Guild F-47 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1967)
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Item # 11556
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Guild F-47 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1967), made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # AK-317, natural lacquer finish, mahogany back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This 1967 natural-top F-47 was the upper midline model in Guild's line, and remains one of Hoboken company's best-kept vintage secrets. This example shows a lot of use but is a great sounding and playing guitar and an interesting design distinct from any Martin and Gibson flat tops of its era. The F-47 is basically similar to the much loved F-212 12-string, but a bit fancier and of course with 6 strings. It stood in the company's flat top line above F-30, F-20 and M-20, and below the deluxe 17" maple F-50. While the F-30 is basically similar to a Martin 000, the F-47 is a full 16" at the lower bout, most comparable to Gibson's much-venerated 1950s J-185. By the mid-60's that Gibson was long out of production (replaced by the quirkier Everly Brothers model) and Martin offered nothing in this "small jumbo" category at all.
The F-47 was introduced as the "Bluegrass model" in 1963, replacing the similar but plainer F-40. That guitar had been made of maple, while the new model was built with mahogany back and sides. The initial few had a whimsical illustrated pickguard with a horse motif, a quirky idea quickly deleted. It settled into its groove by 1964 with a plain tortoise celluloid pickguard, multibound body, laminated mahogany/maple neck with a bound block inlaid rosewood fingerboard and "Chesterfield" inlay on the plastic-faced peghead. The neck is quite slim and fast with a shallow "C" profile. This early 1967 model is one of only 200 sold that year, fitted with single-unit enclosed Japanese made machines that are a Guild quirk of this period. Less than 500 of these were sold from made 1965 through 1970. making it a fairly rare instrument.
The F-47 is a truly fine guitar, but one many players are not familiar with. With its slim neck and narrow-waisted body this is a very comfortable guitar for its size, and puts out a lot of sound. It is an unusually fine fingerpicking guitar for a larger instrument with a vibrant powerful midrange sound; it works equally well with a flatpick and as a strummed chord machine. This is an extremely well-built and responsive guitar, much lighter than Rhode-Island made 1970's Guilds and easily on par-or better- compared with Martin or Gibson offerings from the same era. We rarely get these in and this is a fine player's example, a bit "Ragged but Right" fairly well worn in but a wonderful instrument nonetheless.
Overall length is 41 3/4 in. (106 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This guitar has seen some adventures in its day but the instrument is structurally excellent making for a good player's example. There is heavy checking to much of the finish along with a decent helping of general play wear. The neck has been very well reset to the proper angle, something of a tricky procedure on these older Guilds. The rosewood bridge and saddle are well-done repros of the originals. The original fairly thin (for the '60s) maple bridgeplate is intact with a large contact pickup fitted ahead of the pins wired to an endpin jack.
The lacquer finish is original on the top and sides; there appears to be an ancient clear overspray over the back of the body and the neck, continuing on to face of the headstock. This has checked heavily, especially over the plastic headstock veneer. Overall the finish shows dings, dents and scrapes most heavily to the top, with pickwear off the top and back of the pickguard. The lower soundhole rim is heavily worn, with what looks like a small piece of wood patched in.
The lower back has a couple of long grain splits solidly repaired, the top and sides are crack free. The back of the neck has some spots where the center laminate strip appears to have been resealed, or at least minor flaking to the finish over the seams. The pickguard and closed-back Japanese tuners remain original and there is a Fender-style strap button added to the heel. The neck angle is excellent, the original frets have been neatly polished out and although somewhat scruffy looking this is a very fine playing guitar with a robust and ringing sound, housed in a more in a more recent HSC. Very Good + Condition.
This 1967 natural-top F-47 was the upper midline model in Guild's line, and remains one of Hoboken company's best-kept vintage secrets. This example shows a lot of use but is a great sounding and playing guitar and an interesting design distinct from any Martin and Gibson flat tops of its era. The F-47 is basically similar to the much loved F-212 12-string, but a bit fancier and of course with 6 strings. It stood in the company's flat top line above F-30, F-20 and M-20, and below the deluxe 17" maple F-50. While the F-30 is basically similar to a Martin 000, the F-47 is a full 16" at the lower bout, most comparable to Gibson's much-venerated 1950s J-185. By the mid-60's that Gibson was long out of production (replaced by the quirkier Everly Brothers model) and Martin offered nothing in this "small jumbo" category at all.
The F-47 was introduced as the "Bluegrass model" in 1963, replacing the similar but plainer F-40. That guitar had been made of maple, while the new model was built with mahogany back and sides. The initial few had a whimsical illustrated pickguard with a horse motif, a quirky idea quickly deleted. It settled into its groove by 1964 with a plain tortoise celluloid pickguard, multibound body, laminated mahogany/maple neck with a bound block inlaid rosewood fingerboard and "Chesterfield" inlay on the plastic-faced peghead. The neck is quite slim and fast with a shallow "C" profile. This early 1967 model is one of only 200 sold that year, fitted with single-unit enclosed Japanese made machines that are a Guild quirk of this period. Less than 500 of these were sold from made 1965 through 1970. making it a fairly rare instrument.
The F-47 is a truly fine guitar, but one many players are not familiar with. With its slim neck and narrow-waisted body this is a very comfortable guitar for its size, and puts out a lot of sound. It is an unusually fine fingerpicking guitar for a larger instrument with a vibrant powerful midrange sound; it works equally well with a flatpick and as a strummed chord machine. This is an extremely well-built and responsive guitar, much lighter than Rhode-Island made 1970's Guilds and easily on par-or better- compared with Martin or Gibson offerings from the same era. We rarely get these in and this is a fine player's example, a bit "Ragged but Right" fairly well worn in but a wonderful instrument nonetheless.
Overall length is 41 3/4 in. (106 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This guitar has seen some adventures in its day but the instrument is structurally excellent making for a good player's example. There is heavy checking to much of the finish along with a decent helping of general play wear. The neck has been very well reset to the proper angle, something of a tricky procedure on these older Guilds. The rosewood bridge and saddle are well-done repros of the originals. The original fairly thin (for the '60s) maple bridgeplate is intact with a large contact pickup fitted ahead of the pins wired to an endpin jack.
The lacquer finish is original on the top and sides; there appears to be an ancient clear overspray over the back of the body and the neck, continuing on to face of the headstock. This has checked heavily, especially over the plastic headstock veneer. Overall the finish shows dings, dents and scrapes most heavily to the top, with pickwear off the top and back of the pickguard. The lower soundhole rim is heavily worn, with what looks like a small piece of wood patched in.
The lower back has a couple of long grain splits solidly repaired, the top and sides are crack free. The back of the neck has some spots where the center laminate strip appears to have been resealed, or at least minor flaking to the finish over the seams. The pickguard and closed-back Japanese tuners remain original and there is a Fender-style strap button added to the heel. The neck angle is excellent, the original frets have been neatly polished out and although somewhat scruffy looking this is a very fine playing guitar with a robust and ringing sound, housed in a more in a more recent HSC. Very Good + Condition.