Guild? What to buy?
 

So I was looking for a cheap Alvarez to switch up my Seagull S6 sound. I wanted something with a spruce top, and boxy and booming sound to play old folk music, pretty basic stuff. That was convo is here


I was impressed with a Yahama FG830, that I tried out on a whim. People convinced me to consider an all solid guitar, if I already have a laminate. The next range up in my area would be a Guild. From the reviews, Guild sounds even boomier than the Alvarez. I don't think I can seriously afford a D40, nor justify it based on my skill level. I liked the D140. I guess the main difference is one is made in USA and one is made in China? Anyone have thoughts on what benefits you get from the d40 over the d140? Also on other side, what do you lose when you downgrade to the D240E? For me the cheaper the better, really. There's a lot of videos on youtube like this claiming you don't get a significantly better sound after $300.

Also, I saw some where on youtube some guy claiming that the sound of the folk revival of the 60s was the Guild as many of them had them. I did see pics of Paul Simon and John Denver playing them.

Also, I just play for myself does it even pay to get an acoustic electric? I would think the electronics inside the guitar would mess up the resonance.

The D140 is a really nice guitar for the money, I've played a couple and have been impressed. Haven't played a D240 but that model has laminate back and sides, so doesn't fit with the all solid guitar you are looking for.

As for the YouTube video comparing two guitars, I don't think the message is that the sound of a guitar doesn't get better after $300...in fact Paul mentions that there are a lot of differences between the two guitars. Regardless though, you should take videos like that with a grain of salt. He was clearly sponsored by Orangewood to create that video and review their guitar, same with many other similar videos out there. If anyone tells you that $300 will get you anywhere close to the pinnacle of acoustic guitar sound, they're either lying or full of...well you know.

There are several differences between the American Guild and the import.
With that said, the import is a great sounding guitar. It doesn't sound like the American D-40 but is has it's own very pleasant tone. Well worth looking at getting.

Didn't they both play Guild jumbo guitars?

I believe Paul Simon used a Guild F-30 Special early in the Simon & Garfunkel years and John Denver used some beautiful Guild jumbo guitars including the rare F-612 12-string with 18" lower bout.

This Epiphone is interesting.

The electronics won’t interfere with the guitar’s tone, but if you never plug in, there’s no reason to pay for them.

The all solid imported Guilds are very good guitars for the money, IMO. Of course, you can get a defective one, as with any other guitar (people find defects in Martins sometimes and send them back) so you want to have someone knowledgeable look at it if you don't feel qualified to check it out yourself.

The US Guilds have a nitro finish, the imports a poly finish. Not sure if there is any difference in neck profile. I think both use bone nuts, pins and saddles. The imports have a little more bling than all but the more expensive U.S. Guilds.

I have a New Hartford made F-30 std., the U.S. built equivalent of the OM-140. It feels better to me and sounds better to me than the imported OM-140s I have seen (which are very nice guitars) but without having them together to compare, I have a hard time articulating why

I picked up a used Guild D-120ce. It had such a great tone that when I first played it I raced home to get my trade in gear to make it happen. It sits between my Avalon and Larrivee and gets as much playing time as they do.

The 120 and 140 series are some of the most well built guitar i find on it's respective price range. Sounds good and plays very easy as well.

The MIA Guilds are similar to MIA Alvarez and Yamaha in that they are well made, play well and sound good. They are all excellent values. It will come down to personal preference in specs, comfort and sound. They should be common enough that you should make an effort to try a couple of each.

Martins don't have defects...

Nope...uh-uh...no way...

Just nasty rumors started by malcontent "end users"...

Imagining things - that's all...

Nothing to see here - keep moving... :rolleyes:

I believe guitars with arch backs have to be laminated for the backs for construction reasons.

Last time I looked, the MIC Guilds had a 16" fretboard radius (like a Martin), and the MIA ones were 12" (Gibson and some vintage Guilds)

I find the 12" radius much harder to play.

6stringedRamble wrote:

If you want to talk about sheer numbers, the "sound of the folk revival of the 60s" was more likely to be the sound of inexpensive but surprisingly good-sounding Goya guitars that were made in Sweden and sold to kids who saved their allowances to buy them. Plenty of Guild guitars got purchased by those who could afford them, as were Martins and Gibsons, and on the lower priced end of the scale Harmonys, Kays and you name it.

But to single out one guitar brand as being "sound of the folk revival of the 60s" is fanboy hyperbole and should be recognized as such.

6stringedRamble continued:

Maybe yes, maybe no. Some pickup systems dampen a small amount of the acoustic tone, others don't have any discernible effect. It depends on the type of electronics.

If you don't plan to plug in when you play don't go spending extra money to get a guitar with electronics, but if you like the sound of a guitar that does have a pickup installed and can afford the instrument, don't let the presence of electronics put you off buying it.

I own a number of guitars that have electronics installed: in fact, all of my guitars that I gig with have pickups in them. Now, in most cases I've purchased the guitars without electronics and then had the pickups of my choice installed (mostly pickups made by LR Baggs or K&K,) and all of those instruments still have a great acoustic sound. So there's no automatic loss of acoustic tone involved.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

if the one you're interested in, can in any way compare to my Westerly 1215 12 string, I'd say check em out. You'll probably want a good setup, but ime, my guild is very well made and, once I got all the setup rats out of the way, it's excellent.

I still wonder whether or not I would try a good ol' all mahogany M20.
I was reluctant to try newer made in China M120, but my recent experience with other brands of chinese made guitars showed me they now can craft good guitars as many brands used to subcontract there in the last decade.
Now, my choice is limited by my minimal nut width requirement : 1 3/4"
I got last year a Guild F-30 with a 1 3/4" nut with : great.
I had got a great sounding F-30 SB 1973, but had to let her go because of too narrow string spacing.
From what I read on some forums, beware of those with carbon block that apparently wronged Guild good reputation.