Guild D25… Mahogany vs Spruce

[peachykeen]

Hi all, this is my first post here but I’m a longtime lurker. Maybe this is a bizarre question but how different are the arch back d25s when the only difference is the top wood? Is it similar to the way a d28 vs d18 would be?

So, quick story as to why I’m asking. Right before the pandemic I purchased a guild d25.. it was at guitar center for $579. It was the mahogany top/arch back model and I loved everything about it. Within a couple days of bringing it home there was a bunch of buzzing and the bridge was raising up…. … guitar center wouldn’t take it back or fix it because it was “vintage” so then the pandemic started and long story short, the guild stayed in its case.

Within the last couple months I decided to get it repaired. It ended up needing a neck reset, bridge reglue, and I installed a fairly expensive pickup system into it. Over $1000 spent on it. I almost didn’t do it because I have a nice Gibson J45 and a booteek $5000 acoustic I love but somehow I like the guild the most? every note sounds full.. it plays and sounds great but my big issue (and maybe it’s just my bias against mahogany tops being somewhat dull) is that I like hearing the individual notes in a chord. The guitar is almost too warm if that makes sense. Sometimes changing chords everything feels like it blurs together (?).

So I’m sitting here feeling like I have an amazing hog top guild but I have been thinking a lot about trying to find a nice spruce top d25 as that may be exactly what I’m looking for.

Just rambling. I hope you guys can see where I’m going with this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Westerly Wood]

I sold a really nice Santa Cruz dread cause I played my old D25 flatback more. Mine is all hog. I would dig a spruce top D25 arched too. I get it.

 

[ReevesRd]

Welcome to LTG! There are several members here that love the D-25. It's a great group with more knowledge of the Guild brand than I ever expected. Oh, by the way, we love photos.

 

[millrat]

When I bought my D25M I knew nothing about the differences in the D25 lineage. Thought that the top on mine was hog due to the dark stain. what model is yours per label etc?

 

[davismanLV]

When I bought my D25M I knew nothing about the differences in the D25 lineage. Thought that the top on mine was hog due to the dark stain. what model is yours per label etc?

Depends on the year. To my knowledge, which is lacking at times, the "M" designation meant mahogany stain on a spruce top. I think the hog top D25's did not use the M. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to prove me wrong.

 

[GGJaguar]

which is lacking at times,

An excellent disclaimer to ward off being Hans'd or Ralf'd too badly.

 

[geoguy]

Welcome, peachykeen . . .

Yes, a spruce-topped D25 would probably sound a bit brighter than a mahogany-topped D25.

Perhaps you could bring your current D25 along when test-driving a spruce-top version, and compare the two side-by-side before purchasing.

 

[Guildedagain]

Can't tell anything about the guitar without pics.

Maybe I'd trade a Spruce topped guitar for it, but it's just a visual thing for me, I've always wanted a nice natural mahogany topped dread, and I like oversaturation of overtones, they help cover up flaws in your playing that same way that Beck - Jeff - described a Strat as way forgiving and a Tele as being stark naked with your playing exposed.

 

[Guildedagain]

Probably one of the more maddening aspects of Guild collecting is collecting all of the transitions/variations of the 70's D25 model.

4 at least.

I stopped at two, but wish I could have kept going, and still gassing basically.

1973 D25 Cherry Cherry, too red for me.

'78 D25M (this is the guitar you need), too brown.

Oh but the tone on this one. It's best I forget.

 

[Brick]

I own a spruce topped D25, but have played around a bit with a Mahogany D25 (I think it was a 1973). They do sound different, one is not better than the other necessarily, they're just different.

 

[Guildedagain]

they're just different.

Way different. For me the Spruce topped arched back version was probably the best sounding Dreadnought I've ever owned, easily putting all others in the room to shame including '73 D35 that sounds just fine otherwise. It had huge bass, canon loud, with unexplainable sweetness of tone.

Having the '73, I could see that Guild used completely different Spruce in the '78, different species, and obviously quite good. Although, the arched back only makes it better.

I should graft an archback on my D35 for tone and projection, but actually I prefer flat back guitars because they're much more stable on their backs, and lighter.

Now remembering that all this tone came at a price, the '78 was a "tank", weighing 5.4lbs instead of the inverse 4.5lbs of the '73 D35.

The one I'm still really gassing for is a flatback, natural hog top D25, but already having a rediculous amount of Dreads, this is definitely not a need.

 

[Westerly Wood]

The one I'm still really gassing for is a flatback, natural hog top D25, but already having a ridiculous amount of Dreads, this is definitely not a need.

I have one of these, for 10+ years now. I still want an arched back spruce top D25 lol. I find the flatback all hog original D25s to be a bit dark and subdued in terms of tone and projection.

 

[Guildedagain]

Grass is always greener somewhere else, right?

 

[GGJaguar]

Grass is always greener somewhere else, right?

