Need info on early seventies D40

[Troisnoir]

I'm a retired repairman with little Guild experience. A friend of my wife's wants me to fix her early 70's D40C SB (she's the original owner), and I need some basic info, please.

And don't laugh!

- Is a D40 from back then all solid or just solid top?
- The tuners look on the cheap side. Is this considered a lower or midrange model?

It appears the neck needs a reset, but the top looks ok from what I can tell (no brace problems).

It's of great sentimental value to her and she's not going to sell it, but would like it playable again. The action with a straight neck is 1/8" at the 12th fret.

Tell me about this model!

And thanks in advance!

PS: I'm not really interested in doing a neck reset, but I need to help her decide whether it worth having someone else do it.

 

[E-Type]

It’s the Guild equivalent of a Martin D-18. Solid spruce top with a solid mahogany back and sides. The cutaways aren’t worth as much, but a good early ‘70s with a reset done May be worth $1,800-$2,800.

 

[Troisnoir]

Thanks! I wouldn't have thought so, looking at it, but back in the day I didn't have the bucks for a Guild, so I wasn't familiar.

Very helpful!

 

[E-Type]

Def worth it. But a reset should be done by someone who works on guilds. It could be $400-$800 depending on what all needs to be sorted out.

And note, a ‘70-‘72 is worth more than a ‘74-‘79. Sometime around ‘73 they added more structure (like a pound’s worth) and the lighter ones are preferred. Less than about 4lbs 10oz worth more than heavier ones.

 

[Wellington]

I think any D40 is worth repairing. That was the guitar of choice for Richie Havens entire career remember!

 

[Troisnoir]

I have to recheck the serial number against Guild's s/n pdf, but I think it's early 70's.

Thanks again!

PS: At first I thought it was a low end guitar because it sounded so weak, but she had .010 80/20's on it. I'm hoping it was to reduce the action problem, and not what she wants to keep on it permanently. I'll try and talk her into .012's if I can.

 

[Prince of Darkness]

With any U.S.A. made Guild flat top it's very easy to tell if the back is solid or laminate. Braced flat back will always be all solid. Unbraced, arched back will always be laminate back. Looking at the Guild website, it looks like the current arch backs have laminate sides (like the Asian made ones), but they used to have solid sides.

 

[SFIV1967]

And note, a ‘70-‘72 is worth more than a ‘74-‘79. Sometime around ‘73 they added more structure (like a pound’s worth) and the lighter ones are preferred.

I have to recheck the serial number against Guild's s/n pdf, but I think it's early 70's.

Welcome to LTG! The D-40C was only introduced in 1975, the Nov 1975 price list only showed the NT version (natural top), but they all could be ordered in sunburst as well. But pretty easy to check:



Nov 1, 1975 pricelist:



The C version was not in the 1976 catalog, they only showed the normal D-40 there.

Ralf

 

[fronobulax]

But a reset should be done by someone who works on guilds.

On the chance that the OP is in the USA and willing to ship, Tom Jacobs (Merritt Island, FL) worked for Guild and still works on Guilds and he has been and remains highly recommended.

Who knows - if you contact him and mention LTG he might even have some luthier to luthier advice that could help you assess how you might do the work.

Jacobs Custom Guitars – Custom Guitars & Guitar Repair

www.jacobscustomguitars.com

 

[Troisnoir]

fronobulax:​

Funny, I did a search for Guild authorized repairmen in Florida about an hour ago, and Tom Jacobs is exactly who I came up with.

We all live in Tampa, so I think I can talk her into making the trip (she's retired, so it's likely she'll do it). I used to live in Merritt Island, and it's only 2 1/2 hours away.


Did a serial search, and it looks like this is a '76. Seems pretty light to me, but I'm used to heavier guitars.

Thank you all so much for your help.

Side question: While searching for prices on this guitar, I came across several ads which referred to their particular D40 as a "Bluegrass Jubilee". Is this a separate option/line, or do people just refer to this era of D40 as such? The pics I saw looked pretty much the same as the one she has.

 

[richardp69]

Tom us superb and you cannot go wrong with him. The D 40 is my most favorite Mahogany Dreadnaught.

 

[fronobulax]

fronobulax:​

Funny, I did a search for Guild authorized repairmen in Florida about an hour ago, and Tom Jacobs is exactly who I came up with.

We all live in Tampa, so I think I can talk her into making the trip (she's retired, so it's likely she'll do it). I used to live in Merritt Island, and it's only 2 1/2 hours away.


Did a serial search, and it looks like this is a '76. Seems pretty light to me, but I'm used to heavier guitars.

Thank you all so much for your help.

Side question: While searching for prices on this guitar, I came across several ads which referred to their particular D40 as a "Bluegrass Jubilee". Is this a separate option/line, or do people just refer to this era of D40 as such? The pics I saw looked pretty much the same as the one she has.

Tom was a factory authorized repair shop at one point but when Guild was sold to CMG the dealer and repair network suffered and he may not have been reauthorized (yet).

 

[Br1ck]

Boy are you lucky to live near THE Guild repair guy. Sentiment alone makes this a repair that is worth it. Only very rarely do tuners fail. You should see the tuners used on D 25 and D 35 guitars! But they work fine. Stock is good so don't change them.

