Opinions on Guild Guitars?

[Mr. Jelly]

What's the story on Guild guitars. To catch up on which ones might be good used guitars to purchase one would have to be a Guild guitar geek.

[Brucebubs]

No it's actually quite simple.
Guild guitars are excellent.

If asked to choose I'd say I favour their jumbo guitars in both 6 and 12-string.

[Paddy1951]

As with ALL guitars, it comes down to the individual guitar you are considering. In general, I think Guilds are good guitars. Play them. If you find the one that sounds right to YOU, and it is satisfactory to you otherwise, buy it.

[KenL]

Fabulous guitars. I favor those built in Westerly, RI from the late '70s through the '80s.

I'd advise you to find a D-46 like mine, but good luck with that! You just don't see them. The D-50 is the workhorse of the dreads, and they are just simply outstanding guitars.

[Guitaurman]

The owner of my local independent guitar shop, and one hell of a player for decades, told me he thinks that back in the 70s, Guilds were better guitars in general than either Martin or Gibson. I own an older Westerly made Guild 12 string. They had double truss rods in the necks. Many people think no mass produced 12 string surpasses a Guild. Some may prefer the sound of another brand but they are a high quality instruments. Bottom line...they are great sounding quality built guitars, whether six or 12 sstring.

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

No it's actually quite simple.
Guild guitars are excellent.

If asked to choose I'd say I favour their jumbo guitars in both 6 and 12-string.

Originally Posted by KenL

Fabulous guitars. I favor those built in Westerly, RI from the late '70s through the '80s.

I agree! I only know about Guild jumbos, but they are absolutely tremendous. I recently got a custom shop Gibson J-45, and it just didn't stand up to the Guild F-50R shown below. Had to let the Gibby go. Of course, comparing a dread to a jumbo isn't exactly fair, but still....

Unless they're brand new coming out of Oxnard (which are a bit pricey), they are typically great deals, too. I favor those built in New Hartford, mainly because they're not so old and less likely to need some work done. But like Ken says, lots of folks swear by those early Westerly builds. But really, those coming out of Corona or Tacoma are typically just as excellent.

Try 'em, you'll like 'em!

F-50R

[$ongWriter]

I had a guitar teacher about 15 years ago that had a sunburst D-55...I've wanted one ever since...especially one of those that Ren Ferguson had a hand in....

[ParisStarlight]

I thought I was in the market for a Gibson (probably J-45) about five years ago. I was even planning on a new guitar. A friend who worked at a guitar shop at the time convinced me to check out a 1974 Guild D-25M. My shopping was over and I had an amazing guitar at a third the cost of the new Gibson. The common consensus is that, unlike most makers, Guild never really suffered a slump period. If they are good enough for John Denver and Tom Petty they are good enough for me! Play some, I think you’ll find you might like them. Also, most Guild aficionado think then current US made line up is at the top of their game.

[ClaptonWannabe2]

In the Taylor v. Martin argument that is similar to Mercedes v. BMW argument.

Guild is like an Audi.

[robey]

I've always been fond of M20s and F20s.

[Guitaurman]

Originally Posted by ClaptonWannabe2

In the Taylor v. Martin argument that is similar to Mercedes v. BMW argument.

Guild is like an Audi.

No way! I once owned an Audi. It was absolutely the worst vehicle I ever owned. Like all German cars it was high maintenance. It also was less dependable than anything I ever owned by a long shot.

While Guilds have been know to need a neck reset as any brand might, they aren't as easy to do as some others. My Guild stays in tune better than my Audi did. It always sounds great, unlike that fine example of superior German engineering.

My Audi finally was hit while sitting in my driveway. The insurance adjuster totaled the car and offered to sell it back to me at a greatly discounted price. I told her, "Get your car out of my driveway!" I would never tell anyone to get my Guild out of here. Unlike that Audi it's a keeper!

[ClaptonWannabe2]

Originally Posted by Guitaurman

No way! I once owned an Audi. It was absolutely the worst vehicle I ever owned. Like all German cars it was high maintenance. It also was less dependable than anything I ever owned by a long shot.

While Guilds have been know to need a neck reset as any brand might, they aren't as easy to do as some others. My Guild stays in tune better than my Audi did. It always sounds great, unlike that fine example of superior German engineering.

My Audi finally was hit while sitting in my driveway. The insurance adjuster totaled the car and offered to sell it back to me at a greatly discounted price. I told her, "Get your car out of my driveway!" I would never tell anyone to get my Guild out of here. Unlike that Audi it's a keeper!

You sure that wasn't a Volkswagen?

To clarify. I LOVE guilds. I think Audis are purty. I've never tried to maintain either.

[Orfeas]

The F50R was my first acoustic. Big sound. Massive. Then I got a Tacoma D55 but felt out of love with Ds in general. I love Guild guitars.

[1Charlie]

Simply put, '70's and early '80's Guilds are the best bang for the buck out there.

Take your pick, from the smallest (F-20 or M-20) to the largest (F-50 or F-50R). All are exceptional bargains.

A D-25 for $600-$700 will knock your socks off!

[Nick S]

I still have my very worn 1976 D-35 SB, refretted by the late Eddie Diehl. In the 70's I took some lessons with Barry Kornfeld in New York. He was playing a Tommy Smothers Model and was, I think, featured in the Guild catalog.