❌SOLD❌ Guild F512R Rosewood Jumbo 12 String Guitar, 2010

The Guild F512R Rosewood draws its roots from one of the earliest Guild guitars, the F-50R Navarre, built from 1954 to 1987 as a 17 inch wide jumbo 6-string. The F-50 was available with Maple back and sides, or as the F-50R with Rosewood.

By 1964, the American Folk boom had prompted interest in 12-string guitars, and Guild responded with the F-212, a 16 inch wide Jumbo model. This proved popular and in 1968, Guild introduced the larger, more elaborate special order Custom F512 (Maple) and Custom F512R (Rosewood) 12-string models. These immediately gained acceptance with professional players as the top of the 12-string line and for 1974, these models became part of regular production.

The Guild F512R pairs a Sitka Spruce top with Indian Rosewood for the back and sides, Mahogany for the body blocks and neck, and Ebony for the bridge and bound fingerboard. As the top of the line, the 512 also gets multiple layer binding around the body, fingerboard and headstock. Inlays use Mother of Pearl for the headstock Guild logos, and add Abalone for the center V of the block position markers, and for the Rosette. (This headstock and V-block position marker design were later adopted by Ibanez after a lawsuit forced them to stop using Gibson’s open-book head shape).

This is a large guitar, with 17 inch or 431mm wide, 4.8 inches or 121mm deep body and 25.6 inch scale length. Its size suggests its sonic output, with room-filling volume when pushed and a very rich harmonic range. Guild developed a reputation for solidly built 12 stings, able to withstand the tension of 12 strings tuned to concert pitch. This solid construction adds to the weight of the instrument.

Here we’re looking at a Guild F512R dating to April 20, 2009 and is one of the earliest built at the ‘new’ Guild plant in New Hartford, Connecticut. That plant had previously been operated by Kaman, maker of the Ovation line. A D-Tar pickup system has been installed, with the output leading to an endpin jack. In very good condition and well set up, this guitar is a sonic treat to play.

The original Guild hard shell case is included.