The D-25 doesn't need to be introduced on this board: it is considered a classic of the Westerly era, and they receive (and deserve) a lot of love from the Guild fans, despite of the fact that they were considered the entry model of the Guild range. In particular, the most sought after are the first incarnation with flat back and mahogany top and the second one, with a laminated arched back and spruce top.
The latter reimaned on catalogue for various decades without remarkable changes, until the closure of the Westerly plant, and it was offered in various finishes including NT (natural), M(mahogany) and SB (sunburst). Sunburst guitars are not as common as the natural or the cherry ones, and it's difficult to find one in good shape. That's the reason why I bidded this particular guitar. Fortunately, I got her for a fairly decent price, 620$, plus shipping and custom duties (very reasonable this time, 30 euros).
Everytime you purchase a guitar online is a rick, because you don't know how it's going to play, this time I was lucky: the guitar arrived today,looks good and plays good as well:
I think that everybody here is familiar with the instrument, anyway a short description is mandatory: this is a 1981 D-25, mahogany neck, sides and back, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, traditional dradnought style, VERY spartan features: a gold decal logo, single ply black binding on the back, fiveply b/w/b/w/b binding on the top, no binding on the headstock and fingerboard. Pearloid dot on the fifth, seventh, ninth and fifteenth fret, double on the twelth (no dot on the third fret).
It seems that with the beginning of the 80s Guild decided to upgrade the open back tuners used on the seventies' D-25s with a set of Schaller M6, that are original on this instrument (they branded Guild) and it's the only "modern" note of the guitar...for the other specs, the instrument could be a dreadnaught of the 40s or 30s.
What makes this guitar "special" at least to me is the tobacco sunburst finish, very beautiful on the top, and also very dark, as it can be noted in the pics. I was a little surprised to notice that the finish was sprayed OVER the traditional pickguard, and over the rosette, with the result that the decoration of the rosette ( two separate circles, the inner is single, the outer one is double) an the tortoise pattern of the pickguard can be noticed just in the tobacco teardrop area of the top:
The two white layers of the binding make a nice contrast with the almost black finish, while the rest of the instrument, neck, sides and arched back are finished in a very dark shade of cherry, that results almost burgundy, so dark that it's difficult to see where the black binding:
The nut, pins and saddle are made of cheap plastic, in particular, the pins are horrible and bent in order to prevent to slide off, while the saddle seems non original because very white, while the rest is aged ivory. Very beautiful on the other side, the rosewood of the bridge. This guitar looks VERY well, although it's not mint: there are several dings on the top, the back shows some buckle wear and the nitrocellulouse around the tuners are bubbled and show the mahogany underneath. This guitar was meant to be played, and was played a lot thorugh the years, but with some respect.
The guitar came with a black case with a Guild sticker, I don't know if it's original, and a set of fresh D'Addario phosphor bronze strings. Since I want to upgrade the plastic parts with bone, I decided to keep these strings, and I just worked a little the saddle in order to lower the action:
After this brief set up of the action and half a turn of the truss rod (that works flawlessly after 28 years, testament to the sturdiness of the old Guilds) I found the guitar being extremely confortable to play, even more than my new CV-2C and on the range of my Ovation, although the rosewoood of the fingerboard is pretty worn (one of his owners loved the D chord very much). The sound is what can be expected from a vintage guitar: the seasoned woods deliver a dry, crisp and brilliant sound, very well defined. Although dreads are usually meant for strumming, the D-25 can be used for solos or for fingerpicking, thanks to the definition of the single notes, unlike other guitars of the same shape. Probably the archback does play some role in this. As raw power, she doesn't seem the cannon other fans claim she is but the voice is strong and clear.
The guitar looks and sounds VERY good, this is what I expected. What I didn't expect is that a 28 years old guitar could be more confortable than modern instrument. As many know here, I'm not an hardcore fan of vintage instruments, because usually they have structural issues and they are quite limited in playing due to this. I don't think that this guitar will ever need a neck reset: it is built as a tank. The weight is also worthy of an armoured vehicle, and a brief inspection into the soundhole reveals the reasons: the neck block is the largest chunk of mahogany I've ever seen in an acoustic guitar, and the thickness of the X bracing is almost over the top. The guitar is definitely overengineered and that's a good thing, I see it difficult to imagine that thewer can be issues of neck resets or bridge lifting, if other D-25s have, I would guess that they had climatic problems (too much humidity, too dry etc..). The weight of the mahogany is also noticeable: the guitar is noticeably neck heavy, not that's a problem, it's almost reassuring. It is common in guitars of that era (Gibson Les Paul first) to find very dense woods,but this is the first time, at least for me, that I find this quality of mahogany in an acoustic instrument.
