Is it worth the upgrade from a Cort Earth 100 to a Guild D-120?

[Gwynth]

My current and first ever acoustic guitar is a Cort Earth 100, which tbh I really like. Should I expect a significant upgrade in sound and quality if I buy a Guild D-120 that is made of all-solid mahagony, but also double the price?

[Wellington]

It will be different but not necessarily better, especially with one having a spruce top and the other having a mahogany top. If you get a chance to try one that ephod be good, it may or may not suit your tastes.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Gwynth

My current and first ever acoustic guitar is a Cort Earth 100, which tbh I really like. Should I expect a significant upgrade in sound and quality if I buy a Guild D-120 that is made of all-solid mahagony, but also double the price?

Hi Gwynth…

First of all, Hello and welcome to the forum!. Glad you jumped in with a question.

There are 2 differences I see, (perhaps three).

• First, the tops are different woods.
• Second, the Guild's scale is ¾" (approximately) longer. It is 25.5" versus 24.75" for the Cort. This could mean the action on the Cort is a bit lighter, or that the projection of the Guild will be louder than the Cort.
• And third, the Guild is what I think of as a step up from the model the Cort would be grouped with in my mind. The Guild has scalloped bracing, Rosewood bridge and bone nut and saddle.
• A bonus difference is the Mahogany top of the Guild is likely to mellow over time. New Mahogany tops tend to be brighter (sometimes described as a bit harsh) and then mellow over time with regular playing. I've played many new Martin 15 & 17 series models and then played them a year later, and they are much mellower after a year or two of play.

It's hard to compare them in print versus playing both side-by-side. Not knowing if you acquired your Cort locally, or what's available to you, it's hard to make a sound recommendation. Even if a guitar shop has a good return policy, it's more money to order one, and find you prefer the one you own to it, and then ship it back. They look (on paper) like decent guitars.

Also, setup on ordered guitars is more 'iffy' than having local access. I will say if you work with Sweetwater Music they will do a setup more to your liking before it leaves their facility. They assign a customer rep to you if you order from them and you could have the action set to your liking before it ships, I think at no extra cost.

Hope this helps…again welcome to the group.

[Riakstonic]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Gwynth…

First of all, Hello and welcome to the forum!. Glad you jumped in with a question.

There are 2 differences I see, (perhaps three).

• First, the tops are different woods.
• Second, the Guild's scale is ¾" (approximately) longer. It is 25.5" versus 24.75" for the Cort. This could mean the action on the Cort is a bit lighter, or that the projection of the Guild will be louder than the Cort.
• And third, the Guild is what I think of as a step up from the model the Cort would be grouped with in my mind. The Guild has scalloped bracing, Rosewood bridge and bone nut and saddle.
• A bonus difference is the Mahogany top of the Guild is likely to mellow over time. New Mahogany tops tend to be brighter (sometimes described as a bit harsh) and then mellow over time with regular playing. I've played many new Martin 15 & 17 series models and then played them a year later, and they are much mellower after a year or two of play.

It's hard to compare them in print versus playing both side-by-side. Not knowing if you acquired your Cort locally, or what's available to you, it's hard to make a sound recommendation. Even if a guitar shop has a good return policy, it's more money to order one, and find you prefer the one you own to it, and then ship it back. They look (on paper) like decent guitars.

Also, setup on ordered guitars is more 'iffy' than having local access. I will say if you work with Sweetwater Music they will do a setup more to your liking before it leaves their facility. They assign a customer rep to you if you order from them and you could have the action set to your liking before it ships, I think at no extra cost.

Hope this helps…again welcome to the group.

Good advice , I don’t think the 120 will mellow much as the African mahogany has more highs and lows then Honduras mahogany.

I have OM 120 and I’m really impressed with its fundamentals. It’s not mellowed that I’m aware of If the D-120 is anything like it , it should sing quite well . [emoji4]

It will definitely be a bit warmer in tone . If brighter is wanted possible the Recording king RD 318/RD 328 might be of interest . I think price is kind of close and you can’t beat the quality woods used in this models.

[rstaight]

Gwynth, Welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of great folks here.

The best thing if you are able is to play the Guild. You may find that it is not to your taste. I will have a different sound profile than your Cort.

Then again you may find that it fills a void that your Cort doesn't fill.

Good luck on your search.

[L20A]

You are choosing between import guitars that are in a close price range.
There are hundreds of guitars in this price point.
You can have a lot of fun finding that Diamond in the Rough within all of these guitars.

What a guitar is worth in a case like this is all up to you and what sounds and plays good to you.

Enjoy the chase.

[Gwynth]

Thank you all for replying! For now I can say that I won't have the opportunity of playing and comparing any guitars at a guitar store soon.

Originally Posted by Riakstonic

Good advice , I don’t think the 120 will mellow much as the African mahogany has more highs and lows then Honduras mahogany.

I have OM 120 and I’m really impressed with its fundamentals. It’s not mellowed that I’m aware of If the D-120 is anything like it , it should sing quite well . [emoji4]

It will definitely be a bit warmer in tone . If brighter is wanted possible the Recording king RD 318/RD 328 might be of interest . I think price is kind of close and you can’t beat the quality woods used in this models.

