NGD Thursday: Oxnard D-20!

[Jesse_Dylan]

Sacrificed sleep to play some more before work (and am late). Love this guitar. Wish I could pinpoint the sound and/or what (if anything) it reminds me of. I know Ren had a stash of good, aged wood that he brought to Guild. Wouldn't be surprised if it was made with that.

 

[Zelja]

Very encouraging review. I'm stoked that you're so stoked with it!

 

[bobouz]

One thing I'd like to see is my bridge plate, but I can't get the camera in with the strings on.

Jesse - Get an automotive inspection mirror & a flashlight, and you'll very easily be able to see what's going on with your string seatings on the bridgeplate (even with the strings on). Although it may seem like overkill, I'm a real stickler for this & check each string as they're installed to be sure every one is fully grabbing the bridgplate with a forward orientation (not slipping to the side & gouging out an area of the bridgeplate - with a worst case scenario of eventually digging into & putting pressure on the spruce top).

Btw - Thrilled to see you're enjoying the guitar, since I feel partially responsible for birthing this new purchase! My Gibson Forum post was fully intended to hopefully have you check out the new Guilds, since I know you appreciate Ren's work as do I. As opposed to the NH facility, Oxnard is Ren's baby from day one, so it will be fun to watch it develop over the next few years.

And one more thing: Growing up in Pasadena, I specifically remember thinking: "Boy I'm glad I don't live in a place called Oxnard!" This new stamping on the healblock is sort of like the Hoboken-Westerly transitional labels that just said: Made in USA.

Kinda like that!

 

[adorshki]

Sacrificed sleep to play some more before work (and am late). Love this guitar. Wish I could pinpoint the sound and/or what (if anything) it reminds me of. I know Ren had a stash of good, aged wood that he brought to Guild. Wouldn't be surprised if it was made with that.

No I'm pretty sure that wood's for very high-end builds, but I'm also sure his design updates/ build details are what really makes it special.
Yeah about the glue, it's inside, it was obviously even cleaned up, there's no glaring cosmetic issue.
I put it on the same level as the glue that was evident when Guild used to glue cloth strips across the sides to help prevent cracking in the '70's.
And in 20 years it'll be evidence of "early build standards", much like Corvettes with incompletely sprayed lower rocker panels in the '60's.
I do think they'll get cleaner as they go along.
What I zeroed in on was the kerfing, no excess glue squeeze there, and it's one of the things I first noticed about my D25 when I was bonding with it nightly for the first couple of months.
Is this your first brand new axe?

 

[Rayk]

I seen the glue , thinking maybe there rushing a tad to get them out ....?

On another note my close guild dealer has no guilds told them to up there game their losing out .
Any hr ride into Charolte to Sam ash if they have any USA models they do or did have westerly .
Will call first ..... Nope darn it !

 

[DaveinRI]

Congratulations on that new Guild! I really like the look of the D-20!

 

[GardMan]

Looks real nice... thanks for the review.

Enjoy!

 

[GF60]

Really nice looking guitar!

 

[jeffcoop]

Great report. I'm looking forward to trying one of these.

 

[Jesse_Dylan]

Sorry, still no sound sample. Would love to do a video review as well, or at least a video of the guitar.

But I wanted to post a few more innard photos (the bridge plate). Looks pretty good to me, I think, although the stringing job maybe a little higglty pigglty? Hard to tell without a mirror. When I finally restring, I will get in there better with the camera.

 

[Jesse_Dylan]

I also wanted to post photos that I hope show how "forward-shifted" the bracing is on this guitar (to borrow a Martin term). I've never seen a guitar with the x-brace so close to the soundhole. Is this traditional Guild design? For mahogany-topped guitars, or for all Guilds? Or is this a Ren innovation? Having a hardwood top, it makes sense that it could support this maneuver.

 

[adorshki]

've never seen a guitar with the x-brace so close to the soundhole. Is this traditional Guild design? For mahogany-topped guitars, or for all Guilds? Or is this a Ren innovation? Having a hardwood top, it makes sense that it could support this maneuver.

