Vintage F40 vs D50

[Scheidt5]

New to Guild and guitars but am enjoying the art, history, and story of everything. Considering getting into vintage with 1970s guild. Comparing/contrasting 1974 F40 and 1973 D50…both described as and appear to be in “very good” condition…any tips, preferences, advice? Leaning towards the 1974 Blonde
Thanks from a newbie

 

[chazmo]

Welcome aboard!

That's a tough comparison. As in, we should all have such great choices to make!

These are two completely different body styles. I'd never talk someone out of a D-50. It's my favorite Guild dreadnought. But, an F-40 is a wonderful instrument in its own right.

If you can handle large guitars, I'd lean in favor of the D-50 and keep an eye out for an F-50 down the road. The F-50 is bigger and, IMO, the most iconic of Guild's flattop guitars. If you are not a fan of the jumbo bodies (17" lower bout), the F-40 is a great one to have!!!!

Again, welcome aboard.

 

[Scheidt5]

Welcome aboard!

That's a tough comparison. As in, we should all have such great choices to make!

These are two completely different body styles. I'd never talk someone out of a D-50. It's my favorite Guild dreadnought. But, an F-40 is a wonderful instrument in its own right.

If you can handle large guitars, I'd lean in favor of the D-50 and keep an eye out for an F-50 down the road. The F-50 is bigger and, IMO, the most iconic of Guild's flattop guitars. If you are not a fan of the jumbo bodies (17" lower bout), the F-40 is a great one to have!!!!

Again, welcome aboard.

Realize the different body types…was just unsure of major tone differences and/or if one ages better than the other. Thanks for all the insight tho

 

[adorshki]

Realize the different body types…was just unsure of major tone differences and/or if one ages better than the other. Thanks for all the insight tho

You've got a real apples and oranges comparo there. F40=maple archback body 16' "jumbo", D50=rosewood flatback dread.

F40's tend to be "airier" especially soloing and in upper registers, because "maple". Maple's very "clean" and not loaded with overtones. It's said maple records the truest and I believe it's due to that quality, it sounds the most like the original instrument being recorded. Understand the reason maple sounds "jangly" to our ears is not because it emphasizes trebles but because it reflects frequencies at relatively equal volumes and at equal volumes treble freqs sound louder than bass to the human ear. But not to a mic.
Maple cuts through mixes very well.

A rosewood Dread? Rosewood's got that rep for rumbly under/overtones, but that my be great for purely acoustic performance. D50's probably gonna be louder than the F40, but I suspect F40 may be more versatile across more styles.

 

[GardMan]

The guy that used to do my setups had a '74 F-40, with the arched maple back, and I had the opportunity to play it at his shop on a number of occasions. I liked it alot... it had a very clean sound, with great note separation. I thought it would be great for finger style/picking. It wasn't the loudest... but had decent volume. In an A/B comparison, I found it to be sonically quite similar to my '74 G-37, a dread with arched maple back, tho' the G-37 had a bit more volume (tho' it was one of my quieter dreads at the time).

I also owned a '76 D-50 for some years... it was a loud (much louder than my maple G-37), in-your-face, rosewood dread. Lots of volume, very rich tone with lots of overtones, and gut rumbling bass. I really liked its sound... but it had a NARROW (closer to 1-5/8") but THICK neck that was uncomfortable to play for extended periods.

In a side-by-side, I preferred the '74 maple G-37 for finger picking, and the D-50 for strumming and flat-picking. Based on my experience with the '74 F-40... I'd expect to have the same preferences.

In the end... it all boils down to what your own style and sonic preferences are... Good luck!

 

[Scheidt5]

The guy that used to do my setups had a '74 F-40, with the arched maple back, and I had the opportunity to play it at his shop on a number of occasions. I liked it alot... it had a very clean sound, with great note separation. I thought it would be great for finger style/picking. It wasn't the loudest... but had decent volume. In an A/B comparison, I found it to be sonically quite similar to my '74 G-37, a dread with arched maple back, tho' the G-37 had a bit more volume (tho' it was one of my quieter dreads at the time).

I also owned a '76 D-50 for some years... it was a loud (much louder than my maple G-37), in-your-face, rosewood dread. Lots of volume, very rich tone with lots of overtones, and gut rumbling bass. I really liked its sound... but it had a NARROW (closer to 1-5/8") but THICK neck that was uncomfortable to play for extended periods.

