Guild F-512E Maple, Jumbo 12-String Acoustic-Electric Guitar - Natural Reviews
When you want big sound, the Guild F-512E Maple delivers. This 12-string jumbo features a solid Sitka spruce top and maple back and sides — a tonewood pairing that has become legendary for beautiful, bold tone that spans the high, middle, and low ranges equally. The F-512E Maple also features a gorgeous mahogany neck with walnut strip and an ebony fingerboard that is incredibly playable, smooth, and responsive — great for fingerpicking, flatpicking, and strumming chords. This stellar acoustic also features scalloped Adirondack spruce X-bracing for further tonal support and long life. And when you are ready to plug in, the F-512E has LR Baggs Anthem electronics onboard for stellar amplified acoustic tone. Sweetwater guitarists agree: the F-512E is built for incredible tone and a lifetime of playing enjoyment.
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Highest Rated Reviews
Guild F-512E Maple - AMAZING!
I am the original owner of a 1979 Guild D-40 (made in Westerly, R.I.). This guitar is now 45 years old and is only getting better with age so I understand the quality of guitars that Guild makes. I have wanted a F-512 Maple 12 string for some time and finally "pulled the trigger". I am not disappointed in any way. The sound is HUGE (as expected) and the quality and craftmanship that goes into these are AMAZING. I am not a professional musician by any means so I will spare all of the technical mumbo jumbo. All I can say is this thing sounds as good as it looks! Hopefully, in 45 years it will still look and sound as good as my D-40! I have several other guitars (Martin D-41, Gibson SJ-200,Takamine's, Rickenbackers, Fenders, to name a few). From the first "G" chord ringing out, you'll immediately want to go into a few bars of "Wish You Were Here" ! This one is definitely a keeper!
Great player's guitar
After 9 months, Schrodinger's guitar is finally here. It took a long time, and while I am not 100 percent happy with some of the visuals, acoustically, it is everything I wanted and more.
First up, the body wood. The back is not very heavily flamed, but there are "shadow flames". In fact, in pictures, it looks more like someone ran over a nice piece of plywood with a tire. It is only in person that you see the "shadow flames" that run up and down the back. In addition, the top is not a super high end top. I get that Jumbos are big and that it's much harder to get a clear top, but these are obviously not bookmatched, and on the right treble side near the edge, there is a slight flaw from a small branch, or someone left something on the wood and it compressed slightly in that area prior to cutting, plaining, and finishing. Aside from that though, the grain is tight (very tight in the center) with very little runout. The sides are flamed nicely and are a standout feature. Considering that most of what I will see is the fretboard and the sides of the guitar, I am okay with how it looks.
What it lacks in looks though, it more than makes up in how it performs. I had it pleked and had a professional setup done on it. The action is spot on and I can easily barre the frets with very little effort. Yes, you know it's a 12 string, but it's no more difficult to play than any of my 6 strings. In fact, this will force me to get better as my finger placement has been a bit sloppy at times, This instrument will require me to be more accurate.
That said, it is a jumbo guitar, so it is big, and it is heavy. That's okay for me as I am a big guy (6' 2"), so it fits me easily, but I could see someone with shoulder/elbow problems or a smaller build struggling to play this. Maple is a hard, dense wood, and the construction methods Guild uses means it's even heavier. This thing weighs in at 5lb, 14 oz, so while it's no Les Paul in terms of weight, it's one pound heavier than my Taylor 814ce, and almost a pound and a quarter over the Martin D-28 in terms of heft, so if you are going to use this on stage, make sure you have a nice wide strap to help spread the load this will put on your shoulders.
Now the best part about it. The sound is crisp and clear, with high and sweet treble and shimmer, and a bass that is solid, bold, and not at all floppy, sloppy or loose. It can play soft and delicate, or you can kick it up and let it fill an auditorium unamplified....all without buzz or sounding strained. This thing is an absolute cannon. And the sustain, my lord that thing has sustain for days. After playing my last chord, I just sat there and listened and I swear I could still hear it 15 seconds later, just ever so softly.
I've owned some good guitars, but none of them has offered the power, the clarity, the range, or the precision that this one does, much less all of them at once. Once I played it, I no longer cared about any perceived flaws in the wood. This is a players guitar. If the F-55 is anywhere close to this, then I should have gotten that over the Taylor 814ce I have. I still love my Taylor, but it doesn't have the range that the F512 has.
Oh yeah, this one is a keeper.
