Guild reboots the Standard series!

[adorshki]

I am cynical about everything, pretty much. This is just one more example of dishonest by the marketing department of guitar companies. African Mahogany doesn't exist. Swietania simply doesn't grow in Africa, so by definition, African Mahogany cannot exist. Descriptions could be of the form "an African hardwood that is (tonally) similar to Cuban/Honduras/Tropical Mahogany". Your own example of the GAD 100 series is a perfect example. In fact, should somebody have decided to make an issue of it to the extent of starting legal proceedings, they probably would have won in just about any court of law, as the guitar was said to have a mahogany body, with no mahogany in sight. My whole point is that they called the body mahogany in order to get the buyer to believe that it was indeed mahogany, WHICH IT WAS NOT. How difficult would it have been to call the body "Sapele" (or whatever wood species was being used)? It would have been far more honest to the buyer, and would have eliminated any possibility of legal action. As it is, it was strictly done to gain more sales because Mahogany was a known tone wood, and people were generally familiar with its tonal properties.

It's based on both of 'em being in the family Meliacea. "For What it's Worth", not that I necessarily think it's a valid "justification".

 

[GGJaguar]

How difficult would it have been to call the body "Sapele" (or whatever wood species was being used)?

It's not. G&L has been using the proper name Okoume for nearly a decade instead of calling it Equatorial Mahogany. People still buy their guitars made of Okoume.

 

[HeyMikey]

I know my New Hartford F30ce and Orpheum SS were spec’d I believe only as Solid Mahogany. I have no idea what species they are. All I know is they sound great.

While I agree with the statements above I don’t feel like Guild is trying to pull a fast one. They are following a recent industry practice in leaving themselves the ability to make certain substitutions if needed. Otherwise they would have go through the effort of creating and publishing a net new model every time they need to make a switch. That might be fine for small boutique shops but impractical for a volume production company.

 

[casey2048]

I know my New Hartford F30ce and Orpheum SS we’re spec’d I believe only as Solid Mahogany. I have no idea what species they are. All I know is they sound great.

While I agree with the statements above I don’t feel like Guild is trying to pull a fast one and following a recent industry practice in leaving themselves the ability to make certain substitutions if needed. Otherwise they would have go through the effort of creating and publishing a net new model every time they need to make a switch. That might be fine for small boutique shops but impractical for a volume production company.

I think what Martin did was smart recently where they put it out there officially that they would henceforth be mixing Sitka and Lutz for their tops and just changing the material name to “Spruce” so that they could do it when they feel like. It’s not completely the same because reportedly it’s pretty much impossible to tell the difference between Lutz and Sitka since Lutz is a Sitka hybrid. But just having a little explainer somewhere goes a long way.

 

[chazmo]

I think what Martin did was smart recently where they put it out there officially that they would henceforth be mixing Sitka and Lutz for their tops and just changing the material name to “Spruce” so that they could do it when they feel like. It’s not completely the same because reportedly it’s pretty much impossible to tell the difference between Lutz and Sitka since Lutz is a Sitka hybrid. But just having a little explainer somewhere goes a long way.

That's really interesting. It's *always* been necessary for the guitar companies to be specific about the forms of spruce that they use on their soundboards. I don't remember a time when "spruce" was a sufficient way to describe it.

 

[casey2048]

I know my New Hartford F30ce and Orpheum SS we’re spec’d I believe only as Solid Mahogany. I have no idea what species they are. All I know is they sound great.

Btw I think, per this spec sheet I grabbed off of archive.org, your model might have sneaked under the wire. They called it “genuine mahogany.”

 

[chazmo]

Btw I think, per this spec sheet I grabbed off of archive.org, your model might have sneaked under the wire. They called it “genuine mahogany.”

I do know that New Hartford was doing some experimenting with alternatives. I can't say (as in don't know) which models or which serial numbers might've been built with something other than Honduran.

 

[davenumber2]

New D40 demo and comparison with a '71

 

[GGJaguar]

The part between the 2:30 and 6:00 minute marks is all you need to watch for an actual sound comparison.
Both guitars sound really good. Knowing that the 1971 is probably a light build, I have to wonder how a later, heavier built D-40 from Westerly compares. Either way, the new D-40 Standard sounds really good and will probably make a lot of people very happy.

 

[casey2048]

Great comparison. Really satisfying sound out of both of them. I’d say the bass on the vintage one sounds more cleaned up and “record ready” but the new one sounds intimate, and it has those really great warm sounding transients I like so much. Both wonderful sounds.

 

[davenumber2]

Snapshot from the vid. That G tuner look goofy to you too?

 

[chazmo]

They all look a bit goofy against the curve of the headstock, and I don't know why they did it that way. Part of it is exaggerated by that shot not being straight on.. But, I do I think those will be tough to wind with a winder. I would've angled them with the curve of the headstock.

 

[davenumber2]

They all look a bit goofy against the curve of the headstock, and I don't know why they did it that way. Part of it is exaggerated by that shot not being straight on.. But, I do I think those will be tough to wind with a winder. I would've angled them with the curve of the headstock.

I agree it should be angled with the curve of the headstock. I think at the very least it should mirror the D tuner across from it. I’m a real stickler for symmetry.

 

[casey2048]

Guild tuners always look a little hinky placement wise to me. I think it’s just a result of the headstock shape. Original tuners from 60s models seem to look oddly misplaced a lot of the time.

 

[chazmo]

So, has anyone gotten one of the new Standards in the Pacific sunset sunburst finish? I'm dying to see someone's personal pictures of one.

 

[casey2048]

So, has anyone gotten one of the new Standards in the Pacific sunset sunburst finish? I'm dying to see someone's personal pictures of one.

Same! hope someone springs for one soon.

 

[chazmo]

Just got an email from Stewart MacDonald about Honduran mahogany being available. I guess that implies that the supply is still there but Guild is using African (khaya) because they're steering away from export problems with Honduran. That's my guess anyway. I know they had trouble shipping Honduran into Europe even during the New Hartford days.

 

[davenumber2]

Just got an email from Stewart MacDonald about Honduran mahogany being available. I guess that implies that the supply is still there but Guild is using African (khaya) because they're steering away from export problems with Honduran. That's my guess anyway. I know they had trouble shipping Honduran into Europe even during the New Hartford days.

It’s all going that way eventually anyway. May as well be an early adopter. I don’t hear a perceptible difference anyway. With all the more sustainable alternatives available it seems the only reason not to switch would be tradition and fickle buyers.

 

[chazmo]

I agree. But, since we did have a discussion earlier in this thread on this subject, I thought I'd mention this.