Looking for Gurian Owners

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bob Cannon on April 26, 2011 at 2:44pm

Wow, a beauty! I've got a JM, but I keep looking to add a smaller-bodied model (and S3 or S2) for less raucous styles like fingerpicking....

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Permalink Reply by Regan Mulligan on April 26, 2011 at 7:01pm

Bob... If you are serious about a small Gurian.... might I suggest a MINT.. '76 S2M... I have found a guitar that fits my chubby digits perfectly (Lowden O12c) and have to find a new home for my erstwhile fretted love-interest to help pay for the new mistress (ssshhh!..the Gurian's probably listening! )..

 

Contact me offline at rjmulligan@snet.net for additional info.or to chat..

 

Regan

Attachments:

• S2M_Front3.JPG, 665 KB
• GURIAN2.mp3, 2.6 MB

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Permalink Reply by bob marion on April 26, 2011 at 8:20pm

this ones for sale, too many guitars, not enough playing time.

 

acousdoc@dwx.com

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Permalink Reply by Regan Mulligan on August 9, 2011 at 8:46pm

Well, it seems that the community has taken a hiatus for a while,,, hopefully it is only the summer doldrums and the

abhorence of touching a sticky / swollen neck that has us staying away..

 

But I am still trying to find a new home for my '76 S2M - sulking in the basement... if anyone has any ideas, please let me know of an alternate showcase to display the instrument for sale.. Still love 'em, but I have to accept that my aging hands no longer fit .. any comments.. please forward to rjmulligan@snet.net.. Best regards to all.

 

Regan 

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Permalink Reply by David Johnson on August 9, 2011 at 8:58pm

Hi Regan - I just got a C series S2M fixed up and am enjoying it at home.  I might as well enjoy it - in this market, it's unlikely I could recover the cash I've got tied up in it.  Have you modified the price on yours since we last spoke?  You can contact me off the board if you'd like, nosnhojbd@yahoo.com.  By the way, remember that Lowden I had for sale?  It took my luthier about 30 seconds to take off the Pearse arm rest!  He didn't even charge me, and there was absolutely no sign it was ever there.  I suspected that would be the case, but of course until I saw it done I couldn't make that guarantee.  Best, David

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Permalink Reply by Todd Merport on August 17, 2011 at 11:17pm

I own a JM purchased in the late seventies ($450 w/ case, C2223 ). It still is in great shape. It has a lovely mellow sound.

A few years ago I bought a S2RH, 3 piece back (C3361) on ebay. There was a bit of bellying so I brought it in for repair. Some of the glue came loose on the bracing. It was fixed and turns out to be is a very nice guitar. The finish is checked so the guitar has a yellow antique look.

I use light strings.

 

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Permalink Reply by David Johnson on August 18, 2011 at 9:24pm

Always nice to hear about the history of yet a few more of these guitars.  Some of us try to track serial and model numbers, and the information available on line is getting better and better.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Dvorak on October 25, 2011 at 3:49pm

 

Hi David, I am new to the forum and I just acquired a Gurian S2M D2259 from my 91 year old aunt a couple of days ago. She purchased it used in April 1983 in Chicago where she lives. She played it for a couple of years and put it in a closet where it has been since then. I have the card signed by Michael Gurian that came with it. The only thing that I can find wrong with it is a broken high E string and a ding in the bottom of the body. It does need a good cleaning and polishing. Can you or someone in the forum recommend something that I can use to do this. I think it is in the original case that it was sold in.   If anyone wants to respond to me directly you can use cdvnsdv@yahoo.com. Thanks for your help.

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Permalink Reply by Albert da Costa on October 30, 2011 at 5:48am

David and all,

In an attempt to acquire some space in my office and concentrate on instruments I will truly play more than once a year, I am going to sell my J-M and my S2R3.  The S2 was purchased from these pages and the J-M from a lady in Dallas who had bought the guitar originally in Mass.