"Cloes" is relative I guess, I'd compare the bracing patterns shown in that Guild model number decoder drawing with some drawings Gardman made of his dreads bracing patterns, which I think can be found under "blogs", I'm just a little short of search time right now.
I think Gardman even managed to get some X-ray type photos of bracing a couple of years back, he might be able to link to 'em again pretty quickly.
We do know Ren actually examined vintage copies of D25's and M20's and tweaked 'em a bit with his design knowledge, I think they posted it on Facebook. and somebody linked it here.
FWIW I think my D25's x brace is pretty close to the soundhole too, but I never really thought about it.

 

[chazmo]

Boy, that is some beauty, Jesse! Thanks for sharing those pix of inside the sound box. Very cool. Well, we now know they're continuing to use D'Addario strings!

Not sure about the positioning of the purple #2 (or is it #5) string ball end... You might want to slack that string and reseat it. It could just be the camera angle that makes it look a little off. Anyway, yeah, the bridge plate and everything else looks AOK to me!

 

[Rayk]

Sticking my neck out lol , it would seem better for the X bracing to be forward shifted for more surface area vibration behind the bridge then again what's the scale lenth ?
Also some builders incorporate larger diameter sound holes on smaller guitars not sue if this the case but it put the X brace closer to the sound hole as well ... And cut ! Off with his head !

 

[GardMan]

I think Gardman even managed to get some X-ray type photos of bracing a couple of years back, he might be able to link to 'em again pretty quickly

There are links to my bracing pics and diagrams, with explanations, in my last blog post (click the "Blogs" tab at the top of the LT page; Blogs apparently doesn't allow embedded images, so you have to click the links to see the pics)... or click on the pics link in my signature, and open the "Guild dreadnaught bracing" gallery...

 

[bobouz]

Not sure about the positioning of the purple #2 (or is it #5) string ball end... You might want to slack that string and reseat it. It could just be the camera angle that makes it look a little off. Anyway, yeah, the bridge plate and everything else looks AOK to me!

Yes, this is what I was talking about earlier in post #63. It does appear that the purple ball end has angled off & settled into a divot.

Simply reseat it away from the divot, and check with the inspection mirror to make sure it has remained in place after tensioning.

 

[RBpicker]

One of the coolest things is that Guild went to the trouble and expense of using a grain filler under the clear finish ( unlike Martin on their 15 series instruments). That will ensure a fine looking job for those, like myself, who like to polish the satin finish to a soft, vintage gloss.
Nice guitar, Jesse.
RB

 

[chazmo]

Hey, RB, Martin doesn't pore fill mahogany on the 15 series? That must make for a very "raw" feeling guitar.

 

[adorshki]

There are links to my bracing pics and diagrams, with explanations, in my last blog post

Is there any other forum where members have each other's backs like this?
Thanks Dave!
This also makes me think that perhaps I shouldn't assume the bracing shown in the Oxnard drawings is exactly to scale, although small differences between bodies are evident on close examination, and it does appear that they moved the X closer to the soundhole than the westerly designs even if they're not exactly true to scale.

Sticking my neck out lol , it would seem better for the X bracing to be forward shifted for more surface area vibration behind the bridge

then again what's the scale length ?

25.5

Also some builders incorporate larger diameter sound holes on smaller guitars not sue if this the case but it put the X brace closer to the sound hole as well ... And cut ! Off with his head !

Not at all, we don't get into that stuff very often around here, so just the concepts are useful for better understanding of how everything works together.

 

[Jesse_Dylan]

Sticking my neck out lol , it would seem better for the X bracing to be forward shifted for more surface area vibration behind the bridge then again what's the scale lenth ?
Also some builders incorporate larger diameter sound holes on smaller guitars not sue if this the case but it put the X brace closer to the sound hole as well ... And cut ! Off with his head !

Scale length is 25-5/8", I believe! Is that the traditional Guild dreadnought scale length? It's interesting, because it's slightly longer than Martin's usual 25.5". I think my SJ-200 has a 26" scale. Wow! And my other Gibsons are all 24.75". Makes for some fun variety.

I will have to try to fix the B string (and potentially E string) and be really careful when I restring to get them in the right spot. I'll do them first to make sure. Gotta decide what strings to try first! I'm really curious how Pure Nickels would sound, and with the longer scale, they shouldn't be too floppy, even when I tune down a full step.