D-50 vs D-28

[6L6]

I'd hazard a guess that only dedicated players know the brand.

I think you're right about that. But, apparently, that is enough to keep the company going.

We've seen over the years that Fender has chosen to barely advertise this brand of instruments. They've had the money to have done so, but (at least so far) have voted not to.

Lack of knowledge by the buying public will certainly hurt Guild sales. But then, for those of us in the know, it probably means fewer instruments will be built and therefore more time will be spent building them. AND... the Guild legend for great instruments at reasonable prices continues on. Not really a bad scenario...

Word-of-mouth will no doubt continue to be the advertising tool of choice for Guild. And that ain't all bad!

adorshki: I feel your pain about a lack of Guild dealers around Silicon Valley. Guitar Showcase told me recently that they are dropping the brand. That leaves only Gelb Music in Redwood City (they have a new D-40 and D-50 in stock now) that's nearby.

6

'77 D-50
'74 D-40
'06 D-55
'06 F-412

 

[jgwoods]

Sad but true - that finding a few American made Guilds to try out is mighty hard to do. Gibsons too for that matter, while Martins are pretty easy to find.
I can find scads of GADs but nothing made in USA, and it's the D40 and D50 from New Hartford that most interest me.

 

[devellis]

Yeah, I'm not aware of anyone who stocks American Guilds in this neck of the woods. I think it's very hard for someone who doesn't know the brand (and intentionally go looking for it) to stumble onto a Guild, compare it to a Martin or Taylor, and make an informed decision about which is best.

Also, in addition to all its advertising and retail presence, Martin has one of the most devout owner followings of any brand. Many Martin folks will dismiss anything that isn't from Nazareth out of hand. New players get exposed to this perspective and some, no doubt, are reluctant to face the ridicule from the Martin enthusiasts.

Martin makes lots of great guitars but I just don't understand that kind of blind loyalty to any product. Although there's plenty of Guild love around here, people seem to have a more balanced perspective and the Guilds seem to earn praise more on their merits than purely because of brand loyalty. Or maybe you guys and gals just have me completely brainwashed!!

 

[adorshki]

adorshki: I feel your pain about a lack of Guild dealers around Silicon Valley. Guitar Showcase told me recently that they are dropping the brand. That leaves only Gelb Music in Redwood City (they have a new D-40 and D-50 in stock now) that's nearby.

AS long as we're veering on the issue of availability something else occurs to me: then where the h--l ARE all the new builds going? HOW can a dealer get away with having TWO instruments on hand?! Then I realize, maybe there's a LOT of "ordering" going on? I'm realizing I never really met a Guild I didn't like, and maybe the guys buying 'em know that too, and don't mind ordering up a factory fresh axe. They KNOW they're gonna be satisfied, maybe?

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I agree that a Guild D-50 is closer to a Martin HD-28.
They still sound very different from each other though.
If I had my choice of which one that I could have for free, I would take the Martin.
I would then sell it, buy the Guild and pocket the difference in price.

 

[GardMan]

I agree that a Guild D-50 is closer to a Martin HD-28.
They still sound very different from each other though.
If I had my choice of which one that I could have for free, I would take the Martin.
I would then sell it, buy the Guild and pocket the difference in price.

I like that!

 

[taabru45]

Hardly predictable. :lol: :lol: Steffan

 

[bunuel]

The funny thing about this & so many posts on this forum, is that many folks seem to imagine the guitars currently & recently produced with "guild" logos somehow have something to do with the guitar produced by the company before they were bought out by Fender. They clearly don't. There's now a fairly consistent flux in where they're made & what models & there's a considerable lineup of offshored production unheard of during the era of real guilds.

As a feller I've played w/ for yrs says about his blackface deluxe: it was made when L. Fender still worked there before he was forced out, you'd have to be nuts to believe anything recently made by "fender" have anything to to do with Leo.

Slag Martin's all you wish, but at least they're still primarily made in PA and owned, at least, partially by the Martin family. I love Westerly Guilds, but I've been playing very recent Martins (D-18, HD-28, and D-35) for a recording project & Martin is plainly back to producing great guitars, based on what I've played. Would I trade my murderously good Guild D-40 for those Martins? Probably not on a bet, but I do have a LOT more respect for the modern Martins & the current modern company than I do for FMIC and anything produced by them.

Face it folks, the real Guild died a long time ago!

