Members Jasmine Posted February 10, 2006 Members Share Posted February 10, 2006 I am serious considering purchasing an A-12 Madeira by Guild, it is vintage 12-string guitar. I would like feedback from anyone who has similar guitar or owns one of these and how does it play, etc. I've read the reviews so any more you could add would be appreciated. I want both the pros & cons. Also what are best strings to maximize guitar voice / sound should I choose to go ahead and buy it. Check is in the mail,JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted February 10, 2006 Members Share Posted February 10, 2006 Having repaired several, I offer this as hopefully a way to save you some bucks: If it's more than $100, don't waste your money...they're not well made and thus few have survived this long (they were offered in the late 70's-early 80s as Guild's "cheapie" line), they were laminated (tops, too) but disguised to look like solid wood (the rosette is the only solid wood in the entire guitar), the neck blocks are very weak, so sooner or later it will need a major re-set, even with extra-light strings, and a lot of 'em had terrible intonation beyond the 8th or 9th fret, due to the often mis-align screw-adjustable bridges and the previously mentioned neck blocks compressing. If you're on a budget (and most are, these days! ), saving a little longer and buying a used Guild 212 model will make you happier...they can still be found most reasonably (both of my F-212XLs cost less than $450 (per) w/ hsc)...in fact, one of my student's snagged a D-212 for $300 just before Xmas off of Ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jackwr Posted February 11, 2006 Members Share Posted February 11, 2006 I've got an old beat 6 string I use for my travels. Plays decent, sounds fair. My Dad got it in a flea market for $15 and gave it to me. bound neck that fits my hand nice. It is all plywood. I had to reglue a top brace from getting too close to a camp fire. I keep medium strings on it. Truss rod was way over tight when I got it and the medium strings still haven't pulled it all the way back. Needless to say I'm not afraid to leave it unattended in a hotel room. It's good for what it is, a decent cheap beater I'm not afraid to lose....Don't forget the price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jasmine Posted February 16, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 16, 2006 Well I got the Madeira A-12 and paid around $200 for it and yes the crime of all crimes - off eBay. However my budget is so extremely limited I could only spend a couple hundred on a guitar, so took the eBay road. The guy selling it had 100% feedback and had done guitar transactions before so I felt reasonable comfortable with the purchase. However, the guitar showed up and it is better than I ever expected for it's age!! It is solid and does not have the "aged" look some vintage guitars have, seems like it's rested in a nice case all these years, hardly a blemish on it. The neck is straight and everything else checks out solid, inside and out. The sound is sooooo.... smooth it is "like butter" - I have a light playing style so will match perfectly, and I was able to also pull out of it some pretty awesome louder tones, so it has met the challenge. No adjustments at all were needed other than tuning it up and giving it a play. My friend has a vintage Tak 12 string that I have been salivating over and would love to have my grubs on, but now that the madeira is here, I would put it up against that awesome Tak anytime. I am very pleased with it and glad that the gods of eBay granted me one fine guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jackwr Posted February 16, 2006 Members Share Posted February 16, 2006 Congrats, glad you got a good one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members littleboy Posted January 16, 2020 Members Share Posted January 16, 2020 Hello Terry Allen Hall, Did the square top A-30s have a bolt on neck? No paper label in the one just given to me, but a threaded rod with a 10mm hex nut coming through the end block. I would like to re-set the neck, but it dosen't want to come loose. Can it also be glued? The finger board is off, so I can see there isn't a dove tail joint. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted January 17, 2020 Moderators Share Posted January 17, 2020 Unfortunately, Mr, Hall passed away several years ago, so I would not expect an answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted January 18, 2020 Members Share Posted January 18, 2020 if Terry replied this would be the ultimate zombie thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members littleboy Posted January 20, 2020 Members Share Posted January 20, 2020 OK,OK. I've got it. He's dead. I still need advice from someone familiar with the Guild Medeira. Why can't I get the neck off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted January 20, 2020 Members Share Posted January 20, 2020 Hmm. Single bolt? I'm assuming that that's the truss rod? Perhaps it has wooden positioning dowels then. My 40 year old Takamine (remains of the repair I personally botched pictured below) had a butt joint with no tenon or bolts, but DID have 4 positioning dowels (2 on the vertical centerline of the heel, 2 on either side of the truss rod) - supposedly to keep the neck joint from twisting. If that's the case and you want to reset the neck, you should put tape on either side of the body to protect the finish and use a Japanese pull saw to carefully cut the neck from the body. You will also have to remove the bridge though, because the scale length is going to be reduced by the thickness of the blade and the tape which will throw off the intonation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members littleboy Posted February 2, 2020 Members Share Posted February 2, 2020 On 1/20/2020 at 9:52 AM, littleboy said: OK,OK. I've got it. He's dead. I still need advice from someone familiar with the Guild Medeira. Why can't I get the neck off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members littleboy Posted February 2, 2020 Members Share Posted February 2, 2020 Alright, the neck is off the Medeira. It was split through the entire length of the truss rod trough. I believe that they (the Japanese who made this guitar) went too deep and didn't leave enough wood under the rod. Whatever. It is now in pieces...mostly chips, because I wanted it off without damage to the very nice intact body. I went ahead and trashed the neck, because I remember having a Harmony Sovereign from the sixties with a good neck,but cracked-up top. Yes, yet another Frankenstein guitar. It should be possible. Both are 25 and 1/2'' scale. There are only two obstacles: remove the neck from the Harmony (a steam job), and cut a dove-tail slot, to size, on the Guild Medeira. I don't think that this project warrants a pre-shaped neck for $150. or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members littleboy Posted February 2, 2020 Members Share Posted February 2, 2020 1 minute ago, littleboy said: Alright, the neck is off the Medeira. It was split through the entire length of the truss rod trough. I believe that they (the Japanese who made this guitar) went too deep and didn't leave enough wood under the rod. Whatever. It is now in pieces...mostly chips, because I wanted it off without damage to the very nice intact body. I went ahead and trashed the neck, because I remember having a Harmony Sovereign from the sixties with a good neck,but cracked-up top. Yes, yet another Frankenstein guitar. It should be possible. Both are 25 and 1/2'' scale. There are only two obstacles: remove the neck from the Harmony (a steam job), and cut a dove-tail slot, to size, on the Guild Medeira. I don't think that this project warrants a pre-shaped neck for $150. or more. I just remembered my father's favorite saying, "EVERYTHING IS SIMPLE TO AN IDIOT". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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