Guild D-40 Electric - Hoboken Years

[badposture]

Looking for any info on the D-40 Electric from the late 1960s. The Guild books are quite pricey so I have yet to buy one…

If you own a vintage D-40 Electric, I would love to hear about it!

On the internet, I’ve only found two instances of this model, in addition to my own. One of them was bought and resold on Reverb about a year ago for quite a lot of money. The other was actually called a D-40 Special and there is no sales record.

All models share a rosewood pickup and Guild-installed tone and volume knobs on the upper right of the top. The pickup sports 2 white stripes that run parallel to the length of the pickup; mine, however does not have the white stripes.

They also seem to have various headstock designs. I believe all three that I’ve seen are different—a painted “Guild”, perloid “Guild”, and a perloid “Guild” & fluted chesterfield.

All models have Hoboken labels. The two models I spotted online have lower AJ serials, suggesting they were in fact made in Hoboken. My model has an AJ prefix but the number exceeds the Guild website’s Hoboken era, thus it does not have an official “home” in any serial class.

Tuners vary across these guitars, between covered grovers and more “vintage style” open tuners.

Lastly, my model lacks the stamped serial on the back of the headstock, which to me seems peculiar but maybe it’s more common than I’m aware of.

To verify my Guild cred—The only acoustic guitars I own are a Guild D-40 Electric and a 1973 Guild D-50. I am in love with these guitars and, for the price, they are so worth it. I had my D-40 refretted (among other small restorations) and my D-50 has had both a refret and a neck reset.

 

[SFIV1967]

My model has an AJ prefix but the number exceeds the Guild website’s Hoboken era, thus it does not have an official “home” in any serial class.

Not a problem, if her serial number is > AJ3218 she simply is a 1970 made one... She was probably made in Westerly already.

Apr 1970 price list:



She's got a pickup made and supplied by Hagström in Sweden (="special built-in Guild pick-up"):





Ralf

 

[Stuball48]

Welcome badposture to a wonderful group of guitar folks. One member, Hans Moust, wrote "The Guild Guitar Book" in which he shares information you will be interested in.
Check your PM for photos of information in his book.

 

[chazmo]

To verify my Guild cred—The only acoustic guitars I own are a Guild D-40 Electric and a 1973 Guild D-50. I am in love with these guitars and, for the price, they are so worth it. I had my D-40 refretted (among other small restorations) and my D-50 has had both a refret and a neck reset.

Welcome aboard, badposture. If you have an opportunity, take some pictures of your D-40E and D-50. And, if you have any questions, let us know.

 

[Ncrews]

I have one of these. Like you, when I acquired mine I sought information on it, but found very little online until I checked in with the great folks here, who were (as always) very helpful.

Mine dates to 1967, and I think I recall Hans telling me in his post that was the first year Guild made available the pick-up option. Mine has no label so I have no idea if it was sold as a D-40E or D-40 Special. As far as I can see the addition of the pickup was the only thing unique about it.

It's hard to tell but I think mine has had a neck reset, new frets (unless it was virtually unplayed in its past) and a new nut and saddle. The overall condition is excellent with no cracks, and so on. The action and set-up is spot on, and it was that way when I got it. I really wasn't in the market for a new guitar when I bought it but I got it for $600, so I went for it. I'm glad I did; it's really nice, especially at that price-point.

I suppose most would consider the Hagström pickup primitive by today's standards, but I sort of like the electrified sound. I play it through a 1965 Fender Deluxe re-issue tube amp. My only complaint about the pickup is there is a fairly evident difference in volume from string to string (the B-string is especially loud). If anyone has any suggestions for correcting that I'd love to hear them. All the electronics work fine in mine. But the volume variance is sort of an irritant sometimes. I just sort of roll with it though because the guitar is so unique in look, sound and vibe.

I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine.

 

[adorshki]

I suppose most would consider the Hagström pickup primitive by today's standards, but I sort of like the electrified sound. I play it through a 1965 Fender Deluxe re-issue tube amp. My only complaint about the pickup is there is a fairly evident difference in volume from string to string (the B-string is especially loud). If anyone has any suggestions for correcting that I'd love to hear them.

2 thoughts: I'd be a bit surprised if there wasn't some type of height adjustment for the pole pieces, but being such a new idea, I guess it's possible. Which also makes me think, what's your action height?

Second thought is that both mass and alloy can affect sensitivity, and "B", being unwound, has greater mass for its gauge than the wounds, which may also be "damped" by their windings.