Amen! :lol: :lol: :lol:valleyguy said:
weight of westerly guitars
- Thread starter philr
- Start date
adorshki
Reverential Member
Jives with my impressions. I think LATE Westerlys are actually fairly light. I think laminate backs are actually lighter, due to less wood (no bracing). My D25 is still the lightest guitar I've ever owned.yettoblaster said:
philr
Junior Member
adorshki said:
That's really interesting. It seems like most of the heavy weight guitars were made from around '74 thru the 80's. I wonder who made the decision to change the build of the guitars so dramatically.
I have always assumed that the laminates were all heavy. The '74 G37 I had was the heaviest guitar that I've ever owned. If the laminates made in the 90's are really much lighter I may have to shop for one in the future.
adorshki
Reverential Member
That would be my impression from all the posts I've read. I've always wondered if it may have something to do with the advent of the so-called "Gruhn era".philr said:
I'm thinking a lot of that weight was due to maple construction. I think it's the densest of all the tonewoods. Example: my F65ce is heavier than my D25 even though it's physically much smaller and even has an arched back too. And I don't think it's all due to the electronics. But someone else may know better.philr said:
GardMan
Enlightened Member
At one time I weighed all seven of my dreads... but I can't find the post (it was more than a year ago), and can't recall all the weights... from what I remember, my '72 D-35 is the lightest, at 4#4oz. The heaviest is my D-46, which tipped the scale at 5#15oz. Although my two laminated arch backs (D-25 and G-37, both from '74) were both in the 5 to 5.5# range, the three heaviest were all solid woods: as I recall, the D-50, D-55 and D-46 were all greater than 5#12oz.
At one time we also had a '78 D-35 that I bought for Anne... it was noticeably heavier than my '72... probably in the 5.5# range. Made me think the change to a heavier build occurred in the mid-70s sometime... one change was in the top bracing around the neckblock... see here...
At one time we also had a '78 D-35 that I bought for Anne... it was noticeably heavier than my '72... probably in the 5.5# range. Made me think the change to a heavier build occurred in the mid-70s sometime... one change was in the top bracing around the neckblock... see here...
jcwu
Senior Member
philr said:
Wait, wait, wait... you mean to say that my DV-52 and JV-52 are actually not that heavy? That there are heavier Guilds out there? That I haven't really played one of these legendary "built-like-a-tank" Guilds?
Oh my! I thought my Guilds were lead weights compared to the Epiphone DR-500! That thing was light as a feather in my hands.. til I sold it, that is.
I thought it didn't feel substantive enough.
taabru45
Enlightened Member
Haven't weighed mine but my upper body muscle mass increased by 10% after I started playing Guilds... :lol: :lol: Steffan
philr
Junior Member
Just attended a weekend long jam/song swap/party session and had the opportunity to compare a few Westerly Guilds. There was a 70's era red D25 there and a later model D4. There was a huge difference in the weights of these two guitars. The D4 was light as a feather. I was really surprised. The D25 was very heavy, much like my own D50. I didn't actually have the D50 with me to compare but I'm sure it was pretty close.
I'm wondering when CNC machinery came into use at Guild. Maybe that has something to do with the difference in weights? I know in other applications the use of CNC has allowed for smaller diameter lumber to be used for making joints. Maybe the mass of the dovetail neckjoint got reduced sometime around 1990?
I'm wondering when CNC machinery came into use at Guild. Maybe that has something to do with the difference in weights? I know in other applications the use of CNC has allowed for smaller diameter lumber to be used for making joints. Maybe the mass of the dovetail neckjoint got reduced sometime around 1990?