The J-M is without blemish on the top and there is but one small light indentation on the back that is actually not visible without the proper lighting.  The S2 was restored recently.  Both have had the action worked on and neither is is need of a neck reset.

I am still looking for a respectable S3R or B.

Prices are $2000 for the J-M (original case in fine condition) and $2500 for the S2R (original case and paperwork).

I will post pictures if anyone is interested.

Al

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Permalink Reply by Bill Stetar on January 16, 2012 at 7:34am

In Sept. 2011, I purchased a Gurian JM SN C-1505 from an eBay seller. Seller did not provide any history, so I don't know how the guitar ended up in his possession. But the guitar is in excellent condition. 

I bought my first (and only Gurian) ca. 1974 in Portland OR. It was my first major purchase of a real guitar. I didn't know much about the Gurian line when I bought the guitar, but it played better than any of the Martins and other brands I tried out in the store. I always remembered the clear, sweet and full sound of that guitar. For years, it traveled with me up and down the coast, to Texas, and back. 

In January 1979, I drove from my home outside of Portland to a studio in Vancouver WA. It was a bitter, unusually cold winter day for the PNW. I didn't realize how cold until I got inside the studio and opened the case. Something didn't look right, then I saw that the split that circumnavigated the sides of the mahogany body. It was a setback, but I knew the instrument had a lifetime warranty. With the help of the local dealer, we got the instrument packed up and shipped to the factory, and they said I would be hearing directly from the factory.

After several weeks, I was starting to get a little antsy about getting my guitar back. In those days, we didn't have email, internet, or cell phones. So the only way I'd know where things stood was to use my land line to call the factory. That's when I discovered the tragedy of the fire. All guitars and equipment were lost, including my jumbo mahogany. 

The Gurian company was great about making compensation, but there were no Gurians available to replace mine. So we worked out some merchandise swap with the store. I got a variety of stuff, including a mic, an Ovation balladeer (a poor excuse for a guitar that I sold at a yard sale years later for $50), and sets of D'Angelico strings -- of which I still have a few sets remaining.

In early 1980 I moved to Nashville. Not long after I bought a Martin D-35, but I still missed that Gurian. Over the years, I kept secretly pining for a Gurian. But I got distracted by other things ("Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans"), and one never showed up on the radar. I'm not a serious collector, just a player, but I'd occasionally keep an eye out for a Gurian. 

Who knew that more than three decades would go by before I'd act on that impulse. And buying a vintage guitar, sight unseen, on eBay was not an appealing thought. But I did pull the trigger, made an offer on a Jumbo Mahogany, and now man and guitar are happily reunited. Granted it's not the actual guitar, and my hearing is a little tarnished by age, but that Gurian produces the sweetest sound I've ever heard. It's a joy to play. 

Attachments:

• Gurian closeup.jpg, 469 KB
• Austin-ca1978 3b.jpg, 447 KB
• Gurian-JM-C1505.JPG, 515 KB

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Permalink Reply by guitargarden on January 27, 2012 at 3:34pm

Haven't forgotten about Gurians. I've been watching their sales with interest, and hoping to come across one locally to try. My ear typically tends to gravitate tonally toward mahogany. How do rosewood and mahogany Gurians compare? Is there tone similar to any modern day guitars? How's the fit on the 2SM (& R)? Is it similar to an OM or 00? Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Albert da Costa on March 26, 2012 at 12:24pm

David and all,

In an attempt to acquire some space in my office and concentrate on instruments I will truly play more than once a year, I am going to sell my J-M and my S2R3.  The S2 was purchased from these pages and the J-M from a lady in Dallas who had bought the guitar originally in Mass.

The J-M is without blemish on the top and there is but one small light indentation on the back that is actually not visible without the proper lighting.  The S2 was restored recently.  Both have had the action worked on and neither is is need of a neck reset.

I am still looking for a respectable S3R or B.

Prices are $2000 for the J-M (original case in fine condition) and $2500 for the S2R (original case and paperwork).

I will post pictures if anyone is interested.

A

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