Any Guild professionals out there?

[lineboat]

I'm really interested in a mid 90's Westerly made Guild I've found. It's been rode a little hard, but it seems solid. I guess my question is, are these any good? Any cons or anything to be aware of? Common issues? It would just be an extra guitar, but I'll be darned if it don't sound and play right up there with my new Martin. I was amazed!

 

[telecaster1234]

What's the model?

I have a 93 Guild DV62-NTHG herringbone. It's the only acoustic I have. The DV stands for dreadnought vintage.

The DV series are some awesome Guilds. The only complaint is the neck can be a little skinny across. Which can make it slightly difficult to play clean like on a 1 3/4" nut width but seriously not a big deal. It has a 1 11/16" nut like martins from 50's and up. (Of course a few reissues have the larger but now)

They sound really good, especially with the right strings. Not exactly like a Martin but still boomy and in my opinion can be an awesome bluegrass cannon. Again, finger picking can be a challenge to play clean but that's why we practice. No reason to pass.

They also sound good for folk guitars and a bunch of hippies used to use then in the 60's and early 70's.

And they sound just fine for country music as well as a rhythm strummer or some lead. A few quick country front men that come to mind that use Guilds are Mel Tillis, John Anderson, and George Strait.

They are heavy as most Guilds are. But Guilds are TANKS and are tough. They are the tele of acoustics, as far a ruggedness goes, at least in my opinion.

Having said how I honestly feel about USA pre Fender Guilds, specifically the DV series, I personally still prefer Martins.

However, to recap Guilds are awesome and if you can pick up a good westerly Guild then get it. And a lot say they are underpriced. I disagree they are priced fairly for a used non-vintage acoustic. Martins from the 80's-90's aw just over priced, so it just appears Guilds are undervalued.

If you get it, I'm sure you'll keep it forever. Martins come and go but a Guild never leaves.

 

[lineboat]

It's a DC-1ENT True American. A mouthful! Yes, it has a rich tone, and the neck width actually felt good to me. That Martin has a wider neck, and it is easy to pick on, but about 90% of what I play is strumming anyway. I'm gonna throw an offer out there on it and see what happens. Thanks!

 

[hrstrat57]

Pretty sure that was their bottom of the line AE back early 90's.

Don't think it was Guild's best effort. There is a Guild only guitar forum out there

http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/archive/index.php/t-159608.html

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/90s-guild-true-american-series-any-good.1539403/

I'm from RI and personally I've always been jonesin for a Bluesbird. Had the perfect one in my hands about 20 years ago and passed. It was ridiculously nice....

Way off topic tho, sorry. Lotta Guild stories been told around these parts and there are a lot of Guild historians around.

 

[lineboat]

Pretty sure that was their bottom of the line AE back early 90's.

Don't think it was Guild's best effort. There is a Guild only guitar forum out there

http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/archive/index.php/t-159608.html

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/90s-guild-true-american-series-any-good.1539403/

I'm from RI and personally I've always been jonesin for a Bluesbird. Had the perfect one in my hands about 20 years ago and passed. It was ridiculously nice....

Way off topic tho, sorry. Lotta Guild stories been told around these parts and there are a lot of Guild historians around.

The Bluesbird is a sweet guitar! I had an uncle that played one for years. Wonder what happened to that thing????

 

[clintj]

Even a base model Westerly Guild is still a very nice American made guitar. They never earned the prestige of the big three, but they're great guitars for working musicians. I've got one of the New Hartford built F-30s, and wouldn't trade it for the world.

 

[willyb]

I have a D30 I bought back in 86. It has held up better than a lot of other acoustics I have seen. As Chicken Picker said they are tanks,. They do have a sound of their own. Mine sounds great with Dean Markley vintage bronze strings. As far as acoustics go yeah it is loud. When I got it I had the mentality of its much better than what I had, but someday I will get something even better....needless to say....someday never came.

 

[Snook]

I have a 1971 D35-NT that I bought from a local music store that was going out of business. List price was $265 and I got it for half price. I hardshell Guild case I bought for it a couple years later cost almost as much as the guitar. It's great for bluegrass flat-picking and finger picking.

 

[63telemaster]

I went looking for a good dred last year and was unfortunate to see a lot of Guilds from that era and earlier with severe structural issues. Make sure to check neck angles/saddle height, dips around the soundhole area as these issues are not cheap to fix.

Having said that, most of those I played sounded really nice despite their issues.

 

[Buckocaster51]

I have a 1971 D35-NT that I bought from a local music store that was going out of business. List price was $265 and I got it for half price. I hardshell Guild case I bought for it a couple years later cost almost as much as the guitar. It's great for bluegrass flat-picking and finger picking.

Interesting. In 1977 I bought a new D35 with a natural top. Played it for many years. About 15 years ago I loaned it out.

IT JUST CAME BACK TODAY!

Still a mighty fine guitar.

I gave something like $450 for mine, with a case.

 

[lineboat]

Interesting. In 1977 I bought a new D35 with a natural top. Played it for many years. About 15 years ago I loaned it out.

