added for height adjustment. String action is perfect at 1/16" treble and 3/32" bass at the 12th fret.

There are a couple dings on the neck's back (not pictured close) which have been filled-over and matched to the finish -- a nice job. There's also general use-wear throughout.

The back has a replacement bit of mahogany right here. A bummer, but the job was excellently-done.

There are some repaired old hairline cracks on the back -- 4 or 5 and lengths from 3" to 4" or so. All are good to go and the finish was touched-up after old repairs.

On the top there are a few areas where someone "touched up" the finish to -- presumably -- hide wear or nick marks. Here I've blasted it in the sunlight to show the difference...

...however if you don't get a reflection off of it you can hardly tell they're there.

An original -- much a bused and repaired, with one latch busted -- hard case comes with it. Sweet!