 

[Dr. Spivey]

Hey bunuel,
So did the "real" Guild cease to exist when Al Dronge died in 1972? Or was the "real" era over when Avnet came to town in '66? By your standards, I'm having difficulty determining what is real. Please help me. I'm so confused. :roll:

 

[jgwoods]

Fender, Martin, Guild, Taylor, and others make guitars in Mexico- I guess all those companies are dead and gone now? That's a bit silly.
Even when Guild and martin made all their guitars in the USA they brought in the wood from elsewhere- we don't grow much rosewood or mahogany here so there has always been foreign content in the most American of guitars.
My interest here is in the d-28, or HD-28, built in PA as compared to the D-50 built in CT maybe 100 miles away...well built traditional, but with some modern interpretation, examples of the fine American dreadnoughts.
I don't care who owns them, or how many other models they make outside of the USA, the core reason for being is the PA and CT guitars now and they make excellent stuff. I wish Guild well.

 

[devellis]

{veerage ahead}

I think Martins are great. I have a 1945 017-T and a couple of vintage Martin mandolins (1902 and 1919). I like the idea that the family has held onto the company. But changes in Martin from generation to generation have in some cases been as big as changes in ownership. CSM IV's dad changed things under his regime as much or more than happens when a new owner buys a company out but keeps the old management team (e.g., Avnet buying out Guild but keeping Al as president). At Gibson, virtually every significant instrument was developed after Orville sold the company to investors. The Lloyd Loar era was a financial disaster and they gave him the boot. I guess what I'm saying is that these venerable old companies have been mythologized to a degree. Yes, they are great companies with illustrious histories. They have produced many wonderful instruments. But their histories don't imbue them with infallibility.

People have all-to-brief lifespans. So, in the long run a company has to achieve continuity in other ways. Among these is preserving the integrity of designs and materials. Martin has done this very successfully, especially with its Authentic and Golden Era lines. I think the Guild traditional line has done likewise to a pretty high degree. Yes, there are changes but there are also differences in the Martin guitars and the models on which they are based. Likewise at Gibson, with its re-issues.

The jury's still out on whether the latest crop of Guilds will meet, surpass, or fall short of earlier examples bearing the Guild badge. But early signs are encouraging. They have pretty much retained the design and materials of the earlier Guilds. If the build quality and voice are there, I'm perfectly happy considering them as authentic Guild instruments no matter who sits at the top of the corporate ladder. Of course, if they prove lacking in those respects, then all they would do is tarnish the Guild name. So far, though, so good. Time will tell.

 

[devellis]

[accidental double post]

 

[P-E-Z]

I don't think ones better than the other.
Just different.

 

[DrRichie]

I've never played a D-50, but I own a Guild D-55 and a Martin HD-28. Some days I prefer the D-55, some days the HD-28. Overall, I think I prefer the D-55 more days than not, but it depends upon the day and what I am playing. While they are very different in tone and feel, they are both fabulous instruments. I think the D-55 shows up better when I'm recording though and I do reach for it first at those times.

 

[sitka_spruce]

I've been fortunate enough over the years to own some very nice dreadnaughts both Martin and Guild. I always wanted to love the Martins. I always really loved the Guilds.

I may have said it before but back when I had Martins and Gibsons, it was like people praised these guitars by their names but having heard the guitars they would go like:"Well, that's a good guitar." Now with my Guilds, people seem to know the name of the brand when mentioned as a quality instrument but have no actual reference. Then when they hear one played they'd go "Wow, that Guild sound just marvelous...!"

Tone might be subjective, but most people with some knowledge of guitars and some without have all reacted this way. Basically the same way I reacted when I first played my D212: perhaps not as dynamic as the Martin D18 and HD28 I had at the time but the soundstage was enormous I was left gasping for air. The strings on her at the time were absolutely dead, btw.

All said and done the Martins were all fine guitars; very dynamic and full but 'stiff'... The Gibsons I had a nice timbre to them, but sounded... well 'stiff'. The Seagull I had was actually more envolving but kind of too open in a mellow sense. The Guild seemed to have some of the dynamics and fullness of the Martins, some of the timbre of the Gibson and a hint of the open vibe of the Seagull. Kind of the best bits of all flavours.