In a side-by-side, I preferred the '74 maple G-37 for finger picking, and the D-50 for strumming and flat-picking. Based on my experience with the '74 F-40... I'd expect to have the same preferences.

In the end... it all boils down to what your own style and sonic preferences are... Good luck!

Appreciate that analysis. I’m pretty new to playing and focusing on strumming now…but looking at this as a long term investment and something my son who plays will enjoy

 

[Scheidt5]

You've got a real apples and oranges comparo there. F40=maple archback body 16' "jumbo", D50=rosewood flatback dread.

F40's tend to be "airier" especially soloing and in upper registers, because "maple". Maple's very "clean" and not loaded with overtones. It's said maple records the truest and I believe it's du to that quality, it sounds the most like the original instrument being recorded. Understan the reason maple sounds "Jangly" to our ears is not because it emphasizes trebles by because it reflects frequncies at relativelty equal volumes and at equal volumes treble freqs sound louder than bass. But not to a mic.
Maple cuts through mixes very well.

A rosewood Dread? Rosewood's got that rep for rumbly under/overtones, but that my be great for purely acoustic performance. D50's probably gonna be louder than the F40, but I suspect F40 may be more versatile across more styles.

Understand apples and oranges…but looking for some vintage history in a guitar I have nothing similar too. So appreciate any/all information

 

[adorshki]

Understand apples and oranges…but looking for some vintage history in a guitar I have nothing similar too. So appreciate any/all information

16" jumbo maple archback is pretty rare in the guitar world. It was Guild's second flattop after the F50 (17" jumbo maple archback).
Sadly they abandoned the platform after the move to Oxnard/takeover by CMG. Lotta love for it here:
https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?threads/f40-lovers-unite.195241/

Forgive me for forgetting to say welcome aboard, by the way! I saw you were new, but forgot that while I was trying to remember to say I don't mean to sound pedantic or patronizing, it's just that we don't have an idea how well-versed you are in Guilds or guitar basics in general, 'til we get to know you better..

In fact I was going to revisit this and bring up things like playing comfort (most folks find the 16" jumbo more comfortable than a dread when shoulder/joint issues rear their ugly head), or if you have a particular style you love: F40 would definitely be the preferred choice for gypsy jazz, a D50 in a bluegrass jam. Or maybe CSNY.

Since you mentioned vintage history I pointed out that link and I guess it's obvious I'm an F40 family lover. But I don't have any rosewood in my collection. Still, I'd go for an F47R for the body. I love my D40 ('hog flatback) and D25 ('hog archback) but I just can't play 'em as long as I used to any more. My own F65ce (16" lower bout thin body maple archback) is my go-to for comfort, and thank goodness she sings like an angel.

D50 was Guild's first rosewood dread, and its claim to fame may be as the progenitor of the D55.. Very early on ('63-'64) Tommy Smothers was ordering D50's with F50 necks which Guild labeled D50 Specials. When he played a sunburst version on the Smothers Brothers TV show it got a lot of attention and Guild formalized it as the "Television D55" in '68, special order until '74.

Hope that helps!

 

[jeffcoop]

Welcome aboard! And thanks for prompting this discussion, which I find fascinating. I love my modern D50s, but I've never played one from the '70s, and the maple F40 falls outside my experience as well, so I'm enjoying this discussion among knowledgeable folks.

 

[chazmo]

Well, that era F-40 is essentially a smaller-bodied version of the F-50 (forgetting the appointments, that is). I'd be going for the D-50 and wait to hunt for an F-50 down the road, but again that's just me.

 

[Boomstick]

I've never actually played a vintage F-40, but knowing that I am partial to maple guitars and Guild has made some of the very best maple guitars I would be very interested in a vintage F-40 myself, that is if I didn't own a G-37 and maple F-50 already. The D-50 is also a real nice guitar too so chances are at least you're going to end up with a good guitar.

If a jumbo isn't too big for you, you might want to look for a maple F-50 (if it is, the F-40 should still be a good smaller option). It's probably the best sounding acoustic I've ever played. This demo below captures the sound pretty accurately imo