Usually over the septic tank.

 

[geoguy]

Usually over the septic tank.

Yep, according to Erma Bombeck . . .

 

[E-Type]

Hi all, this is my first post here but I’m a longtime lurker. Maybe this is a bizarre question but how different are the arch back d25s when the only difference is the top wood? Is it similar to the way a d28 vs d18 would be?

So, quick story as to why I’m asking. Right before the pandemic I purchased a guild d25.. it was at guitar center for $579. It was the mahogany top/arch back model and I loved everything about it. Within a couple days of bringing it home there was a bunch of buzzing and the bridge was raising up…. … guitar center wouldn’t take it back or fix it because it was “vintage” so then the pandemic started and long story short, the guild stayed in its case.

Within the last couple months I decided to get it repaired. It ended up needing a neck reset, bridge reglue, and I installed a fairly expensive pickup system into it. Over $1000 spent on it. I almost didn’t do it because I have a nice Gibson J45 and a booteek $5000 acoustic I love but somehow I like the guild the most? every note sounds full.. it plays and sounds great but my big issue (and maybe it’s just my bias against mahogany tops being somewhat dull) is that I like hearing the individual notes in a chord. The guitar is almost too warm if that makes sense. Sometimes changing chords everything feels like it blurs together (?).

So I’m sitting here feeling like I have an amazing hog top guild but I have been thinking a lot about trying to find a nice spruce top d25 as that may be exactly what I’m looking for.

Just rambling. I hope you guys can see where I’m going with this.

Thanks in advance.

Because many of the arch-backed D-25s have D-25M model designations (and M indicates mahogany stain), lots of people (I see it a lot on Youtube) think it has a mahogany top. Given that the D-25s with mahogany tops were only made for about a year, unless you have sorted all of this out, there is a decent change you have a spruce-topped D-25. A serial number of pics would help.

I have one of these spruce-topped D-25s (a 1974) and, IMO, the "bluriness" (if you want to call it that) comes from the long sustain the arched-back guitars seem to have. So the last chord is still ringing when you hit the next one.

 

[Br1ck]

EGAD! People have preferences different from mine. How can so many be wrong? No disrespect, because I consider my D 35 this kind of guitar, but an arch back D 25 is a great beater. Us effete snobs have an elevated opinion of such things.

 

[fronobulax]

EGAD

Some kind of bass tuning or do people still say that?

 

[adorshki]

Hi all, this is my first post here but I’m a longtime lurker. Maybe this is a bizarre question but how different are the arch back d25s when the only difference is the top wood? Is it similar to the way a d28 vs d18 would be?

So, quick story as to why I’m asking. Right before the pandemic I purchased a guild d25.. it was at guitar center for $579. It was the mahogany top/arch back model and I loved everything about it. Within a couple days of bringing it home there was a bunch of buzzing and the bridge was raising up…. … guitar center wouldn’t take it back or fix it because it was “vintage” so then the pandemic started and long story short, the guild stayed in its case.

Within the last couple months I decided to get it repaired. It ended up needing a neck reset, bridge reglue, and I installed a fairly expensive pickup system into it. Over $1000 spent on it. I almost didn’t do it because I have a nice Gibson J45 and a booteek $5000 acoustic I love but somehow I like the guild the most? every note sounds full.. it plays and sounds great but my big issue (and maybe it’s just my bias against mahogany tops being somewhat dull) is that I like hearing the individual notes in a chord. The guitar is almost too warm if that makes sense. Sometimes changing chords everything feels like it blurs together (?).

So I’m sitting here feeling like I have an amazing hog top guild but I have been thinking a lot about trying to find a nice spruce top d25 as that may be exactly what I’m looking for.

Just rambling. I hope you guys can see where I’m going with this.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Peachy, welcome aboard!
I've never owned a 'hogtop guitar, but I do own a spruce-topped D25 and D40. The difference is in the back configuration. The D25 is arched like yours, but the D40 is flat-backed.They both have spruce tops, but the difference in their voices is very similar to what you describe.

I think what you're hearing is more a product of the arched back than the 'hog top. Arched backs emphasize volume and overtones, but too much overtones can muddy up the sound. Over the years I've come to refer the sound of the D40 for that reason.

Before you rule out 'hog tops, I'd try to pay the first version of the D25, with a 'hog top and flatback, to see if the note separation you're missing is there.

 

[Curlington]

"I find the flatback all hog original D25s to be a bit dark and subdued in terms of tone and projection." I agree. I have a 1970 hog top D25. I like it because the tone is so different from my spruce top dreads.

"I have one of these spruce-topped D-25s (a 1974) and, IMO, the "bluriness" (if you want to call it that) comes from the long sustain the arched-back guitars seem to have. So the last chord is still ringing when you hit the next one." I agree. I have a 1972 G37 spruce top, arch back. Similar to why I like my D25, I like the G37 because the arch back tone is so distinctive.