 

[J45dale]

In response to bluepens question concerning the difference between a D-28 and a HD-28. I can only think of 3.
1.The Herringbone top trim is on the HD, not on the D.
2. The (IMHO), awful pixled or printed tortoise pick guard is on the HD, they use Black on the D.
3. They use 5/16 inch scalloped X braces on the HD. vs their standard 5/16th, non-scalloped braces on the D.
Both are sometimes referred to as rear shifted. The scalloped braces are used for a "more open, out of the box sound". To my ear, the D has a more compressed sound that some prefer for recording. To my ear both are fairly balanced. They use a forward shifted, scalloped, X brace pattern on their HD28V ( Vintage series). This pre-war placement further enhances the bass tone.
The above mentioned Martins have Sitka Spruce tops. As where the D50BS has Red Spruce, so here the comparing must stop, unless we compare the D50SB to the pricey but great Martin D28 Marquis. Add a few sea shells and we go into the 40s series.
Its hard to do a real A/B, and I have not even begin to discuss neck profiles,string spacings, nut and pin materials ect.
In the end it comes down to what you like.
To me Guilds sound like Guilds and Martins sound like Martins, I like both.
But for sure, Guild offers a lot of upscale features for the money.
Dale.

 

[sitka_spruce]

In response to bluepens question concerning the difference between a D-28 and a HD-28. I can only think of 3.
1.The Herringbone top trim is on the HD, not on the D.
2. The (IMHO), awful pixled or printed tortoise pick guard is on the HD, they use Black on the D.
3. They use 5/16 inch scalloped X braces on the HD. vs their standard 5/16th, non-scalloped braces on the D.
Both are sometimes referred to as rear shifted. The scalloped braces are used for a "more open, out of the box sound". To my ear, the D has a more compressed sound that some prefer for recording. To my ear both are fairly balanced. They use a forward shifted, scalloped, X brace pattern on their HD28V ( Vintage series). This pre-war placement further enhances the bass tone.
The above mentioned Martins have Sitka Spruce tops. As where the D50BS has Red Spruce, so here the comparing must stop, unless we compare the D50SB to the pricey but great Martin D28 Marquis. Add a few sea shells and we go into the 40s series.
Its hard to do a real A/B, and I have not even begin to discuss neck profiles,string spacings, nut and pin materials ect.
In the end it comes down to what you like.
To me Guilds sound like Guilds and Martins sound like Martins, I like both.
But for sure, Guild offers a lot of upscale features for the money.
Dale.

Actually the D28 is louder than the HD28. Takes a lot more power to drive the top though. Playing the D28 softly is like feeding a low power signal into a high power speaker: it will sound over damped.

The HD28 should have slightly better grade woods, but appart from that it's just a herringbone D28 with scalloped braces.

I too like both Martin and Guild, but I find my above statement quite fascinating. There's more of a hype surrounding Martin and a more general appreciation for Guild by the listeners.

 

[J45dale]

Jonas,
I agree with your thoughts on non-scalloped guitars requiring a more forceful play style to sound off.
I have 6 "standard" braced guitars, and they love aggressive flat picking.
My 2 scalloped braced guitars are more open and can be finger picked lightly. (But really sound off when punched hard.)
This is why D-18s and D-28s have such a large Bluegrass following.
So when buying a guitar a players music and play style becomes most important.
That said, because of tones and neck sizes ect. I still bear finger pick on all of my guitars...just harder.
So anything can be played on any guitar...but.
So the D50SB, red spruce top with scalloped top braces should really sound off with an aggressive flat-picking play style. This combined with the speedy string-spacing and value price should make it a real Bluegrass contender.
Just my thoughts,
Dale.

 

[JimB1]

The D-28 did have lighter strings, .011s, mine has either .012s or .013s.
Brad

Well, there's your problem. Martin dreads sound horrible with lights, just an observation but not a fair contest going lights vs mediums no mater how old the strings are. I personally like non-scalloped bracing for a lot of stuff so I couldn't even compare these two. They are too different, I'd like the D-28 for some songs and the D-50 for others so to me, they don't compete in the same areas.

That said, I've only played one D-50. I'd say the HD-28 is a better comparison. I have played the D-50 within an hour of playing a HD-28 and They were very comparable sounding to my ear. Maybe a bit more midrange on the D-50, I was in a store so I didn't give a really hard attack on either but I felt like the D-50 had more effortless volume then the HD-28. I liked the D-50 neck a little better too.

Of course as I said, I only tried the one D-50 so not sure if my observations would be the same on a different D-50

...and of course I'm a Mahogany type of guy so I wasn't particularly interested in either of them so take what I said as casual observation more then really studied research

-Jim

 

[JerryR]

I agree that a Guild D-50 is closer to a Martin HD-28.
They still sound very different from each other though.
If I had my choice of which one that I could have for free, I would take the Martin.
I would then sell it, buy the Guild and pocket the difference in price.

I like that!

I like that too A man who doesn't let his heart rule his head And maybe enough left over for a D25 say