1966 Guild F-47 Bluegrass – Natural – Professionally Refurbished – Brazilian Rosewood Bridge – Includes Original Hardshell Case – Used Very Good
The Guild F-47 Bluegrass is one of the best-kept secrets in American vintage guitar building — a 16-inch small jumbo produced in Hoboken, New Jersey during Guild's most creatively fertile period, and one of the rarest production flat tops from the golden era of American acoustic guitar manufacturing. Fewer than 500 were made between 1965 and 1970, which places this instrument in genuinely scarce territory even among serious vintage collectors. Serial number AK-162 confirms this as a 1966 production example — one of only a handful made that year. Guild introduced the F-47 in 1963 as the replacement for the F-40 Bluegrass, building it with solid mahogany back and sides where the earlier model had used maple — a change that gave the F-47 a warmer, more focused, and more immediately inviting voice. At 16 inches the body sits between the intimate 000 format and a full dreadnought, sharing that size class with Gibson's beloved 1950s J-185 while standing entirely on its own terms. The Hoboken-era Guild craftsmanship that went into these guitars was exceptional — carefully graduated solid spruce tops, properly dried mahogany, bound block inlaid rosewood fingerboards with Guild's distinctive Chesterfield headstock inlay, multi-ply body binding, and the kind of structural attention that gave these instruments the longevity to survive in playable condition sixty years later.
This example has just received a comprehensive professional refurbishment that has transformed it into a guitar that combines everything desirable about a vintage Hoboken Guild — aged tonewoods, natural patina, sixty years of resonance development — with the playability and structural health of a freshly built instrument. The work performed includes a full neck reset, a complete refret, a new Brazilian rosewood bridge, a new saddle, a repaired crack under the pickguard, and a new truss rod — all executed to a very high level. The result is a guitar with a long, long life ahead of it. Grover replacement tuners and bone nut complete the hardware picture.
It sounds exactly the way a great Hoboken Guild should — super loud and smoky, with aged tonewoods that genuinely shine through in the voice. It is a superb fingerpicker with real note separation and warmth, and it holds up equally well to flatpicking and big chord strumming with a projection and authority that only sixty years of tonal development can produce. Honest play wear throughout adds to the good vibes rather than detracting from them. The original Guild hardshell case is in very good condition.
- Make: Guild
- Model: F-47 Bluegrass
- Year: 1966
- Serial number: AK-162
- Country of origin: USA (Hoboken, NJ)
- Body: 16" small jumbo
- Top: Solid spruce, natural lacquer finish
- Back and sides: Solid mahogany
- Neck: Laminated mahogany/maple
- Fingerboard: Bound rosewood, block inlays
- Headstock: Chesterfield inlay
- Bridge: Brazilian rosewood (new, installed during refurbishment)
- Saddle: New (installed during refurbishment)
- Nut: Bone
- Scale length: 25.5"
- Nut width: 1-11/16"
- Frets: New refret
- Tuners: Grover (replacement)
- Pickguard: Tortoise
- Refurbishment: Full neck reset, complete refret, new Brazilian rosewood bridge, new saddle, repaired crack under pickguard, new truss rod — all professionally executed to high standard
- Modifications: Grover tuners, bone nut
- Condition: Used Very Good – honest play wear throughout, all repairs professionally executed, plays and sounds exceptional
- Includes: Original Guild hardshell case (very good condition)
Ships carefully packed and insured for full value. International buyers are welcome — please contact us for a shipping quote before purchasing.
About Mill River Music
Mill River Music is an independent, human-powered music shop located in downtown Northampton, MA, run by a team of players, enthusiasts, and certified repair technicians. Every piece of used gear we sell is personally inspected, tested, and set up before it ships — we don't list it until we'd be happy to play it ourselves.
As Martin and Taylor certified techs, we hold our guitar work to a high standard, and we're committed to full transparency about the condition of everything we sell. No surprises.
When you buy from Mill River, you're supporting an independent local business that genuinely cares — about gear, about players, and about doing things right. We're here every step of the way. Reach out anytime.