I don't really know how to determine mellowness, brightness, warmth, etc. apart from defining the terms subjectively based on YouTube videos and my ear. (I've only ever tried two to three acoustics in person after all). If you could explain them briefly, I might get a better understanding. Besides that, I'm actually considering a few other models in the price range, including this same Recording King RD 328. But after reading a bunch of reviews on the product, it seems many people have had major setup issues out of the box, which would be a big problem, at least for me, knowing good build quality is one of the main things I'm looking for. The less I'll have to work around technical problems and tweak stuff the better.

Anyway, here are all the other models I'm trying to narrow down (with Guild overall taking the lead) that are also available online where I live:

Taylor Academy Series 10
Taylor Big Baby
Taylor GS Mini
Stanford DJ-45 Deja Vu Series
Stanford Drunken Daddy 28
Guild D-140 Westerly Series
Guild D-120 Westerly Series
Guild OM-120 Westerly Series
Recording King RD 328
Seagull S6
Yamaha LL6 A.R.E.
Alvarez MD70BG
Takamine GD93

Maybe I should make another separate post for this...

[rstaight]

Gwynth,

I see you are considering a Yamaha LL6 A.R.E. and a Takamine GD93.

First off Yamaha is well respected. It would serve you well.

Regarding the GD93, the GD93 is one of three Takamine's I own. You might say it's my work horse. It goes with me to all jams and the area festivals I play at.

One evening at a jam one of folks there was talking about using scales during a break in a song. Since was playing his banjo that night he asked if he use my guitar to show me. I said sure. He picked up the GD93 and said, "This is nice".

He never did show me what he wanted he was so enamored with guitar I just let him play.

Another time at a jam I had put new strings on that morning and did get them seated as well as I normally do. So, I took a minute to touch up my tuning. When I was done, I grabbed a nice fat G chord. The woman setting across from me said "That guitar sounds beautiful. I'm going to put my Alvarez away and just listen to yours".

At another jam a fiddle player asked, "Why does that guitar sound so good?". I told him it was the operator. He said I doubt it.

Honestly, I think it is the combination of the walnut sides and the walnut back with the maple insert.

I have had the guitar three years, almost four, and it is still running with the factory setup. My Takamine's have all come from the factory with excellent setup's.

Good luck on your search.

[TBman]

I have the D-120 (I play finger style).

It's not as good as my Pellerin. It's not as good as my Furch. It sounds better than it should though. The fit and finish is so-so. I bet though I could put it and my Furch in DADGAD and you would not be able to easily tell which is which in a recording.

[Gwynth]

Is anything different with that split saddle sound and feel-wise? If something happens to it, how hard would it be to find a replacement?

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Gwynth

Is anything different with that split saddle sound and feel-wise? If something happens to it, how hard would it be to find a replacement?

I just saw replacement split saddles for the Tak on Reverb and if the saddle is the same as Lowden's you can get it from them.

My Avalon has the split saddle and I never gave replacement a thought. My saddles have the same life as the guitars that they are in (so far)

[phavriluk]

OP: It is if you think so.

[Riakstonic]

Originally Posted by Gwynth

Thank you all for replying! For now I can say that I won't have the opportunity of playing and comparing any guitars at a guitar store soon.




I don't really know how to determine mellowness, brightness, warmth, etc. apart from defining the terms subjectively based on YouTube videos and my ear. (I've only ever tried two to three acoustics in person after all). If you could explain them briefly, I might get a better understanding. Besides that, I'm actually considering a few other models in the price range, including this same Recording King RD 328. But after reading a bunch of reviews on the product, it seems many people have had major setup issues out of the box, which would be a big problem, at least for me, knowing good build quality is one of the main things I'm looking for. The less I'll have to work around technical problems and tweak stuff the better.

Anyway, here are all the other models I'm trying to narrow down (with Guild overall taking the lead) that are also available online where I live:

Taylor Academy Series 10
Taylor Big Baby
Taylor GS Mini
Stanford DJ-45 Deja Vu Series
Stanford Drunken Daddy 28
Guild D-140 Westerly Series
Guild D-120 Westerly Series
Guild OM-120 Westerly Series
Recording King RD 328
Seagull S6
Yamaha LL6 A.R.E.
Alvarez MD70BG
Takamine GD93

Maybe I should make another separate post for this...

Major set up problems with the RD-328 ?

[Gwynth]

Originally Posted by Riakstonic

Major set up problems with the RD-328 ?

Yes, I read so in reviews on Thomann (www.thomannmusic.com) and a few YT videos. Anyhow, I already ordered a Guild D-140 in Antique Sunburst.

[rstaight]

One thing you might think about is diminishing returns. You will see a big difference between a guitar that is $150 and $500. When you go from $500 to $1000, still a difference, just not as much. With $1000 to $2000, there will be a difference but not as much as the $500 to $1000.

Once you hit $2000 at up, the difference is even smaller. You need to decide if it is worth it. Me, I stay under $1000, and everything suits me fine. There is one I will spend more money on.

The 2 guitars the OP asked about are roughly in the same price range.