If you couldn't play a Guild, what would you play?

If the world was devoid of Guilds, what would you favor to play on a regular basis? Name either a brand or an individual model guitar.
For me, I'd have to say I'd spend a whole lot more time with my Bourgeois OM, if Guilds weren't around.
tj

Bernabe Imperial classical
Pawless steel string 6 and 12
Probably Heritage archtops.
Brad

Martin 000-18, preferably a 1943 model.
That would do just fine. :wink:

Joe

Gibson Dove most likely...

my '30 2-17 can keep me contented, but its not something i would care to bring to open mikes.
i had a 1998 Martin OM1 that was just great to gig with & i really miss that guitar.
i'd probably try to replace it with a similar OM-style Martin.

Big Larrivee fan here, old or new, they are great... Steffan

Well, here are some that I actually do play:

Aria Pro II SB R-60 bass
Levin C12 classical
Daion Caribou steel-string acoustic
Bacchus electrics

beinhard

If I didn't have my Guilds, I'd be pretty happy with the Martin D18DC and the Collings D2H. They're both fantastic guitars, and I didn't spend crazy money for either of them. still love my Guilds though!

I would hold on tight to the Dove and the LG01, and probably look for a reasonably priced HD28V to make up for the lack of DV52....

I (re-)found Guild only pretty recently in relative terms. If I hadn't been so taken with what I actually played on the music store wall, I'd probably still be buying Taylors these days.

That said, my series I Ibanez Artwoods were where I started thirty years ago when I bought one in Sam Ash after saving up an entire summer's worth of wages fixing rejected printed circuit boards for the Ademco alarm company. Those guitars are really fantastic and I would've been increasing my collection at this point if Guild weren't in the picture.

Well shouldn't there be some limitations to this question. For example, saying that I would choose a PW Santa Cruz OM (~$3500) if I couldn't have my ($550) F30 just doesn't seem fair. Completely different price ranges. But, I love these questions and they give me real bad GAS so I will give 2 answers:

1. If I had to stay within a comparable price range, I would probably hang on tight to my 000-15. It sounds great, looks great and is really easy to play. For something rosewood...thats tough. I don't know of too many good guitars in the <$1000 pricerange. Maybe an Epiphone EF500R or a Recording King of some sort. Oh and I second Bluesy about his LG01. I would try to get one of those.

2. Now if I could pick anything, that is even tougher. I like the feel and playability of the OM21. It's got a great neck so I would start there. I would find myself an old 00 or 000 18 series Martin or get a custom made 000-18GE with a low profile neck.


...I'll probably be back with more answers.

Acoustic: pre-war Vega, Washburn ... or ...

Recording King.





Electric: Gibson ES125tdc.

Those who have heard me play have already offered the opinion that I cannot play a Guild.

this is a tough question.
but a bit easier for bass. this would be my franken esp jazz bass as a 4-string and if I might get rich for a 5-string one of these:
the red one: http://www.lefay.de/deutsch/bass_rob.html
or one of these with a maple fretboard:
http://www.dingwallguitars.com/products/z-series/z3/

for leccies I'd probably play at least one custom guitar similar to my nightingale.

for accoustics I don't have the slightest idea, definately I'd have to search again for a suitable instrument.

but thank god there are my old guilds. :lol:

When I was shopping & got my Guild D25, there was a Martin I tried that almost sucked me in, despite a rosewood, rather than mahogany back. It was a GC special model, for around $1100, and a surprisingly nicer guitar than it should have been. If I couldn't have the Martin D18 I used to have, I guess that would have been it, though I'd want to look into a used Breedlove, American made preferred, rather than Atlas, though, like GAD's, they're among the better imports.

Martin D-28
Gibson J-45
Martin 000

Not very inventive, but there you have it.

For 6-string, Martin HD-35 or M-36. For 12-string, I probably just wouldn't bother, if I couldn't have a Guild....

Well, I might not have an acoustic at all if it weren't for all the talk around here! :lol:

As for electrics, probably an SG. That's what started me down the S-100 road. Now I find myself tempted by an SG again - a 2010 SG Classic (with P90's). I wonder about Gibson's quality these days though. And it has a gig bag, not a case (although it's the original heavy padded one).

capnjuan said:

Acoustic: pre-war Vega, Washburn ... or ...

Recording King.

Electric: Gibson ES125tdc.

Click to expand...

Have you tried/own a recording king? They are certainly interesting guitars...

If I couldn't have a Guild I would be like everyone else!

BurstD55 said:

... Have you tried/own a recording king? They are certainly interesting guitars...

Click to expand...

Hi Burst; .... 'interesting' ... damnation by faint praise? :wink:

Subject to one condition, I think I'd enjoy owning and playing any pre-war, US-made, lesser-grade guitar. Before WW2, Recording King was the in-house brand at Montgomery Wards ... a US retail and catalog company that also featured other musical essentials like washing machines and underwear; I don't know who owns the brand today. The Recording King in the pic was owned by John Fahey who is said to have broken it over his +1's head in drunken fit. Naturally I'm opposed to violence against guitars ......... and people too. :wink:

I'm old enough to remember, as part of the resurgence of folk music in the late '50s, my brother and his friends playing scratchy Alan Lomax / Library of Congress recordings of black musicians playing/singing the blues and white guys singing everything from genuine hill music to the whinny Bill Monroe-style stuff and I'll bet you a set of strings and a new polishing cloth that hardly any were playing Martins, Strombergs, or other high-line brands. I'd agree with you that they probably would have preferred something higher-end but if I sounded as good as they did with their instruments, that would be okay with me.

Provided they were playable, I'd be happy with a Recording King ... or a Stella like Leadbelly's .. or a Harmony ... or any of the other lesser brands. I'd agree with you that most as-found older guitars aren't in such good shape but that's what luthiers are for. Cheers.