A guitar with a proper neck angle, fresh frets, nut, and saddle should play very easily with .012s. Other than a teens Martin, I've never heard a flattop acoustic sound good with .010s.

 

[Troisnoir]

I should clarify...

When I found Tom's website, his advert said, among other things, that he specialized in Guild, which caught my eye.
He also mentioned he worked for Guild. I didn't mean to imply he was professing to currently be an authorized Guild repairman.

I don't know if this repair would be under warranty anyway (depends on each company, I suppose).

But Tom is certainly MILES beyond anyone else I ran across...didn't figure there was any reason to keep looking

 

[Troisnoir]

Boy are you lucky to live near THE Guild repair guy. Sentiment alone makes this a repair that is worth it. Only very rarely do tuners fail. You should see the tuners used on D 25 and D 35 guitars! But they work fine. Stock is good so don't change them.

A guitar with a proper neck angle, fresh frets, nut, and saddle should play very easily with .012s. Other than a teens Martin, I've never heard a flattop acoustic sound good with .010s.

I agree. She didn't say whether she preferred .010's or was just using them to reduce damage or deal with the playability.
I'm going to encourage her to try .012's after the repair.

And to be fair, when I strummed the guitar, I noted the richness and tone, even with .010's. Missing some punch and volume, of course, but pretty could in spite of the strings...

 

[fronobulax]

I should clarify...

When I found Tom's website, his advert said, among other things, that he specialized in Guild, which caught my eye.
He also mentioned he worked for Guild. I didn't mean to imply he was professing to currently be an authorized Guild repairman.

I don't know if this repair would be under warranty anyway (depends on each company, I suppose).

But Tom is certainly MILES beyond anyone else I ran across...didn't figure there was any reason to keep looking

No problem. My never certain memory was that he once did factory authorized repairs but that might not be the case now through no "fault" of his.

Guild has undergone several changes of ownership since since the 70's and the legal warranty obligations are somewhat murky. It turns out you can sell a company and assets but not obligations and so the lifetime warranty is for the lifetime of the company that made the guitar and not the lifetime of the product or purchaser. Furthermore there is some debate whether a reset needed after 50 years is due to a defect in materials and workmanship or merely something to be expected from the basic design.

If your friend is the original owner and has the original sales receipt you could contact Guild about warranty status. Guild will likely say there is no warranty obligation but they may decide to do a repair anyway as a matter of Good Will.

Sentiment doesn't always have a dollar value but in this case I'd get Tom's estimate and let him do the work.

 

[Br1ck]

Regarding warranty repair. You should know that manufacturers do not pay an established shop's rate, but set their own which is usually less and in high rent areas, much less. I have my Guild worked on by someone that was a Guild warranty repair shop for thirty odd years, but is not now due the the rates the new Oxnard ownership, Cordoba at the time, would pay. Gryphon will not do warranty work on Martins they did not sell. Everyone that bought online is out of luck. Otherwise they would be doing repair work for Martin rather than get their usual shop rate. So being authorized means really, working for less.

 

[bobouz]

Re using an .010 set on a flattop, I use them on all my acoustics. It’s my preference given my light fingerpicking style. I of course still have to like the sound of the guitar, and if it sounds good with .010s, you can pretty much be assured it’s a stellar example of the breed. Added bonus: You’ll probably never need a neck reset!

 

[chazmo]

Regarding warranty repair. You should know that manufacturers do not pay an established shop's rate, but set their own which is usually less and in high rent areas, much less. I have my Guild worked on by someone that was a Guild warranty repair shop for thirty odd years, but is not now due the the rates the new Oxnard ownership, Cordoba at the time, would pay. Gryphon will not do warranty work on Martins they did not sell. Everyone that bought online is out of luck. Otherwise they would be doing repair work for Martin rather than get their usual shop rate. So being authorized means really, working for less.

That's an interesting take on the warrantee situation, Br1ck.

My son has similar things to say about warrantee repairs on cars, which is a very similar argument since auto techs are (almost) all paid flat rate rather than salary. It's a conundrum for sure.

My own personal rule of thumb is that I'd much rather hire an unaffiliated luthier or tech to do most of the repair or renovation work on my things. Only when something would likely entail a trip back to the factory would I want to potentially use a warrantee claim. I mean maybe that seems somewhat obvious when I put it that way, but the point about being "factory authorized" just means (to me) a possible gateway to get the factory to handle it.

Maybe the situation is a little bit less clear to me if we're talking about a relatively new item. In that case, I expect the shop to stand behind the item for pretty much anything. In that case, an authorized repair place might have access to parts or processes that independents might not.

 

[SFIV1967]

Side question: While searching for prices on this guitar, I came across several ads which referred to their particular D40 as a "Bluegrass Jubilee". Is this a separate option/line, or do people just refer to this era of D40 as such?

From the very beginning Guild gave guitars "Model names". Here the example of the December 1963 price list.



During the 70's Guild marketing dropped those names, hence the 1975 price list I showed you in post #8 above does not show those names.
The Guild Tacoma, WA factory restarted calling the D-40 as in the past, here the example of the February 2007 pricelist (and you see they refered to the 1963 model).



Ralf