Conference napalm::guitar

<< IS there a better guitar for $400?

  (Is this list price ?  If it is, then you can do MUCH better...  Guitars
  that 'list' for $400.00 you should be able to get this time of year
  for around $299.00/$300.00)

  I've never heard of Gurian before, (a guess says it's probably a Korean
  made guitar) but $400 dollars ought to   be able to get a nice Washburn,
  Alvarez Takamini, Fender...  etc...

  Where are you looking at this ?  Are there other music stores in the area
  that you can compare one against another ?


<<The others in the range did not have the wonderful fullness of tone that
<<this one had.

  *sometimes* all that you really need to do is change the strings.

  When guitars have been hanging on a store hook for a few months,
  the strings tend to go dead...  Nothing can ruin the sound of
  a nice acoustic quicker then rotten strings.  just a thought...

  -- So guitar noters,,, whats the lowdown on Gurian ?

    GURIAN guitars are American and were handmade,excellent and very nice.
    I heard the factory burned down early eighties or so,but my friend has
    one,and $400 isn't a bad price for an instrument of this quality.
    	

    Gurian is out of business.  They went under when their factory burned
    and they lost all their wood supply  8^(  I think they were based in NE, 
    can't remember for sure.
    
    Very nice guitars, they didn't use the standard Martin dreadnought or
    Gibson jumbo designs, but had their own.  I've played some and they are
    very fine guitars, and when new sold in the high hundreds/low thousands
    range, depending on model.
    
    I would pay $400 for one in good shape.
    
    							Brian

    Gurians were definately a high-quality American made instrument. I seem
    to recall they were made in New Hampshire. I think I have one of their
    old catalogs at home. 
    
    I believe that Gurian still markets luthiery tools. Check the Stewart
    MacDonald catalog for tools with the Gurian name on them (I think they
    sell files, clamps, etc).
    
    McDuff's Music in Shrewsbury Mass was one dealer that carried Gurians.
    A woman I know that plays Christian music has been using one for about
    10 years and loves it. I seem to recall that Gurian had a unique way of 
    attaching necks to bodies, which allowed for easy removal in the event 
    the instrument needed a neck reset. It was not a bolt-on attachment. He 
    had some kind of fancy mortise/tenon joint which was very strong but easy
    to dismantle for servicing.
    
    I will look to see if I still have the old Gurian catalog at home. The
    catalog included general information about his neck attachment, and the
    other details.
    
    Mark
    

So much for a wild korean guess...

Well you've all been very helpful!

I can add some more info.  J-M D2284 is in the body.  I've been told it's a
later model, jumbo mahogony. The Cherry model of the same was more $$$ and 
potentially better quality.

The neck assembly is apparently unique. My understanding is that warnings on
this brand tend to be related to the neck business.

I'm work in Nashua (ZK2 infact) and have it with me today. Is there someone
out there that can look at it for structure integrity? Recommendations for
a local place to have it looked at? (Not Hampshire Music - it came from there)

Thanks Again!

Danielle

Danielle,
    
    How about Daddy's right up the road on Spitbrook.  Cool place to 
    go at lunch, me thinks...
    
    ;)
    
    jc (Who knows next to nothing about acoustics)
    

I know Michael Gurian (I haven't spoken to him in about 10 years, however).
His factory and a massive amount of exotic woods went up in smoke in 1979
& he moved to Keene, New Hampshire. about 2 years after that, he let 
cash flow get the best of him (He had over 1000 guitars on back order at
the time) & the banks took over & sold off his stock. All he got to keep
was his business name and control of some items that were produced for him
(like his fret files). A friend of mine (who lives in Sweden now) worked
for him for 2 years. Michael's goal was a full sounding guitar with light
weight strings. He was very successful at this, but was  not as good
at managing the business. I still have a number of items that I got from
him (his patented Truss rods, ebony fret boards & curly maple) before the
fire.

I think that his guitars are excellent. They listed for $800.00 and up
in the late 1970's.

He still builds and repairs guitars somewhere in New York (I've lost
track of him).

								Jens

Garumph!!!

Well I've certainly gotten some great help from people in the notes files
and some local folks here in ZK which have come and looked at it.

The action is nice and I do like the sound but it has been repaired. Looks like
the neck was removed be taking out the 14th or what-ever fret near the body 
and making a cut.  The frets on the body are higher than the others on the
neck and the one that was removed looks like it sits at an angle.

I'm rather bummed out about it all, but will now take more time and foot work
into looking for a new or used upgrade.  Still stuck with not knowing much
but I'll bring in more questions!

I'll also check out the for sale topic.  

Thanks All!

Danielle

    WHoa...  Careful in that For Sale topic.  It's addicting !
    
    ;)

    I found my old Gurian catalog at home. It is at least 10 years old. 
    He listed 8 models at the time, Four steel string models and four
    Classic and Flamenco models. 
    
    	For steel stings there was the "Size 2" (small size), "Size 3" 
    (dreadnought size), "Jumbo", and "The Cutaway" (Approx the same size 
    as the "Size 3"). The Cutaway model was electric, but the catalog
    does not say exactly what type of pickup it had, or whether it had
    a preamp. The catalog does not say what type of wood was used for 
    the Cutaway model, but the photo appears to be curly maple. Models 
    S2M, S3M and JM came with mahogany backs/sides. Models S2R, S3R, and 
    JR featured East-Indian Rosewood backs/sides. Models S2R3H, S3R3H, 
    and JR3H were also East-Indian Rosewood, but "highly decorated and 
    beautifully inlaid, with 3-piece back, herring-bone binding, and 
    gold-plated machine heads". Gurian also offered Brazilian rosewood 
    versions (S2B3H,S3B3H,and JB3H) but these were not always available.  
    
    The CLM was a classical guitar with mahagony backs/sides, simple
    binding, and black precision tuners.
    
    The CLR was a classical with Indian Rosewood backs/sides, "decorated
    binding", engraved, gold-plated machine heads.
    
    The CLB was a classical with Brazilian Rosewood backs/sides, and
    gold-plated machine heads.
    
    The FLC was a flamenco guitar with Canadian Cypress sides/backs,
    
    The address listed on the Catalog was :
    
    	Gurian Guitars LTD., Inc.
    	Canal Street
    	Hindsdale, N.H. 03451
    
    The catalog did not include the inscription inside of Gurian guitars,
    but I believe it was something like "Made in USA, planet earth, 
    Third Stone from the Sun".
    
    If anyone owns a Gurian, and would like the catalog drop me an EMAIL
    message.
    
    Mark Jacques