IT JUST CAME BACK TODAY!

Still a mighty fine guitar.

I gave something like $450 for mine, with a case.

That's a long term loan! Had you forgot about it?!

 

[Andy B]

We have 2 Guilds, a 1974 D25 & a 1976 D35. Great guitars they have held up well over the years. Last fall I picked up a 96 FC4e which is a great playing guitar.

 

[Buckocaster51]

That's a long term loan! Had you forgot about it?!

No. It was out to a friend. We both knew exactly where it was.

 

[lineboat]

No. It was out to a friend. We both knew exactly where it was.

That's good. At least you new! I loaned a Strat to a friend while I was working on his Tele and forgot about it. When he got the Tele back, he put the Strat in the case and forgot about it as well. I got it back a couple weeks ago, but it hadn't been any where near that long!

 

[lineboat]

Well, the Guild is mine. I'm on the river now working, so I get to wait at least 3 weeks before I get home, but I went ahead and paid for it, so it'll be there waiting!

 

[Vizcaster]

I'll never get rid of my '94 D-30 blonde. Got a deal on it at the time because they ran a sale on the solid black version and the ad said "available in black or blonde" so I have one with quite a bit of flame on the back, sides, and neck for the price of a solid color guitar.

The bad thing is that in the mid nineties the Guild factory in Westerly was about to go out of business ; however I've never read about any quality control issues from that era. The good thing is that the "Westerly" label provides a degree of value (IRRC Fender took over in about 1995 and by the time they resumed production of the D-30 they'd moved production of the brand to Tacoma).

The only issue I've ever had is the lacquer on the neck lifted in a few spots where it bridges over from the maple neck to the edge of the rosewood fingerboard. Easily and undetectably repaired with some McFadden's nitro and an artist's brush, but I did have to do it more than once. And if memory serves I tried lots of different types of bridge pins before settling on Tusq.

 

[lineboat]

I'm anxious to get home and put this one to the test. I may have a gig that'll test it and me. It'll hafta stand tall to compete with the Martin, but it'll have its chance soon enough!

This one has some bruises on it, but that doesn't bother me. Did they all have a lacquer finish? Or were some just oil rubbed?

 

[Tom Joad]

The only con I can think of is that it doesn't have a dual-action truss rod. But you may never need it to. I have two Guilds, and they are built like tanks, weigh a ton, and was just amazed that it could make that much noise with that thick of a top when I got my first one. They seem to be made to last a hundred years. They sound more like a Martin dreadnought than any other guitar I've ever heard, including Taylors and Gibsons. And I think they hold their own against those guitars. I have a D-20 mahogany and a D-140ce spruce and mahogany, and they aren't just all solid wood, they're a whole lot of all solid wood. And just ring when you strum a note, and the bass is just amazing! That said, I know nothing about the model you are referring to. Is that even an all solid wood model? I have heard some Guilds that were laminate sides and back that still sounded very good.

 

[Tom Joad]

I'm anxious to get home and put this one to the test. I may have a gig that'll test it and me. It'll hafta stand tall to compete with the Martin, but it'll have its chance soon enough!

This one has some bruises on it, but that doesn't bother me. Did they all have a lacquer finish? Or were some just oil rubbed?

I don't know how well a bottom of the line Guild will do against a Martin, unless we are talking one of these new-fangled HPL Martins, which don't impress me at all. But knowing nothing about that particular Guild, I can't even venture a guess. Guild makes some really nice satin finished models, so they're not all glossy lacquered. Put us up a pic of this babe! would love to see it and Vizcaster's '94 blonde Guild D30. They were really beautiful guitars! I mean, really striking!! With that white binding and bowed-out back, they were amazing instruments.
Oh, Clintj, by big three I guess you mean Martin(of course), Taylor, and I suppose Gibson? I never really thought of Gibson as an acoustic guitar maker, and I think their acoustics are just ridiculously overpriced, even worse than Taylor's. Martin, I will give you, their top-of-the-line guitars are probably the best commercially produced acoustics on the planet. And Gibson's Hummingbird is really excellent as well, but costs three times what it's worth, and I think I have several guitars (including my Michael Kelly MKD52) that sound just as good. Taylors in general I find over-rated, and lack that woody sound that you get from a Martin or Guild. I know many people will vehemently disagree with this, but I think a lot of that is just elitist snobbery by people trying to justify paying $4,500 for a guitar. And, besides, Yamaha dwarfs all of them in guitar sales.

 

[bowman]

I've got a '78 Guild D40C natural top. When I got it several years ago, it had had a very hard life. The guy who had owned it was in a working country band for a long time, and he really put it through the wringer. It was very beat up, the top had a crater in it (that didn't go all the way through) from someone's thumb being anchored there, and it has a crack in the top on the pick guard side near the neck. The frets were so worn they were almost useless. But I was shocked at how good it sounded when I picked it up. I invested in a re-fret, and it was well worth it - that thing still sounds great today, even with that cracked top.