In conclusion, the only thing that I can say is that the D-25 is a great guitar and a great design. If you want a vintage sound without spending a lot and without worries, the spartan D-25 is the answer to your requirements.
The latter reimaned on catalogue for various decades without remarkable changes, until the closure of the Westerly plant, and it was offered in various finishes including NT (natural), M(mahogany) and SB (sunburst). Sunburst guitars are not as common as the natural or the cherry ones, and it's difficult to find one in good shape. That's the reason why I bidded this particular guitar. Fortunately, I got her for a fairly decent price, 620$, plus shipping and custom duties (very reasonable this time, 30 euros).
Everytime you purchase a guitar online is a rick, because you don't know how it's going to play, this time I was lucky: the guitar arrived today,looks good and plays good as well:
I think that everybody here is familiar with the instrument, anyway a short description is mandatory: this is a 1981 D-25, mahogany neck, sides and back, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, traditional dradnought style, VERY spartan features: a gold decal logo, single ply black binding on the back, fiveply b/w/b/w/b binding on the top, no binding on the headstock and fingerboard. Pearloid dot on the fifth, seventh, ninth and fifteenth fret, double on the twelth (no dot on the third fret).
It seems that with the beginning of the 80s Guild decided to upgrade the open back tuners used on the seventies' D-25s with a set of Schaller M6, that are original on this instrument (they branded Guild) and it's the only "modern" note of the guitar...for the other specs, the instrument could be a dreadnaught of the 40s or 30s.
What makes this guitar "special" at least to me is the tobacco sunburst finish, very beautiful on the top, and also very dark, as it can be noted in the pics. I was a little surprised to notice that the finish was sprayed OVER the traditional pickguard, and over the rosette, with the result that the decoration of the rosette ( two separate circles, the inner is single, the outer one is double) an the tortoise pattern of the pickguard can be noticed just in the tobacco teardrop area of the top:
The two white layers of the binding make a nice contrast with the almost black finish, while the rest of the instrument, neck, sides and arched back are finished in a very dark shade of cherry, that results almost burgundy, so dark that it's difficult to see where the black binding:
The nut, pins and saddle are made of cheap plastic, in particular, the pins are horrible and bent in order to prevent to slide off, while the saddle seems non original because very white, while the rest is aged ivory. Very beautiful on the other side, the rosewood of the bridge. This guitar looks VERY well, although it's not mint: there are several dings on the top, the back shows some buckle wear and the nitrocellulouse around the tuners are bubbled and show the mahogany underneath. This guitar was meant to be played, and was played a lot thorugh the years, but with some respect.
The guitar came with a black case with a Guild sticker, I don't know if it's original, and a set of fresh D'Addario phosphor bronze strings. Since I want to upgrade the plastic parts with bone, I decided to keep these strings, and I just worked a little the saddle in order to lower the action:
After this brief set up of the action and half a turn of the truss rod (that works flawlessly after 28 years, testament to the sturdiness of the old Guilds) I found the guitar being extremely confortable to play, even more than my new CV-2C and on the range of my Ovation, although the rosewoood of the fingerboard is pretty worn (one of his owners loved the D chord very much). The sound is what can be expected from a vintage guitar: the seasoned woods deliver a dry, crisp and brilliant sound, very well defined. Although dreads are usually meant for strumming, the D-25 can be used for solos or for fingerpicking, thanks to the definition of the single notes, unlike other guitars of the same shape. Probably the archback does play some role in this. As raw power, she doesn't seem the cannon other fans claim she is but the voice is strong and clear.
The guitar looks and sounds VERY good, this is what I expected. What I didn't expect is that a 28 years old guitar could be more confortable than modern instrument. As many know here, I'm not an hardcore fan of vintage instruments, because usually they have structural issues and they are quite limited in playing due to this. I don't think that this guitar will ever need a neck reset: it is built as a tank. The weight is also worthy of an armoured vehicle, and a brief inspection into the soundhole reveals the reasons: the neck block is the largest chunk of mahogany I've ever seen in an acoustic guitar, and the thickness of the X bracing is almost over the top. The guitar is definitely overengineered and that's a good thing, I see it difficult to imagine that thewer can be issues of neck resets or bridge lifting, if other D-25s have, I would guess that they had climatic problems (too much humidity, too dry etc..). The weight of the mahogany is also noticeable: the guitar is noticeably neck heavy, not that's a problem, it's almost reassuring. It is common in guitars of that era (Gibson Les Paul first) to find very dense woods,but this is the first time, at least for me, that I find this quality of mahogany in an acoustic instrument.
In conclusion, the only thing that I can say is that the D-25 is a great guitar and a great design. If you want a vintage sound without spending a lot and without worries, the spartan D-25 is the answer to your requirements.
